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| Brexit: May's plan for cross-party talks under fire as MPs condemn her for sidelining Corbyn - Politics live | Brexit: May's plan for cross-party talks under fire as MPs condemn her for sidelining Corbyn - Politics live |
| (39 minutes later) | |
| Speaking to the Guardian, the Greek MEP Stelios Koulouglou said Theresa May’s humiliating defeat last night highlighted the extent to which Britain had become a case study in the perils of nationalist demagogy. He said: | |
| It has become a case study of how nationalist demagogy can destroy a country. It will be taught in universities. It is dreadful to see what is happening. | |
| While insisting there was no desire whatsoever in Brussels for concessions, Koulouglou did not exclude Britain’s exit from the EU being extended. “Nobody wants to change the content of the agreement,” said the MEP, who represents Athen’s ruling leftist party Syriza. “There is absolutely no chance of that happening but there would be a will to extend the withdrawal if it meant avoiding the chaos of a disorderly Brexit.” | |
| The Greek media have watched the tortuous Brexit negotiations with dismay after its own near-brush with Grexit and today there is rare agreement that Britain has entered unchartered waters. | |
| “There is astonishment that a democracy as old as Britain has got itself into such a dead-end,” the prominent commentator told the Guardian. | |
| It’s the sort of mess that Greece would get into. The feeling across the media, with the exception of the eurosceptic press, is that London should reconsider other options, like putting the whole idea on hold. | |
| The Syntaktwn paper, which often reflects the views of prime minister Alexis Tsipras’s government, predicted that, while May would probably survive tonight’s confidence vote, the most likely scenario was an extension of the country’s exit date until July “in order to give London more time”. | |
| The conservative Kathimerini, in particularly pessimistic mood, said the prospect of an alternative solution for the UK was far from optimistic. Citing last night’s European parliament reaction to May’s humiliating defeat, it underlined the dangers of a disorderly Brexit. | |
| Here is Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP leader, with her MPs outside the Houses of Parliament. | |
| Nicola Sturgeon says no sign Theresa May has any idea how to end logjam in Parly or will abandon red lines. Wants extension of Article 50 as first step and then another referendum.... pic.twitter.com/BaRti1Yp2q | |
| Mairead McGuinness, the vice-president of the European parliament, has said it would be wrong to start blaming Ireland’s insistence on the backstop for Theresa May’s historic defeat. | |
| “We must not allow a narrative to evolve that this is an Irish problem and can be resolved by the backstop [being removed],” she told the Irish radio station Shannonside after chairing a debate in the parliament on Thursday morning. | |
| McGuinness, who is an Irish MEP, said it was not up to the EU to “decipher” what deal can emerge from a House of Commons riven with “hard Brexiters and ardent remainers and those in between”. | |
| In the radio interview, she said would not take lessons on the backstop from the former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, a man who had power but refused to use it to help seal a Brexit deal. | |
| Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, is to meet Scottish National party MPs in London later as they sketch out their tactics after May’s crushing defeat in the Commons, with the first minister urging May to extend article 50. | |
| Sturgeon tweeted earlier this morning she was travelling down from Edinburgh in advance of tonight’s confidence vote at Westminster, where the SNP will vote against May. (See 9.58am.) The prime minister called her on Tuesday evening after her Brexit deal was voted down, but it appears neither is shifting ground. | |
| Sturgeon has reiterated her demands for a second Brexit referendum – a proposal the SNP now formally backs after some prevarication, but also said the crisis at Westminster underscored the case for independence. | |
| The first minister’s trip to London is very largely presentational: the SNP’s position on Brexit has been fixed for some months and, unlike Labour and the Tories, there are no open splits on policy or tactics in her Westminster group that require Sturgeon’s hands-on involvement. | |
| And in keeping with the febrile atmosphere dominating UK politics, the Brexit crisis allows Sturgeon to shift the focus in Scotland away from her own deeply damaging crisis: the controversy over her government’s handling of the sexual harassment claims against Alex Salmond. | |
| Party sources acknowledge privately that the domestic crisis has knocked Sturgeon’s plan to capitalise on Brexit to reinvigorate the independence questions off course. | |
| And, talking about bills, the full text of Nick Boles’s EU withdrawal (number 2) bill has been published. It is also backed by fellow Tories Nicky Morgan and Sir Oliver Letwin, Labour’s Liz Kendall, Yvette Cooper and Hilary Benn, and the Lib Dem Norman Lamb. You can read it here (pdf). | |
| Under the bill, if the Commons fails to pass a Brexit deal by 11 February, the Commons liaison committee would be asked to come up with an alternative plan by 5 March, to be put to a vote by 7 March. And if that plan were voted down, the government would then be obliged to ask the EU to extend article 50 until the end of the year. | |
| This is designed to ensure that there could be no no-deal Brexit in 2019. | |
| Speaking about the bill on the Today programme this morning, Letwin said it was important to come up with a plan acceptable to a majority of MPs and acceptable to the EU. He explained: | |
| There is no point in us discussing unicorns which are items that live in fanciful forests. We have to discuss real objects. | |
| He also criticised Theresa May for laying down firm red lines at the start of the Brexit process. He said: | |
| [May] put down right at the beginning of this process what she called red lines. | |
| This is not a terrain in which you can have things you will definitely never do. You have to sit down and talk and come up with a consensus. That means being much more flexible than we have been so far. | |
| As well as the no-confidence motion in the government, something else has been tabled for the Commons today – two new bills by ever-busy Conservative backbencher Dominic Grieve seeking to bring about a second Brexit referendum. | As well as the no-confidence motion in the government, something else has been tabled for the Commons today – two new bills by ever-busy Conservative backbencher Dominic Grieve seeking to bring about a second Brexit referendum. |
| The bills from the former attorney general call for “preparations for a referendum about the United Kingdom’s future relationship with the European Union” and provide for that referendum to happen. | The bills from the former attorney general call for “preparations for a referendum about the United Kingdom’s future relationship with the European Union” and provide for that referendum to happen. |
| Last week, Grieve joined with the Lib Dem leader, Vince Cable, and the Labour MP Chuka Ummuna in publishing draft legislation on a referendum. | Last week, Grieve joined with the Lib Dem leader, Vince Cable, and the Labour MP Chuka Ummuna in publishing draft legislation on a referendum. |
| While Grieve last week successfully had his amendment passed to shorten the time in which May has to update MPs after losing the vote on her deal, these bills have no chance of success without official support – which is showing no signs of happening yet. | While Grieve last week successfully had his amendment passed to shorten the time in which May has to update MPs after losing the vote on her deal, these bills have no chance of success without official support – which is showing no signs of happening yet. |
| Writing in the Evening Standard on Tuesday, before May lost her vote, Grieve said: | Writing in the Evening Standard on Tuesday, before May lost her vote, Grieve said: |
| As a strong believer that Brexit is a very damaging mistake that becomes more obvious every day, I see sound democratic reasons for asking the electorate to confirm what it wants to do. But in doing so I entirely accept that if the choice is to leave the EU then we must do so, and both choices are now implementable. | As a strong believer that Brexit is a very damaging mistake that becomes more obvious every day, I see sound democratic reasons for asking the electorate to confirm what it wants to do. But in doing so I entirely accept that if the choice is to leave the EU then we must do so, and both choices are now implementable. |
| Steve Baker, the former Brexit minister and deputy chair of the European Research Group, which represents Conservatives pushing for a harder Brexit, has drafted a statement that he thinks Theresa May should make to parliament. Under the EU Withdrawal Act, now that May has lost a vote on her deal, she is obliged to return to the Commons to say what will happen next. Here is a press notice (pdf) summarising the proposed Baker draft, and here is the full document (pdf). | Steve Baker, the former Brexit minister and deputy chair of the European Research Group, which represents Conservatives pushing for a harder Brexit, has drafted a statement that he thinks Theresa May should make to parliament. Under the EU Withdrawal Act, now that May has lost a vote on her deal, she is obliged to return to the Commons to say what will happen next. Here is a press notice (pdf) summarising the proposed Baker draft, and here is the full document (pdf). |
| The statement has also been signed by 21 other Brexiter Tory MPs. | The statement has also been signed by 21 other Brexiter Tory MPs. |
| Under his plan, the UK would commit to leaving the EU on 29 March and step up planning for a no-deal Brexit, while simultaneously, as an alternative, offering the EU (effectively on a take-it-or-leave-it basis) the legal text for an EU-UK free trade deal, including a customs facilitation agreement as an alternative to the backstop. | Under his plan, the UK would commit to leaving the EU on 29 March and step up planning for a no-deal Brexit, while simultaneously, as an alternative, offering the EU (effectively on a take-it-or-leave-it basis) the legal text for an EU-UK free trade deal, including a customs facilitation agreement as an alternative to the backstop. |
| Baker said: | Baker said: |
| The Commons rejection of the withdrawal agreement and political declaration is a great opportunity to aim for a better deal that respects the referendum result and is focused on the UK’s trading priorities. We will offer the EU a better deal and we will be ready to trade on WTO terms with the EU if they decline. | The Commons rejection of the withdrawal agreement and political declaration is a great opportunity to aim for a better deal that respects the referendum result and is focused on the UK’s trading priorities. We will offer the EU a better deal and we will be ready to trade on WTO terms with the EU if they decline. |
| If we leave on WTO terms, we will no longer be faced with handing over £39bn for little in return, seeing our United Kingdom broken apart or being forced to follow EU laws with no say. This document sets out a firm plan to take up the EU’s March offer of a best-in-class trade agreement respecting UK priorities, the EU’s legal order and allowing the UK to develop a truly independent trade and domestic regulatory policy. | If we leave on WTO terms, we will no longer be faced with handing over £39bn for little in return, seeing our United Kingdom broken apart or being forced to follow EU laws with no say. This document sets out a firm plan to take up the EU’s March offer of a best-in-class trade agreement respecting UK priorities, the EU’s legal order and allowing the UK to develop a truly independent trade and domestic regulatory policy. |
| Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, is coming to London today for Brexit talks, she says. | Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, is coming to London today for Brexit talks, she says. |
| Off to London to meet with @IanBlackfordMP and @theSNP MPs ahead of no confidence vote in Commons later. We want UK to stay in EU which is why we back a #PeoplesVote. But it is becoming increasingly clear that Scotland’s wider interests will only be protected with independence. | Off to London to meet with @IanBlackfordMP and @theSNP MPs ahead of no confidence vote in Commons later. We want UK to stay in EU which is why we back a #PeoplesVote. But it is becoming increasingly clear that Scotland’s wider interests will only be protected with independence. |
| She has also posted a Tweet approving a point made by the Scottish journalist Kirsty Strickland. | She has also posted a Tweet approving a point made by the Scottish journalist Kirsty Strickland. |
| This is a key point - if none of PM’s red lines change, what progress can she possibly make? https://t.co/AisbB3PRLR | This is a key point - if none of PM’s red lines change, what progress can she possibly make? https://t.co/AisbB3PRLR |
| At the moment it is not obvious that Theresa May will be willing to abandon her red lines. As Politico Europe reports, asked what principles would govern her approach to these cross-party talks, May’s spokesman told journalists: | At the moment it is not obvious that Theresa May will be willing to abandon her red lines. As Politico Europe reports, asked what principles would govern her approach to these cross-party talks, May’s spokesman told journalists: |
| We want to deliver an orderly Brexit with a deal. One that protects our union, gives us control of our borders, laws and money, and means we have an independent trade policy. It’s for others to set out their positions — but we want to identify what would be required to secure the backing of the house, consistent with what we believe to be the result of the referendum. | We want to deliver an orderly Brexit with a deal. One that protects our union, gives us control of our borders, laws and money, and means we have an independent trade policy. It’s for others to set out their positions — but we want to identify what would be required to secure the backing of the house, consistent with what we believe to be the result of the referendum. |
| That does sound like a restatement of the red lines, only in slightly fuzzier terms than declared previously. The reference to a new approach being consistent with the result of the referendum implies that May will continue to rule out a second referendum. It also suggests May would have objections to a plan to keep the UK in the customs union for good - because that would stop the UK being able to strike its own trade deals. | That does sound like a restatement of the red lines, only in slightly fuzzier terms than declared previously. The reference to a new approach being consistent with the result of the referendum implies that May will continue to rule out a second referendum. It also suggests May would have objections to a plan to keep the UK in the customs union for good - because that would stop the UK being able to strike its own trade deals. |
| Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader, was on ITV’s Good Morning Britain this morning. He said he thought parliament would not allow Brexit to happen on 29 March. He said: | Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader, was on ITV’s Good Morning Britain this morning. He said he thought parliament would not allow Brexit to happen on 29 March. He said: |
| These are extraordinary circumstances. What you have got, probably for the first in the history of our nation, is a parliament that refuses point blank to accept the will of the people. We voted for Brexit, we backed it up in a general election the following year and a majority of the House of Commons don’t want it. | These are extraordinary circumstances. What you have got, probably for the first in the history of our nation, is a parliament that refuses point blank to accept the will of the people. We voted for Brexit, we backed it up in a general election the following year and a majority of the House of Commons don’t want it. |
| Under the legislation, 500 MPs voted for article 50. It said explicitly if we don’t get a withdrawal agreement, we just leave on 29 March. That was backed up by the Referendum Act that just said we leave on 29 March. | Under the legislation, 500 MPs voted for article 50. It said explicitly if we don’t get a withdrawal agreement, we just leave on 29 March. That was backed up by the Referendum Act that just said we leave on 29 March. |
| However, let me be honest with you, I do not believe that Mr Bercow as speaker and our parliament will allow it to happen. If you want my prediction, I believe the article 50 leaving date will be extended. | However, let me be honest with you, I do not believe that Mr Bercow as speaker and our parliament will allow it to happen. If you want my prediction, I believe the article 50 leaving date will be extended. |
| He also said it was “bizarre” that Theresa May had not resigned. | He also said it was “bizarre” that Theresa May had not resigned. |
| It is absolutely bizarre … the rest of the world is looking on with incredulity at what they think is a great country being led so badly, in such a shambolic way. It’s not good for our standing in the world, it’s not good for investment into Britain. We need a resolution, there is a way out. It is the legislation, we should leave on 29 March. | It is absolutely bizarre … the rest of the world is looking on with incredulity at what they think is a great country being led so badly, in such a shambolic way. It’s not good for our standing in the world, it’s not good for investment into Britain. We need a resolution, there is a way out. It is the legislation, we should leave on 29 March. |
| Here is a Guardian Opinion panel on what should happen next in the Brexit crisis, with contributions from Matthew d’Ancona, Katy Balls, Aditya Chakrabortty and Gaby Hinsliff. | Here is a Guardian Opinion panel on what should happen next in the Brexit crisis, with contributions from Matthew d’Ancona, Katy Balls, Aditya Chakrabortty and Gaby Hinsliff. |
| How should this Brexit crisis be fixed? Our writers’ verdicts | Matthew d’Ancona and others | How should this Brexit crisis be fixed? Our writers’ verdicts | Matthew d’Ancona and others |
| Ireland would not object if Britain asked for an extension to article 50, the deputy prime minister, Simon Coveney, told RTE. | Ireland would not object if Britain asked for an extension to article 50, the deputy prime minister, Simon Coveney, told RTE. |
| He also brushed aside comments caught on mic on an off-guard moment last night in which he warned a fellow politician not to talk about potential checks at the border in the event of no deal for fear of a backlash. | He also brushed aside comments caught on mic on an off-guard moment last night in which he warned a fellow politician not to talk about potential checks at the border in the event of no deal for fear of a backlash. |
| “We need to hold our nerve this week,” he told RTE’s Morning Ireland. The ratification “didn’t go well, clearly.” | “We need to hold our nerve this week,” he told RTE’s Morning Ireland. The ratification “didn’t go well, clearly.” |
| We will have to wait and see. There is an onus on the British parliament and the British government to propose an alternative that is viable if we are going to avoid a no-deal Brexit. | We will have to wait and see. There is an onus on the British parliament and the British government to propose an alternative that is viable if we are going to avoid a no-deal Brexit. |
| Asked about the gaffe by Shane Ross, the transport minister, at yesterday evening’s no-deal contingency planning briefing by the government, when Ross said he anticipated checks on lorries coming from Scotland across the border into Ireland, Coveney said Ross had meant that there would be “minimal checks” and these could be done at sea. | Asked about the gaffe by Shane Ross, the transport minister, at yesterday evening’s no-deal contingency planning briefing by the government, when Ross said he anticipated checks on lorries coming from Scotland across the border into Ireland, Coveney said Ross had meant that there would be “minimal checks” and these could be done at sea. |
| In a private conversation with his transport minister caught on tape when he thought his mic was off, Coveney indicated ministers should not talk about the potential for border checks. He told Shane Ross: | In a private conversation with his transport minister caught on tape when he thought his mic was off, Coveney indicated ministers should not talk about the potential for border checks. He told Shane Ross: |
| Once you start talking about checks anywhere near the Border, people will start delving into that and all of a sudden we’ll be the government that reintroduced a physical border on the island of Ireland. | Once you start talking about checks anywhere near the Border, people will start delving into that and all of a sudden we’ll be the government that reintroduced a physical border on the island of Ireland. |
| Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Matthew Weaver. | Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Matthew Weaver. |
| The Andrea Leadsom Today programme interview, in which she played down the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn being included in the cross-party talks on an alternative Brexit plan that Theresa May is planning, does not seem to have gone down well. | The Andrea Leadsom Today programme interview, in which she played down the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn being included in the cross-party talks on an alternative Brexit plan that Theresa May is planning, does not seem to have gone down well. |
| Here is some political reaction. | Here is some political reaction. |
| From Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader: | From Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader: |
| Refusing to talk to the Leader of the Opposition and sticking to failed red lines would be a woeful failure to rise to the moment. Strongly urge the Prime Minister to try and do so. | Refusing to talk to the Leader of the Opposition and sticking to failed red lines would be a woeful failure to rise to the moment. Strongly urge the Prime Minister to try and do so. |
| From Yvette Cooper, the Labour chair of the Commons home affairs committee (and exactly the sort of senior parliamentarian that May seemed to have in mind when she announced her plan for cross-party talks): | From Yvette Cooper, the Labour chair of the Commons home affairs committee (and exactly the sort of senior parliamentarian that May seemed to have in mind when she announced her plan for cross-party talks): |
| Andrea Leadsom making a mockery of Theresa May’s proposal for cross party talks this morning. Ludicrous & unworkable if PM won’t even talk to @jeremycorbyn & other party leaders. PM has to accept she failed by 230 votes - she can’t just keep digging in | Andrea Leadsom making a mockery of Theresa May’s proposal for cross party talks this morning. Ludicrous & unworkable if PM won’t even talk to @jeremycorbyn & other party leaders. PM has to accept she failed by 230 votes - she can’t just keep digging in |
| And this is from Lucy Powell, another senior Labour MP: | And this is from Lucy Powell, another senior Labour MP: |
| Totally agree https://t.co/saAsEM2621 | Totally agree https://t.co/saAsEM2621 |
| From the Labour party: | From the Labour party: |
| Disappointed @BBCr4today failed to correct @andrealeadsom's obviously inaccurate claim that Labour doesn't have an alternative plan. We have been promoting it for months: a new CU, a close relationship with SM, no race to the bottom on rights. | Disappointed @BBCr4today failed to correct @andrealeadsom's obviously inaccurate claim that Labour doesn't have an alternative plan. We have been promoting it for months: a new CU, a close relationship with SM, no race to the bottom on rights. |
| And here is some comment from journalists. | And here is some comment from journalists. |
| From the BBC’s Norman Smith: | From the BBC’s Norman Smith: |
| Sounds like Govt's definition of "senior parliamentarians" does not include Jeremy Corbyn | Sounds like Govt's definition of "senior parliamentarians" does not include Jeremy Corbyn |
| Hmm...Govt decision not to delay article 50 wd seem to blow a hole in prospects for any cross party consensus. | Hmm...Govt decision not to delay article 50 wd seem to blow a hole in prospects for any cross party consensus. |
| From the Daily Mirror’s Pippa Crerar | From the Daily Mirror’s Pippa Crerar |
| Leadsom argues PM *does* have a “fresh approach” by sounding out Commons to see where majority lies. But May has boxed herself in on customs union, extending article 50 and second referendum. So what’s the way forward? We already know her skills of persuasion are lacking. | Leadsom argues PM *does* have a “fresh approach” by sounding out Commons to see where majority lies. But May has boxed herself in on customs union, extending article 50 and second referendum. So what’s the way forward? We already know her skills of persuasion are lacking. |
| From the Guardian’s Jessica Elgot | From the Guardian’s Jessica Elgot |
| Sorry, but if the PM wants to leave with a deal but won’t budge on red lines like customs union, what exactly is she going to be talking about with these “senior parliamentarians”? | Sorry, but if the PM wants to leave with a deal but won’t budge on red lines like customs union, what exactly is she going to be talking about with these “senior parliamentarians”? |