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| Brexit: Hunt says 'very, very angry voters' expect compromise as cross-party talks resume - live news | Brexit: Hunt says 'very, very angry voters' expect compromise as cross-party talks resume - live news |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| At the weekend, in a Telegraph article, Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, said that Theresa May could split the party if she tries to keep the UK in the customs union. He said: | |
| The temptation for the government now to do whatever is necessary to secure some kind of Brexit agreement is obvious but it must be resisted. To reach an agreement with Labour that locked the United Kingdom into the customs union might pull in enough Labour votes to allow an agreement to limp over the line but the price could be a catastrophic split in the Conservative party and at a time when the opposition is led by dangerous extremists, the consequences for our country would be unthinkable. | |
| This morning Philip Hammond, the chancellor, played down the prospect of the party dividing. Speaking in Paris, where he is attending a meeting of finance ministers, he said: | |
| The Conservative party is a very broad church. Let’s be honest, Europe has been a fractious issue within the party for 45 years but there are many other things that unite us and I am sure we will get through this, we will get beyond it and I’m sure we will go on presenting a broad, right-of-centre offer to the British people that will be attractive to them. | |
| He also admitted the European elections would be “difficult” for his party. He said: | |
| The European elections are going to be difficult in the circumstances; the British people have voted to leave the European Union, it’s obviously challenging to them go and ask them to vote in a European election. | |
| But we have to do this, we are legally obliged to do it and we will get on with it. | |
| Here is the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on where she thinks we are with the cross-party Brexit talks. | Here is the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on where she thinks we are with the cross-party Brexit talks. |
| 1. Will the cross party talks get anywhere this week? No 10 trying to get Labour over the line by presenting withdrawal agreement as a 'stepping stone' - ie hold your nose for now and you can carve out your own deal if you win the next election | 1. Will the cross party talks get anywhere this week? No 10 trying to get Labour over the line by presenting withdrawal agreement as a 'stepping stone' - ie hold your nose for now and you can carve out your own deal if you win the next election |
| 2. Key to that is promise of a 'temporary customs union' - Labour sources warn if that's all it is, that's what's already in the withdrawal agreement anyway plus a few months, and doesn't add up to anything substantially new | 2. Key to that is promise of a 'temporary customs union' - Labour sources warn if that's all it is, that's what's already in the withdrawal agreement anyway plus a few months, and doesn't add up to anything substantially new |
| 3. Senior govt source says it IS possible though to see a way to a deal, but unlikely to be resolved this week, and their aim is not to create some kind of May-Corbyn Rose Garden moment (imagine!) but to set out a path to get the Withdrawal Bill to Commons with a fair wind | 3. Senior govt source says it IS possible though to see a way to a deal, but unlikely to be resolved this week, and their aim is not to create some kind of May-Corbyn Rose Garden moment (imagine!) but to set out a path to get the Withdrawal Bill to Commons with a fair wind |
| 4. Hope then to get the Bill to Committee stage where MP s would make decisions day by day - important to understand that's where Number 10 hopes this might be heading - maybe more a process to get sustainable buy in from Labour front bench than carving deal in stone | 4. Hope then to get the Bill to Committee stage where MP s would make decisions day by day - important to understand that's where Number 10 hopes this might be heading - maybe more a process to get sustainable buy in from Labour front bench than carving deal in stone |
| 5. Clouds over May's leadership also make it harder by the day to get anything agreed - labour source says 'we are not just worried about this being ripped up in 2021, we're worried about it being ripped up in October 2019' | 5. Clouds over May's leadership also make it harder by the day to get anything agreed - labour source says 'we are not just worried about this being ripped up in 2021, we're worried about it being ripped up in October 2019' |
| 6. There is added momentum to talks today because Tories fresh from absolute hammering in council elex on Friday and Labour had terrible night too - but that bit of fresh impetus doesn't magic away the real problems they have to overcome if there's to be a deal | 6. There is added momentum to talks today because Tories fresh from absolute hammering in council elex on Friday and Labour had terrible night too - but that bit of fresh impetus doesn't magic away the real problems they have to overcome if there's to be a deal |
| Why was Jeremy Hunt suggesting that a temporary customs union with the EU might be acceptable? (See 9.02am.) Because, according to a report in the Sunday Times at the weekend, this idea is at the centre of the plan that Theresa May is hoping Jeremy Corbyn will agree to. | Why was Jeremy Hunt suggesting that a temporary customs union with the EU might be acceptable? (See 9.02am.) Because, according to a report in the Sunday Times at the weekend, this idea is at the centre of the plan that Theresa May is hoping Jeremy Corbyn will agree to. |
| Here is an extract from Tim Shipman’s story about this (paywall) yesterday. | Here is an extract from Tim Shipman’s story about this (paywall) yesterday. |
| The Sunday Times has learnt [May] will outline plans for a comprehensive but temporary customs arrangement with the EU lasting until the next general election, which Corbyn will be able to depict as a Tory cave-in to his demands. | The Sunday Times has learnt [May] will outline plans for a comprehensive but temporary customs arrangement with the EU lasting until the next general election, which Corbyn will be able to depict as a Tory cave-in to his demands. |
| May and her negotiating team will agree that Britain will also align with a wider range of EU single market regulations on goods. Finally, they will enshrine in law that the UK will mirror all EU legislation on workers’ rights. | May and her negotiating team will agree that Britain will also align with a wider range of EU single market regulations on goods. Finally, they will enshrine in law that the UK will mirror all EU legislation on workers’ rights. |
| “There are three main areas: customs, goods alignment and workers’ rights,” said one source involved in the talks. “The Conservative party will have to suck up concessions on each of those” ... | “There are three main areas: customs, goods alignment and workers’ rights,” said one source involved in the talks. “The Conservative party will have to suck up concessions on each of those” ... |
| Under the plans, the two parties would agree to maintain the customs arrangement — with a new name — until 2022, when the next election is due. “At that point Labour could use their manifesto to argue for a softer Brexit if they wanted to and a new Conservative prime minister could argue for a harder Brexit,” a source said. | Under the plans, the two parties would agree to maintain the customs arrangement — with a new name — until 2022, when the next election is due. “At that point Labour could use their manifesto to argue for a softer Brexit if they wanted to and a new Conservative prime minister could argue for a harder Brexit,” a source said. |
| A week ago today Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary and a leading candidate to replace Theresa May, was on the Today programme. He was asked about the government/Labour talks aimed at finding a Brexit compromise, and the speculation that this might involve the UK staying in a customs union with the EU, and he was clear that he thought this was a bad idea. He told the programme: | A week ago today Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary and a leading candidate to replace Theresa May, was on the Today programme. He was asked about the government/Labour talks aimed at finding a Brexit compromise, and the speculation that this might involve the UK staying in a customs union with the EU, and he was clear that he thought this was a bad idea. He told the programme: |
| If we were proposing, which I very much hope we don’t, to sign up to the customs union, then I think there is a risk that you would lose more Conservative MPs than you would gain LabourMPs. | If we were proposing, which I very much hope we don’t, to sign up to the customs union, then I think there is a risk that you would lose more Conservative MPs than you would gain LabourMPs. |
| If, on the other hand, it was something different, then the result could be different as well. | If, on the other hand, it was something different, then the result could be different as well. |
| This morning he was back on the programme. Again, he was asked about a custom union. But this time his response was noticeably different. He said: | This morning he was back on the programme. Again, he was asked about a custom union. But this time his response was noticeably different. He said: |
| I have always said that I’m not a believer in the customs union as a sustainable long-term solution. I want to look at whatever deal is come to between the parties, and I know this is a crucial week, and I would not want to affect the progress of those talks by pronouncing in advance. | I have always said that I’m not a believer in the customs union as a sustainable long-term solution. I want to look at whatever deal is come to between the parties, and I know this is a crucial week, and I would not want to affect the progress of those talks by pronouncing in advance. |
| But I think this is a time when we have to be willing to make compromises on all sides because the message of last week was that voters for both main parties are very, very angry about the fact that Brexit hasn’t been delivered. | But I think this is a time when we have to be willing to make compromises on all sides because the message of last week was that voters for both main parties are very, very angry about the fact that Brexit hasn’t been delivered. |
| I personally think that any kind of permanent customs union wouldn’t work in the long run because our economy is too big, but let’s see what the parties come up with. | I personally think that any kind of permanent customs union wouldn’t work in the long run because our economy is too big, but let’s see what the parties come up with. |
| There are two significant lines in this. | There are two significant lines in this. |
| Hunt stressed the need for compromise, citing last week’s local election results as strengthening the need for both sides to relax their red lines. | Hunt stressed the need for compromise, citing last week’s local election results as strengthening the need for both sides to relax their red lines. |
| He said that he was opposed to the UK being in a permanent customs union with the EU, implying that a temporary customs union plan would be acceptable. | He said that he was opposed to the UK being in a permanent customs union with the EU, implying that a temporary customs union plan would be acceptable. |
| Here is the agenda for the day. | Here is the agenda for the day. |
| 9.30am: Theresa May chairs cabinet. | 9.30am: Theresa May chairs cabinet. |
| 11am: Nigel Farage holds a Brexit party press conference. | 11am: Nigel Farage holds a Brexit party press conference. |
| 11am: John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, speaks at the launch of a report calling for a universal basic income to be piloted in the UK. As my colleague Richard Partington reports, although the report does not represent Labour policy, its publication is likely to be viewed as moving the party closer towards testing a form of UBI should it be voted into power. | 11am: John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, speaks at the launch of a report calling for a universal basic income to be piloted in the UK. As my colleague Richard Partington reports, although the report does not represent Labour policy, its publication is likely to be viewed as moving the party closer towards testing a form of UBI should it be voted into power. |
| 12pm: Downing Street lobby briefing. | 12pm: Downing Street lobby briefing. |
| 1pm: Karen Bradley, the Northern Ireland secretary, and Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister, host talks aimed at restoring powering-sharing in Northern Ireland. | 1pm: Karen Bradley, the Northern Ireland secretary, and Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister, host talks aimed at restoring powering-sharing in Northern Ireland. |
| 2pm: Rory Stewart, the new international development secretary, gives evidence to the Commons international development committee. | 2pm: Rory Stewart, the new international development secretary, gives evidence to the Commons international development committee. |
| At some point today the government/Labour cross-party talks on Brexit will resume. | At some point today the government/Labour cross-party talks on Brexit will resume. |
| And also at some point Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, will hold a meeting with May at which he is expected to tell her that Tory MPs want her to set out a timetable for standing down if there is no Brexit deal. | And also at some point Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, will hold a meeting with May at which he is expected to tell her that Tory MPs want her to set out a timetable for standing down if there is no Brexit deal. |
| As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I plan to post a summary at lunchtime and another when I wrap up. | As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I plan to post a summary at lunchtime and another when I wrap up. |
| You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe round-up of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads. | You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe round-up of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads. |
| If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow. | If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow. |
| I try to monitor the comments BTL but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply ATL, although I can’t promise to do this for everyone. | I try to monitor the comments BTL but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply ATL, although I can’t promise to do this for everyone. |
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