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Nigel Farage hit by milkshake in Newcastle - live news Nigel Farage hit by milkshake in Newcastle - live news
(30 minutes later)
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has been in Cyprus where he has warned that the bloc is preparing for a no-deal – even if it is a scenario that would not be of its choice. He told journalists:
We have offered all options to the United Kingdom, from the single market to the customs union or a free trade agreement. We are now waiting for clarity from the United Kingdom. In the meantime, we keep preparing for a no-deal. This is not, and will not be, the EU’s choice. It is for the UK to take its responsibilities.
The withdrawal agreement remained the country’s only way to securing an orderly transition, if it still wanted to leave, he told a press conference after flying to the island to especially discuss Brexit with the island’s president Nicos Anastasiades. Cyprus has two British military bases – a legacy of its colonial era – whose post-Brexit future has been the focus of talks.
“Today the fundamental choices in front of the United Kingdom remain the same: deal, no-deal, no Brexit,” Barnier said.
Whatever happens and whatever the political situation in the UK, the issues and solutions remain the same.
Let me be clear: if the UK still wants, ratifying the withdrawal agreement is the only way to secure a transition period. That period of transition would give the United Kingdom time to sort out its negotiation positions. This transition period would also give time to both sides to figure out what specific arrangements are necessary in relation to the Northern Irish border on top of the overall EU/UK relationship.
The Electoral Commission has said it will visit the Brexit party offices tomorrow to check it is complying with the electoral law about donations, the BBC’s Jessica Parker reports.
Electoral Commission to "visit" the Brexit Party's office tomorrow and "conduct a review" of its donations system pic.twitter.com/au0uFFHkXg
Gordon Brown has accused the Scottish National party of pursuing a “far more extreme” version of independence than it has before, as he sought to shore up Labour’s fragile vote in Thursday’s European elections.
He told a Labour election rally in Glasgow, where he failed to answer any questions from the media or party members, that the SNP had now abandoned the “soft independence” pursued by Alex Salmond, the then first minister, during the 2014 independence referendum.
Then Salmond had wanted to leave the so-called political or parliamentary union between Scotland and the rest of the UK, but retain the monetary union by keeping the pound, and staying in the so-called social union by sharing pensions and some welfare powers.
However, the SNP’s spring conference narrowly voted to pursue leaving sterling and setting up an independent Scottish currency immediately after a yes vote in any future independence referendum. At the same time, the SNP would retain or seek European Union membership.
Brown told the Labour rally:
Just look at the decisions made by the SNP conference. You know in 2014 Alex Salmond told us we were only leaving the political union. That was all. We were staying in the other unions. Well what is the policy now? It’s a far more extreme version of independence. They have moved, if you like, from soft independence to hard independence. Because they will now leave the British pound, they will leave the UK currency union.
[Of] course they want to stay in the European Union after they leave Britain so they’ll leave the UK customs union as well. They have to leave the UK single market; they will leave the UK social welfare union, so pensions and everything else will have to be decided in Scotland and not decided as part of the UK pension scheme we have all contributed to.
So this is a far more extreme policy that the SNP are now putting forward and people have got to recognise that if you vote for the SNP on Thursday you’re voting to give recognition and legitimacy and credibility to a more extreme form of independence than ever we have seen.
Scottish Labour is desperately worried about a haemorrhage of support from pro-remain voters to the SNP, the Scottish Greens or Liberal Democrats in Thursday’s election. The polls show it is likely to hold only one of its two European parliament seats, with the SNP on course to win three of Scotland’s six places.
Brown sought to shore up support for the party by insisting only Labour wanted to focus on policies which affected ordinary voters’ every day lives such as the NHS, schools and the economy. The SNP and Tories, he said, had:
a constitutional obsession; here you’ve got a never-ending, non-stop Punch and Judy show – the Conservatives versus the SNP, fighting it out over the minutiae of the constitution and ignoring the main issues that affect the people of Scotland.
David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, has urged Conservative MPs not to vote for Theresa May’s EU withdrawal agreement bill because it would tie the hands of her successor. Davis did vote for May’s deal when it was defeated for the third time, in March, and his decision to revert to opposing it suggests she is at risk of an even bigger defeat at the next vote, in early June. (See 9.20am.) Downing Street said at tomorrow’s cabinet ministers will discuss whether or not to hold indicative votes before the bill’s second reading. (See 11.57am.)David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, has urged Conservative MPs not to vote for Theresa May’s EU withdrawal agreement bill because it would tie the hands of her successor. Davis did vote for May’s deal when it was defeated for the third time, in March, and his decision to revert to opposing it suggests she is at risk of an even bigger defeat at the next vote, in early June. (See 9.20am.) Downing Street said at tomorrow’s cabinet ministers will discuss whether or not to hold indicative votes before the bill’s second reading. (See 11.57am.)
Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, has dismissed a call from Gordon Brown, the Labour former prime minister, for an investigation into his party’s finances as an “absolutely disgusting smear”. (See 12.45am.)Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, has dismissed a call from Gordon Brown, the Labour former prime minister, for an investigation into his party’s finances as an “absolutely disgusting smear”. (See 12.45am.)
Farage has been hit by a milkshake while campaiging in Newcastle. (See 1.25pm.)Farage has been hit by a milkshake while campaiging in Newcastle. (See 1.25pm.)
Brown has accused the SNP of pushing for “hard independence”. (See 9.52am.)Brown has accused the SNP of pushing for “hard independence”. (See 9.52am.)
Hostile state actors – spies, assassins or hackers directed by the government of another country – are to be targeted by refreshed espionage and treason laws, the home secretary has announced.Hostile state actors – spies, assassins or hackers directed by the government of another country – are to be targeted by refreshed espionage and treason laws, the home secretary has announced.
The top Change UK choice in Scotland for this week’s European elections has written an open letter to his fellow party candidates urging them to consider following his lead and voting for the Liberal Democrats or other remain parties.The top Change UK choice in Scotland for this week’s European elections has written an open letter to his fellow party candidates urging them to consider following his lead and voting for the Liberal Democrats or other remain parties.
The British government is appointing an international ambassador dedicated to the promotion of human rights, in a move that is likely to put the UK’s patchy approach to autocratic regimes under greater scrutiny. As Patrick Wintour reports, the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has appointed Rita French, formerly his principal private secretary, to take on the task of promoting the UK’s work at the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council and the cause of human rights internationally. The role is the first of its kind for the British government, although a clutch of other countries including France, Germany and the Netherlands have had the role, some for more than a decade, often taking outspoken positions with countries such as China and Saudi Arabia.The British government is appointing an international ambassador dedicated to the promotion of human rights, in a move that is likely to put the UK’s patchy approach to autocratic regimes under greater scrutiny. As Patrick Wintour reports, the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has appointed Rita French, formerly his principal private secretary, to take on the task of promoting the UK’s work at the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council and the cause of human rights internationally. The role is the first of its kind for the British government, although a clutch of other countries including France, Germany and the Netherlands have had the role, some for more than a decade, often taking outspoken positions with countries such as China and Saudi Arabia.
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has said that leaving the single market would be “catastrophic” for Scotland. Speaking ahead of a visit to a fish processing plant in Aberdeen with SNP MEP candidate Christian Allard, she said:Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has said that leaving the single market would be “catastrophic” for Scotland. Speaking ahead of a visit to a fish processing plant in Aberdeen with SNP MEP candidate Christian Allard, she said:
The free movement of goods and people across Europe is vital for Scotland’s economic success. But those benefits that we all enjoy are plunged into peril by Brexit.The free movement of goods and people across Europe is vital for Scotland’s economic success. But those benefits that we all enjoy are plunged into peril by Brexit.
The EU accounts for more than half of Scottish exports - worth £15.7bn to our economy. Blocking Scotland from trading freely with the European Union post-Brexit will be catastrophic to businesses here.The EU accounts for more than half of Scottish exports - worth £15.7bn to our economy. Blocking Scotland from trading freely with the European Union post-Brexit will be catastrophic to businesses here.
Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, has been hit by a milkshake while campaigning in Newcastle. These are from the Newcastle Chronicle’s Sean Seddon.Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, has been hit by a milkshake while campaigning in Newcastle. These are from the Newcastle Chronicle’s Sean Seddon.
Nigel Farage hit by a milkshake in Newcastle city centre. He’s furious. Telling his security “it’s a failure” and “how did that happen”. He’s just been whisked away in a car. Full story on https://t.co/YZjeNpfVJw soon. pic.twitter.com/FpXDS8cGTGNigel Farage hit by a milkshake in Newcastle city centre. He’s furious. Telling his security “it’s a failure” and “how did that happen”. He’s just been whisked away in a car. Full story on https://t.co/YZjeNpfVJw soon. pic.twitter.com/FpXDS8cGTG
Chaotic scenes in Newcastle city centre as Nigel Farage hit by a milkshake. He’s been whisked away by his security. This is the aftermath. pic.twitter.com/qxz8yay492Chaotic scenes in Newcastle city centre as Nigel Farage hit by a milkshake. He’s been whisked away by his security. This is the aftermath. pic.twitter.com/qxz8yay492
Here are some tweets from journalists attending the launch of Esther McVey’s Blue Collar Conservatism campaign.Here are some tweets from journalists attending the launch of Esther McVey’s Blue Collar Conservatism campaign.
At the launch of Esther McVey’s blue-collar Conservatism launch. One of the sandwich choices is a ‘vegan sunshine’ wrap.At the launch of Esther McVey’s blue-collar Conservatism launch. One of the sandwich choices is a ‘vegan sunshine’ wrap.
Standing room only at the Esther McVey launch - mainly because there aren’t any seats and she’ll be speaking to four TV cameras #commontouch pic.twitter.com/ymab3NVLbAStanding room only at the Esther McVey launch - mainly because there aren’t any seats and she’ll be speaking to four TV cameras #commontouch pic.twitter.com/ymab3NVLbA
I’m at the launch event in Parliament for a group calling itself “Blue Collar Conservatism”, which appears to mainly be the vehicle for the leadership ambitions of ex-minister and Brexiter ultra Esther McVey. Fair to say she’s seen as an outsider in the upcoming race.I’m at the launch event in Parliament for a group calling itself “Blue Collar Conservatism”, which appears to mainly be the vehicle for the leadership ambitions of ex-minister and Brexiter ultra Esther McVey. Fair to say she’s seen as an outsider in the upcoming race.
Slight technical problems at the launch of Esther McVey’s Blue Collar Conservativism campaign as the “what we’ve done so far” video fails, at first, to play pic.twitter.com/GDtZTPKXGpSlight technical problems at the launch of Esther McVey’s Blue Collar Conservativism campaign as the “what we’ve done so far” video fails, at first, to play pic.twitter.com/GDtZTPKXGp
Nigel Farage, the UK leader, has described Gordon Brown’s call for the Brexit party to be subject to an Electoral Commission investigation into the source of its funding as an “absolutely disgusting smear”. Farage told BBC News:Nigel Farage, the UK leader, has described Gordon Brown’s call for the Brexit party to be subject to an Electoral Commission investigation into the source of its funding as an “absolutely disgusting smear”. Farage told BBC News:
This from the man who was part of a Labour party that, through Lord Levy, were, shall we say, making a lot of big donors members of the House of Lords. How dare he?This from the man who was part of a Labour party that, through Lord Levy, were, shall we say, making a lot of big donors members of the House of Lords. How dare he?
Most of our money has been raised by people giving £25 to become registered supporters. And over 100,000 - nearly 110,000 - of them now have done that. And, frankly, this smacks, I think, of jealousy, because the other parties simply can’t do this.Most of our money has been raised by people giving £25 to become registered supporters. And over 100,000 - nearly 110,000 - of them now have done that. And, frankly, this smacks, I think, of jealousy, because the other parties simply can’t do this.
Heidi Allen, Change UK’s interim leader, will apply for an emergency debate later on revoking article 50.Heidi Allen, Change UK’s interim leader, will apply for an emergency debate later on revoking article 50.
After all this, Mr Speaker will hear an SO24 application from @heidiallen75 on ‘Revoking Article 50’.After all this, Mr Speaker will hear an SO24 application from @heidiallen75 on ‘Revoking Article 50’.
Sajid Javid, the home secretary, gave a speech this morning in which he said he would use a new power to ban British nationals from entering or remaining in parts of conflict-stricken Syria. As my colleague Jamie Grierson reports, Javid was asked about his own leadership ambitions at the event. Javid was even less forthcoming than Matt Hancock. (See 9.42am.) He said:
The prime minister has said she will step down, when she does there will be no shortage of candidates and whether I’m one of them, you’ll have to wait and see.
This is from my colleague Severin Carrell, who is at at the Labour event in Glasgow where Gordon Brown has been speaking.
Gordon Brown addresses a ⁦@scottishlabour⁩ #Euro2019 election rally: accuses @theSNP of not answering key questions but fails to take any questions from the press or Labour activists - no time to ask what he *really* thinks of ⁦@UKLabour⁩ stance on #Brexit pic.twitter.com/UfOiJZTvl2
Change UK and the Brexit party have spent more on Facebook advertising than any other party in the lead-up to the European elections, new figures show. As the Press Association reports, data from the social media network showed Change UK spent a total of £107,442 on the platform in the 30 days from April 19. Nigel Farage’s party - currently leading in several polls - spent £95,222 over the same period, which ran until May 18. The Liberal Democrats were the fourth biggest spenders with £76,102 spent over the period on mostly anti-Brexit ads. The party was behind Facebook itself, which spent £86,457 on adverts assuring the public that it was taking action on misinformation.
I’m just back from the Number 10 lobby briefing. On Brexit - indeed, on most topics - it did not take us much beyond what we already know. Here are the main points.
Theresa May is expected to speak to cabinet colleagues today ahead of a cabinet meeting tomorrow where ministers will discuss whether or not to hold so-called indicative votes before the vote on the EU withdrawal agreement bill in the first of June, the prime minister’s spokesman said. But the spokesman would not give any indication as to whether the indicative votes would go ahead before the bill’s second reading debate (as one government leak last week suggested) or not. In his Today interview this morning Matt Hancock, the health secretary, suggested there was no point holding indicative votes before the second reading debate because MPs could express their views through amendments to the bill as it was going through parliament. At lobby the spokesman sidestepped a question about whether May agreed with Hancock on this or not.
The spokesman was unable to confirm reports saying May is planning to give a speech defending the Brexit bill this week.
The spokesman would not say when the EU withdrawal agreement bill would be published.
The spokesman insisted that the bill would amount to a “new, improved deal”. He would not give details, but he said there would be provisions designed to assure MPs the government would be working hard to make sure alternative arrangements to the backstop could be in place by the end of 2020.
The spokesman refused to confirm a report claiming that the vote on the bill has been pencilled in for Friday 7 June.
Jonathan Bartley, the Green party’s co-leader, told Sky’s All Out Politics this morning that all European Green parties were jointly calling for EU legislation to establish a universal basic income across the EU.
The party’s manifesto (pdf) sets this ambition for the European parliament for the next five years:
Work with member states and stakeholders to establish citizen basic income experiments to understand the viability and practical implementation of establishing a universal basic income for all EU citizens.
Asked why that was necessary, Bartley said the UK was “lagging so far behind when it comes to poverty”. He explained:
If you look at 1.6m emergency food bank parcels being issued last year by the Trussell Trust, if you look at the report from Human Rights Watch today about the state of poverty, and the UN rapporteur who is going to come out on Wednesday, I believe, with a very damning report on the state of poverty - something has to be done.
Bartley said, under the Green plan, the EU would legislate for a minimum income, but it would be up to member states to decide how they implemented it. He said it should be set at 60% of average income - around £17,000 a year in the UK.
And he rejected claims that there was economic evidence showing minimum income laws did not work. He said the Tories said 1m jobs would be lost if the government introduced a minimum wage, but those claims turned out to be untrue.
I’m off to the Number 10 lobby briefing now. I will post again after 11.30am.
Responding to the extracts from Gordon Brown’s speech released in advance (see 9.52am), the SNP said Brown should apologise to Scotland for campaigning against independence in 2014. Christian Allard, one of the party’s European elections candidates, said:
People in Scotland remember Gordon Brown as playing a key role in the campaign to ensure that we would continue having to live under Tory governments we didn’t vote for - and now that Tory Government is trying to drag Scotland out of the EU against our will.
So if he wants people to even consider listening to Labour on anything, Mr Brown should start by apologising to Scotland for the mess he has helped create.
While Labour are all over the place on Brexit, a vote for the SNP is a vote to stop Brexit.
Change UK has been criticised for not being very clear about its name. When eight Labour MPs and three Tories defected in the Commons, they originally set up as the Independent Group, because they were not a party at that stage. They were also known as TIG (The Independent Group), or the Tiggers. Then they established themselves as a proper party, Change UK, although early in the European elections campaign sometimes they described themselves as the remain alliance.
In an interview on the Today programme this morning Heidi Allen, the party’s interim leader, hinted that further change could be coming. Asked about claims that she could defect to the Liberal Democrats, she ruled that out. But then she said:
Will I stand again in South Cambridgeshire, my constituency, as Change UK? Whatever format, let’s hope we know, depends when the new general election comes, later rather than sooner. If we’ve managed to bring together other MPs from the House of Commons, the format might be slightly different. But, whatever the brand new world party looks like, at that point at the general election in South Cambridgeshire, absolutely, I’m not going back to the Conservatives.
When why she was suggesting Change UK could change its name again, Allen replied:
Because I want us to get bigger. I want us to get more successful, I want us to have more MPs, more opportunities, to change politics in this country ...
I see a modern world of coalition, where it isn’t just about two big parties. I think the whole way that parliament operates at Westminster needs a damn good shake-up, and I want to be part of that.
Gordon Brown, the Labour former prime minister, is speaking at an election campaign event in Glasgow this morning. As the Guardian reports, he will call for an investigation into the Brexit party’s finances.
But he will also claim that Scotland is being let down by the growing intransigence of the SNP and the Conservatives over independence and devolution. In particular, he will accuse the SNP of pushing for “hard independence”. According to extracts from his speech released in advance, he will say:
I fear for the future of Scotland unless it can break free from this non-stop, never-ending, constitution-obsessed SNP/Conservative Punch and Judy show.
Both parties bang on day after day about independence, continuously ratcheting up the decibel levels with their ever-more hard-line policy stances - the SNP for all-out independence, nothing less, that now has become even more extreme with their plans to abandon the British pound and exit the UK customs union and single market - which would not now count as a soft independence, but a hard independence.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives increasingly reveal their hand as hostile to devolution - and because in Scotland they can’t talk about Europe or about their policy for austerity they talk about nothing else than the constitutional issues.
Essentially, we have two parties dug-in for a trench warfare that suits both of them because they have nothing positive to offer on any other issues.
In fact the two parties’ total neglect of the issues that really do affect people - our NHS, our schools, our law and order and our economy - can only have disastrous long-term consequences for the Scottish economy and for Scotland’s public services.
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is understood to be planning to stand for the Conservative party leadership. But in an interview on the Today programme this morning, he refused to confirm that he would be a candidate. He told the programme:
It’s flattering that lots of people have asked me to put my name forward and proposed to support me if I do but that isn’t the point, which is we still have to get this legislation to deliver Brexit through.
Asked if he was not announcing his bid because a recent poll of Conservative members put his support at just 1%, he said:
No, because the contest hasn’t started yet.
But, as he continued his answer, Hancock did go on to sum up his pitch for the top job in a sentence. He said:
I have a strong view about the sort of leader that we need - we need a leader not just for now but also for the future, we need to be absolutely four-square in the centre-ground of British politics.
A “leader ... for the future” means “someone young”. Hancock is just 40, meaning that he is the youngest of the cabinet-level contenders for the job.
And someone “in the centre-ground of British politics” means “not a rightwinger”. Most of the leading candidates in the contest are on the right of the party. Hancock himself is more aligned to the centre right, and he will be looking for support from this wing.
Yesterday, in an article for the Sunday Times (paywall), Theresa May said that when MPs vote on the EU withdrawal agreement bill in the first week of June, it would involve a “new, bold offer” with “an improved package of measures” that she hoped would win over some of those MPs who voted against her Brexit deal on the previous three occasions. In interviews this morning, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said that if MPs wanted Brexit to happen, they should vote for the bill at second reading; if they wanted to change the terms of Brexit, they could amend it later, he argued.
MPs 'have duty' to pass Theresa May's Brexit deal, says Hancock
But this morning the Daily Telegraph reports (paywall) that it has seen a summary of the bill sent to cabinet ministers last week and that it confirms that all the supposedly new concessions are ones that have been offered already.
A five-page summary of the bill sent to cabinet ministers last week contained no ideas on how to bridge the gap between the Tories and Labour on a possible customs union with the EU, and no fresh thinking on the Northern Irish backstop, which is designed to prevent a hard border in Ireland if no trade deal is agreed.
Instead, it promises to incorporate an idea first proposed by the Tory MP Sir Hugo Swire in January that would give parliament the final say on implementing the backstop, as well as an obligation for the government to “seek” alternative arrangements to the backstop by the end of 2020.
It would also incorporate an amendment first proposed to the third “meaningful vote” in March by the Labour MPs Lisa Nandy and Gareth Snell, which would give parliament a say in what the objectives of future trade negotiations should be.
In an attempt to appease the DUP, on whose votes Mrs May relies for her working majority, the document also says the Northern Ireland assembly - which has been suspended for the past two years - will be given a “role” in any decision over the backstop.
Sir Bill Cash, the Brexiteer Tory MP who has consistently voted against Mrs May’s deal, said: “This is pretty cosmetic stuff. It will not have any effect on leave-supporting MPs and in fact there are votes coming back to our side from people who backed the deal last time.”
Ominously for May, there are signs that the majority against her deal in June could be even bigger than the 58-vote majority against it in the last vote, in March. David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, supported her last time, and in an interview for the BBC’s Week in Westminster on Saturday he said he had not decided what he would do next time. But now he has, and he is voting against. Asked if he would vote for the bill, he told the Today programme this morning:
No. The reason I voted for the last two variants of it is that it had been modified a bit, but what was clear was if we didn’t get that through, there would be a chaotic consequential outcome. And that is what we are seeing now, this chaos.
And the trouble is - Matt [Hancock] was doing a good job of defending the line this morning. But this is not a great new offer; it’s a great new concession. What it will do, and this is the critical thing, is, if we pass that act, it opens things up so that the successor to the prime minister, the next prime minister, will have their hands tied. And I think the next prime minister must have the right to reset the negotiations on their terms.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, holds a walkabout in Exeter. Later he is holding campaign events in Newcastle, Halifax and Horwich.
11am: Downing Street lobby briefing.
11am: Gordon Brown, the former Labour prime minister, speaks at a Labour rally for the European elections in Glasgow.
1pm: Esther McVey, a candidate for the Conservative leadership, launches a Blue Collar Conservatism campaign.
1.45pm: Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, and Molly Scott Cato, the Green MEP candidate, hold a rally in Bristol.
2.30pm: Penny Mordaunt, the defence secretary, takes questions in the Commons for the fist time.
4pm: David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister, gives evidence to the public administration and constitutional affairs committee about the role of parliament in authorising the use of military force.
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.
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