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Michael Gove joins crowded Tory leadership race – live news
Gove and Leadsom join crowded Tory leadership race – as it happened
(over 1 year later)
Here are the key points and passages from Raab’s interview with Marr.
That’s it for today. Attention now switches to the European parliamentary elections.
Raab wants to renegotiate the withdrawal bill with a threat of walking out without a deal:
European elections 2019: final hours of voting before results announced - live
I would fight for a fairer deal in Brussels with negotiation to change the backstop arrangements and if not I would be clear we would leave on WTO terms in October.
You can follow the latest on the Tory leadership race here.
There is a clearly a reasonable ask that we can make, one that had the approval of the House of Commons around the so-called Brady amendment, in particular making sure we have to an exit from the backstop. We need to be absolutely resolute in a way that weren’t last time.
The Independent’s commentator John Rentoul points out that at least 118 Tory MPs, or 37% of the parliamentary party, have already declared their voting intentions, according to lists compiled by Guido Fawkes and Conservative Home.
One of the reasons [that the EU says they won’t budge on the withdrawal agreement] is that we were not resolute enough and we took no-deal off the table. I don’t want a WTO Brexit but unless you are willing to keep our promises as politicians we put ourselves in a much weaker position in terms of getting a deal, because if you are not willing to walk away from the negotiation it doesn’t focus the mind of the other side.
If the contest finished now Johnson would not make the final two candidates to be put to the wider membership.
Raab called for a united cabinet:
Numbers of Tory MPs publicly backing candidates. Dominic Raab has picked up 2 more. Updated combined totals of @GuidoFawkes & @ConHome lists:Jeremy Hunt 28Michael Gove 23Boris Johnson 22Dominic Raab 19Sajid Javid 10Matt Hancock 7Esther McVey 5Mark Harper 4
My experience was of being undermined by some others in government so we would need to have a very well organised number 10 operation and a united cabinet.
But it’s early days and this Matt cartoon reminds us that Tory MPs are not a reliable bunch when it comes to leadership voting intentions.
I resigned on principle because I tried very hard to fight for the deal that I’m still fighting for now. And when my advice wasn’t taken by the prime minister or indeed by the cabinet. I did the honourable thing.
pic.twitter.com/G2QTC5TFjb
On voting for Theresa May’s withdrawal bill on the third time of asking, Raab said:
One more for Boris Johnson? The Conservative MP, Sheryll Murray, says Johnson will make an excellent PM, but will she be voting for him?
I voted to avoid the European elections and any further extension. I only voted only to avoid an extension which was bad idea and I think I have been proved right about that.
I spoke to Boris yesterday. I think he would make an excellent Prime Minister @BorisJohnson pic.twitter.com/PphBkiR8YS
Raab ruled out an extension to article 50:
The recriminations in the Labour party about the European election campaign are getting increasingly bitter even before the results are known.
There is no case for a further extension. We have got to bring some finality to this. I will not asks for an extension. Of course if parliament legislates then we would be in a difficult position, but as the Institute for Government points out it would be very difficult for parliament to legislate against no deal or in favour an extension unless resolute prime minister is willing to acquiesce in that. And I would not.
According to ITV’s political editor Robert Peston, Labour MEP, John Howarth, said: “Had Labour’s ‘high command’ set out to lose an election they could not have gone about it in a more convincing way”.
Raab did not rule out working with Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party:
Labour MEP @JohnHowarth1958 launches furious attack on way Labour’s leaders conducted campaign for EU elections. See attached extracts from an email he sent. “Had Labour’s ‘high command’ set out to lose an election they could not have gone about it in a more convincing way” pic.twitter.com/n3cGqWhoEv
“I always listen to all sides of this debate, from Nigel Farage to others.”
Even before the results of the European elections are in
Asked if as leader he would enter an electoral pledge with Farage he said:
Even before the results of the European elections are in
“That’s not what I would be aiming for. My aim is not to cosy up with other parties, my aim is to keep Conservative promises, present an optimistic, aspirational vision of the future, then go and beat Jeremy Corbyn.”
Jeremy Hunt is winning the race for the number of MPs willing to express backing for a single candidate, according to Conservative Home.
Raab insisted his proposed tax cuts could be paid for:
It reckons 27 Tory MPs have come out in favour of the foreign secretary, with his predecessor Boris Johnson second on 20 MPs.
I’ve talked about raising the National Insurance threshold and I’ve talked about taking a penny off the basic rate of income tax. Overtime my ambition would be to get the basic rate down from 20p to 15p.
The environment secretary, Michael Gove, is hot on Johnson’s heals with the backing of 19 MPs. Raab is currently in fourth on 17 and Javid fifth with 10 MPs. No MPs have yet publicly backed Stewart, according to Conservative Home.
Taking penny off and [raising] the National Insurance threshold would come to around £15bn. We have got £26bn worth of headroom within our deficit target. I would cut down the number of Whitehall departments, cut out the bureaucracy. I would have a special commission looking at public sector procurement particularly in the NHS and the MoD. And then I would recycle roughly half of that into front line services and half into the tax cuts.
An earlier tally by the Guido Fawkes site had Gove and Raab neck and neck on 18 each, with Johnson third on 15.
Chancellor Philip Hammond has refused to rule out backing a no confidence vote in the government if the new leader went for a no-deal Brexit.
The bookies Betway say the odds on favourite Johnson have lengthened slightly from evens to 13-8.
Speaking to the Marr programme he said he had never voted against the Conservative whip, and did not want to start now.
Betway’s Alan Alger said: “The Tory leadership race is taking shape, albeit with no fewer than eight candidates so far, and Michael Gove is the latest to throw his hat into the ring.
But he added: “A prime minister has to command the confidence of the House of Commons. How will they govern if they have defied parliament on such an important issue?”
“Gove, previously at double-figure odds up until Sunday morning, is now a clear third in the betting at 5-1, behind Dominic Raab, 11-4, and 13-8 favourite Boris Johnson. Johnson has been eased out from evens in the wake of reports that he could attempt to push through a no deal Brexit.”
And he said if there was a no confidence vote on the issue of no-deal he said: “It would challenge not just me but very many of my colleagues”
The odds on Stewart have shortened from 14-1 to 11-1 despite the lack of MPs willing to express backing for the international development secretary.
Raab said if elected as leader he would listen to the Brexit party leader Nigel Farage.
Rory Stewart is keeping up the attacks on the hard-Brexiters over no deal.
He refused to rule out an electoral pact with the Brexit Party, but said it was not what he was aiming for.
We need more than that @lionelbarber. We need to acknowledge that a no-deal Brexit would in a single day undermine 400 years of our reputation for economic stability and competence. Any credible economic strategy for our future should rule it out. https://t.co/HvQG4iL1cl
InterestingDom Raab does not rule out forming an electoral pact with Nigel Farage and his Brexit Party if he becomes Conservative leader'I'm not going to answer hypothetical questions,' he says
The Independent focuses on the battle between the hard-Brexit front runners Dominic Raab and Boris Johnson.
Former Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, has confirmed he is running and he is prepared to leave the EU on WTO rules.
It counted that in his Marr interview, Raab said three times that he was “details-oriented man” and stressed his background as a lawyer. As the Indy notes this was “less-than subtle jab at his rival Boris Johnson”.
Appearing on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, he said he wanted to renegotiate the backstop or leave without a deal in October. Marr pointed out that he was not liked in Brussels. Raab said that showed he was doing a good job.
Here’s how things currently stand:
He also said he would not ask for an extension beyond 31 October. He said: “There’s no case for a further extension in October. I will not ask for one”.
Philip Hammond has warned Conservative leadership candidates they will not be prime minister for long if they pursue a no-deal Brexit, hinting that he and other Tories could be prepared to vote down the government in a confidence motion to prevent that outcome. The chancellor reminded the hardline Brexit candidates – Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab and Esther McVey – that parliament was “vehemently opposed” to leaving the EU without a deal.
Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab confirms that he is running to be prime minister and sets out his plan for #Brexit on #Marrhttps://t.co/nM4yerl2mP pic.twitter.com/z2sDGnDeCK
Environment secretary, Michael Gove, has confirmed he has entered the Tory leadership race and has pitched himself as a “unity candidate”. Gove is the eighth candidate to enter the race for the Tory leadership after Johnson, Esther McVey, Jeremy Hunt, Dominic Raab, Andrea Leadsom, Matt Hancock and Rory Stewart.
Labour is braced for a “good kicking” in the European Parliament elections, shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said, PA reports.
Andrea Leadsom has confirmed her candidacy and like Johnson, Raab and McVey said she is prepared to leave the EU without a deal. “In order to succeed in a negotiation you have to be prepared to leave without a deal, but I have a three point plan for Brexit,” she said.
His comments come after deputy Labour leader Tom Watson said the party must “find some backbone” and fully commit to a second referendum on Brexit to have any chance of winning the next general election.
Former Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, has set out his case to become leader claiming he would be prepared to leave without a deal and would not seek an extension to article 50. He told the BBC: “I would fight for a fairer deal in Brussels with negotiation to change the backstop arrangements and if not, I would be clear we would leave on WTO terms in October.”
McDonnell said he understood Mr Watson’s frustration, but that the party had been right to “tread a really difficult road” of trying to bring Leave and Remain supporters back together.
Former work and pension secretary, Esther McVey, has also said that if elected she would take the UK out of the EU on 31 October with or without a deal. “October 31 is the key date and we are coming out then, and if that means without a deal then that’s what it means,” she told Sky News.
The shadow chancellor said Labour would pay an electoral price for that stance when European Parliament results begin to be announced late on Sunday.
International development secretary, Rory Stewart, has not ruled out voting down a government that pursues a no-deal Brexit. He said: “I can’t understand how Boris, or anybody, thinks they are going to get a no deal through parliament. There simply aren’t the votes for that. I certainly would vote against a no-deal in Parliament.” He also pitched himself as the candidate for the “radical centre ground”.
McDonnell told Sky News: “I think we most probably will get a good kicking in the election results tonight. We’ll see. We are braced for that.”
The shadow chancellor John McDonnell says Labour expects a “good kicking” in the European Parliament election result tonight. Asked about a call by deputy leader Tom Watson for Labour to back a second referendum, McDonnell said Labour had been right to “tread a really difficult road” of trying to bring Leave and Remain supporters back together.
He added:
Change UK leader, Heidi Allen, said her party could merge with the Liberal Democrats. She conceded that this a “step further” than the position taken by Change UK’s spokesman Chuka Umunna.
“But, you know, we had to do the responsible thing.
Len McCluskey, the leader of the powerful Unite union, appears to be in no mood to accept Tom Watson’s argument about the need for Labour to back a second referendum.
“It was a hard road to follow. But someone had to be there and say ‘Can we bring the country back together again?’ “And it would have been easy to go to one side, go to the Remain side and ignored all those people who voted Leave - that’s not the nature of our party.
Some pretty full-on quotes from Len McCluskey on Labour Remainers...So Remain is now a Tory trait?! 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Y5G6WRtAZP
“We are the party that is trying to bring people back together again.
Michael Gove is due to be set out his case to become Tory leader in an interview at 7pm for Nick Robinson’s podcast Political Thinking.
“That’s been difficult electorally for us in these elections, of course it has.
In the meantime here are the remarks he made to PA outside his home.
“But now we have got to move on.”
I will be putting my name forward to be Prime Minister.I believe that I am ready to unite the Conservative and Unionist Party, ready to deliver Brexit, and ready to lead this great country.#gove4pm #readytolead pic.twitter.com/InA62Ud2ZK
'We're a strong remain party but we couldn't ignore that 52% voted leave, we can't turn our back on those people' - Shadow Chancellor @johnmcdonnellMP responds to @tom_watson's calls for a second referendum. #RidgeMore here: https://t.co/CH6sN4Zz3F pic.twitter.com/5ki6oTntc2
And here’s the Guardian’s story on Gove’s bid.
The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has refused to say whether he would be prepared to serve in a Boris Johnson government.
Michael Gove to challenge Johnson for Tory leadership
Returning from a run to his official residence in central London on Sunday morning, Hunt would not answer questions about his predecessor, after Johnson had said that UK should leave the EU on 31 October deal or no deal.
Asked if he was running to get fit for the Tory leadership race, Hunt said: “I’m already fit.”
Damian Green, the former de facto deputy prime minister is backing Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
Speaking to Sky News, Green said: “I think the next leader should be Matt Hancock. “I do think we need a fresh start.”
'Obviously getting Brexit through is the immediate task but we've got to start thinking and caring about more than that' - @DamianGreen has backed @MattHancock to be the next Tory leader.#RidgeFor more, head here: https://t.co/z9r0pkDfJD pic.twitter.com/P7eMCsKDBg
Former education secretary, Justine Greening, has suggested she would be prepared to back a vote of no confidence in the government if the new leader goes for a no-deal Brexit.
Greening, confirmed that she will not be standing the contest and refused to say who she will back.
Asked by Sky’s Sophy Ridge about the prospect of the new leader taking the UK out of the EU without a deal, Greening said: “Parliament will stop government doing that. Parliament has voted against no-deal several times. It is clear that communities for the most part do not want to leave the European Union with no deal.”
Asked if she was prepared to bring down the government to stop a no deal, Greening said:
“The danger is that a government with an unviable strategy on Brexit is destabilising itself. The choice is going to be quite simple ... either we end up with a general election which Jeremy Corbyn would likely win. I don’t think he’ll win it with a majority. He’s likely to have a coalition partner who is likely to demand some kind of a second referendum. Or we can chose to break the Brexit deadlock through giving people a vote. We are going to have to bite the bullet.”
Esther McVey has said there will be no further extensions and the UK will leave the EU on 31 October 31, with or without a deal.
The former work and pensions secretary told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday that the UK must start preparing for a no-deal exit straight away. She said:
“October 31 is the key date and we are coming out then, and if that means without a deal then that’s what it means.
“We won’t be asking for any more extensions.
“If Europe wants to come back to us, the door is open if they want a better deal.
“Time is limited, we have to make sure we are ready to leave.”
McVey also said she would use the growth in the international aid budget to boost school and police funding.
She said the aid budget has grown from £8bn to £14bn and while that would remain high under her leadership, she would use the growth to fund “radical changes”.
She told the programme she would invest an extra £4bn for schools and also said there needs to be an extra £3bn for policing.
She added: “Obviously we have to live within our means, that will come from the extra amount that has gone into foreign aid.
“We are going to leave it at high levels, however we have got to look after people at home, particularly safety on the streets, particularly in schools and transport and the NHS.
“That’s the vision we have got to set out and unite the country and our party.”
'This is the best thing we can do, prepare for no-deal' - @EstherMcVey1 sets out her position on Brexit talks with the EU saying the 'withdrawal agreement boat has sailed.'#Ridge For more, head here: https://t.co/P43orwWySP pic.twitter.com/EP6kFNm24v
Michael Gove has confirmed he will formally enter the Conservative leadership race, PA reports.
Speaking from his London home, the prominent Brexiteer said he will join an already crowded field after Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and ex-Cabinet ministers Dominic Raab and Andrea Leadsom threw their hats into the ring.
He said: “I can confirm that I will be putting my name forward to be prime minister of this country. “I believe that I’m ready to unite the Conservative and Unionist Party, ready to deliver Brexit, and ready to lead this great country.”
Gove’s intervention is likely to cause concern to current front-runner Boris Johnson. A spectacular fall out between the two former allies in the 2016 leadership contest helped destroy both men’s chances of the top job.
Gove is posing as a self-styled “unity candidate”.
With the Tory leadership contest now in full swing, the Sunday papers are awash with the possibilities, with early pitches from the Raab and Gove camps, as well as an interview with Nigel Farage.
The Sunday Times focuses on the prospect of a leadership rematch between Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, using the visual aide of Gove stroking a dog in presumed anticipation of setting it upon his rival. The headline is “Get Boris! Gove challenges his rival again.”
The environment secretary says he has a better track record and is more capable of delivering Brexit, the newspaper reports. “His entry into the race will revive memories of the psychodrama of 2016 when he was Johnson’s campaign chairman,” it says.
'Get Boris!': what the Sunday papers say about the Tory leadership dogfight
Welcome to a special Sunday edition of Politics Live to cover the first round of Sunday interviews in the Tory leadership contest.
There is already a crowded a field in the race to succeed Theresa May and it’s getting bigger. Michael Gove, the environment secretary, is expected to enter the contest to challenge the front runner Boris Johnson, his former Vote Leave ally who he betrayed in the last contest.
The issue of whether the UK leaves the EU with no deal is emerging as the key issue in the campaign.
One of the candidates, international development secretary, Rory Stewart, is so opposed to the idea that he has said he would not serve in a government led by Johnson after the said the former foreign secretary said the UK must leave on the 31 October with or without a deal.
Two other candidates who have said they would be prepared to leave without a deal are due to present their leadership pitches in TV interviews today. Dominic Raab, the former Brexit secretary, is due to appear on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show. And Esther McVey, the former work and pensions secretary, is due on Sky’s Sophy Ridge programme.
Here’s taster:
'We need honesty for a change' - @EstherMcVey1 makes the case why she should succeed Theresa May as Tory leader.#RidgeFor more, head here: https://t.co/P43orwWySP pic.twitter.com/APv6BHypDN
Later, Rory Stewart is due to appear on the BBC Radio 5 live’s Pienaar’s Politics.
