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Tory leadership: deputy prime minister backs Rory Stewart - live
Tory leadership: deputy prime minister backs Rory Stewart - live
(32 minutes later)
Stewart is asked about calling a second Brexit referendum on the basis that the first was run in a fundamentally dishonest fashion.
He says he was one of the many who was surprised by the result and recognises that, since then, many people have come to support a second vote. This would not achieve what its proponents believe it would, he says.
Asked about honesty in the campaign, he says it’s important but this the “sea in which we swim” as politicians. Stewart says that, regardless of the information people are given, each of them has an equal right to choose how they vote.
Stewart says that means compromise is necessary – and such cannot be achieved by either the remain or hard Brexit camps.
Asked what he’d to do bring back into the fold those Tory supporters who have voted for the Brexit party. He says 70% of those people didn’t vote that way because they supported the party but because they wanted to signal that they wanted the Brexit process to be over with.
The delays, he says, suit the pro-remain and pro-hard Brexit camps because they strengthen the possibility of one or the other coming about eventually. The Brexit deal on the table, he says, is the “only one out there”.
He says the candidates who believe they’ll go back to the EU and get a better one will only bring about further delay. He also says it’s pointless to consider whether any route other than the parliamentary one would be legal or constitutional way of pushing through Brexit.
Stewart is asked what he would do to restore the UK’s prestige on the world stage. He says, if the country wants it, it has to demonstrate it and that it has fallen into the trap of assuming that asserting greatness achieves it.
We’ve got to be a serious country ... [that] means conducting yourself with realism, with humility and doing what you say.
Asked about his position on adult social care, Stewart tells the audience there are certain issues about which candidates are advised not to talk. One of those is adult social care, for which he has proposed greater funding. Every time he does so, he says, he gains more support.
Addressing the question directly, he says that how we look after the most vulnerable in society is the measure by which we will be judged.
Stewart is now taking questions from the audience. He’s asked if he’ll commit to gender-parity in his government.
“It’s a really good challenge,” he says, but adds he cannot totally agree. He says the cabinet should have more women but that they need to be the right people. First, he says, he needs to get more women elected as members of parliament so that he has the pool of talent from which to choose.
Stewart is acknowledging the backing of both Lidington and Gauke and has described the positive effect the latter has had on his career in government. He also points out the MP for East Renfrewshire, Paul Masterton, who is present in the audience.
Stewart tells the audience occupying the centre ground is nothing to be ashamed of and that the country needs a politician who’ll speak honestly to them about the difficulties ahead. And he tells them the Tory party needs to address issues such as the environment.
Lidington says Stewart’s campaigning style has demonstrated there are “no no-go areas” for the Conservative party.
Lidington says Stewart’s campaigning style has demonstrated there are “no no-go areas” for the Conservative party.
Then he hands over to Stewart, who says he was beginning to get depressed about British politics. He says that, until recently, he had begun to feel powerless and that nothing he tried to achieve in government ever got done.
Then he hands over to Stewart, who says he was beginning to get depressed about British politics. He says that, until recently, hefelt powerless and that nothing he tried to achieve in government ever got done.
David Lidington is on stage at Rory Stewart’s rally in London. He tells the audience he thinks there’s a “yearning in this country for political leaders who tell it straight to people” and who are honest about the difficulties ahead.
David Lidington is on stage at Rory Stewart’s rally in London. He tells the audience he thinks there’s a “yearning in this country for political leaders who tell it straight to people” and who are honest about the difficulties ahead.
David Lidington, the Cabinet Office secretary and Theresa May’s de facto deputy, has switched to backing Rory Stewart for the Conservative party leadership. He had previously supported Matt Hancock, who pulled out of the race last week.
David Lidington, the Cabinet Office secretary and Theresa May’s de facto deputy, has switched to backing Rory Stewart for the Conservative party leadership. He had previously supported Matt Hancock, who pulled out of the race last week.
New - David Lidington backs Rory Stewart's campaign to be PM. Big endorsement - other campaigns starting to get twitchy about the numbers switching. But even then.. is it enough tomorrow to keep him the race? He needs at least 33 backers and to avoid coming last.
New - David Lidington backs Rory Stewart's campaign to be PM. Big endorsement - other campaigns starting to get twitchy about the numbers switching. But even then.. is it enough tomorrow to keep him the race? He needs at least 33 backers and to avoid coming last.
Stewart’s spokesman says:
Stewart’s spokesman says:
Rory is incredibly proud to have the support of David Lidington – the deputy prime minister. A huge vote of confidence not just in Rory’s campaign, but in his ability to deliver as prime minister
Rory is incredibly proud to have the support of David Lidington – the deputy prime minister. A huge vote of confidence not just in Rory’s campaign, but in his ability to deliver as prime minister
Tom Watson’s Brexit speech this morning, which we previewed yesterday, was overshadowed by the Tory leadership hustings. But I’ve now had a chance to read the text, and here are three extracts.
Tom Watson’s Brexit speech this morning, which we previewed yesterday, was overshadowed by the Tory leadership hustings. But I’ve now had a chance to read the text, and here are three extracts.
Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, said his party had been afraid to make the case for remaining in the EU. He said:
Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, said his party had been afraid to make the case for remaining in the EU. He said:
We talk about the evils of no-deal till we’re blue in the face, because we’re still scared to tell the truth about Europe.
We talk about the evils of no-deal till we’re blue in the face, because we’re still scared to tell the truth about Europe.
We’re more comfortable warning of an ineffable catastrophe, because we’re hard-wired to be unable to say the words that I’ve come here this morning to say:
We’re more comfortable warning of an ineffable catastrophe, because we’re hard-wired to be unable to say the words that I’ve come here this morning to say:
The European Union is not something to apologise for. It is a good thing. It is Good with a capital G.
The European Union is not something to apologise for. It is a good thing. It is Good with a capital G.
An enduring, deep, benevolent collaboration between sovereign states unique in the history of the world.
An enduring, deep, benevolent collaboration between sovereign states unique in the history of the world.
It produced a lasting peace from the ashes of war.
It produced a lasting peace from the ashes of war.
It produced prosperity where there had been deprivation.
It produced prosperity where there had been deprivation.
It produced transnational partnership where once there was suspicion and division.
It produced transnational partnership where once there was suspicion and division.
It’s not perfect, but what large institution is?
It’s not perfect, but what large institution is?
The core values of the EU are internationalism. Solidarity. Freedom.
The core values of the EU are internationalism. Solidarity. Freedom.
Those are British values. And they’re Labour values.
Those are British values. And they’re Labour values.
I’m a European democratic socialist. I don’t go along with the EU despite being a socialist, I embrace the EU because I am a socialist.
I’m a European democratic socialist. I don’t go along with the EU despite being a socialist, I embrace the EU because I am a socialist.
Democratic socialism is achieving common causes by the strength of collective endeavour. That’s what Europe is.
Democratic socialism is achieving common causes by the strength of collective endeavour. That’s what Europe is.
He cited Shakespeare as an example of someone who was profoundly English and European.
He cited Shakespeare as an example of someone who was profoundly English and European.
Probably the most important Englishman who ever lived was William Shakespeare. A man of the Midlands, like me, whose transcendent imagination was as broadly and deeply European as it was English ...
Probably the most important Englishman who ever lived was William Shakespeare. A man of the Midlands, like me, whose transcendent imagination was as broadly and deeply European as it was English ...
One only needs look at where the plays took place: Rome, Athens, Venice, Padua, Milan, Cyprus, Navarra, Messina, Vienna, Denmark, the Balkans, Sicily. And he wasn’t just using places he’d visited as handy material. He never left the UK.
One only needs look at where the plays took place: Rome, Athens, Venice, Padua, Milan, Cyprus, Navarra, Messina, Vienna, Denmark, the Balkans, Sicily. And he wasn’t just using places he’d visited as handy material. He never left the UK.
He conceived and realised these settings because being European was central to his sense of who he was, and what it meant to be English.
He conceived and realised these settings because being European was central to his sense of who he was, and what it meant to be English.
Erasmus and Plutarch loomed as large in his imagination as did Chaucer and Sidney. Mediaeval London was a bustling melting pot of migrants from all over the world. The greatest Englishman, 400 years ago, was wholly, deeply European.
Erasmus and Plutarch loomed as large in his imagination as did Chaucer and Sidney. Mediaeval London was a bustling melting pot of migrants from all over the world. The greatest Englishman, 400 years ago, was wholly, deeply European.
He said Labour should champion the idea of holding a second referendum.
He said Labour should champion the idea of holding a second referendum.
The notion that it’s in some way undemocractic to let the people put an end to this crisis because, after three years, parliament and government cannot, is absurd.
The notion that it’s in some way undemocractic to let the people put an end to this crisis because, after three years, parliament and government cannot, is absurd.
And if you want Brexit, and you believe there is still a majority for it in the UK, then a public vote will break the deadlock and deliver the Brexit you want.
And if you want Brexit, and you believe there is still a majority for it in the UK, then a public vote will break the deadlock and deliver the Brexit you want.
Whereas if many people have changed their minds and no longer want Brexit now that they have more information about what it means, how is it undemocratic to give them the chance to express that three years on and with the country in limbo?
Whereas if many people have changed their minds and no longer want Brexit now that they have more information about what it means, how is it undemocratic to give them the chance to express that three years on and with the country in limbo?
Labour is the party of democracy - so we must ask the people ...
Labour is the party of democracy - so we must ask the people ...
Only a public vote can break this deadlock, but we will only achieve this if Labour fights for it and champions it. We must do that – in Parliament and around the country. Labour must make the positive case.
Only a public vote can break this deadlock, but we will only achieve this if Labour fights for it and champions it. We must do that – in Parliament and around the country. Labour must make the positive case.
That’s all from me for tonight.
That’s all from me for tonight.
My colleague Kevin Rawlinson is taking over now.
My colleague Kevin Rawlinson is taking over now.
At the press gallery hustings this morning Robert Peston, ITV’s political editor, asked all of the Tory leadership candidates who were there if they would accept the definition of a hard border in Ireland (which the government has promised to avoid) set out in the joint report of December 2017. Dominic Raab said he probably would not accept it, Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt and Rory Stewart generally said they would accept it, and Sajid Javid was evasive.
In a blog Peston explains why he thinks this matters.
For what it is worth, I assume [Boris] Johnson - if he had deigned to turn up - would have agreed with Raab.
What flows from all this?
That in substance Gove, Hunt and Stewart would struggle to get Brexit approved by MPs, because the DUP and ERG Brexiters will struggle to understand why the backstop isn’t as toxic as it ever was.
And Johnson and Raab would probably be told by Whitehall if they want to change the hard border definition they can whistle for it - and that what they really want is a no-deal Brexit.
And Javid is yet to make this ultimate Hobson’s Choice.
Oh the toxic legacy bequeathed by May to her successor, party and country.
Steve Baker, the Tory Brexiter, deputy chairman of the European Research Group, and a supporter of Boris Johnson’s, has posted a Twitter thread saying that it is not just the backstop that is unacceptable to him, but the entire withdrawal agreement (WA).
It starts here.
Too many leadership candidates think the backstop is the only problem with the Withdrawal Agreement. Via https://t.co/CXucj4L5NY, “What is wrong with the WA” (thread)
And here are two of his key tweets.
... This is a fact missed, it seems, by Mrs May and a number of the Conservative leadership contenders. The WA is not merely, as is often claimed, about the mechanism for our withdrawal and arrangements in the short term; ...
... it in effect binds the UK into a permanent relationship with the EU in which it remains subject to many of the constraints of membership, while having no vote.
This illustrates just how hard it will be for Johnson to preserve a coalition that satisfies both Baker and remain-voting supporters of Theresa May’s deal like Matt Hancock.
Several readers have been asking below the lines what happens if two candidates come joint last in the Tory leadership ballot tomorrow.
This did happen on the first ballot in 2001, when Michael Ancram and David Davis were joint last in the first ballot. There was no provision for this in the rules, and so the ballot was rerun two days later, when Davis beat Ancram by one vote.
But, according to this Commons library note (pdf) on Conservative leadership elections (more helpful than the CCHQ press office, which could not give me an answer), rule 26 now makes provision for this event. It says that if there is a tie, the ballot will be rerun. If there is another tie among the candidates with the least votes, they are both/all eliminated.
The Conservative 1922 Committee has also introduced, for this contest, a 33-vote threshold for the second ballot. Not just the candidate coming last, but any candidate getting fewer than 33 votes will be eliminated. That increases the chances of candidates being eliminated tomorrow without the need for a rerun.
In the editor’s reply slot in today’s Evening Standard, George Osborne, the Tory former chancellor, said that if Boris Johnson became PM, he would need to reach out to socially liberal voters. Osborne explained:
I remember as a young Tory aide attending a post-mortem about the 1997 general election landslide defeat. To my amazement, the Conservatives MPs decided that they’d lost because too many people had voted for the then Referendum party (a precursor to today’s Brexit party).
I gingerly raised my hand, and observed that I thought the Tories had lost because too many people had voted for Tony Blair.
The biggest threat to Conservative MPs comes from Labour and the Liberal Democrats — the loss of just a handful of seats to the latter would eject them from office. Boris Johnson (assuming he wins the leadership campaign) will need to reach out and reassure millions of socially liberal, urban voters who backed remain.
If he doesn’t he’ll have even less time in Downing Street than Theresa May.
Philip Hammond has said he held extensive talks over the protests in Hong Kong with Chinese vice premier Hu Chunhua, as part of discussions over economic ties between Britain and China.
Although not going into detail on the nature of the talks, the chancellor said the “difficult subject” had been broached after protests in the former British colony continued into a second week. He told journalists:
This dialogue today is primarily about trade and investment but of course the point of having a close partnership is that we can also talk about more difficult subjects, we had a negotiating meeting last night, I’ve already raised the issue of Hong Kong and we’ve had an extensive discussion about it.
We’re pleased that the Hong Kong authorities have paused their proposed legislative changes and are going to take time to talk to people, to consult more widely, and to try to build a consensus around the changes that they’re proposing and to ensure that the confidence of business and citizens in Hong Kong is maintained.
Speaking at a joint summit with vice premier Hu in the City of London, he also warned that Britain was “very vulnerable” in the US-China trade war currently raging between Washington and Beijing.
Britain is a very open trading economy. We’re very vulnerable to anything that impacts on global trade, global economic growth.
I hope that when the two presidents [Donald Trump and Xi Jinping] meet in Japan in a few days time we may hopefully see some significant progress.
Dame Caroline Spelman, the Conservative MP who backed Matt Hancock last week, is now supporting Rory Stewart.
After yesterday's TV debates, I'm very pleased to now support @RoryStewartUK. His realistic and positive vision for Britain promises to reach out to a broad audience, especially young people. Rory can bring people together and unite the country. #RoryForLeader
Downing Street told journalists this afternoon that Theresa May would not have retweeted Katy Hopkins’ comments about “Londonistan”, as President Donald Trump has done. The prime minister’s spokesman said:
The prime minister would not retweet Katy Hopkins, nor use that language.
The prime minister agrees with the mayor that knife violence should have no place in London or anywhere else in our country.
Asked whether May watched the Channel 4 leadership debate last night, the spokesman added “she did not, she was doing box work”.
Last week Philip Hammond, the chancellor, wrote an open letter to all the Conservative leadership candidates challenging them all to commit to keeping the national debt falling every year if they become PM.
The dividing line between @Conservatives and Labour is our reputation for economic responsibility. I have written to all the leadership candidates asking them to pledge to keep our national debt falling every year. Read more: pic.twitter.com/1e9lN5j2Nr
Here is the key extract from the letter.
When we took office in 2010, we inherited the largest deficit in peacetime history, at 9.9% of GDP. Thanks to sound economic policy and the hard work of the British people, our deficit is down to a more manageable level of 1.1%. However, the years of high deficits have taken a toll on our national debt, which rose from around 35% of GDP before the financial crisis to a peak of over 85% in 2016-17, its highest level in fifty years. Thankfully, our debt is now falling sustainably for the first time in a generation. As we look forward, it is vital that we do not undo these achievements by making unfunded commitments that would mean debt rising again; leave the economy vulnerable to shocks; burden future generations and waste billions on additional interest payments.
If we do not commit to getting our debt down after a nine-year run of uninterrupted economic growth, how can we demonstrate a dividing line between the fiscal responsibility of our party and the reckless promises of John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn?
I therefore ask you, as a candidate for the leadership of the Conservative party, to pledge that if you are the next prime minister your government will, at a minimum, have a clear commitment to keeping our national debt falling every year, and to maintain the current limit of the deficit at 2% of GDP at least through 2021-22.
In his letter Hammond also said that, if candidates did make this pledge, they would lose the chance to raise spending or cut taxes. He explained:
This pledge does not mean that there is no extra money to spend. As I said at the spring statement, if we can avoid major economic shocks and if we leave the EU in a smooth and orderly way, an incoming prime minister will have genuine choices about how to use the available borrowing capacity implied by these fiscal commitments: increased spending on public services, capital investment in Britain’s future prosperity, cutting taxes or more rapidly reducing the national debt. On the current OBR forecast, these commitments would mean, after allowing for the expected reclassification by the ONS of student debt, around £15bn of headroom available in 2020-21; £19bn in 2021-22; £21bn in 2022-23; and £25bn in 2023-24, though a prudent administration would not use all the available borrowing capacity given the potential for forecast revisions.
Today, at an event in the City of London, Hammond said said the Tory leadership candidates were at risk of squandering the party’s reputation for fiscal responsibility. Only Rory Stewart had agreed to honour the pledge, he said.
It is a disappointment to me that only one of the candidates remaining in the race, Rory Stewart, has actually signed up to that pledge.
I would urge the other candidates to do so, to reassure the public that our hard-won reputation for fiscal responsibility is not going to be squandered during the course of this competition.
Hammond’s comment seemed to be aimed at Boris Johnson, the clear favourite, in particular. David Gauke, the justice secretary, made a similar point on Twitter this morning. (See 10.33am.)
The subject did come up at the hustings. Michael Gove said he would sign the pledge. (See 12.53pm.) But Jeremy Hunt refused. Hunt said he did want debt to fall as a a proportion of GDP over the economic cycle, but he said he would not commit to reducing it every year in case he needed to increase borrowing in a recession.
The press gallery hustings this morning were lively and interesting, and covered a very wide range of topics, but it is hard to see them making any impact on the campaign. The 80-odd journalists did not emerge with a strong, collective sense that any single candidate had performed particularly well or badly, and the entire event was off-camera anyway, and so you are not going to see it on TV. But here’s a summary of how each candidate performed, in order of their appearance.
Rory Stewart: Stewart has emerged as the best candidate in the contest for non-Tories (a category that probably includes a majority of lobby journalists) and he got good reviews from the Channel 4 debate last night. But today he may have lost ground with that constituency a bit. His greatest strength has been his willingness to point out the transparent flaws in the Brexit plans proposed by all his rivals, but today his own Brexit plan (try again for Theresa May’s deal, and if not use a citizens’ assembly to find a solution) sounded almost as flaky. His refusal to say if he would vote remain or leave in another referendum sounded feeble (see 11.25am), and he seems to have gone back on what he said last week about being willing to “bring down” a Boris Johnson government committed to no-deal. (See 11.29am.) He has also had to clear up what he said about President Trump. (See 2.24pm.) However, on reducing the north/south divide, he was the most plausible of all the candidates, stressing the importance of transport above all else.
Sajid Javid: In terms of background, if not in terms of politics, Javid is easily the most distinctive candidate in the contest and his account of why he went into banking (see 2.06pm) was easily one of the most memorable moments of the hustings.
Jeremy Hunt: Hunt is supposed to be one of the moderate contenders in the campaign, and so it was surprising that, of all the five candidates, he was most willing to endorse what President Trump said about Sadiq Khan. Like Rory Stewart, he has been in retreat on this since the hustings were over. (See 2.43pm.) This may make him look like a bit of an idiot to the media, although Tory MPs, and party members, may well take a different view about Khan-bashing. Hunt was particularly unconvincing in the hustings when asked about the impact of Brexit on the UK’s standing in the world, and the reaction of EU leaders to his speech at the Tory conference comparing the EU to the USSR, but he did demonstrate how to perform an effective clean-hands tackle when he was asked if he blamed Boris Johnson for the continuing incarceration of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. He did not want to reply, he said - because everyone makes mistakes.
Dominic Raab: Raab was not particularly convincing when trying to defend his record as Brexit secretary (see this Twitter thread from the Telegraph’s James Crisp for the counter view) and Raab’s claim that citizens’ assemblies are some sort of Venezuelan anti-democratic abomination (see 12.38pm) is just bizarre. (They have used them in Ireland too.) But he was the only candidate firmly promising tax cuts in an emergency Brexit budget, regardless of whether or not the UK was heading for a no-deal. (See 12.32pm.) That may go down well with Tory voters.
Michael Gove: Gove was the only candidate who managed to get a laugh at the hustings, and his treatment of Owen Bennett, the journalist who has written the biography with the cocaine revelation that nearly derailed his campaign, was gracious. He was reluctant to say any more about his use of drugs, his account of his critique of the Good Friday agreement was partial (in fact, he was so hostile to the GFA he compared it to appeasement), but he provided one of the smartest answers to the Trump question. (See 12.54pm.)
Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, is also having to clarify the response he gave at the press gallery hustings to a question about President Trump’s tweet attacking the London mayor Sadiq Khan. These are from Sayeeda Warsi, the former chair of the Conservative party.
Ive never shied away from calling out my colleagues for bigotry and racism- however having just spoken to @Jeremy_Hunt about his comments he has assured me that he abhors Katie Hopkins, her disgusting views and everything she stands for 1/2 @aljwhite @ChrisMasonBBC @alexwickham https://t.co/eDvVVXt2WZ
He believes the the term Londonistan is offensive and would never endorse sentiments that try and frame Londons knife crime challenge as a racial or religious phenomenon.We should always call out racism but also important to allow people to clarify and judge them accordingly 2/2
To be fair to Hunt, the answer he gave at the hustings sounded like an endorsement of Trump’s Twitter message (that London needed a new mayor because Khan was a “disaster) not Katie Hopkins’s “Londonistan” reference.
