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Brexit: Corbyn says Labour would back remain in any referendum - Politics live Brexit: Corbyn says Labour would back remain in any referendum - Politics live
(32 minutes later)
The Guardian’s Gaby Hinsliff has written about Corbyn’s backing of a second referendum. She writes:
Is Labour really the party of remain, or leave? The official answer for a good three years has been both, which increasingly means in the eyes of many voters it is neither convincingly. The paradox of this week’s otherwise seismic shift in Labour Brexit positioning is that once the dust settles, essentially that’s still true.
Jeremy Corbyn does seem finally to have been cornered into a second referendum on Brexit, with trade union leaders unanimously agreeing this week that if a Conservative government brings any sort of deal (or a firm date for leaving with no deal) before parliament, Labour should demand a referendum on it and campaign to remain.
Read more here.
Liberal Democrat, which, to Labour’s cost, made so many gains in the European elections in May, says Labour’s new position on a second referendum does not make it a remain party. Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake said
Labour are still a party of Brexit. Jeremy Corbyn can pretend all he likes that the Labour Party are finally moving towards backing the Liberal Democrat policy of a People’s Vote, but it is clear it is still his intention to negotiate a damaging Brexit deal if he gets the keys to number ten.
Labour must start being transparent with the British people. Any Brexit deal, whoever it is negotiated by, will damage our country. It will mean job losses, problems for our NHS, and more time wasted on not tackling the biggest issues facing the UK.
The Liberal Democrats have been unequivocal in our fight to stop Brexit and Corbyn should join us. The only real route out of this mess is a People’s Vote, with the option to stay in the EU.”
Protests have taken place outside Labour headquarters as a disputes panel of the party’s national executive meets on Tuesday to discuss whether to reinstate Chris Williamson.Williamson, the MP for Derby North, had been suspended for suggesting the party was “too apologetic” about antisemitism complaints. But he was last week let back into the party with a reprimand by a three-person disciplinary panel, prompting a fierce reaction.
outside Labour HQ pic.twitter.com/OSkV2rhoKv
Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson joined MPs and peers to demand he lose the whip, while nearly 70 Labour staff members wrote to express their outrage.He was put back under suspension after Keith Vaz, one of the members of the disputes panel who had argued for him to be readmitted, said the decision should be reviewed.The disputes panel will meet this morning to discuss whether to refer him up to a further disciplinary sub-committee of the National Executive Committee, which may decide to send the case for further investigation or allow him to be readmitted.If he is let back in, Williamson is likely to face a selection battle in his own constituency after a bitter row with the trade union Unite.
The Guardian’s political editor Heather Stewart reports on party’s decision to campaign to stay in EU rather than back no deal or Tory deal in people’s vote.
Corbyn says Labour would back remain in Brexit referendum
Labour have announced their Brexit position in a letter from Jeremy Corbyn:
Dear member,
I am proud to lead the Labour Party – the greatest political party and social movement in this country.
We all recognise that the issue of Brexit has been divisive in our communities and sometimes in our party too.
As democrats, Labour accepted the result of the 2016 referendum. In our 2017 manifesto, Labour also committed to oppose a No Deal Brexit and the Tories’ Brexit plans – which threatened jobs, living standards, and the open multicultural society that we as internationalists value so much.
I want to pay tribute to Keir Starmer and the shadow Brexit team for holding the Government to account during this process. That helped secure a meaningful vote on their deal – which we then defeated three times – including inflicting the largest ever defeat on any Government. And following their refusal to publish their legal advice, this Government became the first to be held in contempt of Parliament.
Labour set out a compromise plan to try to bring the country together based around a customs union, a strong single market relationship and protection of environmental regulations and rights at work. We continue to believe this is a sensible alternative that could bring the country together.
But the Prime Minister refused to compromise and was unable to deliver, so we ended cross-party talks.
Now both Tory leadership candidates are threatening a No Deal Brexit - or at best a race to the bottom and a sweetheart deal with Donald Trump: that runs down industry, opens up our NHS and other public services to yet more privatisation, and shreds environmental protections, rights at work and consumer standards.
I have spent the past few weeks consulting with the shadow cabinet, MPs, affiliated unions and the NEC. I have also had feedback from members via the National Policy Forum consultation on Brexit.
Whoever becomes the new Prime Minister should have the confidence to put their deal, or No Deal, back to the people in a public vote.
In those circumstances, I want to make it clear that Labour would campaign for Remain against either No Deal or a Tory deal that does not protect the economy and jobs.
Labour has a crucial, historic duty to safeguard jobs, rights and living standards. But no Brexit outcome alone can do that.
We need a general election. After nine years of austerity, too many people in this country cannot find decent secure well-paid work, and have to rely on public services that have been severely cut back.
Our country is ravaged by inequality and rising poverty, huge regional imbalances of investment, and the government is failing to tackle the climate emergency facing us all.
That is why we need a Labour government to end austerity and rebuild our country for the many not the few.
Yours,
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn has said that the next prime minister should put their Brexit deal to a vote, and if that happened the Labour party would campaign for remain.Jeremy Corbyn has said that the next prime minister should put their Brexit deal to a vote, and if that happened the Labour party would campaign for remain.
Whoever becomes the new Prime Minister should put their deal, or No Deal, back to the people in a public vote.In those circumstances, Labour would campaign for Remain against either No Deal or a Tory deal that does not protect the economy and jobs.Whoever becomes the new Prime Minister should put their deal, or No Deal, back to the people in a public vote.In those circumstances, Labour would campaign for Remain against either No Deal or a Tory deal that does not protect the economy and jobs.
The news has been met with a strong response on social media:The news has been met with a strong response on social media:
No clarity by Mr Corbyn on what Labour's position would be in the event of a general electionNo clarity by Mr Corbyn on what Labour's position would be in the event of a general election
Yet another fudge, where the Labour leadership keep open the door to standing on a pro-Brexit platform in a General Election or supporting it in government. The @LibDems are the only party that can get into govt which is 100% committed to stopping Brexit. https://t.co/2jjqQnIA0fYet another fudge, where the Labour leadership keep open the door to standing on a pro-Brexit platform in a General Election or supporting it in government. The @LibDems are the only party that can get into govt which is 100% committed to stopping Brexit. https://t.co/2jjqQnIA0f
Jeremy Corbyn's letter is noticeably silent on what Labour would do if it was able to negotiate its own Brexit deal after winning a snap election. Unlear whether they would campaign for Remain or Leave in those circumstances.Jeremy Corbyn's letter is noticeably silent on what Labour would do if it was able to negotiate its own Brexit deal after winning a snap election. Unlear whether they would campaign for Remain or Leave in those circumstances.
The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg said:The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg said:
It’s progress of a sort as Corbyn explicit that he’d support staying in the EU in that hypothetical scenario, but he doesn’t sign up to the manifesto demand which would have gone further.It’s progress of a sort as Corbyn explicit that he’d support staying in the EU in that hypothetical scenario, but he doesn’t sign up to the manifesto demand which would have gone further.
For those pushing Remain it's progress of a sort as Corbyn explicit that he'd support staying in the EU in that hypothetical scenario, but he doesn't sign up to the manifesto demand which would have gone further...For those pushing Remain it's progress of a sort as Corbyn explicit that he'd support staying in the EU in that hypothetical scenario, but he doesn't sign up to the manifesto demand which would have gone further...
Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed that the Labour party will campaign for remain in a referendum “against no deal or a Tory deal”.Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed that the Labour party will campaign for remain in a referendum “against no deal or a Tory deal”.
On Tuesday morning, the leader of the Labour Party, convened a meeting of the party’s shadow cabinet to agree a settled Brexit position.On Tuesday morning, the leader of the Labour Party, convened a meeting of the party’s shadow cabinet to agree a settled Brexit position.
BREAKING: Jeremy Corbyn announces Labour's Brexit position. Says new PM "should have the confidence to put their deal, or No Deal, back to the people in a public vote" - and Labour would then campaign for Remain, "against either No Deal or a Tory deal".BREAKING: Jeremy Corbyn announces Labour's Brexit position. Says new PM "should have the confidence to put their deal, or No Deal, back to the people in a public vote" - and Labour would then campaign for Remain, "against either No Deal or a Tory deal".
But Heather also notes that the announcement, in a long email to members, does not include anything explaining what Labour’s position would be after a general election.But Heather also notes that the announcement, in a long email to members, does not include anything explaining what Labour’s position would be after a general election.
But nothing in the lengthy email from JC to members about Labour's position at/after a general election - only that Labour wants one.But nothing in the lengthy email from JC to members about Labour's position at/after a general election - only that Labour wants one.
Sir David warned:Sir David warned:
The problem you’re opening now is a very serious one, if the world climate change goes on it is going to be facing huge problems with immigration.The problem you’re opening now is a very serious one, if the world climate change goes on it is going to be facing huge problems with immigration.
Large parts of Africa are going to be even less inhabitable than they are now, and there will be major upsets in the balance between our national boundaries.Large parts of Africa are going to be even less inhabitable than they are now, and there will be major upsets in the balance between our national boundaries.
These kind of problems are going to grow inexorably and we are going to have to decide what we do about it, that’s going to happen.These kind of problems are going to grow inexorably and we are going to have to decide what we do about it, that’s going to happen.
He said industry should be encouraged to invest in new technologies for generating, storing and transporting energy, such as batteries, and that he thought progress was being made.He said industry should be encouraged to invest in new technologies for generating, storing and transporting energy, such as batteries, and that he thought progress was being made.
Channel 4’s chief executive Alex Mahon has said that the broadcaster does not make reality TV or observational programmes merely because they are cheap and “fill schedules”.Speaking before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee inquiry into reality TV, Mahon said there is a “huge public appetite” for programmes that show “different groups of people doing things in society”. Damian Collins, chairman of the DCMS, suggested that such programmes involving members of the public are “quite cheap to make” and that they take up more space in the TV schedule than they did 20 years ago. Mahon said: “It is important that as public service broadcasters we tell challenging stories about life in Britain today and give insight into that, yes, it’s not necessarily cheaper to do than doing other things. “There are some genres of non-scripted programming that are cheap, sometimes quizzes if you make them in bulk, and there are some genres that are very expensive, which are in the multiple hundreds of thousands of pounds per episode to make because they are very complex to construct. “If you take a programme like One Born Every Minute... a life-affirming show and incredibly entertaining for audiences. It’s certainly not cheap to make because of the way we make it, construct it, the way we film it and work with contributors on it. “So I would refute the suggestion that we are doing that to fill schedules with ‘cheap things’; we are doing those programmes often to create insight into society.”Channel 4’s chief executive Alex Mahon has said that the broadcaster does not make reality TV or observational programmes merely because they are cheap and “fill schedules”.Speaking before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee inquiry into reality TV, Mahon said there is a “huge public appetite” for programmes that show “different groups of people doing things in society”. Damian Collins, chairman of the DCMS, suggested that such programmes involving members of the public are “quite cheap to make” and that they take up more space in the TV schedule than they did 20 years ago. Mahon said: “It is important that as public service broadcasters we tell challenging stories about life in Britain today and give insight into that, yes, it’s not necessarily cheaper to do than doing other things. “There are some genres of non-scripted programming that are cheap, sometimes quizzes if you make them in bulk, and there are some genres that are very expensive, which are in the multiple hundreds of thousands of pounds per episode to make because they are very complex to construct. “If you take a programme like One Born Every Minute... a life-affirming show and incredibly entertaining for audiences. It’s certainly not cheap to make because of the way we make it, construct it, the way we film it and work with contributors on it. “So I would refute the suggestion that we are doing that to fill schedules with ‘cheap things’; we are doing those programmes often to create insight into society.”
Sir David Attenborough said the UK’s record on tackling climate change “is pretty good”. But he added: “Who started the problem? This country. It was the industrial revolution which started here, and what was the industrial revolution, it was based on burning coal. As it was us who started the problems, and if we are now taking a lead in solving the problem that only the right and responsible thing to do.”
On the 2050 target he said: “My only hope is we don’t backslide. “It’s a tough target. It’s not an easy statement to have made, it’s going to cost money. “It’s not just piety, anybody can express pious views, its a practical commitment, and I hope to goodness we can achieve that.”
The broadcaster also said that the cost of air travel would have to increase to reduce emissions. “I certainly worry that the job I do involves me travelling, I have travelled by air only too frequently in the last few months to make programmes, some of them about this very subject we are talking about,” he said. He added: “The long-term solution is we work out a way of powering aeroplanes electrically.”
Sir David said the voices of “disbelief” on climate change should not be stamped out and it was important that they should be heard in public. But he said:
I’m sorry there are people who are in power internationally, notably of course the US, but also Australia, which is extraordinary because Australia is having to deal with some of the most extreme manifestations of climate change, and these voices are already heard ... One hopes the electorate will respond to that.
And he said public attitudes towards the environment had been “transformed” – drawing a parallel to changing attitudes to slavery in the 19th century.
Jeremy Hunt’s campaign says it can “run up a big win” in Scotland after the foreign secretary’s strong performance at last Friday’s hustings in Perth and a snap poll of Scottish councillors suggesting that two-thirds were backing him against Boris Johnson.The Guardian has reported previously on fears amongst Scottish Conservatives that a Johnson premiership could boost support for independence: now Hunt’s campaign has released snapshot figures showing that, out of a survey of more than 100 Tory councillors, 60 were backing Hunt as opposed to 36 supporting Johnson.A campaign source said: “The vast majority of Scottish Conservative MSPs are backing Jeremy and it looks like the same picture across the wider party. We are hopeful of running up a big win for Jeremy north of the border.”Hunt certainly came across as more definitive on the union at Friday’s event. He said he would not give Holyrood permission to hold a second independence referendum, but warned that the party must “prepare” for another poll given the possibility of a Corbyn government allowing one in exchange for SNP support at Westminster. Johnson underlined his passion for the union but refused to answer definitely on the question of a s30 order.But it’s worth remembering that the Scottish government has made ample capital out of the fact that Scotland voted one way on the EU referendum while the rest of the UK voted another. If Hunt does benefit from a Scottish surge, and wins in Scotland whilst Johnson triumphs in England, one can only wonder how that may be similarly weaponised in months to come.
Quizzed on whether the UK’s new legal “net zero” target for 2050 was sufficient or whether calls from campaigners for a 2025 goal was realistic, Sir David said: “you can’t be radical enough in deal with issues at the moment.” “The question is what is practically possible, and how can we take the electorate with us in dealing with these problems. “Dealing with problems means we’ve got to change our lifestyle.” “The electorate of tomorrow are already making their voices very clear, that’s a source of great comfort.” And he said: “I’m OK for the next decade, all of us are OK, we won’t face the problems that are coming. “The problems of the next 20 to 30 years are great problems that are going to cause great social unrest and cause great changes in what we eat and how we live.”
On the issue of plastic, Sir David said: “I’ve been going on about plastics for 20 years. Anybody who swims know that, or anyone who travels can see, the horrors of what plastic pollution can do.
“I’ve been putting it in programmes for years, and nobody took any notice”.
Then a two-minute clip in his programme Blue Planet II “rang a bell with people”, he added.
Sir David Attenborough is in parliament talking about climate change. He said the most vivid example he has seen of the changing climate was revisiting the Great Barrier Reef and seeing how it had bleached because of rising temperatures. He told Parliament’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee that when visiting the Australian landmark in the 1950s he had “the extraordinary experience of diving on the reef and suddenly seeing this multitude of fantastic beautiful forms of life.” But of returning 10 years ago, he said: “Instead of multitudes of wonderful forms of life I was struck by how it was bleached white because of the rising temperatures and increasing acidity of the seas”. When he started out in natural history, Sir David did not talk about climate change, because “we didn’t know, I didn’t believe we could change the climate, or worse the changes we were going to inflict were irreversible, which they are if we go on as we are.” And he said: “I’m not by nature a propagandist”, but added “if you become aware of what is happening you don’t have any alternative”.
Ireland’s deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney is to warn the Irish cabinet this morning over the “dire” consequences of no deal in Ireland and for the all-Ireland economy.
On Tuesday, he will deliver three reports to a special cabinet meeting with the principle paper running to more than 100 pages.
Irish ministers meet to discuss 'dire' outcomes of no-deal Brexit
It is understood that checks on goods crossing the border from Northern Ireland could be conducted elsewhere in relation to customs and VAT but the unsolved challenge is mandatory checks on animals and agrifood including the one third of Northern Ireland milk that goes south for cheese, butter and dried milk products for exported infant formula and confectionary.
Northern Ireland faces prospect of no-deal Brexit ‘milk lake’
One option being considered by the EU agriculture department is to disrupt the all-Ireland economy. At present, this involves one third of milk from Northern Ireland being processed south of the border and more than 400,000 sheep being slaughtered annually in abattoirs hundreds of miles away in the republic.
Environment secretary Michael Gove has said that Britain cannot “offshore” responsibilities for food standards in any future trade deals including agreement with the US which chlorinates its chicken before sale. He said animal welfare standards of British farming had to be “protected” to guarantee consumer trust in what they eat.
“What we cannot have is an approach towards trade that tries to offshore our responsibilities and undermine high standards that British farmers produce,” he told the National Farmers’ Union summer party in Westminster on Monday evening.
His front bench future is in the balance and his consistent advocacy for continuing animal welfare standards has not been shared by everyone around the cabinet table.
Gove said: “We’ve been very clear that the problems that exist with chlorinated chicken are a direct result of lower animal welfare standards in some parts of the United States than here and we have to maintain and protect the high animal welfare standards that are number one in British agriculture.”
He added: “One of the things that underpins agriculture is high agriculture standards and the provenance of that which we sell. That needs to be protected ... Protection is not a dirty word when it comes to ensure that we have standards in which consumers can trust. “
NFU president Minette Batters said she was “massively concerned” that Gove’s pledges would be reneged on in a future cabinet. “It’s not opposition to leaving, it’s about a managed deal that can enshrine our values”
William Hague has urged Boris Johnson to rule out suspending parliament in a no-deal Brexit scenario.
The former Conservative Party leader said Johnson must avoid suspending Parliament in order to try to get a no-deal Brexit through if he becomes prime minister. Lord Hague said the frontrunner in the battle for Downing Street should use a head-to-head TV debate with rival Jeremy Hunt on Tuesday to make clear he would not use a parliamentary “manoeuvre” in this way.The call came as former attorney general Dominic Grieve has tabled an amendment to the Northern Ireland Bill - intended to keep government in the province running in the absence of the devolved institutions - requiring Parliament to come back to the issue in October. The move is designed to try to ensure the next prime minister cannot push through a no deal on October 31, the current EU deadline for agreeing on a deal, simply by suspending - or “proroguing” - Parliament. Commons Speaker John Bercow is expected to announce on Tuesday whether he has selected the amendment for debate, giving MPs the chance to vote on it. Johnson, who has said he will take Britain out of the EU by the end of October “do or die”, warned such tactics risked playing into the hands of Jeremy Corbyn and Labour. Lord Hague, who backs Mr Hunt in the Tory leadership race, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It is very important that Parliament is able to give its opinion.”
Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson will appear on a live ITV debate at 8pm on Tuesday to battle to be the next Tory party leader. Johnson will hope to use the occasion to seal his position as the clear frontrunner, with polls giving him an overwhelming lead.
Proroguing the House of Commons to achieve a no-deal Brexit would be “the end of parliamentary democracy” in the UK, Dominic Grieve has said in defending his move to seek to remove the option.
Grieve’s amendment, which has cross-party support including from a handful of fellow Conservative MPs, is to the Northern Ireland bill going through the Commons, and would require fortnightly reports on that country’s formation of an executive, which has been vacant since 2017.
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Grieve said the amendment calls for “regular motions before parliament in September and particularly October”. If passed, it would prevent the parliamentary session being prorogued, or abruptly ended, in the lead-up to the 31 October departure date.