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Boris Johnson drops target for getting annual net migration below 100,000 – live news Boris Johnson drops target for getting annual net migration below 100,000 – live news
(32 minutes later)
Boris Johnson is still reshuffling his government. These are from Stephen Hammond, one of the most pro-European Conservatives, who has quit as a health minister.
It has been a privilege to serve as Minister for Health. I'm proud to have contributed to the NHS long term plan. I'd like to thank the team at @DHSCgovuk for all their support, and all the staff at the NHS who do a fantastic job everyday.
I will support any Government efforts to secure a good deal with the EU, and I remain absolutely opposed to No Deal.
That’s all from me for today.
My colleague Kevin Rawlinson is now taking over.
This is from Reuters.
EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has told Britain’s new prime minister, Boris Johnson, that the bloc’s member nations will not give in to his demand to renegotiate the Brexit withdrawal treaty.
Juncker called the existing deal “the best and only agreement possible.”
Juncker and Johnson had their first phone conversation late Thursday since Johnson took over from Theresa May as Britain’s leader.
Johnson has insisted that the current agreement to leave the EU and arrangements regarding the Irish border were not good enough and had to be renegotiated.
An EU official with knowledge of the exchange said that despite Juncker’s refusal to reopen the legal 585-page legal agreement, Juncker said he “remains at the disposal of the United Kingdom to add language” to a political text on future relations and “to analyze any ideas put forward by the United Kingdom, providing they are compatible with the withdrawal agreement.”
And here is my colleague Owen Jones on Boris Johnson.
This is a note to me, as much as it is to anyone else. It will be easy just to go hard on the terrible threat posed by Boris Johnson's hard right government. But the left has to combine that with a relentless message of optimism, too: that a new Britain is within our grasp.
The Boris Johnson statement to the Commons, and the two and a half hours he spent responding to questions from MPs, threw up quite a lot interesting material. You can read his opening statement here. My colleague Jessica Elgot has written a summary and analysis of the policy pledges he made in it here. And I have written about some of other newsy comments Johnson made later in the session on the blog, including his support for an amnesty for up to 500,000 undocumented migrants (see 2.34pm) and his call for all government cleaners to get the London living wage (see 4.09pm).
There was also a lot of political knockabout in the session. Normally this does not get a lot of attention, but it is worth flagging up today because it felt as if we were getting a sneak preview of the Tory autumn election campaign. It also felt as if we were getting a strong hint that there will be an autumn election campaign. When Johnson was talking about policy, he sounded unengaged, but when he was rehearsing attack lines for use against Labour and the SNP, he sounded - to use his own word - “energised”. And in the context of the Commons chamber, he was effective.
Five key campaign themes emerged.
Boris Johnson’s election campaign themes
1) Johnson is explicitly running on a Trump-style ‘make Britain Great again’ platform. He did not use that slogan, but that nevertheless it was the message. Election campaigners often argue that appeals to emotion are more powerful than appeals to reason. And hope is seen as easier to sell than fear (although there are lots of election where fear wins). Johnson has absorbed these ideas. This is how he started his statement.
Our mission is to deliver Brexit on 31 October for the purpose of uniting and re-energising our great United Kingdom and making this country the greatest place on earth. When I say “the greatest place on earth”, I am conscious that some may accuse me of hyperbole, but it is useful to imagine the trajectory on which we could now be embarked. By 2050, it is more than possible that the United Kingdom will be the greatest and most prosperous economy in Europe, at the centre of a new network of trade deals, which we have pioneered.
2) He is happy to attack Labour as a remain party. In his response to Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn called for a referendum on Johnson’s Brexit plans and said Labour would campaign for remain. In his reply, Johnson seized on this, claiming Corbyn had made a strategic error.
He speaks about trust in our democracy. I have to say that a most extraordinary thing has just happened today. Did anybody notice? Did anybody notice the terrible metamorphosis that took place, like the final scene of “Invasion of the Bodysnatchers”? At last, this long-standing eurosceptic, the right hon. Gentleman, has been captured. He has been jugulated—he has been reprogrammed by his hon. Friends. He has been turned now into a remainer! Of all the flip-flops that he has performed in his tergiversating career, that is the one for which I think he will pay the highest price.
It is this party now, this government, who are clearly on the side of democracy in this country.
Theresa May also used to attack Labour for supporting a second referendum. But Johnson did it today with more gusto, and he sought to frame it as an argument not about the EU, but about democracy. It also sounded like an argument you would deploy in an election before the UK had left the EU - another reason why journalists came away sensing an autumn election was likely.
3) Johnson sought to steal Labour’s main party slogan. Corbyn says Labour is the party for the many, not the few. Today Johnson sought to appropriate this. In his response to Corbyn he also said:
The reality now is that we are the party of the people. We are the party of the many, and they are the party of the few. We will take this country forwards; they, Mr Speaker, would take it backwards.
4) Johnson is going campaign on an old-fashioned, law-and-order platform. The independent MP Chris Leslie tried to embarrass him by asking him about Priti Patel, the new home secretary’s, previous support for the death penalty. Johnson said he did not support it himself, but then he went on the offensive over crime. He told Leslie:
I do not support the death penalty, but what the people of this country want to see is proper sentencing for serious violent and sexual offenders.
He claimed some Labour MPs were nodding, and went on:
There are members opposite who know where their constituents truly are on some of these issues, and they are right, unlike the current leadership of the Labour party.
5) Johnson is challenging Labour to a spending war. This came when the Labour MP Meg Hillier challenged Johnson to explain how he spending promises were affordable. In reply he claimed his proposals were modest and easily affordable. He then challenged Labour to say if they were not prepared to match his spending plans. He said:
If Labour members are now opposing that spending—if they now think that we should not be putting another £1bn into policing and another £4.6bn into education—then now is the time to speak.
Labour’s response
Much of what Johnson said today was implausible, evasive or just downright wrong - like his reply to Meg Hillier quoted above. (The Institute for Fiscal Studies says his plans are anything but modest.) Many Labour MPs made these points, including Jeremy Corbyn, whose opening statement highlighted numerous flaws in Johnson’s case. Corbyn ended up making a sound plea for competence over bluster.
The challenge to end austerity, tackle inequality, resolve Brexit and tackle the climate emergency will define the new prime minister. Instead, we have a hard-right cabinet staking everything on tax cuts for the few and a reckless race-to-the-bottom Brexit. He says he has “pluck and nerve and ambition”; our country does not need arm-waving bluster; we need competence, seriousness and, after a decade of divisive policies for the few, to focus for once on the interests of the many.
But does this message work? It is hard to know without proper polling, but the election of Trump in America showed that reason and truth does not always win over against emotive falsehoods. It felt as if the two Labour MPs who did the most to puncture the Johnson hubris bubble were Liz Kendall (see 12.32pm) and Hillier (see 12.45pm) who both asked questions that contrasted Johnson’s “fantasy” with reality. But, overall, no one came close to discomforting Johnson. Labour and the other opposition parties will need to think harder about how to upend him.
Verdict from Twitter commentariat
Other commentators feel the same way. Here are some of their tweets.
From LabourList’s Sienna Rodgers
I’m really quite worried about Boris Johnson speaking with total incoherence but a huge amount of optimism, and Labour responding with a load of stats about the negative impact of no deal.
From Sky’s Lewis Goodall
Boris Johnson knows full well parliament will stop no-deal in October. He obviously intends to go the country in the autumn having been "thwarted", probably never having really wanted it in the first place.
From the Daily Mail’s Jason Groves
Labour backbenchers looking thoroughly miserable watching Boris Johnson's debut as PM. Do they sense an election is hurtling down the track at them?
From BuzzFeed’s Alberto Nardelli
Boris Johnson doesn’t want a deal. He’s preparing for an election. He will paint himself as the champion of Britain, everyone else as talking the country down. Reality is project fear & gloom. He speaks in slogans. No details nor policies. It’s the 2016 referendum all over again.
And every single MP or pundit that asks him about no deal is simply an opportunity to repeat an empty slogan again and again. Like the 350 million on the side of a bus. It doesn’t matter what the actual figure is - it’s about framing the debate on his terms.
From the Evening Standard’s Kate Proctor
Jeremy Corbyn may find it very difficult to counter Boris Johnson's robust style in the Commons, especially with the new found voice of the Tory backbenchers (quiet as mice for May) to cheer him on. Will he carry on as usual, or work on a new approach over the summer hols?
From the Times’ Matt Chorley
What Boris Johnson is showing is that May, Corbyn and Blackford each benefitted from being equally hopeless in the Commons. You might not like what he is saying (you might not believe it either) but bombastic colourful performance makes a change after three turgid years
From the Spectator’s James Forsyth
Boris Johnson is running an outside / in strategy. He needs the public to put pressure on parliament. That’s why it is so crucial how the polls react. If it looks like he'd win a majority in an election, parliamentary opposition to him will subside https://t.co/7RhOR2fJqr
Alister Jack, the new Scottish secretary, has implied he may not back a no deal Brexit if the government has failed to properly prepare for it, despite positioning himself as a supporter of Boris Johnson’s readiness for a no deal divorceAlister Jack, the new Scottish secretary, has implied he may not back a no deal Brexit if the government has failed to properly prepare for it, despite positioning himself as a supporter of Boris Johnson’s readiness for a no deal divorce
In an interview to be broadcast by the BBC, Jack was asked whether he backed exiting without an agreement. His answer strongly suggested his support for Johnson’s no deal agenda is not unconditional.In an interview to be broadcast by the BBC, Jack was asked whether he backed exiting without an agreement. His answer strongly suggested his support for Johnson’s no deal agenda is not unconditional.
I will take stock of the situation and if we have to leave without a deal, if I feel we have prepared for that, then we will leave without a deal. That will be a cabinet decision and that is what we have all signed up to and the preparations start in earnest … We need to make sure we are absolutely ready.I will take stock of the situation and if we have to leave without a deal, if I feel we have prepared for that, then we will leave without a deal. That will be a cabinet decision and that is what we have all signed up to and the preparations start in earnest … We need to make sure we are absolutely ready.
He said it was essential that Johnson spent the £4.2bn made available for no deal contingency preparations.He said it was essential that Johnson spent the £4.2bn made available for no deal contingency preparations.
Jack was appointed Scottish secretary after Johnson sacked the veteran and originally pro-remain Tory MP David Mundell on Tuesday. Jack and Mundell hold neighbouring constituencies in southern Scotland, but Jack only became an MP in 2017; Mundell has sat in the Scottish and then Westminster parliaments for 20 years.Jack was appointed Scottish secretary after Johnson sacked the veteran and originally pro-remain Tory MP David Mundell on Tuesday. Jack and Mundell hold neighbouring constituencies in southern Scotland, but Jack only became an MP in 2017; Mundell has sat in the Scottish and then Westminster parliaments for 20 years.
Jack told the BBC he believed a no deal Brexit could prove liberating for the British economy but stressed again he believed there had to be proper preparation for that:Jack told the BBC he believed a no deal Brexit could prove liberating for the British economy but stressed again he believed there had to be proper preparation for that:
I don’t think a no deal Brexit will be seriously damaging if we prepare for it properly. I do think there will be bumps along the way. I’m quite realistic about that … One thing I would like to see is a strong deal with our European partners – so that’s quite clear: a free trade agreement.I don’t think a no deal Brexit will be seriously damaging if we prepare for it properly. I do think there will be bumps along the way. I’m quite realistic about that … One thing I would like to see is a strong deal with our European partners – so that’s quite clear: a free trade agreement.
A leave supporter, Jack voted three times for May’s deal but has latterly hovered on the fringes of the hard Brexiteers, signing the rebel letter written by 62 MPs in February 2018 urging Theresa May to guarantee the UK would not be tied to the customs union or single market post Brexit.A leave supporter, Jack voted three times for May’s deal but has latterly hovered on the fringes of the hard Brexiteers, signing the rebel letter written by 62 MPs in February 2018 urging Theresa May to guarantee the UK would not be tied to the customs union or single market post Brexit.
However, he is also seen as a classic shire Tory: a farmer and self-made millionaire educated at Glenalmond boarding school, he is a member of the Queen’s Royal Company of Archers, who act as a ceremonial honour guard in Scotland, and was previously chair of the River Annan Trust and District Salmon Fishery Board.However, he is also seen as a classic shire Tory: a farmer and self-made millionaire educated at Glenalmond boarding school, he is a member of the Queen’s Royal Company of Archers, who act as a ceremonial honour guard in Scotland, and was previously chair of the River Annan Trust and District Salmon Fishery Board.
Dominic Raab has been addressing Foreign Office staff in his new capacity as foreign secretary.Dominic Raab has been addressing Foreign Office staff in his new capacity as foreign secretary.
Great to be back at @foreignoffice where I first worked as a young lawyer and to address staff this afternoon. I made clear that we must be confident and grasp the opportunities ahead, as a free trading nation with a strong moral anchor pic.twitter.com/1qROWLwCREGreat to be back at @foreignoffice where I first worked as a young lawyer and to address staff this afternoon. I made clear that we must be confident and grasp the opportunities ahead, as a free trading nation with a strong moral anchor pic.twitter.com/1qROWLwCRE
This is what Boris Johnson said to the Labour MP Catherine West when she asked for an assurance that every single entry-level cleaner in Whitehall would be paid the London living wage. Johnson replied:This is what Boris Johnson said to the Labour MP Catherine West when she asked for an assurance that every single entry-level cleaner in Whitehall would be paid the London living wage. Johnson replied:
I have to say – the answer is yes. I was very proud that I when I was running London that we massively expanded with the living wage. And we made sure that it was paid not just by by GLA bodies, but by their contractors as well. And that is what we should be doing.I have to say – the answer is yes. I was very proud that I when I was running London that we massively expanded with the living wage. And we made sure that it was paid not just by by GLA bodies, but by their contractors as well. And that is what we should be doing.
When asked of evidence for his commitment to social justice, Johnson tends to refer to his record as London mayor, and particularly the expansion of the London living wage, The Greater London authority was one of the bodies that paid it to all its staff.When asked of evidence for his commitment to social justice, Johnson tends to refer to his record as London mayor, and particularly the expansion of the London living wage, The Greater London authority was one of the bodies that paid it to all its staff.
The London living wage is currently set at £10.55 per hour. It is a voluntary target which is intended to set what would be an acceptable minimum for workers in the capital. It is not the same as the national living wage, the statutory minimum wage for workers over 25, which is £8.21 per hour.The London living wage is currently set at £10.55 per hour. It is a voluntary target which is intended to set what would be an acceptable minimum for workers in the capital. It is not the same as the national living wage, the statutory minimum wage for workers over 25, which is £8.21 per hour.
Here is my colleague Daniel Boffey on Michel Barnier’s note to the EU27. (See 3.15pm.)Here is my colleague Daniel Boffey on Michel Barnier’s note to the EU27. (See 3.15pm.)
Michel Barnier's note to dippos after Boris speech a sign of the growing belief that UK heading to a general election. He notes "many strong reactions to the speech.. in this context we must follow carefully the further political and economic reactions and developments in the UK"Michel Barnier's note to dippos after Boris speech a sign of the growing belief that UK heading to a general election. He notes "many strong reactions to the speech.. in this context we must follow carefully the further political and economic reactions and developments in the UK"
The new government has abandoned the target of getting annual net migration below 100,000. This was set as a goal by David Cameron, and maintained by Theresa May, but their governments never came close to meeting it.The new government has abandoned the target of getting annual net migration below 100,000. This was set as a goal by David Cameron, and maintained by Theresa May, but their governments never came close to meeting it.
After Boris Johnson’s statement to MPs, the prime minister’s spokesman, when asked about the 100,000, target, said Johnson was not interested in a “numbers game”. The spokesman said:After Boris Johnson’s statement to MPs, the prime minister’s spokesman, when asked about the 100,000, target, said Johnson was not interested in a “numbers game”. The spokesman said:
His view is that we need to introduce an Australian points-based system that allows us to take back control of our bordersHis view is that we need to introduce an Australian points-based system that allows us to take back control of our borders
He is determined to deliver it, which is why he has commissioned Mac (the Migration Advisory Committee) to carry out the work to get that system.He is determined to deliver it, which is why he has commissioned Mac (the Migration Advisory Committee) to carry out the work to get that system.
He said in the campaign he wasn’t interested in a numbers game.He said in the campaign he wasn’t interested in a numbers game.
Here is my colleague Jessica Elgot’s summary of what Boris Johnson was promising in his statement to MPs in the Commons.Here is my colleague Jessica Elgot’s summary of what Boris Johnson was promising in his statement to MPs in the Commons.
Boris Johnson's first Commons speech as PM: what is he promising?Boris Johnson's first Commons speech as PM: what is he promising?
The Financial Times’ Alex Barker says Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has written to EU member states saying that Boris Johnson’s call for the backstop to be removed is “unacceptable”.The Financial Times’ Alex Barker says Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has written to EU member states saying that Boris Johnson’s call for the backstop to be removed is “unacceptable”.
Here’s the @MichelBarnier email to EU member states calling Boris’ statement “rather combative” and basically unnegotiable. pic.twitter.com/wUAizfXsUBHere’s the @MichelBarnier email to EU member states calling Boris’ statement “rather combative” and basically unnegotiable. pic.twitter.com/wUAizfXsUB
Leo Varadkar, the Irish taoiseach (prime minister), has restated his government’s support for the backstop. He said:Leo Varadkar, the Irish taoiseach (prime minister), has restated his government’s support for the backstop. He said:
The position of the European Union and the position of Ireland has not changed.The position of the European Union and the position of Ireland has not changed.
The backstop is an integral part of the withdrawal agreement; without the backstop there is no withdrawal agreement, there is no transition phase, there is no implementation phase and there will be no free trade agreement until all those matters are resolved.The backstop is an integral part of the withdrawal agreement; without the backstop there is no withdrawal agreement, there is no transition phase, there is no implementation phase and there will be no free trade agreement until all those matters are resolved.
So I hope that the new UK prime minister has not chosen no deal, but that will be up to them.So I hope that the new UK prime minister has not chosen no deal, but that will be up to them.
Campaigners for EU nationals have expressed disappointment that Boris Johnson did not commit to new legislation to seal their rights to remain in the UK post Brexit.
They were hoping he would use his first appearance at the dispatch box to put flesh on the bones of his campaign pledge to ensure all their rights were guaranteed after Brexit.
They are looking for a “declaratory” system, which would require EU citizens to simply register as living in the UK, rather than apply for the right to stay as they do under the current settled status scheme.
Nicolas Hatton, co-founder of the3million, said:
Another damp squib on citizens’ rights by another prime minister. No commitment to fully protect our rights for our lifetime but vague guarantee as if it was 2016. Meanwhile, EU citizens in the UK and Brits in Europe are still the bargaining chips of the Brexit negotiations.
British in Europe are astonished that for a second day running Johnson did not refer to the 1.2 million who are living on the continent.
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, and her Welsh opposite number, Mark Drakeford, have written jointly to Boris Johnson urging him to abandon plans for a “catastrophic” no-deal Brexit.
Calling for urgent inter-governmental talks, the duo also urged Johnson to give both devolved governments an equal say in the planning for Brexit, alongside guarantees that neither government would be financially worse off as a result of leaving the EU and that both would get a fair share of any post-Brexit emergency funding.
Johnson is thought to be planning a tour of the UK within the next week, with some speculation he will travel to the north-east of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which will bring these questions to the fore.
Sturgeon and Drakeford also called on Johnson to prepare the UK for a second EU referendum, pointing out that both the Welsh and Scottish governments officially backed a second vote on Brexit.
They said they were still making preparations for a no-deal Brexit, but added that that option would be disastrous. They said:
It would be unconscionable for a UK government to contemplate a chaotic no-deal exit, and we urge you to reject this possibility clearly and unambiguously as soon as possible.
We are also clear that the decision on EU exit must now be put back to the people. It is the policy of both governments that the UK parliament should legislate for a further referendum. If such a referendum is held we will argue strongly that the UK should remain in the EU.
In a lengthy shopping list of demands, they asked for a seat in any trade talks post-Brexit with the EU and other countries which honoured recent promises by David Lidington, Michael Gove’s predecessor as Cabinet Office minister, to increase their involvement.
They also asked for Theresa May’s immigration white paper to be replaced by new measures to guarantee migration policy did not damage the Scottish and Welsh economies. The Tories have already said May’s proposals, including a £30,000 minimum salary for new entrants, would be scrapped. However, Priti Patel, the new home secretary, is an immigration hardliner who supported May’s “hostile environment” strategy.
The Irish government has expressed “alarm” at the new approach of the Boris Johnson’s approach to Brexit and Ireland.
Asked what he thought about the new cabinet, Michael Creed, agriculture minister, said “the makeup of this government seems to be a mirror image of his own viewpoint substantially and obviously that would be of concern to us”.
Speaking as the Irish cabinet met in Donegal, Creed added:
What the government is concerned about now is the approach of new administration in UK to the withdrawal agreement. We see that as the way to have a planned withdrawal arrangement and obviously what we are hearing from the government is quite alarming.
But we consider all of those matters when we have greater clarity about the intention of the government in the UK.
This is what Boris Johnson said during his statement about considering an amnesty for migrants in the UK illegally. He was responding to a question from the Labour MP Rupa Huq, who said that when Johnson was mayor of London he proposed an amnesty for illegal immigrants. (It is an idea that Johnson has long advocated, and one that he did raise during the Tory leadership contest, but only tentatively.) Huq said, now Johnson was in a position to do something about this, he could show whether or not he was a man of his word.
Johnson insisted he was still committed to the idea. He told her:
It is absolutely true that I have raised it several times [when] I was in government. I must say, it did not receive an overwhelming endorsement from the previous prime minister when I raised it in cabinet.
But I have to say I do think our arrangements – theoretically being committed to the expulsion of perhaps half a million people who don’t have the correct papers and who may have been living and working here for many, many years without being involved in any criminal activity at all – I think that legal position is anomalous.
And we saw the difficulties that that kind of problem occasioned in the Windrush fiasco. We know the difficulties that can be caused.
And I do think – yes, I will answer [Huq] directly – I do think we need to look at our arrangements for people who have lived and worked here for a long time, unable to enter the economy, unable to participate properly or pay taxes without documents.
We should look at it. And the truth is the law already basically allows them an effective amnesty. That’s basically where things have settled down. But we should look at the the economic advantages and disadvantages of going ahead with the policy that [Huq] described and which I think she and I share.
Theresa May was not in the chamber for Boris Johnson’s statement. Along with Greg Clark, the former business secretary, and David Gauke, the former justice secretary, she has been at Lords watching the England v Ireland test match. All three left the cabinet yesterday. Gauke and Clark are seen as leading members of the “Gaukward squad”, former ministers set to oppose any attempt to take the UK out of the EU without a deal, and that fact that they’re with May will fuel suspicions that she is an honorary member too.
Johnson has now finished. He was on his feet for two and a half hours.
John Bercow, the Speaker, said he took 129 questions.
I will post a summary and reaction soon.
The SNP’s Stephen Gethins asks Johnson to accept that he was wrong to say kipper packaging rules are made by the EU.
Johnson says it is extraordinary that the SNP has decided to respond to the issue of fish, given that their policy would keep Scotland in the common fisheries policy.
Johnson refuses to acknowledge that he falsely blamed the EU for deciding new rules on kipper packaging.
The SNP’s Peter Grant says the assurances in the settled status scheme do not offer EU nationals the same rights they have now. Will Johnson ensure people keep the rights they have now?
Johnson says the government is giving those assurances. It wants to see them reciprocated by other EU nations.
Gavin Shuker, the independent MP, asks if Johnson will hold a confidence vote in September.
Johnson says the right thing to do is to go ahead and deliver Brexit.
The SNP’s Tommy Sheppard asks if Johnson will respect a decision by the Scottish parliament to decide to consult people on independence.
Johnson says the decision was taken in 2014. That was the right one.
Johnson refuses to commit to allowing the Scottish parliament to hold another referendum on independence.