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| Boris Johnson warned no deal Brexit could lead to farmers blocking roads in protest - live news | Boris Johnson warned no deal Brexit could lead to farmers blocking roads in protest - live news |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former communications chief, has announced today that he no longer wants to be a member of the Labour party. He has explained why in a 3,000-word open letter to Jeremy Corbyn for the New European. There is a shorter version in the Guardian, and my colleague Rowena Mason has written it up here. | |
| As Campbell explains in his New European article, his conclusion that Labour is not in a position to win a general election with Corbyn as leader has been partly influenced by time he has spent in Australia, where Labour lost a general election earlier this year that it had been widely expected to win. Campbell writes: | |
| I fear the country may already have decided that it does not intend to make you prime minister. The importance of being clear and honest about that has been underlined to me talking to senior politicians in Australia, where the Labor party has recently lost an election it was almost universally expected to win against a failing, right-wing government. The data was there for all to see - Bill Shorten was not popular enough to win, the country had made up its mind. But the party failed to confront that truth, perhaps because Labor were polling well ahead of the government. Labour in the UK has no such excuse for denial. Both party standing and yours are nowhere near where they need to be, nor anywhere near where Bill Shorten’s and Labor’s were. | |
| In an interview on the Today programme this morning, Campbell said that he would not be joining the Liberal Democrats. “I don’t feel I’m close to other parties, but I do think if we do get to a general election and the choice facing the country is Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn all sorts of things are going to happen because that is not a choice that this country finds remotely palatable,” Campbell said. He said he did not know how he would vote at the next general election, but he said that Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, was his local MP, and he described Starmer as “a good MP’. | |
| Campbell also said that he wanted to support Labour, but that the party was no longer the one he had supported all his life. | |
| I don’t ever want to vote anything but Labour. But this Labour party is not the Labour party of Clement Attlee, it is not the Labour party of Harold Wilson, it is not the Labour party of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. It has been taken over by people who until recently were communists, they were Stalinists, and they still are, in my view. And I think it’s time to stop pretending, all of us, members, MPs, let’s stop pretending that this is the Labour party that we really believe in. | |
| The Telegraph’s Europe editor, Peter Foster, has a good Twitter thread that considers how realistic it is for the government to say that farmers can make up for the possible loss of access to the EU market by selling their produce to other countries abroad. It starts here. | The Telegraph’s Europe editor, Peter Foster, has a good Twitter thread that considers how realistic it is for the government to say that farmers can make up for the possible loss of access to the EU market by selling their produce to other countries abroad. It starts here. |
| Some facts and figures on this - the value of UK lamb exports to the EU, the value of the 'new opportunities' in Japan, and the gap between the two 1/thread. #Brexit #NoDealBrexit https://t.co/qweGGMbqBz | Some facts and figures on this - the value of UK lamb exports to the EU, the value of the 'new opportunities' in Japan, and the gap between the two 1/thread. #Brexit #NoDealBrexit https://t.co/qweGGMbqBz |
| And here are two of his key tweets. | And here are two of his key tweets. |
| So what about the value of the new Japanese opportunities advanced by @AlunCairns to @bbcnickrobinson on @BBCr4today as an offset...mmm...it's not very good I'm afraid.../5 | So what about the value of the new Japanese opportunities advanced by @AlunCairns to @bbcnickrobinson on @BBCr4today as an offset...mmm...it's not very good I'm afraid.../5 |
| The Institute of Export and internatinal trade says the Japan deal is worth £52m over FIVE YEARS...so £10.4m a year. Against exports of nearly to EU of NEARLY £400m! /5https://t.co/HJIjfqphkF pic.twitter.com/t9lZcW9Tdw | The Institute of Export and internatinal trade says the Japan deal is worth £52m over FIVE YEARS...so £10.4m a year. Against exports of nearly to EU of NEARLY £400m! /5https://t.co/HJIjfqphkF pic.twitter.com/t9lZcW9Tdw |
| On the Today programme this morning Alun Cairns, the Welsh secretary, stressed that the government was trying to avoid a no deal Brexit. He also said, after Brexit, there would be opportunities for farmers to sell their produce outside the EU. He explained: | On the Today programme this morning Alun Cairns, the Welsh secretary, stressed that the government was trying to avoid a no deal Brexit. He also said, after Brexit, there would be opportunities for farmers to sell their produce outside the EU. He explained: |
| We are now looking to the growth that will come from right around the world, 90% of global growth will come from outside of the EU, but we don’t want to close our back on the European market either and that’s why working hard to get a deal is important, but of course there needs to be a shift in attitude and a positive response to the cause that we’re making. | We are now looking to the growth that will come from right around the world, 90% of global growth will come from outside of the EU, but we don’t want to close our back on the European market either and that’s why working hard to get a deal is important, but of course there needs to be a shift in attitude and a positive response to the cause that we’re making. |
| But Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union, said that the government should be doing more to open up opportunities for farmers. She told the programme: | But Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union, said that the government should be doing more to open up opportunities for farmers. She told the programme: |
| Government buying standards, government contracts at the moment - those are not based on British sourcing at all and they could be. | Government buying standards, government contracts at the moment - those are not based on British sourcing at all and they could be. |
| We could look at and should be looking right now at opening up market opportunities in China, but that isn’t happening. | We could look at and should be looking right now at opening up market opportunities in China, but that isn’t happening. |
| There’s also opportunities in the United States that could be happening right now, but it isn’t happening. | There’s also opportunities in the United States that could be happening right now, but it isn’t happening. |
| The prospect of a no deal Brexit is also spooking the currency markets. As my colleague Jasper Jolly reports on the business live blog, renewed selling this morning has left the pound just a percent away from hitting a 34-year low. There is more on the blog here. | The prospect of a no deal Brexit is also spooking the currency markets. As my colleague Jasper Jolly reports on the business live blog, renewed selling this morning has left the pound just a percent away from hitting a 34-year low. There is more on the blog here. |
| Pound suffers further slide after Boris Johnson takes Brexit hard line – business live | Pound suffers further slide after Boris Johnson takes Brexit hard line – business live |
| Here is my colleague Rowena Mason’s story on what Welsh farmers are saying to Boris Johnson ahead of his visit to the country later today. | Here is my colleague Rowena Mason’s story on what Welsh farmers are saying to Boris Johnson ahead of his visit to the country later today. |
| Stop playing Russian roulette with sheep industry, Johnson told | Stop playing Russian roulette with sheep industry, Johnson told |
| Recently Donald Trump spoke about his first phone call with Boris Johnson after Johnson became prime minister. His comments included this fascinating aside. | Recently Donald Trump spoke about his first phone call with Boris Johnson after Johnson became prime minister. His comments included this fascinating aside. |
| We don’t do the kind of trade we could do with - what some people say is Great Britain, and some people remember - a word you don’t hear too much is England, which is a piece of it. | We don’t do the kind of trade we could do with - what some people say is Great Britain, and some people remember - a word you don’t hear too much is England, which is a piece of it. |
| It would be easy to put this down to simple US confusion about the name of the country that Johnson presides over (understandable confusion - it is not straightforward). But with Brexit posing perhaps the biggest threat to the preservation of the union of the United Kingdom for a century, perhaps Trump was being more prescient than he realised. It is not entirely impossible that, within a generation, England might be all that is left. | It would be easy to put this down to simple US confusion about the name of the country that Johnson presides over (understandable confusion - it is not straightforward). But with Brexit posing perhaps the biggest threat to the preservation of the union of the United Kingdom for a century, perhaps Trump was being more prescient than he realised. It is not entirely impossible that, within a generation, England might be all that is left. |
| In Northern Ireland the prospect of a no deal Brexit is making Irish reunification look more palatable to some than it has done for years, and Theresa May was so alarmed by this that she eventually concluded a no deal Brexit would be unacceptable. In Scotland the SNP believes that the combination of Brexit and a Johnson premiership could make a second independence referendum easier to win than the last one. Wales is a different prospect; unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, it voted leave along with England. And in Wales even the nationalists are wary of independence - Plaid Cymru is more of a home rule party, with independence only a long-term goal. But even in Wales opinion is shifting. Recently the Labour first minister, Mark Drakeford, said that Wales’s support for the union was not unconditional, and only yesterday an opinion poll put Plaid Cymru ahead in voting intention for the Welsh assembly for the first time ever. | In Northern Ireland the prospect of a no deal Brexit is making Irish reunification look more palatable to some than it has done for years, and Theresa May was so alarmed by this that she eventually concluded a no deal Brexit would be unacceptable. In Scotland the SNP believes that the combination of Brexit and a Johnson premiership could make a second independence referendum easier to win than the last one. Wales is a different prospect; unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, it voted leave along with England. And in Wales even the nationalists are wary of independence - Plaid Cymru is more of a home rule party, with independence only a long-term goal. But even in Wales opinion is shifting. Recently the Labour first minister, Mark Drakeford, said that Wales’s support for the union was not unconditional, and only yesterday an opinion poll put Plaid Cymru ahead in voting intention for the Welsh assembly for the first time ever. |
| After his visit to Scotland yesterday, Johnson, who has given himself the title “minister for the union” alongside the title prime minister, is in Wales, and, according to a statement released by Number 10 overnight, he will tell Welsh farmers they have a bright future after Brexit. He will say: | After his visit to Scotland yesterday, Johnson, who has given himself the title “minister for the union” alongside the title prime minister, is in Wales, and, according to a statement released by Number 10 overnight, he will tell Welsh farmers they have a bright future after Brexit. He will say: |
| I will always back Britain’s great farmers and as we leave the EU we need to make sure that Brexit works for them. | I will always back Britain’s great farmers and as we leave the EU we need to make sure that Brexit works for them. |
| That means scrapping the common agricultural policy and signing new trade deals – our amazing food and farming sector will be ready and waiting to continue selling ever more not just here but around the world. | That means scrapping the common agricultural policy and signing new trade deals – our amazing food and farming sector will be ready and waiting to continue selling ever more not just here but around the world. |
| Once we leave the EU on 31 October, we will have a historic opportunity to introduce new schemes to support farming– and we will make sure that farmers gets a better deal. | Once we leave the EU on 31 October, we will have a historic opportunity to introduce new schemes to support farming– and we will make sure that farmers gets a better deal. |
| Brexit presents enormous opportunities for our country and it’s time we looked to the future with pride and optimism. | Brexit presents enormous opportunities for our country and it’s time we looked to the future with pride and optimism. |
| But not everyone is convinced. On the Today programme this morning Helen Roberts, a sheep farmer in Wales and a regional development officer for the National Sheep Association, said a no deal Brexit could lead to farmers in Wales blocking roads in protest. Echoing a comment made by the Farmers Union of Wales, which recently warned that a no deal Brexit could lead to “civil unrest” in the principality, Roberts said a no deal Brexit would be “catastrophic” for sheep farmers. She explained: | But not everyone is convinced. On the Today programme this morning Helen Roberts, a sheep farmer in Wales and a regional development officer for the National Sheep Association, said a no deal Brexit could lead to farmers in Wales blocking roads in protest. Echoing a comment made by the Farmers Union of Wales, which recently warned that a no deal Brexit could lead to “civil unrest” in the principality, Roberts said a no deal Brexit would be “catastrophic” for sheep farmers. She explained: |
| At home we have got a flock of 450 ewes. We’ve just started selling the lambs off them for this year. Come the end of October, that’s when we will still be selling them. And to not have a market [because no deal would lead to the imposition of high tariffs by the EU] to sell them into just means there would be no future. | At home we have got a flock of 450 ewes. We’ve just started selling the lambs off them for this year. Come the end of October, that’s when we will still be selling them. And to not have a market [because no deal would lead to the imposition of high tariffs by the EU] to sell them into just means there would be no future. |
| Asked if she thought farmers would really take the fight onto the streets in the event of a no deal Brexit, Roberts replied: | Asked if she thought farmers would really take the fight onto the streets in the event of a no deal Brexit, Roberts replied: |
| I think they will. I think it is time to stand up for ourselves and be counted. We produce the most wonderful product and we need to be able to sell it and continue farming and looking after the land, like we do best. | I think they will. I think it is time to stand up for ourselves and be counted. We produce the most wonderful product and we need to be able to sell it and continue farming and looking after the land, like we do best. |
| Asked what she meant, and whether she was talking about the possibility of farmers blocking roads with tractors, Roberts said she would expect something like that in the event of a no deal Brexit. | Asked what she meant, and whether she was talking about the possibility of farmers blocking roads with tractors, Roberts said she would expect something like that in the event of a no deal Brexit. |
| Johnson is in Wales this afternoon. And Jeremy Corbyn is also on a visit today. He is due to meet anti-fracking protesters at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site. Otherwise the diary is fairly empty. | Johnson is in Wales this afternoon. And Jeremy Corbyn is also on a visit today. He is due to meet anti-fracking protesters at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site. Otherwise the diary is fairly empty. |
| As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I plan to publish a summary when I wrap up. | As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I plan to publish a summary when I wrap up. |
| You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads. | You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads. |
| If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow. | If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow. |
| I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone. | I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone. |
| If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. | If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. |