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| Brexit: Jo Johnson, brother of Boris Johnson, to stand down – live news | Brexit: Jo Johnson, brother of Boris Johnson, to stand down – live news |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| From Sky’s Adam Parsons | |
| BREAKING: Michel Barnier has postponed a visit to Belfast on Monday, saying it would be an “inappropriate” time to visit and that Westminster has reached “a moment of truth”. Notable that Boris Johnson is due to visit Dublin on the same day@skynews | |
| This is from the Press Association. | |
| A Number 10 spokesman said Jo Johnson had been “a brilliant, talented minister and a fantastic MP”, and the prime minister “as both a politician and brother understands this will not have been an easy matter for Jo”. | |
| But No 10 still has not yet clarified whether Jo Johnson is leaving the government today, or at the election. | |
| Here is a live feed of Michael Gove giving evidence to the Brexit committee. | |
| Gove says the Operation Yellowhammer document, about the government’s assumption for a no-deal Brexit, was presented to a cabinet committee in the first week of August, and discussed on 2 August. | |
| But he says that it was produced over a series of months. | |
| Q: Why did you describe it as old? | |
| Gove says many of the assumptions in the report were old. They had to be tested. | |
| Q: You described it as absolutely the worst case scenario. Was that correct? | |
| Gove says it was a reasonable worst case scenario. | |
| Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister in charge of no-deal planning, has just started giving evidence to the Commons Brexit committee. | |
| There is a live feed here. | |
| Hilary Benn, the chair, is asking the questions. | |
| Q: On The Andrew Marr Show you could not say you would comply with the bill designed to stop a no-deal Brexit because you had not seen it. Now you have seen it, will you comply with it? | |
| Yes, says Gove. | |
| Gove says government will comply with the Benn bill if it becomes law. | |
| Jo Johnson has achieved a unique distinction; he is the only minister to have resigned twice over Brexit. | |
| In November last year he resigned as a transport minister in Theresa May’s government because he could not support the withdrawal agreement. Other ministers who resigned at the time, like Dominic Raab, did so because they thought the agreement did not amount to a pure enough form of Brexit. Johnson agreed with them that it was an unsatisfactory compromise, but in a long statement explaining his resignation he said there should be a second referendum. He said: | |
| Given that the reality of Brexit has turned out to be so far from what was once promised, the democratic thing to do is to give the public the final say. This would not be about re-running the 2016 referendum, but about asking people whether they want to go ahead with Brexit now that we know the deal that is actually available to us, whether we should leave without any deal at all or whether people on balance would rather stick with the deal we already have inside the European Union. | |
| To those who say that is an affront to democracy given the 2016 result, I ask this. Is it more democratic to rely on a three-year-old vote based on what an idealised Brexit might offer, or to have a vote based on what we know it does actually entail? | |
| A majority of Orpington voters chose to leave the EU in 2016 and many of the close friends I have there, among them hard-working local Conservative party members, are passionately pro-Brexit. I respect their position. But I know from meetings I have had with local members that many are as dismayed as me by the course of negotiations and about the actual choice now on offer. Two-and-a-half years on, the practical Brexit options are now clear and the public should be asked to choose between the different paths facing our country: we will all have different positions on that choice, but I think many in my local party, in the Orpington constituency and around the country would welcome having the last word on the government’s Brexit proposals. | |
| This is from Robin Niblett, director of the Chatham House thinktank | |
| Having heard Jo Johnson speak eloquently and passionately in the recent past about the need for the UK to have a close and effective long-term relationship with the EU, this seems like a logical decision. More logical than his decision to become a minister in this government https://t.co/mEH3qlsqzV | |
| More on Jo Johnson’s resignation. (Or pending resignation - we’re still not clear when he is actually clearing his ministerial desk.) | |
| From ITV’s Robert Peston | |
| Funnily enough I said to an MP only yesterday that the looming Brexit general election would tear families apart https://t.co/dPLl3PAkc7 | |
| It is wholly unsurprising that @JoJohnsonUK is standing down at looming election; he told colleagues how upset he was at purging of Tory MPs like @JustineGreening and Ken Clarke, to whom he is closer politically in many ways than to his brother, especially on Brexit | |
| From the BBC’s Laura Kuennsberg | |
| Absolutely astonishing twist - one tory insider texts to say ‘he’s killed him’ https://t.co/fK3clhKNCz | |
| From the Labour MEP Theresa Griffin | From the Labour MEP Theresa Griffin |
| The first example of a politician stepping down to spend less time with their family? https://t.co/PxPZ7ufTBg | The first example of a politician stepping down to spend less time with their family? https://t.co/PxPZ7ufTBg |
| Jo Johnson’s resignation comes as the pound hits a five-week high, on hopes that a no-deal Brexit can be avoided. | Jo Johnson’s resignation comes as the pound hits a five-week high, on hopes that a no-deal Brexit can be avoided. |
| Sterling has rallied to $1.2345 this morning, its highest level since late July. | Sterling has rallied to $1.2345 this morning, its highest level since late July. |
| It has now gained almost four cents since Tuesday, it’s best two-day run in 10 months, as investors welcome efforts to prevent Britain crashing out of the EU without a deal. | It has now gained almost four cents since Tuesday, it’s best two-day run in 10 months, as investors welcome efforts to prevent Britain crashing out of the EU without a deal. |
| Our Business Live blog has more details. | Our Business Live blog has more details. |
| From the Sun’s Steve Hawkes | From the Sun’s Steve Hawkes |
| Jo Johnson got up and left half way through brother Boris' G7 statement (it may have been PMQs) - he didn't look happy then | Jo Johnson got up and left half way through brother Boris' G7 statement (it may have been PMQs) - he didn't look happy then |
| Jo Johnson, like his brother Boris, was a journalist before he became MP. Journalists are supposed to express ideas clearly. | Jo Johnson, like his brother Boris, was a journalist before he became MP. Journalists are supposed to express ideas clearly. |
| But his tweet today is loaded with ambiguity. | But his tweet today is loaded with ambiguity. |
| It’s been an honour to represent Orpington for 9 years & to serve as a minister under three PMs. In recent weeks I’ve been torn between family loyalty and the national interest - it’s an unresolvable tension & time for others to take on my roles as MP & Minister. #overandout | It’s been an honour to represent Orpington for 9 years & to serve as a minister under three PMs. In recent weeks I’ve been torn between family loyalty and the national interest - it’s an unresolvable tension & time for others to take on my roles as MP & Minister. #overandout |
| It is not just that it is unclear from what he is saying whether he is resigning as a minister today, or whether he is just saying he will no longer serve in government because within the next few weeks he will no longer by an MP. | It is not just that it is unclear from what he is saying whether he is resigning as a minister today, or whether he is just saying he will no longer serve in government because within the next few weeks he will no longer by an MP. |
| But he also says he has been “torn between family loyalty and the national interest”. | But he also says he has been “torn between family loyalty and the national interest”. |
| MPs often decide to leave politics so that can spend more time with their children. Johnson and his wife have two. | MPs often decide to leave politics so that can spend more time with their children. Johnson and his wife have two. |
| But in this sentence “family loyalty” seems to be a reference to his brother instead. And “national interest” seems to be an admission that he can no longer support the government’s policies (although, if Johnson were going to take a stand against his brother’s strategy, the obvious time to do it would have been on Tuesday or Wednesday, when MPs were voting on no deal). | But in this sentence “family loyalty” seems to be a reference to his brother instead. And “national interest” seems to be an admission that he can no longer support the government’s policies (although, if Johnson were going to take a stand against his brother’s strategy, the obvious time to do it would have been on Tuesday or Wednesday, when MPs were voting on no deal). |
| And No 10 can’t clarify yet whether or not Jo Johnson is leaving the government today, or at the election. | And No 10 can’t clarify yet whether or not Jo Johnson is leaving the government today, or at the election. |
| The business department won’t say if Jo Johnson is still a minister in their department or not. | The business department won’t say if Jo Johnson is still a minister in their department or not. |
| Johnson is standing down at the next election. | Johnson is standing down at the next election. |
| But not Boris. It’s Jo, his brother. He has just tweeted this. | But not Boris. It’s Jo, his brother. He has just tweeted this. |
| It’s been an honour to represent Orpington for 9 years & to serve as a minister under three PMs. In recent weeks I’ve been torn between family loyalty and the national interest - it’s an unresolvable tension & time for others to take on my roles as MP & Minister. #overandout | It’s been an honour to represent Orpington for 9 years & to serve as a minister under three PMs. In recent weeks I’ve been torn between family loyalty and the national interest - it’s an unresolvable tension & time for others to take on my roles as MP & Minister. #overandout |
| Johnson has been MP for Orpington since 2010. He also attends cabinet as universities minister. He got promoted even though he voted remain in 2010 and he is much more pro-European than his brother. It is hard to believe that he is comfortable about the idea of a no-deal Brexit, although he has not questioned his brother’s strategy in public. | Johnson has been MP for Orpington since 2010. He also attends cabinet as universities minister. He got promoted even though he voted remain in 2010 and he is much more pro-European than his brother. It is hard to believe that he is comfortable about the idea of a no-deal Brexit, although he has not questioned his brother’s strategy in public. |
| This tweet implies that he is standing down as an MP at the forthcoming election, and leaving the government then, rather than that he is resigning as a minister today, but it is not entirely clear. I will clarify that as soon as I can. | This tweet implies that he is standing down as an MP at the forthcoming election, and leaving the government then, rather than that he is resigning as a minister today, but it is not entirely clear. I will clarify that as soon as I can. |
| Luciana Berger, the former Labour MP who left to join what became Change UK, has joined the Liberal Democrats. | Luciana Berger, the former Labour MP who left to join what became Change UK, has joined the Liberal Democrats. |
| I am very pleased to announce that I have joined @joswinson and the @LibDems, the strongest party to stop brexit, fight for equality and a fairer country. | I am very pleased to announce that I have joined @joswinson and the @LibDems, the strongest party to stop brexit, fight for equality and a fairer country. |
| She is the second MP to join the Lib Dems this week. On Tuesday the Conservative former minister Phillip Lee crossed the floor to join Jo Swinson’s party. | She is the second MP to join the Lib Dems this week. On Tuesday the Conservative former minister Phillip Lee crossed the floor to join Jo Swinson’s party. |
| And here is another Labour MP, Ian Murray, saying the party should “go long” in relation to an early general election (as John McDonnell put it - see 10.05am). | And here is another Labour MP, Ian Murray, saying the party should “go long” in relation to an early general election (as John McDonnell put it - see 10.05am). |
| We can't fall for the Johnson trap of a General Election in order to deliver a no deal Brexit. I won't vote for an election until after 31 October to ensure no deal is off the table. My piece for today's @edinburghpaper https://t.co/GCRdlcSYFo (Thx @annaturley for the photo) | We can't fall for the Johnson trap of a General Election in order to deliver a no deal Brexit. I won't vote for an election until after 31 October to ensure no deal is off the table. My piece for today's @edinburghpaper https://t.co/GCRdlcSYFo (Thx @annaturley for the photo) |
| Here are three Labour MP saying this morning that the party should not vote for an early general election to take place unless it is taking place after 31 October. | Here are three Labour MP saying this morning that the party should not vote for an early general election to take place unless it is taking place after 31 October. |
| From Tonia Antoniazzi | From Tonia Antoniazzi |
| I welcome the opportunity to stand in a #GeneralElection but don't be led into thinking it'll resolve this #BrexitShambles. A GE must be called AFTER the 31st October because this PM is a #Liar and the the UK will not be taken for fools! | I welcome the opportunity to stand in a #GeneralElection but don't be led into thinking it'll resolve this #BrexitShambles. A GE must be called AFTER the 31st October because this PM is a #Liar and the the UK will not be taken for fools! |
| From Anna Turley | From Anna Turley |
| I won’t be voting for a general election until Brexit is sorted after 31st October. The last GE was called to help the Tories get a ‘strong & stable’ majority & achieved nothing but more confusion. Sort negotiations first & then ask the people to confirm it one way or another. | I won’t be voting for a general election until Brexit is sorted after 31st October. The last GE was called to help the Tories get a ‘strong & stable’ majority & achieved nothing but more confusion. Sort negotiations first & then ask the people to confirm it one way or another. |
| From Catherine McKinnell | From Catherine McKinnell |
| Johnson is a Prime Minister we simply cannot trust. We should be holding him to account every day until October 31st rather than closing parliament & fighting a stunt GE, risking crashing out of the EU without a deal 1/2 | Johnson is a Prime Minister we simply cannot trust. We should be holding him to account every day until October 31st rather than closing parliament & fighting a stunt GE, risking crashing out of the EU without a deal 1/2 |
| He promised to negotiate a new deal with the EU. He claimed he can solve the Ireland/EU border ‘backstop’ issue. The public deserve more than empty promises. He needs to get on with it & put it back to Parliament & then to a public vote. 2/3 | He promised to negotiate a new deal with the EU. He claimed he can solve the Ireland/EU border ‘backstop’ issue. The public deserve more than empty promises. He needs to get on with it & put it back to Parliament & then to a public vote. 2/3 |
| The public want this resolved, but a General Election that would be about so much more than just Brexit hasn’t & won’t achieve it. It’s time to put a clear Brexit offer - with all the facts on the table - back to Parliament & then to the people for the final say. #PeoplesVote /3 | The public want this resolved, but a General Election that would be about so much more than just Brexit hasn’t & won’t achieve it. It’s time to put a clear Brexit offer - with all the facts on the table - back to Parliament & then to the people for the final say. #PeoplesVote /3 |