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| Harriet Harman vows to be 'scrupulously neutral' if elected as Speaker | Harriet Harman vows to be 'scrupulously neutral' if elected as Speaker |
| (8 days later) | |
| Harriet Harman has promised to be “scrupulously neutral” as she announced her bid to become the next Speaker of the House of Commons, despite being a prominent campaigner for remain in the 2016 referendum. | Harriet Harman has promised to be “scrupulously neutral” as she announced her bid to become the next Speaker of the House of Commons, despite being a prominent campaigner for remain in the 2016 referendum. |
| The former deputy leader of the Labour party said she would put aside her past politics, including comments on Brexit having a potentially devastating impact for the UK and accusing the government of having no viable plan. | The former deputy leader of the Labour party said she would put aside her past politics, including comments on Brexit having a potentially devastating impact for the UK and accusing the government of having no viable plan. |
| The Speaker is the chief officer and the highest authority in the House of Commons. They chair parliamentary debate to call MPs to speak, to keep order, and to instruct when votes should be taken. | The Speaker is the chief officer and the highest authority in the House of Commons. They chair parliamentary debate to call MPs to speak, to keep order, and to instruct when votes should be taken. |
| The Speaker is expected to remain politically neutral on all issues, and to continue this even in retirement. On appointment as Speaker, they resign from their political party. They continue to stand for election as an MP, but by tradition they are unopposed in their constituency by the major parties. | The Speaker is expected to remain politically neutral on all issues, and to continue this even in retirement. On appointment as Speaker, they resign from their political party. They continue to stand for election as an MP, but by tradition they are unopposed in their constituency by the major parties. |
| The Speaker has the power to compel MPs to withdraw remarks, to suspend individual MPs, or to suspend the whole sitting of the House of Commons in case of serious disruption. | The Speaker has the power to compel MPs to withdraw remarks, to suspend individual MPs, or to suspend the whole sitting of the House of Commons in case of serious disruption. |
| Speakers are elected by MPs in a secret ballot. MPs are given a list of candidates and make their choice. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the votes, the question is put to the house that he or she takes the chair as Speaker. If no candidate reaches 50%, the candidate with the fewest votes and those with less than 5% of the vote are eliminated, and MPs vote again until one candidate succeeds. | Speakers are elected by MPs in a secret ballot. MPs are given a list of candidates and make their choice. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the votes, the question is put to the house that he or she takes the chair as Speaker. If no candidate reaches 50%, the candidate with the fewest votes and those with less than 5% of the vote are eliminated, and MPs vote again until one candidate succeeds. |
| Sir Lindsay Hoyle was elected Speaker on 4 November 2019, replacing John Bercow, who stepped down from the role having been elected as Speaker in June 2009. | Sir Lindsay Hoyle was elected Speaker on 4 November 2019, replacing John Bercow, who stepped down from the role having been elected as Speaker in June 2009. |
| The past few years in parliament have been beset by accusations from Tories and Brexit-backing MPs that the Speaker, John Bercow, has favoured the remainers’ agenda by granting debates and facilitating legislative change, including allowing parliament to take control of the Commons’ timetable. | The past few years in parliament have been beset by accusations from Tories and Brexit-backing MPs that the Speaker, John Bercow, has favoured the remainers’ agenda by granting debates and facilitating legislative change, including allowing parliament to take control of the Commons’ timetable. |
| “All MPs are elected in a contested election where they put forward the views of their party and their own political views but once you offer yourself for election as Speaker you are making a promise you will set that aside and that you will be neutral,” she told the Radio 4 Today programme on Tuesday. “What the Speaker has to do is to ensure that parliament can have its say.” | “All MPs are elected in a contested election where they put forward the views of their party and their own political views but once you offer yourself for election as Speaker you are making a promise you will set that aside and that you will be neutral,” she told the Radio 4 Today programme on Tuesday. “What the Speaker has to do is to ensure that parliament can have its say.” |
| Bercow has announced he will stand down on 31 October after a decade in the chair. | Bercow has announced he will stand down on 31 October after a decade in the chair. |
| Contenders quickly launched bids to stand, including the current deputies, the Labour MP Sir Lindsay Hoyle and the Conservative MP Eleanor Laing. Another Labour MP, Chris Bryant, is also expected to run. | Contenders quickly launched bids to stand, including the current deputies, the Labour MP Sir Lindsay Hoyle and the Conservative MP Eleanor Laing. Another Labour MP, Chris Bryant, is also expected to run. |
| Harman, 69, would be the second woman to occupy the role if chosen by MPs after Betty Boothroyd’s stint between 1992 and 2000. Harman has also served as solicitor general. | Harman, 69, would be the second woman to occupy the role if chosen by MPs after Betty Boothroyd’s stint between 1992 and 2000. Harman has also served as solicitor general. |
| If the UK leaves the EU without a deal it would by default, become a “third country”, with no overarching post-Brexit plan in place and no transition period. The UK would no longer be paying into the EU budget, nor would it hand over the £39bn divorce payment. | |
| The UK would drop out of countless arrangements, pacts and treaties, covering everything from tariffs to the movement of people, foodstuffs, other goods and data, to numerous specific deals on things such as aviation, and policing and security. Without an overall withdrawal agreement each element would need to be agreed. In the immediate aftermath, without a deal the UK would trade with the EU on the default terms of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including tariffs on agricultural goods. | The UK would drop out of countless arrangements, pacts and treaties, covering everything from tariffs to the movement of people, foodstuffs, other goods and data, to numerous specific deals on things such as aviation, and policing and security. Without an overall withdrawal agreement each element would need to be agreed. In the immediate aftermath, without a deal the UK would trade with the EU on the default terms of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including tariffs on agricultural goods. |
| The UK government has already indicated that it will set low or no tariffs on goods coming into the country. This would lower the price of imports – making it harder for British manufacturers to compete with foreign goods. If the UK sets the tariffs to zero on goods coming in from the EU, under WTO “most favoured nation” rules it must also offer the same zero tariffs to other countries. | The UK government has already indicated that it will set low or no tariffs on goods coming into the country. This would lower the price of imports – making it harder for British manufacturers to compete with foreign goods. If the UK sets the tariffs to zero on goods coming in from the EU, under WTO “most favoured nation” rules it must also offer the same zero tariffs to other countries. |
| WTO rules only cover goods – they do not apply to financial services, a significant part of the UK’s economy. Trading under WTO rules will also require border checks, which could cause delays at ports, and a severe challenge to the peace process in Ireland without alternative arrangements in place to avoid a hard border. | WTO rules only cover goods – they do not apply to financial services, a significant part of the UK’s economy. Trading under WTO rules will also require border checks, which could cause delays at ports, and a severe challenge to the peace process in Ireland without alternative arrangements in place to avoid a hard border. |
| Some no-deal supporters have claimed that the UK can use article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Gatt) to force the EU to accept a period of up to 10 years where there are no tariffs while a free trade agreement is negotiated. However, the UK cannot invoke article XXIV unilaterally – the EU would have to agree to it. In previous cases where the article has been used, the two sides had a deal in place, and it has never been used to replicate something of the scale and complexity of the EU and the UK’s trading relationship. | |
| The director general of the WTO, Roberto Azevêdo, has told Prospect magazine that “in simple factual terms in this scenario, you could expect to see the application of tariffs between the UK and EU where currently there are none”. | The director general of the WTO, Roberto Azevêdo, has told Prospect magazine that “in simple factual terms in this scenario, you could expect to see the application of tariffs between the UK and EU where currently there are none”. |
| Until some agreements are in place, a no-deal scenario will place extra overheads on UK businesses – eg the current government advice is that all drivers, including lorries and commercial vehicles, will require extra documentation to be able to drive in Europeif there is no deal. Those arguing for a “managed” no deal envisage that a range of smaller, sector-by-sector, bilateral agreements could be quickly put into place as mutual self-interest between the UK and EU to avoid introducing or to rapidly remove this kind of bureaucracy. | |
| Martin Belam | Martin Belam |
| She said that while the Speaker must be neutral to different views, they do not have to be when it comes to the relationship between the government and parliament. | She said that while the Speaker must be neutral to different views, they do not have to be when it comes to the relationship between the government and parliament. |
| “The Speaker has to be scrupulously neutral as between different views within the House. But the Speaker is not neutral between parliament and the executive. The Speaker has to be on parliament’s side and stand up for parliament,” she said. | “The Speaker has to be scrupulously neutral as between different views within the House. But the Speaker is not neutral between parliament and the executive. The Speaker has to be on parliament’s side and stand up for parliament,” she said. |
| “Parliament is relevant. The Speaker can make [government] come to the House of Commons and sometimes ministers would rather sit in their cosy departments and not have to answer the difficult questions but … [Bercow’s] made parliament more relevant and more powerful,” she said. | “Parliament is relevant. The Speaker can make [government] come to the House of Commons and sometimes ministers would rather sit in their cosy departments and not have to answer the difficult questions but … [Bercow’s] made parliament more relevant and more powerful,” she said. |
| She also raised how Bercow granted 152 urgent questions in the past year, compared with just two being granted in the year before he took over the role. | She also raised how Bercow granted 152 urgent questions in the past year, compared with just two being granted in the year before he took over the role. |
| Separately, the shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, took on the TV presenter Piers Morgan on Tuesday morning in a fiery exchange on ITV’s Good Morning Britain. | Separately, the shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, took on the TV presenter Piers Morgan on Tuesday morning in a fiery exchange on ITV’s Good Morning Britain. |
| She reiterated her party’s position that Labour wants to have a close relationship with the EU on trade and will aim to strike a better deal than the former prime minister Theresa May was able to achieve. She would then personally vote remain should there be a second referendum on that deal. | She reiterated her party’s position that Labour wants to have a close relationship with the EU on trade and will aim to strike a better deal than the former prime minister Theresa May was able to achieve. She would then personally vote remain should there be a second referendum on that deal. |
| Morgan said Labour’s negotiating position, should it be presented to the EU, was “catastrophically weak”. | Morgan said Labour’s negotiating position, should it be presented to the EU, was “catastrophically weak”. |
| Thornberry said: “If we had a referendum I believe what’s best for jobs and the economy is remain in the European Union. So I would be dishonest to do anything other than to campaign for remain. However, if we’re going to have a referendum we have to have a referendum of real choice.” | Thornberry said: “If we had a referendum I believe what’s best for jobs and the economy is remain in the European Union. So I would be dishonest to do anything other than to campaign for remain. However, if we’re going to have a referendum we have to have a referendum of real choice.” |
| Harriet Harman | Harriet Harman |
| House of Commons | House of Commons |
| John Bercow | John Bercow |
| Labour | Labour |
| Brexit | Brexit |
| news | news |
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