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General election: Farage's plan to stand aside in Tory seats amounts to 'Trump alliance', says Corbyn - live news General election: Farage's plan to stand aside in Tory seats amounts to 'Trump alliance', says Corbyn - live news
(32 minutes later)
Farage says he was worried Brexit party could let the Lib Dems take seats from Tories. Follow all the developments nowFarage says he was worried Brexit party could let the Lib Dems take seats from Tories. Follow all the developments now
If the flooding that hit the Midlands and northern England at the end of last week had happened in the south east, it’s more likely it would have been declared a national emergency, the Labour leader has claimed. Over at the Guardian’s general election fact check desk, my colleague Hilary Osborne has had a look at Emily Thornberry’s claim the UK’s armed forces have “effectively had a pay cut over the last few years”:
The SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, has been seeking to portray the Tories as increasingly in thrall to Nigel Farage after the latter announced that his Brexit party will not stand candidates in Conservative-held seats.
We reported earlier that Sturgeon had said that any form of Brexit that would be acceptable to Farage would be bad for Scotland (see 3.45pm). Here’s a little more on those comments:
Nigel Farage, the leader of the Brexit party, claimed today that he had killed off any prospect of a second referendum after he declared that his party would not stand candidates in the 317 seats won by the Conservatives in 2017. The exact impact of his decision is still a matter of debate, but it is almost certainly the most significant electoral boost the Tories have had in the campaign so far. In a speech in Hartlepool (full text here), Farage claimed that his decision meant a “leave alliance” was now in operation. He said:
Boris Johnson has claimed that he did not call Farage to agree a leave alliance deal with him. But in his speech Farage claimed that he changed his mind, and decided not to stand candidates in Tory-held seats even though only 10 days ago he said Johnson would have to abandon his whole Brexit plan for this to happen, because of assurances made by Johnson in a video posted on Twitter yesterday afternoon. Farage said:
Johnson’s “super Canada plus” comment has not been reported today because this sort of trade deal has always been his aim, and there was nothing new in what he was saying yesterday in the video. But it did look as though it had been distributed to give Farage cover for the climbdown he announced today.
At the moment Farage is still planning to run candidates in Labour-held seats, which could prevent the Tories from making gains in those constituencies. But given that Farage has now accepted that Johnson’s deal is acceptable, and that a Johnson majority government would be preferable to a hung parliament, it is hard to see the logic of his stance. It remains to be seen if a further retreat is coming. Thursday is the deadline when candidates must decide whether they are or are not standing in constituencies.
The opposition parties have said that Farage’s decision confirms that the Conservative party is becoming the Brexit party. Labour (here), the SNP (here) and the Lib Dems (here) have all made this point.
Jeremy Corbyn has urged Johnson to declare a national emergency and chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee, Cobra, in response to the flooding in South Yorkshire.
Hillary Clinton has called Downing Street’s suppression of a report into potential Russian infiltration of British politics “damaging, inexplicable and shaming”.
A Green party candidate has withdrawn in a second marginal seat targeted by Labour, prompting speculation that more Greens could step aside as part of an informal anti-Conservative alliance not sanctioned by the central party.
Dominic Raab, the UK foreign secretary, has accused Corbyn of putting Marxist solidarity ahead of democracy after the Labour leader said Evo Morales had been forced to resign as Bolivia’s president due to a military coup.
A Labour government would introduce “managed migration” for EU nationals in the event Brexit happens, the shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, has said as the party continues to debate what immigration policy to offer at the election.
The Conservatives have challenged Labour to explain whether Corbyn would be willing to use nuclear weapons as a last resort after Thornberry refused to answer this question in an interview.
Johnson’s government appears to be preparing to nominate an EU commissioner, potentially breaching another Brexit promise after he failed to meet his “do or die” deadline to leave on 31 October.
Britain’s economy avoided a recession in the third quarter after it expanded by 0.3% but the annual pace of growth was the slowest for nearly 10 years as Brexit uncertainty depressed business activity.
Ireland has expressed concern over a Conservative party pledge to change the law to protect former soldiers in Northern Ireland from possible prosecution over deaths during the Troubles.
That’s all from me for today.
My colleague Kevin Rawlinson is now writing the blog for the rest of the night.
If the flooding that hit the Midlands and northern England at the end of last week had happened in the south-east, it’s more likely it would have been declared a national emergency, the Labour leader has claimed.
Jeremy Corbyn has urged the prime minister to hold a Cobra meeting and take personal charge of the government’s response as he says his party’s analysis suggests the Environment Agency has lost a fifth of its frontline staff under Tory-led governments.Jeremy Corbyn has urged the prime minister to hold a Cobra meeting and take personal charge of the government’s response as he says his party’s analysis suggests the Environment Agency has lost a fifth of its frontline staff under Tory-led governments.
Here is the full text of his letter to Boris Johnson:Here is the full text of his letter to Boris Johnson:
Patrick Maguire in the New Statesman argues that the Brexit party’s decision to stand down in Tory-held seats won’t be welcomed by all Conservative candidates in those constituencies. Here is an extract.Patrick Maguire in the New Statesman argues that the Brexit party’s decision to stand down in Tory-held seats won’t be welcomed by all Conservative candidates in those constituencies. Here is an extract.
From the Financial Times’ Jim PickardFrom the Financial Times’ Jim Pickard
John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, has accused Sajid Javid, the chancellor, of trying to avoid a TV debate with him, my colleague Heather Stewart reports.John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, has accused Sajid Javid, the chancellor, of trying to avoid a TV debate with him, my colleague Heather Stewart reports.
Here is one baby that Boris Johnson probably won’t be getting his hands on. (See 4.53pm.) This is from Ellie Reeves, who is seeing re-election as Labour MP for Lewisham West and Penge.Here is one baby that Boris Johnson probably won’t be getting his hands on. (See 4.53pm.) This is from Ellie Reeves, who is seeing re-election as Labour MP for Lewisham West and Penge.
The SNP has issued a statement about what it describes as the legal action being taken by “one of the smaller parties” (ie, the Lib Dems - see 4.49pm). It is from Kirsten Oswald, the SNP’s business convenor and its candidate in East Renrewshire.The SNP has issued a statement about what it describes as the legal action being taken by “one of the smaller parties” (ie, the Lib Dems - see 4.49pm). It is from Kirsten Oswald, the SNP’s business convenor and its candidate in East Renrewshire.
A Green party candidate has withdrawn in a second marginal seat targeted by Labour, prompting speculation that more Greens could step aside as part of an informal anti-Conservative alliance not sanctioned by the central party, my colleague Peter Walker reports.A Green party candidate has withdrawn in a second marginal seat targeted by Labour, prompting speculation that more Greens could step aside as part of an informal anti-Conservative alliance not sanctioned by the central party, my colleague Peter Walker reports.
My colleague Marina Hyde has written up the Nigel Farage press conference earlier. Here is an extract.
And here is her article in full.
It would not be a modern general election without a dispute about leaders’ debates, and the current disagreement has moved to its next stage with the Liberal Democrats filing high court proceedings against the decision to exclude Jo Swinson from ITV’s event.
The application for judicial review over ITV’s move to invite only Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn to take part in the debate on 19 November was filed to the high court on Monday afternoon.
Speaking outside the court the Lib Dem president, Sal Brinton said:
The party has been hugely critical of the decision to exclude Swinson. She will take part in a wider Sky News event on 28 November, though it is not yet clear which other leaders will participate. The BBC is also holding a Johnson-Corbyn debate, as well as other programmes with a wider cast list.Judicial review is a somewhat broad legal tactic, seeking a judge to examine whether a decision made by a public body was legal or not. Time could be against the Lib Dems, as the court needs to first decide if judicial review can take place, and then consider the specific issue.
Both ITV and the BBC have defended their formats, saying Johnson and Corbyn lead the parties which took, between them, 82% of the votes in the 2017 election.
This is from the anti-Brexit group Best for Britain.
The BBC has apologised for mistakenly showing old footage of Boris Johnson laying a wreath on BBC Breakfast this morning, instead of footage from yesterday, when Johnson put his wreath down the wrong way round. The error has prompted claims on social media that this was evidence of pro-Tory bias. But the truth was more straightforward, according to Richard Frediani, executive editor of BBC Breakfast.
Nigel Farage has claimed he was offered a peerage at the end of last week, the Mirror’s Ben Glaze reports. Farage told the Mirror that he turned down the offer (he did not say who made it) and that he would not accept a knighthood or a peerage.
Here is more from the politics academic Matthew Goodwin on the impact of the Brexit party standing aside in Tory-held seats.
Nigel Farage’s decision to stand down Brexit party candidates in Tory seats is not as clear cut in Scotland as it may seem, since it could damage Tory campaigns to unseat the Scottish National party in at least one key target seat.
A Brexit party spokesman has confirmed they will still stand candidates in SNP seats, and that could prove significant in Perth and North Perthshire, the Scottish Tories’ top target seat. The Tories are fighting on two fronts: pledging to “get Brexit done” but also leveraging opposition to a second independence referendum.
The SNP’s Pete Wishart holds a wafer-thin, 21-vote (0.04%) majority over the Tories in Perth and North Perthshire. In the 2015 general election an arch-Brexiter standing for Ukip, John Miles, took 1,110 votes there.
Wishart’s chances of holding the seat were boosted when the pro-independence Scottish Green party decided at the weekend not to stand a candidate against him, decreasing direct competition for SNP votes. (See 1.57pm.)
There is strong pro-Brexit sentiment in the area. The Brexit party came third in the council area of Perth & Kinross in the 2019 European parliament elections, with 8,088 votes, and Ukip took another 770. Those pro-Brexit votes accounted for 17.5% of all those cast in the area.
The Brexit party’s candidate for Perth and North Perthshire, Stuart Powell, is campaigning with the pledge: “We are real people doing ordinary jobs and intend to serve rather than rule”.
While he was campaigning this morning, Boris Johnson was also asked if immigration would increase or decrease under Tory policies. He refused to say, replying:
Johnson said he was “in favour of immigration as a whole” as it allows “people of talent” to come to the UK. When pressed on whether his policies would result in a decrease in immigration numbers, Johnson replied:
On Saturday the Home Office minister Victoria Atkins was also unable to answer this question.