It’s the first PMQs between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn for several weeks and there’s no shortage of ammo for the Labour leader. He could seize on the latest dreadful social mobility report (and links to austerity) or on the Tories’ Russian money links. Ahead of the opposition’s Commons debate demanding a climate change ‘emergency’, Corbyn could even cite the Extinction Rebellion activist who said her meeting with Michael Gove yesterday was ‘less sh*t than expected, but only mildly’.
As the May and Corbyn teams prepare to resume talks on Brexit, in some ways that activist’s quip may be a neat summary of negotiations between the government and opposition this week. The talks were in a dire state last week and although Monday’s meeting was more positive, few see any real breakthrough as close. But that’s not stopped some Brexiteers in Cabinet from sniffing betrayal in the way the PM has continued to sleep with the enemy.
Newsnight’s Nick Watt said last night that some ministers feared May was set to ‘cave’ to Labour demands for a customs union. The Telegraph reports that Gove thinks one way out would be if the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) contained a pledge to deliver ‘the benefits of a customs union’. He is also said to have told Cabinet that it would be better to have the ‘unpalatable’ outcome of a deal with Labour than no Brexit at all. On Today, Labour’s Becky Long-Bailey said of the Tories: ‘pragmatically they potentially may have no option [on a customs union] in order to push this deal through’.
Labour knows all too well that ‘the benefits of a customs union’ is simply a formulation that David Lidington has been pushing repeatedly in talks to describe May’s deal without having to change any substance. Don’t forget that Jeremy Hunt yesterday told the Today programme that endorsing an actual customs union would lose more Tory MPs than it would gain Labour MPs. Note too that John McDonnell warned Hunt’s remarks didn’t inspire confidence that a future leader would stick to any bargain struck in the talks.
Our own Arj Singh reports that Brexiteer ministers again pushed for the withdrawal bill to be published. “If we don’t introduce the WAB we can’t say we’ve tried everything before the EU elections,” one source says. But the Chief Whip warned yesterday it was just too risky to go ahead without Labour support. Some Brexiteers want to break up the WAB into smaller bits of legislation, stripping out the Irish backstop. But Steve Baker tells us: “Cabinet Brexiteers are most welcome to resume their ERG subscriptions so we can keep them fully briefed on why schemes like this don’t work.”
It’s the sheer lack of time until the Euro elections that means some in No.10 think the informal deadline for any breakthrough with Labour is next Wednesday. But with the local elections and a bank holiday looming, it’s not as if any real heavy lifting looks likely in coming days. If those MEPs aren’t to take up their seats in July, something’s got to give. The PM is before the Liaison Committee later and will be grilled on the latest Brexit situation.
In the talks with the government, Labour’s team regularly argues that no matter what deal is hammered out it will have to be subject to a public vote. And it’s the party’s actions in Parliament, rather than anything agreed in its Euro elections manifesto, that matter most for No.10. Keir Starmer and Jeremy Corbyn have already moved policy on significantly since the party conference. Starmer told the Commons only last month: “At this late stage it is clear that any Brexit deal agreed in this parliament will need further democratic approval.”
So just what was going on at yesterday’s NEC meeting? I’ve done a full write-up HERE, but what was most striking was the way the Left united effectively to defeat the joint push by the TSSA union and Tom Watson for a stronger form of words on a second referendum on any Brexit plan, whether Tory or Labour. The leader’s office worked hard to get the crucial Momentum CLP reps on board to ensure a majority, and in the end the vote was won decisively. Out of 39 NEC members (some get to a total of 41 members by double-counting Wendy Nichols and Andi Fox), only around a dozen backed the Watson/TSSA amendment.
Among the subplots yesterday was that Jon Trickett and Rebecca Long-Bailey were the most vociferously against the amendment (though some present were irritated by Trickett’s plea for loyalty given he abstained on a three-line whip to back a referendum recently). Several saw Watson’s strong stance on the issue (as well as his ‘polite’ walkout of shadow cabinet) as a long-term move to boost his support among party members. He saw off attempts to oust him as deputy leader last year and his pro-referendum stance is another way to circle the wagons once more.
As for the Euro elections, the fudge may or may not help persuade Remain voters to back Labour. The lack of an unequivocal pledge to hold a fresh referendum is not worrying some pro-People’s Vote MPs, who hope the words ‘public vote’ will now finally appear on party leaflets. But others share Jess Phillips’ warning on ITV’s podcast “I do think we’ll get a drubbing in the European elections...Unless we have a clear message for people.” One NEC member put it to me thus: “The fact is this Euro campaign is going to be like a second Brexit referendum whether anyone likes it or not. Farage and TIG have turned it into that and the voters will ask us ‘where do you stand?’”
Meanwhile, don’t forget how both the Tories and Labour will be hit by the Euro poll revolt. The latest HopeNotHate/YouGov regional breakdown showed that in London the Greens (on 10%) are just one point behind the Tories (on a truly shocking 11%). Yes, Farage’s Brexit party is hammering the Conservatives, but the Greens’ clear pro-referendum message may be hurting Labour too.
Given Theresa May’s strong stance on Russia (not least on the Salisbury poisoning), it’s baffling that she has allowed any whiff of links between Putin and Tory donations to occur. But thanks to Liz Truss’s energetic Instagram account, hacks have been able to pounce on a grainy photo of the PM and six female Cabinet ministers at a lavish fundraising dinner with the wife of one of Putin’s former ministers. Lubov Chernukhin’s latest £135,000 charity bid (for the event on Monday) takes her donations to the Tories over the past seven years past the £1million mark.
The Daily Mail has led the sleuthing, pointing out that at last year’s Black and White Ball Mrs Chernukhin won two more auctions – £20,000 to dine with Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson and £30,000 to dine with Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson. Earlier this year, she donated £9,500 to the war chest of Tory chairman Brandon Lewis. Five years ago, David Cameron faced questions after Chernukhin successfully bid £160,000 at a party fundraising dinner to play tennis against him and Boris Johnson.
As the Mail reports, it was not known whether the match involving Cameron and Johnson ever went ahead, but last March – following the spy poisoning – Johnson finally admitted it had. He said: ‘It’s very important that we do not allow a miasma of suspicion about all Russians in London – and indeed all rich Russians in London – to be created.’ Hmmm.
Here was the queue to hear Nigel Farage at an event in Newport last night. Reminded me of the buzz that surrounded Jeremy Corbyn’s 2016 leadership tour.
A group of MPs has referred the Home Office to the equalities watchdog over the Windrush scandal, urging an investigation into whether British citizens were unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of their race. David Lammy said he and 86 other MPs were calling on the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to investigate the department and whether its so-called hostile environment policies led to discriminatory treatment against ethnic minorities. Ministers know Lammy is a formidable critic on this topic, so watch this space.
A project in Leeds to help parents with targeted support in healthier eating and cooking and exercise has shown it’s possible to break the link between deprivation and obesity. The Times reports on the ‘astonishing’ progress of the scheme, which proves long-term help (a 10-year project) and the right support (rather than admonishment) are the keys to turning things round. Not so much ‘nanny state’ as common sense help.
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