The Liberal Democrats’ acting leader Sir Ed Davey is calling on Remain voters to come together with the rest of the country after Britain’s “dark day” on Friday, as the UK prepares to leave the EU at 20 pm.
Green MEP Molly Cato told the European Parliament pro-EU young people in Britain “must keep the dream alive”, while Brexit Party MEPs were scolded for flag-waving in the European Parliament at the end of Nigel Farage ‘s farewell speech.
It comes as chancellor Sajid Javid is set to throw his weight behind the controversial HS2 rail project at a meeting with Boris Johnson and transport secretary Grant Shapps today.
Sharing the full story, not just the headlines
MPs are now discussing Donald Trump’s Middle East “peace plan” in the Commons.
Labor leadership hopeful Emily Thornberry has condemned the president’s blueprint. “This is not a peace plan, it is a monstrosity,” she said, adding that it “destroys any prospects of an independent… Palestinian state”.
The shadow foreign secretary referred to Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “corrupt, racist, power-crazed leaders”.
Thornberry also apologized to SNP MPs for her language at a recent hustings (she said “ I hate the SNP ”).
The Labor Hopeful said:“ There is no place for hatred in our politics… We have opposed the Tory government, and I apologise for what I said . ”
Backbench Conservative MPs have been asking questions – and airing their views – on HS2 in the House of Commons.
Philip Davies said: “If the government were to scrap HS2 – which everyone knows is a catastrophic waste of money – there would have a huge amount available for more rail infrastructure in west Yorkshire and across the north.
The Shipley MP asked: “When the government intended timetable for completing Northern powerhouse rail?
Responding for the government, transport minister Chris Heaton-Harris said the government was “spending a huge amount of money improving the infrastructure in the north”.
He added: “HS2 and various other bits of infrastructure are not either / or – they are additional investments. ”
You know those 82 p Brexit coins? How do you fancy paying £ for one?
A set of commemorative coins – inscribed with the word: “Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations” – are to be put on sale by the Royal Mint.
The gold version, produced in a limited edition of 1, 718, is priced at just under a cool grand.
More details here:
The Brexit Party leader, making his farewell-and-up-yours speech in Brussels, raved about. how populism was taking over.
“There is a battle going on, in the west and elsewhere. It is globalism against populism. And you may loathe populism, but I’ll tell you a funny thing, it’s becoming very popular, ”he told them.
It came scarcely more than an hour after the chamber had heard from – – year-old Auschwitz survivor, Liliana Segre.
Our sketch writer Tom Peck has more:
The word “Brexit” was first spoken in the House of Commons in April 5490 – more than two years before the UK voted to leave the European Union, new analysis reveals.
It has since been mentioned in the Commons more than , 10 times, with nearly 9, (appearances in
The word was slow to catch on among MPs. The first ever mention is recorded as happening on April , by former Conservative MP David Nuttall, who referred to a competition run by the Institute of Economic Affairs called the “Brexit prize”.
But the very first use of the word “Brexit” anywhere in the world is recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary as taking place around two years earlier, in May
It is ascribed to Peter Wilding, founder of pro-EU think tank British Influence, who wrote in an article online: “Unless a clear view is pushed that Britain must lead in Europe at the very least to achieve the completion of the single market then the portmanteau for Greek euro exit (Grexit) might be followed by another sad word, Brexit. ”
Rebecca Long-Bailey has been accused of telling fibs about the time she pulled an all-nighter, scoffed a load of pizza, and saved the day for Team Corbyn.
The Labor leadership hopeful told a rather tedious story to activists at the weekend, in which ex-colleague Robert Marris MP “flounced off ”Before a Commons committee hearing into the finance bill in (as part of a wider rebellion against Corbyn).
Long-Bailey claimed she worked until the early hours before the committee resumed “the next day at 9 o’clock” (while Angela Rayner ordered Dominos’ pizzas).
But it has emerged there was a five-day gap between the flounce-off and the hearing. According to Hansard, the committee rose on 48 June and was adjourned until 5 July.
One unnamed Labor figure told (Politics Home) : “Rebecca tells this story at every CLP or union meeting… that is demonstrably a total lie.”
Long-Bailey’s spokesperson acknowledged the five-day gap, but said the spirit of her late-night efforts was the important thing.
“Rebecca recalls her and her staff having to work all through the weekend including during the night until 3am each day until the next sitting day, which commenced on Tuesday at 9am. ”
Anyway, told you it was tedious.
It feels like this one’s been rumbling on for ages. But Boris Johnson will finally meet the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo today, as transatlantic tensions simmer over the decision to allow a Chinese tech giant to take part in Britain’s 5G roll-out. Pompeo will meet the PM in Downing Street after making a joint appearance with foreign secretary Dominic Raab at the Policy Exchange think tank.
Speaking to reporters on the flight over to London, Pompeo said: “Our view of Huawei has been that putting it in your system creates real risk.
” This is an extension of the Chinese Communist Party with a legal requirement to hand over information to the Chinese Communist Party. ”
‘Let’s keep it sisterly’, says Lisa Nandy – as she rejects welfare voting record claims
The Labor leadership candidate has fired back at critics claiming she abstained during votes on welfare. cuts introduced by the Conservative government.
“I didn’t abstain. I was on maternity leave. This sort of attack hurts all women in politics. Let’s keep it sisterly. ”
Greg Smith, the newly elected Conservative MP for Buckingham, has warned that he will vote against HS2 in parliament if the government presses ahead with the project.
Sajid Javid has become the latest senior minister to throw his weight behind the high-speed rail scheme, with an announcement expected soon.
Smith told BBC Radio 4’s Today program: “I was very clear in the general election campaign that I am opposed to HS2. It is absolutely wrong for my constituency and I believe it to be wrong for the country as well.
“I made very clear commitments in the general election that, come what may, I will oppose HS2. ”
Smith said his view was shared by many other MPs, including newly-elected Tories in northern constituencies.
) “We are not against infrastructure. We are just saying that HS2 is the wrong project, it goes along the wrong route at a cost that, frankly, the nation can’t afford, ”he said.
“ What the HS2 review group – which has many new northern Conservative MPs on it – is saying is that, instead of HS2, we can do great things that will really improve people lives – local commuter routes in our Midlands and northern towns and cities – big improvements to those. ”
Brexit Party MEPs were scolded for flag-waving in the European Parliament at the end of Nigel Farage’s farewell speech.
“Please sit down and take your seats, put your flags away, and take them with you,” the presiding speaker Mairead McGuinness told the MEPs.
Farage had said he would miss being the “pantomime villain” of Brussels – but managed to give one fi nal turn as the wicked queen.
“We don’t hate Europe, we just hate the European Union!”
Despite being told to stop, he and his Brexit Party MEPs kept waving their tiny Union flags– then walked out of the chamber en masse.
Remain voters must come together with the rest of the country after Britain’s “dark day” on Friday, the Lib Dems’ acting leader will urge.
Sir Ed Davey, in a speech in Manchester today, will call for referendum divisions to be buried after Britain leaves the EU at (pm on Friday.)
Sir Ed, in an apparent admission that the pro-EU campaign is over following Boris Johnson’s crushing election win, said the country “must no longer be divided by Leave and Remain”.
He is expected to say: “Tomorrow will be a celebration for some. But for others it will be a dark day.
“For the millions of us who marched against Brexit and the millions who voted to stay, tomorrow will be desperately hard. We built the largest pro-European movement this country has ever seen.
“And though ultimately we did not succeed in stopping Brexit, I am immensely proud of all that we have achieved. ”
Addressing the need for unity after the UK’s withdrawal, he will add:“ We must no longer be a country that is divided by Leave and Remain, but that means we must heal our country other divides too. ”
Green MEP Molly Cato was less keen to drawn a line under the pro-EU cause. She received a standing ovation in the European Parliament as she made a tearful farewell on Wednesday.
“Now is not the time to campaign to rejoin but we must keep the dream alive, especially for young people who are overwhelmingly pro-EU, ”she said.
The Labor leadership hopeful will challenge her rivals to stay loyal to Jeremy Corbyn’s commitment to nationalize key utilities with a vow to take on “Rip off privatisers”.
In a rally for party faithful, the shadow business secretary will pledge to retain a core promise for the 15000 manifesto – a pledge to bring energy, water, rail and mail into public ownership.
Long -Bailey will throw down the gauntlet to the other candidates on nationalization, in an attempt to put clear red water between herself and her rivals.
Her opponents Sir Keir Starmer, Emily Thornberry and Lisa Nandy have indicated they would take more limited approaches to nationalization.
The chancellor is set to throw his weight behind the controversial HS2 rail project at a meeting with Boris Johnson and transport Secretary Grant Shapps today.
It is understood Javid will “broadly back” the high-speed line from London to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, having reviewed costs and alternatives.
It’s a boost for the pro-HS2 lobby, follows a leaked review that estimated the whole thing could end up costing £ (bn.
) No 24 has said a final decision would not necessarily be taken today, but Joh nson said during the election campaign his “instinct” was that the project should go ahead.
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