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General election: Corbyn claims his policy would 'sort' Brexit more quickly than Boris Johnson's – live news – The Guardian, Theguardian.com

General election: Corbyn claims his policy would 'sort' Brexit more quickly than Boris Johnson's – live news – The Guardian, Theguardian.com


Jeremy Corbyn campaigning today with Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Harlow, Laura McAlpine
Jeremy Corbyn campaigning today with Labor’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Harlow, Laura McAlpine. Photograph: Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

Barnier says extension to transition period may be necessary

Jennifer Rankin

The UK and European Union face “a moment of truth” in post-Brexit trade talks in the summer 2020, (Michel Barnier) has said.

In a sign that he does not share Boris Johnson’s confidence that no extension of the Brexit transition period is needed (see 9. 45 am), Barnier warned that the risk of a no-deal “cliff edge” remained.

If the UK leaves the EU with a deal on 31 January, only 11 months remain of the post-Brexit transition, a period when the UK will remain in the EU single market and customs union, without having any say over decisions.

The government has the choice to seek a one-off extension of the transition until the end of 2021 or 2022, but must agree any extension with the EU by 1 July 2020.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said on Monday that the UK will not extend the transition period. Barnier, who has seen the UK extend withdrawal negotiations three times, sounded unconvinced: “Summer 2020 will be a moment of truth in how far we have come and whether an extension will be needed, ”he told a tech conference in Lisbon on Tuesday.

Recently rehired by Brussels to lead talks on the future relationship with the UK, Barnier also issued a reminder that the current withdrawal agreement was “a necessary step” but not the “final destination”. Approval of theBrexitwithdrawal deal by the UK parliament is the prelude to years more negotiations on a free-trade agreement and foreign policy links. “As long as we have not completed both negotiations [the withdrawal agreement and future talks] with the UK the risk of a cliff edge remains and we should all remain vigilant,” Barnier said.

Reiterating what he toldthe Guardian and other European newspapers last week, he said the EU would not compromise its environmental, social and economic standards in exchange for a free trade deal.

He stressed that an agreement on zero quotas and zero tariffs on trade would be linked to respecting EU norms on environment, worker protection and state aid, in order to maintain a level playing field between EU and British companies. “The EU will not tolerate unfair competitive advantage.”

He predicted the negotiations would be “difficult and demanding” because the time is “extremely short” and because the UK “might want to diverge from EU rules”.

Michel Barnier speaking during the Web Summit in Lisbon today.
Michel Barnier speaking during the Web Summit in Lisbon today. Photograph: Rafael Marchante / Reuters

Updated

Corbyn’s speech and Q&A – Summary

Some Tories have been assuming that Brexit will work best for them, not (Labor) , as an election issue. There are many voters, including people who voted remain, who are desperate for this to disappear as a problem facing the country, and in No 10 there was an assumption that Jeremy Corbyn’s stance – promising to a second referendum, but refusing now to say how he would campaign in it – would prove a liability.

But it did not particularly look like that this morning. Rather than duckBrexitas an issue, Corbyn this morning sought to switch it into a campaign positive for him, particular with his claim about how he could actually put it to bed as an issue more quickly than Boris Johnson.

Here are the main points.

  • Corbyn claimed that Labor would resolve the Brexit crisis facing the UK more quickly than Boris Johnson – because Johnson would spend years negotiating trade deals, while Labor wouldn’t.( See11. 34 am.)This involved an implicit admission that, under a Labor soft Brexit, the UK would not be negotiating its own trade deals because it would be working on them in conjunction with the EU. This is something thatSir Keir Starmer,the shadow Brexit secretary, concededin an interview on the Today program this morning.
  • Corbyn defended his policy of trying to represent people on both sides of the Brexit debate.(See11. 36 am.)
  • He said that a UK-US trade deal of the kind envisaged by the Tories would unleash unleash “Thatcherism on steroids” on Britain.(See11. (am.)
  • He defended the claim that a UK-US trade deal could cost the NHS an extra £ 500 ma week in higher drug prices (see (9.) am), saying that this was an accurate and credible figure.Labor say this figure comes from what Liverpool University’s DrAndrew Hill, an adviser to the WHO, told the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary last week. Hill said:

Our annual drugs bill for the NHS is £ 18 bn, if we had to have American drug prices we are talking about £ 18 bn a year going up to £ 45 bn, so that’s an extra £ 27 BN a year, or £ 500 ma week extra for the NHS to pay.

  • Corbyn dismissed suggestions that Nigel Farage’s Brexit party should appeal to Labor voters, saying Farage was a “one-trick pony”.Corbyn went on:

He doesn’t actually offer anything to any of those communities. Our message and manifesto is about investing in all parts of this country.

  • He did not rule out letting ministers campaign on either side during a second Brexit referendum.When asked if this would be an option, he just said the party would decide its stance at a special conference ahead of the proposed referendum.

Jeremy Corbyn in Harlow, where he delivered a speech on Brexit this morning.
Jeremy Corbyn in Harlow, where he delivered a speech on Brexit this morning. Photograph: Andy Rain / EPA

Emily Thornberry,the shadow foreign secretary, tells MPs the government refusal to publish this report is unjustified and politically motivated. It is “nothing less than an attempt to suppress the truth”, she says.

Pincher repeats the point about the turnaround time for the publication of this report being not unusual.

Foreign Office minister dismisses claims No 10 is holding up publication of Russia report without justification

Grieve is responding to Pincher now.

He says the committee finished its report in March. He says it was then vetted for sensitive information, and it was cleared by the intelligence services by October. Then it was sent to No 10 for approval before publication.

He says the claim the intelligence agencies have already said publicly that the publication of this report will not hinder their work. So why is No 10 not publishing it? He says Downing Street cannot remove material from these reports.

He says there have been claims from No 10 that weeks of further consultation is necessary. That is not true.

And he also asks the government to withdraw the “slur”, which he says came from No 10, that parts of the report have already been leaked.

Pincher says it is not unusual for the review of ISC reports to take some time. The prime minister has had other things to do in recent weeks, Pincher says.

He says the PM has a specific responsibility to check that there is nothing sensitive in these reports before they are published.

Chris Pincher
Chris Pincher. Photograph: Parliament TV

Updated

Urgent question on No 10 ‘s refusal to publish report on Russian meddling in UK politics

In the CommonsDominic Grieve, the chair of the intelligence and security committee, has just asked an urgent question about why No 10 has refused to publishhis committee’s report into Russian meddling in UK politics.

Chris Pincher,the Foreign Office minister, is responding. He says these reports always contain sensitive information. He says it is normal for the government to spend around six weeks looking at these reports before publishing them to ensure that sensitive information does not get into the public domain. He says Grieve’s committee knows this.

Rowena Mason

Boris Johnson’s cabinet discussed abuse of election candidates at a meeting this morning, agreeing that the government will write to social media companies calling on them to protect politicians from online threats. They will be asked to set up “one-stop shops” where candidates can report abusive online behavior.

The prime minister’s spokesman said:

Cabinet discussed the safeguards which will be in place during the campaign to protect all candidates from intimidation and abuse. Cabinet agreed that people who intimidate public figures should face the consequences of their actions.

The freedom to hold respectful, vibrant and robust debate cannot be an excuse to cause harm, spread hatred or impose views upon others …

Ministers are also writing to social media companies calling or action to prevent candidates being subjected to abuse online, and to encourage the companies to work together during the campaign.

Severin Carrell

(Nicola Sturgeon) , the Scottish National party leader, has said she will “drive a hard bargain” in any post-election talks withJeremy Corbynabout supporting a minority Labor government.

Sturgeon refused to rule out negotiating a formal “confidence and supply” arrangement with Labor but she told Kay Burley on Sky News her strong preference would be to supportLaboron a vote by vote basis.

Sky News(@ SkyNews)

“We will see what the circumstances are.” @ NicolaSturgeondoes not rule out a ‘supply and confidence’ deal with Labor, but says@ jeremycorbyn‘s lack of a position on# Brexit“is ridiculous”.# KayBurleyat# Breakfast

Get more on (# GE) here:https://t.co/guzBkbggf9pic.twitter.com/RNnzaKqJ4D

November 5, 2019

Sturgeon said:

Let’s see what the arithmetic is. There will be no formal coalition … [I] would favor more, and be more likely to be, in a situation where we have an issue by issue arrangement, where we support on some things but don’t support on others.

But we will drive a hard bargain and we will stand up for Scotland’s interests and we will stand up for the kind of progressive values ​​that people across the UK think are important.

We will want to see a very strong position on Brexit. This is an opportunity for Scotland and for what it’s worth the rest of the UK to escape the mess ofBrexit.

That conforms with Corbyn’s repeated insistence Labor will not form coalitions with any other party, but Sturgeon’s reference to the SNP driving a “hard bargain” were picked up by the Scottish Tories.

Tory allegations that Corbyn and Sturgeon have already struck a deal where Labor will grant the SNP powers to stage a second independence vote next year mushroomed after Sturgeon confirmed last week the pair had had private talks late last month .

Sturgeon said last month Corbyn shouldn’t “bother picking up the phone” if he was not prepared to authorize a second Scotland referendum, and has confirmedshe plans to ask for the section 30 powers to hold it within days of the election next month.

Labor sources say that conversation was entirely about post-election strategies to thwart a no-deal Brexit and deny there was any discussion of pacts or independence. Labor officials say the party’s first priority would be renegotiating a new Brexit deal and putting that to a confirmatory referendum.

Corbyn and John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, have confirmed they are open to granting a second independence vote, but only after several years of Labor rule at Westminster, and assuming pro-independence parties win a majority and a fresh mandate in the 2021 Holyrood elections.

Nicola Sturgeon (right) with Janet Brown during a visit to the Lochside Community Centre in Dumfries yesterday.
Nicola Sturgeon (right) with Janet Brown during a visit to the Lochside Community Center in Dumfries yesterday. Photograph: Jane Barlow / PA

Updated

Q: Nigel Farage says he will target (Labor) MPs in leave -voting seats. He says you are out of touch with these people. How will you assure people you are in touch?

Corbyn says Farage is a one-trick pony from a very rich organization.

He says Farage is not offering anything that would solve the problems facing these communities.

Labor would set up a national investment bank to invest in these regions.

His message is that a Labor government will improve these communities, he says.

Q: Would you accept revoking article 50 as the price of a coalition in a hung parliament with the Lib Dems?

Corbyn says he is campaigning to win the election with a majority Labor government. He is not campaigning to form a coalition with anyone.

Q: If you held a referendum, and remain won very narrowly on a smaller turnout than in 2016, would you consider that the final word on the matter for the next 40 Years.

Corbyn says he wants the whole debate to be over. He wants to lead a Labor government that would carry out Labor policies, and that would be a voice for justice on the world stage.

And that’s it. The Q&A is over.

I will post a summary shortly.

Q: You quoted a figure for a trade deal costing the NHS £ 500 ma week that is based on a crude assumption about all drug prices being the same as in the US. Isn’t this misleading?

Corbyn says he believes this to be an accurate and credible figure. He would not be using it otherwise. And he says he is happy for people to analyze it, and to tell him if he is understating the case.

Corbyn says Johnson wants a trade deal with the US. They want a trade deal, knowing full well the US will demand alignment and full market access. And you will see the price of it, he says.

He says a vote for Boris Johnson involves a vote for a trade deal, and all that goes with it.

Q: You have made it clear you will not say how you would campaign in a secondBrexitreferendum. But would you be happy for your ministers to campaign on either side during that campaign.

Corbyn says the (Labor) policy has been arrived at through debate. That is one thing the party is good at debate; they love it. They have experts in all areas.

He says he has tried to bring the party together.

It agreed a Brexit policy at its conference in Brighton.

He says Labor activists are campaigning on this policy.

After a three-month negotiation, Labor would hold a special conference. At that point it would come to a view, he says.

He says he would want a referendum to have informed debate, and very strict spending limits.

Labor would then carry out the referendum decision. And there would be no further debate, he says.

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