From our UK edition
The race to be the next Tory leader is underway. Conservative Party members will decide between Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom after Michael Gove was knocked out in the second round of voting. But which Conservative MPs are backing who?
From our UK edition
Much of the media attention in recent days has been focused on the vacuum of leadership in Westminster. However, Britain’s momentous decision to leave the EU has exposed deep cracks in relations with the European Union. Almost immediately after the Brexit vote, nations across continent woke up to the new possibility of leaving the bloc. This has left Europe’s leaders scurrying to prevent the so-called 'Brexit contagion'. The Eurosceptic charge was led by Marine Le Pen who called for a referendum in France and all other EU states. President Hollande has since rejected her calls, however, it would seem that Le Pen is echoing concerns of the majority in France.
From our UK edition
Thankfully, many in Europe - not least the European Parliament - will have stopped listening to Nigel Farage a long time ago. The Ukip leader, no stranger to attempting to infuriate his MEP colleagues, has been winding them up again. In this morning's session, he gloated: ‘You all laughed at me. Well, I have to say, you’re not laughing now, are you?’ But Farage didn't stop there, telling those around him: ‘I know that virtually none of you have ever done a proper job in your lives, or worked in business, or worked in trade, or ever created a job, but listen’ It was clear from the huge smile across Farage’s face during the proceedings that he was having a whale of the time mocking his fellow MEPs.
From our UK edition
A quick update on the BBC TV News. At ten o clock last night the programme ran a report from its idiotic northern correspondent, Ed Thomas, which attempted to suggest that the Leave campaign was responsible for nasty things being said to immigrants. Thomas is an appallingly partisan correspondent and presumably has his job because he is only person within the BBC with a vaguely northern accent. He chose to interview two neanderthals. Then over to the inestimable Laura Kuenssssberg, who referred to the UK’s 'likely' exit from the EU. No, Laura: exit. We have to keep watching these patently parti-pris buggers. The subtle and not so subtle way they attempt to drive the political agenda. Keep an eye out especially for Thomas.
From our UK edition
Jo Johnson has declared his support for his brother’s leadership bid. In a statement to The Spectator, the minister for universities and science says: ‘Boris and I were on different side of a hard fought referendum campaign. But it is time to move on, time to unite and time to deliver. I have known my brother for longer than anyone in parliament. He is the great communicator—and I have no doubt at all that he is the person best placed not just to secure a new settlement for Britain in Europe but also to provide the optimistic, confident and outward-looking leadership we will need in months and years to come.’ Now, on the one hand Jo backing his brother is not that surprising.
From our UK edition
It’s all looking very grim for Lammy. My petition to have him removed as MP for Tottenham has now soared past the 3,000 mark. He surely cannot hang on much longer. Another 2,000 signatories and we will have proved, beyond all doubt, that he is not fit to sit as an MP, because he does not understand democracy. Either that or he – and all those other caterwauling and whining ponces (as Julie Burchill wonderfully put it) – on the Remain side will understand that a petition is basically the charter of an idiot and has no force.
From our UK edition
So where are we now? Pretty much in the same position as the traveller who asks for directions to Limerick and is told, 'Well, I wouldn't start from here.' But we are where we are, for better or, more probably, for worse. Not before time it is slowly dawning on people in England that while this was very much their referendum it has consequences for the whole of the United Kingdom. They were warned this would be the case and, if it was not something that was ever uppermost in their thoughts, they cannot claim they were not told. Because they were. I don't dispute English voters' right to privilege their disgruntlement with the EU over their weakened preference for the United Kingdom to remain, well, just that. That's a choice but choices have consequences.
From our UK edition
David Cameron came to the House of Commons this afternoon to update the House on Brexit. Cameron was greeted by the loudest Tory cheer that I’ve heard of seven years of sitting in the press gallery. He was in remarkably good spirits, considering what has just happened. Jeremy Corbyn’s predicament appear to have cheered Cameron up. He joked that the new Labour MP for Tooting should keep her phone on as she might be offered a job at any moment. He also joked at Corbyn’s expense that he thought he was having a bad day until he saw what was happening to Corbyn. When it came to the process of leaving, Cameron was emphatic that it was up to the UK to choose when to invoke Article 50—and that he would leave that up to the new Prime Minister.
From our UK edition
It's not proving to be a great day for Jeremy Corbyn. After over half of his Shadow Cabinet resigned, the Labour leader has now faced a revolt in the Chamber. While giving a statement on the European referendum, Corbyn called for MPs to refrain from in-fighting: 'The country will thank neither the benches in front of me or the benches behind for indulging in internal factoring maneuvering at this time.' Alas his words on party unity hit a bum note with those on the Labour benches. MPs looked incredulous as Corbyn spoke, and shortly began a chorus of heckles urging him to resign -- with Toby Perkins and Chris Evans leading the cries. Tonight's meeting of the PLP is shaping up to be box office...
From our UK edition
With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a Statement on the result of the EU referendum. Last week saw one of the biggest democratic exercises in our history with over 33 million people from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar all having their say. We should be proud of our Parliamentary democracy. But it is right that when we consider questions of this magnitude, we don’t just leave it to politicians but rather listen directly to the people. And that is why Members from across this House voted for a referendum by a margin of almost 6 to 1.
From our UK edition
Even when Britain has just voted to leave the European Union, Commons business must go on. And so this afternoon the first item on the agenda in the Chamber was not the statement from the Prime Minister on Brexit and his own resignation, but Defence questions. This should have been awkward for the Government, which is in chaos at the moment. But instead it was awkward for Labour, whose newly-appointed Shadow Defence Secretary Clive Lewis was unable to get back to Westminster from the Glastonbury Festival in time. Despite kind offers to help from supportive friends of Jeremy Corbyn, Emily Thornberry stepped into the breach instead, telling the Chamber that this was her last questions before moving on.
From our UK edition
Nick Clegg has written an interesting column for the Evening Standard today about the referendum result. You will not be surprised, reader, that he’s not altogether happy about the outcome. But what’s especially interesting is his insistence that: '…there will have to be a general election shortly after the new Conservative leader is elected. The country did not elect a Brexit government last year. The millions of voters who gave David Cameron the benefit of the doubt did so, above all, because they were worried what would happen to the economy if Ed Miliband and Alex Salmond were in charge… And when we vote in that general election, the key question will be this: do we agree or not to the terms of our exit from the EU?
From our UK edition
Funnily enough, today’s Cabinet meeting was rather dominated by a discussion on the result of the EU referendum. The majority of the ‘serious’ 90 minute meeting was taken up by that small matter, though ministers were also briefed by the head of MI5 and by Oliver Letwin on implementing other manifesto promises, such as the seven-day NHS and building more homes. The main announcement from the meeting is the creation of a new unit in the Cabinet Office that will work on the ground work for Brexit.
From our UK edition
Reassuring other countries that Brexit doesn't mean Britain is hauling up the drawbridge is vital for ensuring the UK continues to succeed. So far, much of the foreign coverage of the outcome in the EU referendum has certainly painted the decision as an isolationist move. The German newspaper Taz.am wochenen summed up that sentiment with its front page at the weekend, which said simply: 'Well done, little Britain'. So what is being done to offer assurances to other countries that Britain is, in the words of George Osborne this morning, still 'open for business'? Not a lot if the Foreign Secretary's appearance on TV at the weekend was anything to go on.
From our UK edition
The British constitution is built on compromise and moderation; it's one of the main reasons why this country enjoyed a period of relative domination in the 19th century while our neighbours tore themselves apart. Referendums do not encourage compromise, which makes them such bitter devices, and why the last few weeks have been so painful. But now that the British people have made their choice – and I have no idea if it was the right one – we have the opportunity to make a compromise that will cause the least amount of pain. I'm talking about the Norway option, which an increasing number of Conservative MPs are coming around to. This is a half-way house between membership of the EU and separation.
From our UK edition
The Tory leaders of Vote Leave, those supposedly civilised and intelligent men, are creating the conditions for a mass far-right movement in England. They have lined up the ingredients like a poisoner mixing a potion, and I can almost feel the convulsion that will follow. They have treated the electorate like children. They pretended that they could cut or even stop immigration from the EU and have a growing economy too. No hard choices, they said. No costs or trade-offs. Now the Tory wing of the Brexit campaign, the friends of the City and big business, insists that we should remain part of the single market. So should you, if your job depends on Britain continuing to have access to EU markets, or you do not want your taxes to rise and services cut.
From our UK edition
As the spate of resignations from the Labour shadow cabinet continues this morning and the rival candidates in the race to replace David Cameron as Prime Minister step up their campaigns, politics shows no signs of slowing down today. Boris Johnson and Theresa May are the front runners in the upcoming Conservative leadership contest - but who will emerge on top? And amidst Tory turmoil, the crisis at the top of the Labour party continues this morning. On today's edition of our Coffee House shots podcast, James Forsyth tells Isabel Hardman that: 'One of the rules for politics at the moment is that however bad things are for the Conservatives at the moment, they're worse for Labour.
From our UK edition
Ever since Friday’s Glorious Victory, one of the chief recreation activities of we Brexiters of a childish bent has been the Taunting Of The Remnants, mostly online. ‘How are you comforting yourself?’ one Facebook post asked. ‘In the usual way - with the tears of the vanquished,’ I replied. ONLY ONE LIKE! For self-proclaimed ‘progressives’, what a bunch of doom-mongering, curtain-twitching, tut-tutting stick-in-the-muds they’ve proved to be! For this Remnant Zombie Army, out to do in our brains with their bed-wetting ways and bleats for more referenda until they get the result they want, everything that goes wrong over the next few months – the weather, the football – will be Brexit's fault.
From our UK edition
Perhaps the most important pundit to have emerged from the earthquake is Giles Fraser. As a left-wing vicar and longstanding anti-racism campaigner, he makes it harder for people to depict the Brexiters as closet racists. He disrupts the defeated Remainers’ assumption that they represent progressive values, humanism. The same applies to the handful of pro-Brexit Labour MPs, but MPs can be assumed to have murky motivations. On last night’s Question Time, Fraser quoted Galatians (one of the readings in churches yesterday): Love your neighbour as yourself. We need to get beyond our current divisions, and trust in this supra-political principle, he said. Contrast this with today’s offering from Zoe Willams, his fellow Guardian columnist.
From our UK edition
A very good piece by Libby Purves on the petulance, whining and spite of our liberal elite. Libby got there before I did, annoyingly – and has some terrific examples in her column. I bought Saturday’s Guardian for the sole purpose of harvesting a bunch of tantrums from the letters page – and it did not disappoint. 'Utterly ashamed to be English' and 'I’m moving to Scotland' (good) and a hugely pompous encomium from an idiot called Michael Rundell, of Canterbury, about the 'stupidity, mendacity and xenophobia' of the Leave campaign. Long may they howl – these are somewhat fraught times and it’s nice to have something to snigger at.