Brexit

When I was interviewed a long time ago for admission to one of our ancient universities, a don used the phrase “the maintained sector” to describe my educational background. He meant that I was a state school lad and I suppose his implication was that independent schools were somehow more free-thinking, reliable bastions of excellence. At the time I could only see the other side of that particular argument, but the phrase has come to mind again now in a different context. The disastrous reception given to comedian Nish Kumar at yesterday’s Lord's Taverners' lunch is a sign that the maintained sector of British comedy has fallen victim to lazy groupthink and general mediocrity.

Where to start with the Conservatives’ “Buy British” promises to end EU state aid rules? The obvious point is that dumping rules that prevent governments subsidising domestic firms will make it much harder to strike a trade deal with the EU after Brexit. Limiting state aid is pretty much fundamental to the EU’s very existence and operations; arguably the story of the EU since the late 1980s is a story of trying to drag European politicians away from protecting favoured sectors and firms and opening their economies up to cross-border competition. Of course, that story isn’t much told in the UK where, thanks not least to the sort of journalism once practiced by Boris Johnson, most people believe the EU is an exercise in anti-competitive protectionism.

For the first time in living memory, the Jewish community is deeply afraid of one of our two main parties. What makes matters worse is that this is the very party that, until recently, had felt like a natural home for many in the Jewish community. Labour is a party that is supposed to protect the interests of workers, ensure care and dignity for the vulnerable and advocate for marginalised groups. What has become clear is that the Labour party no longer considers that Jewish people require this support. And this is why I am standing against Jeremy Corbyn in Islington north. There is a left-wing idea that power structures must be challenged.

Labour's Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner took to the Andrew Marr Show this morning to discuss her party's Brexit position. The veteran BBC interviewer questioned Ms Rayner on whether her party would campaign for their newly renegotiated Brexit deal if a future Labour government was to put it to the people. The Labour frontbencher decided to dodge the question, calling it a 'hypothetical'. Is the party now rowing back on Jeremy Corbyn's commitment to stay neutral during any future referendum?

The morning of 13 December. A series of salacious revelations about his private life have sunk Boris Johnson’s campaign. A re-energised Nigel Farage has led a Brexit party surge in the north, splitting the Leave vote. The ousting of Jo Swinson in a coup organised by refugees from the People’s Vote campaign led to Remainers flocking back to Labour. The SNP has swept Scotland. Plaid Cymru and the Greens have picked up a dozen seats where they co-operated. And a couple of Tory rebels have managed to hang on as independents. After the dust settled on the most chaotic election campaign in memory, Jeremy Corbyn had just enough votes to lead a Labour/SNP/Green/Plaid/Independent coalition. The first 100 days of the Corbyn government were to prove a challenge, however.

I have enough self-awareness to know that the public are unlikely to care too much about a spat between a multi-millionaire ‘PR guru’ and what someone called a cabal of washed-up spin doctors. But I also know that millions and millions care about Brexit, and the fight for a Final Say referendum — which is why the spat matters. The multi-millionaire ‘PR guru’ is Finsbury boss Roland Rudd, brother of the former cabinet minister Amber. The has-been spin doctors are me and Peter Mandelson, Tom Baldwin, who was a press adviser to Ed Miliband, and James McGrory, who did likewise for Nick Clegg.

Jeremy Corbyn - 'I want a close relationship' with the EU The Labour leader was Andrew Marr's chief guest of the day. Marr began by asking for Corbyn's personal stance on Brexit, something which has proved highly elusive since the referendum result in 2016. Corbyn happily gave the Labour party's position, but once again refused to be drawn on the issue:   [embed]https://youtu.be/blSSOZYAQA0[/embed] AM: Do you want this country to leave the EU or not? JC: We're going to put that choice to the British people, and they will make that decision... I want a close relationship with the EU in the future. 'You don't know' who I'm going to negotiate with If Labour wins the upcoming election, the party plans on re-negotiating a Brexit deal with the EU.