Brexit

Tuesday

Steerpike

Watch: Evan Davis taken to task over Brexit bias

Brexit supporters are used to getting a hard time when they appear on TV, but enough was enough for Iain Dale when he popped up on Newsnight last night. After being introduced as a Brexit supporter – in contrast to Matthew Parris and Rachel Shabi, who were called a ‘Times columnist’ and a ‘Labour-supporting columnist’ – Dale took Evan Davis for task: Iain Dale: ‘Why do I get called Brexit supporter and these two – you don’t describe these two as Remain.’ Evan Davis: ‘Yeah but but –’ Dale: ‘I mean, come on…’ Davis: ‘You’re quite right…You are our Brexit supporter, and I want to get from you––’ Dale: ‘It’s always one against

James Kirkup

Tories – and Brits – are warming to immigration

In the dark, foggy night that is the Brexit debate, immigration is the dog that has not yet barked. The Chequers agreement contains a promise to formally end free movement, but also to replace it with a “mobility agreement” that could well mean EU migration continues at more or less its current level. Would that provoke a furious public backlash? There are growing signs that some voters are more relaxed about immigration than at the time of the referendum, and more aware of its economic usefulness. Could Theresa May ask the British people to accept a fairly liberal European immigration regime? I hope so, and in this context I note

Brendan O’Neill

The Remainers are in charge now | 10 July 2018

There has been a Remainer coup. Remainers now inhabit virtually all of the highest offices in the land. Overnight, adherents to this minority political viewpoint seized the final levers of political power. This is the one downside — and what a downside it is — to the belated outbreak of principle among the cabinet’s Brexiteers: their walking away has allowed Theresa May to further surround herself with fellow Remainers, and pretty much expel the Brexit outlook from her cabinet. The new foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, voted Remain. As did his replacement at the Department of Health, Matt Hancock. Hancock is a former acolyte of George Osborne, arch-Remainer and now chief

Ross Clark

Only a second referendum can save us from Jeremy Corbyn

It would be easy to dismiss the Independent Commission on Referendums as a branch of the lobby trying to overturn the Brexit result – even if it does contain a token Leave campaigner, Gisela Stuart. Its pretentious title could easily lead people to mistake it for an official, government-sanctioned inquiry rather than a unsolicited piece of work by academics at the Constitution Unit, UCL. It is utterly certain that the commission would not have been set up had the Remain side won the day two years ago. Yet even so, the commission is right when it concludes that referendums “work best when they are held at the end of a

Monday

Isabel Hardman

What Jeremy Hunt got right – and wrong – as Health Secretary

You couldn’t get a stronger contrast between the new Foreign Secretary and his predecessor. Jeremy Hunt is a minister who has earned the absolute trust of two Prime Ministers in an extremely politically charged job. He was brought in by David Cameron to clear up the mess after Andrew Lansley’s Health and Social Care Act disaster, and Theresa May kept him in place, quickly learning that he was one of the few ministers she really could leave to their own devices. This was a huge accolade from May, given her propensity to micromanage. Hunt earned that trust because he is a very loyal Cabinet minister. He does not style himself

James Forsyth

What happened when Theresa May met with her MPs

Having lost two of her most senior Cabinet Ministers, Theresa May went to address her MPs in a stuffy, hot room. But the occasion went off fairly-well for her. The vast majority of the questions were supportive and even the veteran Eurosceptic Edward Leigh made clear that the 1990s showed that a leadership contest wouldn’t achieve anything. Perhaps, the most hostile moment came towards the end of the session when Philip Davies asked if she regretted how Friday was handled given it appeared like a Remain coup. Other than Davies, most of the questions were fairly friendly. Former Cabinet Ministers Damian Green, and Patrick McLoughlin were supportive. Maria Caufield, a

Nick Cohen

We don’t know where Brexiteers are going now. And neither do they | 9 July 2018

In happier days when Britain was not on the brink of disintegration, David Davis told me a story about the 19th century French politician Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin. Little did I suspect that soon he would be living it. The Francophiles among you will recall the apocryphal tale of Ledru-Rollin enjoying his lunch at a Parisian café when a revolutionary crowd stormed past. Ledru-Rollin leapt from his seat and cried “There go the people. I must follow them, for I am their leader.” Where were they going? He did not know. What was his plan? He did not have one. True believers in Brexit are revolting, and not without cause. They

James Kirkup

The EU is now in control of Britain’s Brexit destiny

The list of things about the European Commission that many people at Westminster don’t understand is long. My favourite is that in quite a lot of the EU, the Commission, regularly accused in Britain of spewing out red tape, has often been accused of wanting to deregulate domestic markets and expose cosy economic arrangements to the bracing winds of “Anglo-Saxon capitalism”. Today though, what’s more important is this: the Commission understands British politics. Understands it very well, in fact, and sometimes better than people in the Westminster village. Brexit is a case in point. As soon as the results of last year’s general election results were in, the Commission understood

Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson’s resignation letter, full text

Dear Theresa It is more than two years since the British people voted to leave the European Union on an unambiguous and categorical promise that if they did so they would be taking back control of their democracy. They were told that they would be able to manage their own immigration policy, repatriate the sums of UK cash currently spent by the EU, and, above all, that they would be able to pass laws independently and in the interests of the people of this country. Brexit should be about opportunity and hope. It should be a chance to do things differently, to be more nimble and dynamic, and to maximise

Freddy Gray

The British government is in crisis, again. Enter Trump, stage right, again

Trump says he likes things ‘nice and complicated’ – well, in that case, he couldn’t be coming to Britain at a better time. Theresa May’s newly hatched soft Brexit plan, announced on Friday, has triggered two major resignations from her cabinet and another political crisis in Britain. David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, went late last night. Then Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary followed early this afternoon. Westminster is now alive with whispers of an imminent leadership coup; the Tory party looks hopelessly divided, the political system unable to cope. We may even have another general election, the third in four years.   Enter Trump, stage right. He must be licking

Robert Peston

The Tory Brexiters’ ultimatum to Theresa May

With the resignations in the past 24 hours of two of Theresa May’s four most senior ministers – Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary, and David Davis as Brexit Secretary – something very important died. But it is not clear whether what has been snuffed out is Theresa May’s Brexit plan or Theresa May’s leadership of the Conservative Party. That at least is what Tory Brexiter MPs tell me. Like Davis and Johnson, they see her Brexit proposal – to permanently be governed by EU rules for the making of goods and food, and also to collect EU tariffs at our borders – as a betrayal of the 17.4m people who

Isabel Hardman

Theresa May’s troublemakers resign. What now for the PM?

In the past 24 hours, Theresa May has lost two of the Cabinet ministers who have caused her the most trouble. Boris Johnson and David Davis were widely considered to be immovable, despite a number of crises entirely of their own making. The only way for them to go was by resignation, which lends them an appearance of strength. This strength has little to do with the achievements of either minister, though. David Davis had been increasingly sidelined from the negotiation process, which does appear to have been a key factor in his decision to go, given no-one likes to be treated as though they don’t matter. But it isn’t

James Forsyth

Boris Johnson resigns as Foreign Secretary

Boris Johnson has resigned. The Foreign Secretary becomes the second senior Cabinet Minister to quit over the deal agreed at Chequers, which he reportedly called a ‘turd’. At the weekend, those close to Boris were clear that he wouldn’t resign. They said that the only people who would benefit from his resignation would be Michel Barnier and co and that he intended to stay and fight against further concessions to the EU. So, what has changed? Well, a cynic would say David Davis’s resignation. But I understand another factor for him has been how he would defend this plan in public. The more he thought about it, the more he

Robert Peston

Dominic Raab’s appointment is a smart move by Theresa May

The appointment of Dominic Raab as Brexit Secretary to replace David Davis is very smart politics by the prime minister. He is regarded by the True Brexiters as one of them. In fact, David Davis sees Raab as his protege. For what its worth, his promotion shows the influence in Downing Street of the director of communications, Robbie Gibb – late of the BBC – in that Gibb has been a fan of Raab’s for some time. If there is a mystery, it is why Raab took the job. The point is that it is pretty unlikely that he fundamentally disagrees with Davis that May’s plan to take EU rules

Steerpike

Watch: Steve Baker savages Theresa May’s Brexit plan

Theresa May’s nightmare Monday morning is going from bad to worse. Steve Baker, who followed David Davis out of the exit door at the Brexit department, has savaged the Prime Minister’s Chequers plan on the Daily Politics. When asked whether the Brexit blueprint was delivering Brexit in name only, he had this to say: ‘The problem with this particular Brexit is that it will not allow us to have proper control over what goes on in the United Kingdom. We need to get out from treaty obligations that automatically oblige parliament to accept any particular rules and instead be in a position where what we do it is a matter for

Katy Balls

Why No 10 made Dominic Raab Brexit Secretary

Dominic Raab has this morning been appointed as David Davis’s successor as Brexit Secretary. Raab moves from his role as minister of state for Housing to his first Cabinet post as Secretary of State for Exiting the EU. Well-liked among colleagues, Raab is someone who is seen to have been consistently overlooked for promotion. He was recently asked in a television interview, why he hadn’t been promoted given that he was so consistently loyal in defending the government’s position. He is also a savvy hire by No 10 thanks to the fact Raab is a Davis ally and a dedicated Leaver. It will help to send the signal that this

Stephen Daisley

There’s nothing principled about David Davis’s resignation

David Davis has walked away. It’s what he does best. DDexit was inevitable from the moment he was appointed Brexit secretary. Davis is a quitter, not a fixer; asked to compromise, his preference is always for blowing the whole show up. Reports suggest he was especially irked by the No. 10 briefing about ministers being stuck at Chequers without a working local taxi number. The bloke was in the SAS Reserves and couldn’t figure out how to download the Uber app. It’s no mystery why the Brexit negotiations have been going nowhere.  There isn’t much affection for Davis, even among his fellow Brexit ultras, but some will try to paint

Katy Balls

No 10’s opposition briefing highlights the Prime Minister’s Brexit conundrum

The Brexit rebellion has begun. After murmurs of discontent and Jacob Rees-Mogg editorials over the weekend, the kickback to Theresa May’s soft Brexit agreement has arrived in the form of a resignation from David Davis. Steve Baker – a former chair of the European Research Group – has followed suit and things are looking very fraught. No 10 remain confident that should 48 letters be fired off to Graham Brady – the chair of the 1922 committee – they would win that confidence vote. But there’s another problem in all this. The European Research Group – made up of Eurosceptic Tory backbenchers – have turned on the Prime Minister and

Steerpike

The next Brexit Secretary: runners and riders

David Davis had left DexEU – and taken most of his colleagues with him. Steve Baker – junior minister– at the Brexit department has resigned and there are rumours Suella Braverman could also quit. So, with a growing Brexit rebellion brewing, Theresa May’s next move is pivotal. Who will replace Davis? No-one: The department for Exiting the European Union has been repeatedly sidelined by No 10. There’s a chance that Theresa May will respond by merging that department into another – the Cabinet Office or the Foreign Office. However, the optics of closing the Department for Brexit at a time when critics say the Brexit dream has died would not

Tom Goodenough

David Davis breaks his silence on his resignation

David Davis has broken his silence on his resignation. Unsurprisingly his comments on the Today programme are devastating for Theresa May’s Brexit strategy. The now-departed Brexit secretary said his position was no longer tenable because he simply didn’t believe in the PM’s approach. In his resignation letter last night, he had said that ‘that the national interest requires a Secretary of State in my Department that is an enthusiastic believer in the approach, and not merely a reluctant conscript’. He went further on the Today programme, calling the PM’s approach a ‘dangerous strategy’. What is worrying for May is not only that Davis himself couldn’t get behind May’s approach but also that he