Matthew Taylor

Sir Keir Starmer - Labour backs 'a customs union' arrangement  The Shadow Brexit Secretary told Andrew Marr this morning that Labour has come out in favour of the UK reaching an agreement to remain in 'a customs union' with the EU. The outcome would see the UK retain tariff free access to EU markets, but still apply the EU's external tariffs to goods from the rest of the world. The announcement comes after a prolonged period of confusion and contradiction over Labour's exact policy on this issue. Starmer said that the 'unanimous' decision had been arrived at after 'many weeks of discussion': https://youtu.be/DF5HVh7XS7E AM: Can I ask what the Labour position is on a customs union? KS: We've long championed being in a customs union with the EU and the benefits of that.

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's chief representative in the Brexit negotiations, sat down with Andrew Marr to discuss at length the UK's future relationship with the EU. Verhofstadt told Marr that a trade deal between the United Kingdom and the European Union will not be finalised before the 29th of March 2019. Instead, Verhofstadt hinted that this would take place during the two year transition arrangement, putting him at odds with the UK government's policy that everything would be agreed 'at the same time': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0nfsRgxfD8 AM: Is it at all possible that by the time we formally leave in March next year, there will be a free trade agreement?

Amber Rudd: ‘I have complete confidence’ in the civil service The Home Secretary has defended the civil service after recent comments made by members of her party. Brexit minister Steve Baker and backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg – now the chair of the influential European Research Group – have both criticised the institution. Baker apologised to the House of Commons on Friday for suggesting that there was significant internal pressure from civil servants to stay in the EU customs union, while Rees-Mogg accused officials who drew up a post-Brexit economic analysis of ‘fiddling the figures’.

David Lidington - Conservative family 'must come together' The Cabinet Office Minister and Theresa May's de facto deputy David Lidington has urged his colleagues to unite behind her after a week that has highlighted her precarious position. Fears have arisen among Conservative MPs that the party is facing annihilation in London and Birmingham in the local elections this spring, and the Chair of the 1922 Committee has signalled that he is dangerously close to the threshold of signatures for an automatic vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister. Speaking to Andrew Marr, Lidington put up a spirited defence of the government's record and urged his colleagues to 'come together': https://youtu.be/t2szk7U93w4 AM: Your colleagues have been really really rude about Theresa May.

During his visit to Britain to discuss defence and the future of Anglo-French border security, the French President Emmanuel Macron gave an interview with Andrew Marr at Sandhurst. Macron told Marr that a bespoke deal for the UK was on the negotiating table, though he insisted that there must be 'no cherry picking', as doing so would dismantle the integrity of the single market: AM: Now you've said in the past you can have Canada, or you can have Norway, but you can't have your own special deal. Is that really fair give how long Britain has been part of the EU? EM: No, it's not a question of fair or unfair... For sure, you will have your own solution. AM: There will be a bespoke special solution for Britain? EM: Sure, but...

The Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was given the prime interview slot on the Andrew Marr Show this morning. Noting the change in SNP rhetoric since before the 2017 election, Marr pushed Sturgeon for a timeframe as to when Scottish voters could expect to see a second independence referendum: https://youtu.be/LjgwDqJgqy4 NS: There is a lot of confusion, this is a complex issue... and people want to see the clarity emerge about the state of the relationship between the UK and the EU. At that point, what I've said is that we will look at that and determine at that stage if Scotland should then have the right to choose between whatever that new relationship with the UK is going to be or choosing to be an independent country.

David Davis: May's EU deal ‘a statement of intent’ The Brexit Secretary David Davis joined Andrew Marr this morning to discuss Theresa May's recent round of negotiations in Brussels, where the European Union finally agreed to progress to the second phase. Friday's breakthrough included an agreement that there would be ‘no hard border’ between the UK and Ireland, and that the UK would maintain 'full alignment' with the EU's single market and customs union. Marr asked Davis about how the Prime Minister's deal would affect the negotiations going forward: https://youtu.be/bw-LLc1Mpes DD: This [deal] was a statement of intent more than anything else. It was much more a statement of intent that it was a legally enforceable thing.

Alan Milburn - There is only so long you can push water uphill Last night Alan Milburn, the former Health Secretary who had been appointed by David Cameron as the government's 'social mobility tsar' in 2012, announced that he would not be continuing in the role any longer, and nor will any of the current membership of his team. This morning, Milburn spoke to Andrew Marr about the reasons for his departure: https://youtu.be/C1iJrl7UWbA Milburn: I care deeply about the issue and I believe that it matters profoundly to the country. I've reached the conclusion sadly that with the current government there is little, if any hope of progress being made towards the fairer Britain that the Prime Minister has talked about.

Liam Fox: EU trade deal must be settled before Irish border The International Trade Secretary has stated today that no final decision can be reached on the border between Ireland and the UK until a trade deal is settled, defying an EU ultimatum that the border question must be settled within the next ten days. The Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, has requested that the UK government gives a guarantee in writing that there would be no ‘hard’ border as a result of Brexit. Speaking to Sky's Niall Paterson, Liam Fox asserted that the UK would be leaving the single market and customs union, but argued that this did not necessarily mean the appearance of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic: https://twitter.

Philip Hammond - 'We are delivering homes at record numbers' Philip Hammond is set to deliver his second budget on Wednesday, which many believe will be make or break for his future at No. 11 Downing Street. He faces a difficult balancing act with challenges on many different fronts, including how to address the UK's housing crisis. The Chancellor defended the government's record on housing, though he acknowledged that the government did need to intervene in an area that he referred to as a 'priority': https://youtu.be/6PxmBzYSkjs AM: Almost everybody agrees that there is a housing crisis in this country. Sajid Javid was sitting in that chair a few weeks ago and he said we need really big thinking on this... Have you turned him down? PH: ...

It is Remembrance Sunday, and the party leaders put their politics aside this morning as they gathered around the Cenotaph to lay wreaths and honour those who lost their lives in times of war. However, in the TV studios, the political debate still carries on with as much vigour as before: Sadiq Khan - Boris Johnson has 'got to go' The Mayor of London joined Andrew Marr today and within minutes Khan had called for Boris Johnson to be dismissed from his post as Foreign Secretary. Marr raised the subject of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British national who is currently serving a five year jail sentence in an Iranian prison.

Amber Rudd: Government is not verging on ‘complete collapse’ Home Secretary Amber Rudd has had a busy media schedule today, appearing on three different political programmes within three hours. First of all, she was on Andrew Marr's sofa. In a week where the so-called ‘Pestminster’ scandal continues to unravel, the Home Secretary addressed concerns over First Secretary of State Damian Green, who is facing allegations that he sexually harassed the journalist Kate Maltby, and that the police found pornography on his computer in 2008, both of which Green denies. Rudd confirmed that Green would be investigated for his conduct in both cases: https://youtu.be/NLre0sPhLU4 AM: Let's look at the Damian Green 'tittle tattle' in the papers today.

Diane Abbott - Labour will have 'zero tolerance' of sexual harassment The Shadow Home Secretary joined Andrew Marr to discuss, among other things, the allegations that have been surfacing about sexual harassment in the House of Commons. Marr bought up the recent case of Jared O'Mara, the Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam who appears to have disgraced himself after several online comments were unearthed: AM: Jared O'Mara - when did the Labour party know about what he'd said? DA: When I heard about it was last Monday. He came to the PLP, he apologised, a lot of people took his apology quite seriously. But then on Tuesday we had more information. On Wednesday he was suspended and the Labour party is looking at it, there's going to be an investigation.

Emily Thornberry - Britain is heading for 'no deal' The Shadow Foreign Secretary has warned that the United Kingdom is on the path to receive a 'no deal' outcome if the government continues to pursue Brexit negotiations in the manner it has been so far. Speaking to Andrew Marr, Thornberry was keen to stress the disadvantages that a no deal scenario would bring to the UK. However, Marr pressed Thornberry about her assertion that that there was 'deadlock' between the government and the EU: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydd1qrWmkvM AM: You say there is deadlock, but directly Donald Tusk says 'After Prime Minister May's intervention my impression is that reports of deadlock between the EU and the UK have been exaggerated.

John McDonnell - Parliament can stop 'no deal' Brexit As the next round of Brexit negotiations approaches, the possibility of a no deal outcome has been the dominant topic of discussion today. Warning of dire consequences for the UK economy, the Shadow Chancellor has told Andrew Marr that MPs can force the government to avoid a potential 'no deal' scenario by amending upcoming legislation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRvjnXNlXCg AM: What happens to the British economy if there is no deal? JM: I'm not willing to countenance that. It's not a realistic option. It's not going to happen. I don't think there's a majority in Parliament for no deal. I think, on a cross party basis - you'll see in the debates in the coming weeks -the government will get the message. There will be a deal.

Sturgeon - It is 'premature' to set a date for second independence referendum The SNP are rounding off this year's party conference season in Glasgow, and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is eager to keep the dream of independence alive. Recent weeks have seen votes in Catalonia and Iraqi Kurdistan, but the chances are that any 'indyref2' in Scotland will take place later rather than sooner. ITV's Robert Peston asked Sturgeon about whether she had made a mistake in pushing for a second referendum so soon after the first: https://youtu.be/pGDnv3GiADs RP: There are some in your party who do believe that one of the reasons you did rather badly or worse than many people expected in the last general election is that you pushed too hard for an early vote.

Theresa May – We've listened on student fees The Prime Minister marked the start of the Conservative party conference (and her 61st birthday) with a customary appearance on the Andrew Marr Show. First on the agenda was the announcement of a change in the government's policy on university tuition fees. May stated that she wanted to raise the threshold at which students start to pay back their loans, and that she intended to scrap a planned increase in level of fees to a maximum of £9,250 a year. Marr accused the Prime Minister of presiding over a screeching U-turn: https://youtu.be/IOnfnAKbifU AM: The policy that you stoutly defended for years, which ended up with £9,000 a year fees for students, did that work? Was it a failure as a policy?

Jeremy Corbyn - We need to 'look very carefully' at any future EU trade relationship As the Labour party conference in Brighton gets underway, Jeremy Corbyn put in an appearance on The Andrew Marr Show. Of particular interest, was Labour's position on the single market – particularly whether the Labour leader was prepared to change his mind after pressure from party members and senior Labour figures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQhSp8M7JUY AM: 66 per cent of your party members want to stay inside the single market. Will you listen to them? JC: Of course I will listen to them. What I would say is that the important priority is to ensure that we have a tariff free trade access to the European market. Half of all our trade is with Europe...