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Brexit live: Angela Eagle touted as unity candidate in Labour leadership crisis Brexit live: Angela Eagle touted as unity candidate in Labour leadership crisis
(35 minutes later)
8.01pm BST
20:01
The real ‘big beast’ in that Tory leadership contest of course remains Boris Johnson of course.
It’s probably fair to say that he’s not quite flavour of the month with the pro-EU demonstrators outside parliament now who have singling him out in chants.
VIDEO: Crowd now chanting "There's no plan" and anti Boris chants pic.twitter.com/BUVWFqHHFt
7.58pm BST
19:58
Over to other leadership bunfight now, the Conservative Party. Nominations by Tory MPs for David Cameron’s successor as party leader and prime minister will open on Wednesday and close the following day at noon, starting an accelerated process to see a new incumbent in place at the start of September.
The Guardian’s Peter Walker has been scrutinising the possible candidates amid a rather murky picture. The process is a rather different one from that of the Labour Party’s:
The field is likely to be packed as the contest begins. While Jeremy Corbyn had to get (and only just managed) 35 nominations from Labour MPs to stand in his party’s leadership race, Tory hopefuls need the support of just two others.
Assuming there are three or more candidates, the 330 Conservative MPs will hold a series of ballots to narrow this down to two for the party membership to choose from.
The votes among Tory MPs to whittle down the candidates to the final two will be held by the party’s 1922 Committee every Tuesday and Thursday, meaning the process could in theory take several weeks if there are half a dozen or more people standing. However, while only one candidate is officially eliminated at a time, others with very few votes will often drop out, speeding up the process.
7.43pm BST
19:43
Some of the participants from the remain demonstration in central London have now made their way down to Parliament Square.
"EU, we love you!" Rarely can the European Union have generated so much passion in Britain pic.twitter.com/gpxiwggBve
Here’s Guardian video footage and interviews of the demonstration earlier in Trafalgar Square.
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7.40pm BST
19:40
So can Angela Eagle, the early frontrunner to challenge Jeremy Corbyn, pull it off? The Guardian’s Jessica Elgot has been taking a look at the credentials of Eagle, a staunch trade unionist favoured by the party’s soft left.
The Wallasey MP has both party unity credentials and economic nous, having served in the Treasury under Gordon Brown. Her backers will be making the case that she is both experienced and popular with party members, regularly topping the Labour List shadow cabinet rankings. MPs had previously urged Corbyn to make her his shadow chancellor before he chose his old friend John McDonnell.
Eagle is battle-hardened, standing in for Corbyn at PMQs and winning more accolades than the leader. She first came to mainstream public prominence when David Cameron snapped at her to “calm down, dear” at PMQs, prompting cries of sexism but which Eagle is said to have taken as a triumph.
Yet she had already made political history – in 1997 she was the first female MP to come out, and she and her sister Maria Eagle became the first set of twins to sit in the Commons when Maria was elected in 1997.
Read on here.
7.34pm BST7.34pm BST
19:3419:34
Scottish Labour leader urges Corbyn to consider stepping asideScottish Labour leader urges Corbyn to consider stepping aside
Kezia Dugdale, the Scottish Labour leader, has called on Jeremy Corbyn to consider standing aside following his confidence vote loss earlier.Kezia Dugdale, the Scottish Labour leader, has called on Jeremy Corbyn to consider standing aside following his confidence vote loss earlier.
Dugdale told the BBC she could not do her job if she had lost the backing of most of her members of the Scottish parliament (MSPs):Dugdale told the BBC she could not do her job if she had lost the backing of most of her members of the Scottish parliament (MSPs):
I would have to accept that, despite my own mandate of 72% from the party membership, if the overwhelming majority of Labour MSPs did not support my leadership, I would not be able to do this job effectivelyI would have to accept that, despite my own mandate of 72% from the party membership, if the overwhelming majority of Labour MSPs did not support my leadership, I would not be able to do this job effectively
Jeremy and I were elected leader of the UK and Scottish parties at similar times with similar mandates. We both have a job of uniting our parliamentary party to be an effective opposition and ultimately a party of government.Jeremy and I were elected leader of the UK and Scottish parties at similar times with similar mandates. We both have a job of uniting our parliamentary party to be an effective opposition and ultimately a party of government.
I would not be able to do my job if i did not have the support of the parliamentary party, regardless of the mandate that members give me. Jeremy should reflect on the outcome of the PLP vote but I would not carry on in similar circumstances. (quotes via PoliticsHome)I would not be able to do my job if i did not have the support of the parliamentary party, regardless of the mandate that members give me. Jeremy should reflect on the outcome of the PLP vote but I would not carry on in similar circumstances. (quotes via PoliticsHome)
7.18pm BST7.18pm BST
19:1819:18
Thousands attend 'cancelled' pro-EU event in Trafalgar SquareThousands attend 'cancelled' pro-EU event in Trafalgar Square
A pro-EU demonstration is underway at the moment in London’s Trafalgar Square, where the passion on show for Europe would appear to leave most of the actual pro-remain events from the referendum campaign in the shade.A pro-EU demonstration is underway at the moment in London’s Trafalgar Square, where the passion on show for Europe would appear to leave most of the actual pro-remain events from the referendum campaign in the shade.
Right now, Trafalgar Square. #Londonstays pic.twitter.com/qlS3XXcTINRight now, Trafalgar Square. #Londonstays pic.twitter.com/qlS3XXcTIN
Anti-#Brexit rally, Trafalgar Square pic.twitter.com/YfIrUDtPvdAnti-#Brexit rally, Trafalgar Square pic.twitter.com/YfIrUDtPvd
It’s not just the rain that has failed to deter those present. In a post on Facebook ahead of the event organisers said some 50,000 people had originally declared an interest in attending, prompting it to be abandoned.It’s not just the rain that has failed to deter those present. In a post on Facebook ahead of the event organisers said some 50,000 people had originally declared an interest in attending, prompting it to be abandoned.
Spokesman Jessica Rodgers said: “We’ve tried all we can to ensure this could go ahead. However logistically it’s not possible to ensure a safe event.Spokesman Jessica Rodgers said: “We’ve tried all we can to ensure this could go ahead. However logistically it’s not possible to ensure a safe event.
“Trafalgar Square can hold 10,000 people - and that’s with security barriers, stewards, road closures, and a full contingency plan. Considering the speed with which this event has picked up, arranging everything required in time is simply not possible.“Trafalgar Square can hold 10,000 people - and that’s with security barriers, stewards, road closures, and a full contingency plan. Considering the speed with which this event has picked up, arranging everything required in time is simply not possible.
An event planned for Broad Street in Oxford was cancelled for similar reasons, although pro-EU supporters were said to be planning a demonstration anyway under the message “stand together for Europe”.An event planned for Broad Street in Oxford was cancelled for similar reasons, although pro-EU supporters were said to be planning a demonstration anyway under the message “stand together for Europe”.
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at 7.21pm BSTat 7.21pm BST
7.05pm BST7.05pm BST
19:0519:05
Also eager to present themselves as an alternative to Labour, the Liberal Democrats have accused the party of “failing to put aside tribal interests” at a time when the UK needs politicians to “stand up”.Also eager to present themselves as an alternative to Labour, the Liberal Democrats have accused the party of “failing to put aside tribal interests” at a time when the UK needs politicians to “stand up”.
The Liberal Democrat President, Sal Brinton, said:The Liberal Democrat President, Sal Brinton, said:
Labour are imploding. Whilst Corbyn’s MPs have voted for him to leave and for them to take control, he plans to limp on.Labour are imploding. Whilst Corbyn’s MPs have voted for him to leave and for them to take control, he plans to limp on.
With every day that passes this internal chaos hurts the most vulnerable, the poorest and those who are voiceless. The Liberal Democrats will continue to work to fill the vacuum and hold this government to account.With every day that passes this internal chaos hurts the most vulnerable, the poorest and those who are voiceless. The Liberal Democrats will continue to work to fill the vacuum and hold this government to account.
7.01pm BST7.01pm BST
19:0119:01
Plaid Cymru have accused the Labour Party of “letting the Tories off the hook” by engaging in what the Welsh nationalists described as Labour’s “self destruction”.Plaid Cymru have accused the Labour Party of “letting the Tories off the hook” by engaging in what the Welsh nationalists described as Labour’s “self destruction”.
Hywel Williams, Plaid’s leader in Westminster, said:Hywel Williams, Plaid’s leader in Westminster, said:
Not content with fanning the flames of their own civil war in the last few days with mass resignations, the Labour Party have now deposed their own leader in the ugliest way possible.Not content with fanning the flames of their own civil war in the last few days with mass resignations, the Labour Party have now deposed their own leader in the ugliest way possible.
Labour is failing in its duty to provide strong opposition to what is soon likely to becoming an increasingly right-wing and regressive Tory government.Labour is failing in its duty to provide strong opposition to what is soon likely to becoming an increasingly right-wing and regressive Tory government.
Only this morning, Chancellor Osborne announced that there would have to be further spending cuts and higher taxes in order to deal with the economic aftermath of Brexit. When the official opposition doesn’t serve its purpose, ordinary people suffer.Only this morning, Chancellor Osborne announced that there would have to be further spending cuts and higher taxes in order to deal with the economic aftermath of Brexit. When the official opposition doesn’t serve its purpose, ordinary people suffer.
6.54pm BST6.54pm BST
18:5418:54
The latest departure from the Labour front bench is Liz McInnes, who was the Shadow Communities and Local Government Minister, according to reports.The latest departure from the Labour front bench is Liz McInnes, who was the Shadow Communities and Local Government Minister, according to reports.
It’s a significant one in that she is believed to have spoken up for Corbyn at the latest stormy Labour Parliamentary Party meeting.It’s a significant one in that she is believed to have spoken up for Corbyn at the latest stormy Labour Parliamentary Party meeting.
6.49pm BST6.49pm BST
18:4918:49
What is about European summits and the need for their participants to refuel by sinking their teeth into the meat of young calves?What is about European summits and the need for their participants to refuel by sinking their teeth into the meat of young calves?
The menu being served up to David Cameron and others in Brussels this evening has come through and, you’ve guessed it, there’s veal.The menu being served up to David Cameron and others in Brussels this evening has come through and, you’ve guessed it, there’s veal.
Entrée:Entrée:
Salade de caille et haricots verts, croustillant de fruits secsSalade de caille et haricots verts, croustillant de fruits secs
Quail and green bean salad with a crispy dried fruit pastry triangleQuail and green bean salad with a crispy dried fruit pastry triangle
Plat principal:Plat principal:
Mignon de veau à la ficelle, petits légumes de saisonMignon de veau à la ficelle, petits légumes de saison
Poached veal tenderloin with seasonal baby vegetablesPoached veal tenderloin with seasonal baby vegetables
Dessert:Dessert:
Coupe de fraisesCoupe de fraises
StrawberriesStrawberries
6.40pm BST6.40pm BST
18:4018:40
The figure most likely to emerge as an “agreed” challenger for the Labour leadership is Angela Eagle, the former shadow business secretary and shadow first secretary of state, according to the New Statesman’s George Eaton.The figure most likely to emerge as an “agreed” challenger for the Labour leadership is Angela Eagle, the former shadow business secretary and shadow first secretary of state, according to the New Statesman’s George Eaton.
He also suggests that Dan Jarvis, the former soldier and backbencher who has long been touted as a potential leader, and the former minister Yvette Cooper, are in the loop.He also suggests that Dan Jarvis, the former soldier and backbencher who has long been touted as a potential leader, and the former minister Yvette Cooper, are in the loop.
MPs not naming candidate immediately because some still hope Corbyn may resign.MPs not naming candidate immediately because some still hope Corbyn may resign.
6.30pm BST
18:30
Steven Morris
The first minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, has warned that support for far right parties will increase if there are not clear answers from the leave side over what happens next.
Speaking during a debate on the outcome of the EU referendum at the Welsh assembly, Jones said if there were no answers, “people who have voted leave will take their anger out in different ways.”
Jones, the leader of Welsh Labour, added: “That will mean we will see support for extreme racist parties of the far right. That is my great worry. There is a duty and responsibility on all of us including the leave campaigners to explain what happens next and do that quickly. We need more than waffle, we need detail.”
He also accused the leader of the Tories in Wales, Andrew RT Davies, of launching a “fundamental attack on devolution”.
Davies has suggested funds that used to come from the EU to support deprived communities in Wales and farming could come directly from Westminster rather than be funelled through the Welsh government.
Jones said: “This [referendum] vote must not be used as a reason to leach power away from the people of Wales.”
6.22pm BST
18:22
Back for a moment now to the larger fallout from the pro-Brexit vote and it has emerged that the British and Irish governments are set to discuss the fallout from the Brexit vote for the first time on Wednesday.
Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Charlie Flanagan, and the Northern Ireland Secretary, Theresa Villiers, will talk about the impact of the referendum on cross-border relations when they meet in Belfast.
Speaking ahead of the visit to Northern Ireland, where 56% of those who voted backed Remain, Flanagan said:
It is also my first visit since last Thursday’s referendum and I want again to reassure people that the Irish Government in its contacts with EU partners continues to emphasise that the Northern Ireland and all-island dimensions will be an area for priority attention in all post-referendum negotiations processes, including in relation to the status of the border.
6.08pm BST
18:08
Andrew Sparrow
In his interview on the BBC News (see 5.20pm) Alastair Campbell said that the Labour party was becoming a “sect” under Jeremy Corbyn. And he said that many of the new members who had joined the party because they liked Corbyn were not much help when it came to campaigning.
I’ve got to tell you, campaigning recently in the referendum, a lot of these new members - we did not see that many of them out there, delivering leaflets and knocking on doors.
There is academic research backing this up. Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, has carried out a survey of Labour members and registered supporters who signed up after the 2015 general election, as part of a research project into party membership, and he has found that the newcomers are not particularly active. Here’s an extract from his paper.
What is fascinating, however, is that if Labour is to win, it may have to do it largely without much practical help from its new members and registered supporters. Confirming the complaints of many a Labour MP and ward secretary, the newbies might talk (and tweet) a good game, but they don’t necessarily turn up to do the hard yards.
Just over two-thirds of Labour’s post-GE2015 members and supporters (68%) have retweeted, posted or forwarded a message supporting the Labour party on social media and nearly nine out of ten (88%) claim to have signed a petition on behalf of the party. But only 15% of them have participated in door-to-door or telephone canvassing of voters or helped out at a party function, and only 28% of them claimed to have delivered leaflets. Indeed, some 63% said they had put in no time at all on behalf of the party during recent local, mayoral and devolved elections.
Finally, 61% of Labour’s new members say they have never attended a party meeting – which could mean that MPs worried about their obvious enthusiasm for deselecting those hostile to Jeremy may have less to fear than they might think.
That’s all from me for today.
I’m handing over now to my colleague Ben Quinn.
Updated
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6.08pm BST
18:08
Jessica Elgot
David Ward, who was chief of staff to the Labour leader John Smith, said that when the Labour party leadership election rules were revised in 1993, no one ever thought it was necessary to insist that a leader who lost a confidence motion would have to resign - because people thought it was obvious a leader could not survive in those circumstances.
He also said the current crisis showed why Ed Miliband was so wrong to abandon Labour’s electoral college. John Smith’s legacy has been “blown up”, he said. Ward, who has elaborated on this thoughts in a blog, told me:
John Smith told me there would be no need for an ejector seat. If a leader lost a no confidence vote they would resign. You cannot survive. So we never thought it was necessary.
Labour MPs represent millions of Labour voters, not a few hundred thousand members, which is why the electoral college was originally founded to represent Labour members, MPs and the unions.
It was a huge folly to drop this. New Labour was obsessed with one member one vote and you can say now that they perhaps have reaped what they sowed. The people around Corbyn who are advising him actively want to create a crisis. That’s part of their world view. They would be quite happy to have a small rump party under the name Momentum socialists of 15 or so MPs. That would suit them just fine.
I think Corbyn will lose an electoral challenge, young people particularly are horrified at the result of this referendum.
To see John Smith’s legacy blown up like this, it’s just so awful.
And anyone who cannot fill a front bench cannot be credible as an alternative government.
Updated
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5.45pm BST
17:45
The Labour party resignations continued. Sarah Champion says she has resigned as shadow minister for preventing abuse.
I have just stepped down from my shadow minister job, but not my responsibilities to my constituents, party or victims of abuse
5.39pm BST
17:39
One quarter of Labour voters less likely to vote Labour after EU referendum, internal survey shows
Rajeev Syal
One in four Labour voters are less likely to vote for the party following the referendum campaign, a leaked internal survey shows.
A poll conducted by YouGov for the party shows that 27% of the party’s supporters at the last general election said they were less likely to support the party following the referendum campaign.
11% of voters said they were more likely to support the party since the campaign ended on Thursday.
The figures will be seized upon by critics of Corbyn who have claimed that Labour is losing its core voters under his leadership.
The YouGov survey interviewed 2013 British adults on 26 and 27 June. It asked: “Thinking particularly about the Labour party and the Labour campaign in the referendum, would you say that this made you more or less likely to vote Labour or has it made no difference?”
It found that 6% of those who voted Labour in 2015 said it was much more likely they would vote Labour; 5% said a little more likely to vote Labour, making a total of 11%.
15% of Labour’s voters said they were a little less likely to vote Labour since the referendum campaign; 12% said it made them a lot less likely to vote Labour, making a total of 27%.
But the survey also appears to confirm previous claims by Corbyn and his supporters that 65% of Labour supporters voted to remain. It finds that only 24% voted to leave while 9% did not vote.
A spokesman for Corbyn said the party does not comment on internal surveys.
Updated
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5.37pm BST
17:37
New Conservative party leader to be announced on Friday 9 September
The Conservative party has announced that its new leader will be announced on 9 September. Its party board met today to consider proposals from the backbench 1922 committee, which said the new leader should be elected by 2 September. The board has tweaked the plans, and here are the key dates.
Tomorrow - Nominations open.
Thursday - Nominations close at noon.
Friday 9 September - New leader announced.
5.31pm BST
17:31
Former civil service chief says Brexit withdrawal negotiations should not start until 2017
Phillip Inman
Our economics correspondent Phillip Inman listened earlier to a hastily arranged treasury select committee hearing on the implications of Brexit.
The meeting was attended by mostly remain MPs, with the addition of two Brexiters - Labour’s John Mann and Tory MP Jacob Rees Mogg. The experts interviewed by the committee were Lord Turnbull, a crossbench peer and former head of the civil service, Stephen King, the chief economist at HSBC and David Miles, an economist at Imprial College and former member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee.
Phillip writes:
Lord Turnbull said the government would be misguided if it notified the European Commission of a decision to leave using article 50 before Whitehall was sure what ministers were asking for.
Pressed by the committee chair Andrew Tyrie, he said it would be unwise to trigger article 50 until next year, and possibly not until the spring, though probably not later to avoid French and German officials being distracted by parliamentary and presidential elections, due in the autumn of 2017.
“What we don’t want is trigger article 50 and then for Angela Merkel to turn around and say she doesn’t want to talk to us because she has bigger fish to fry,” Turnbull said.
“It’s a lot of work to get through. A new cabinet and front bench will need to get into their jobs and then into the details of trading arrangements, what we are going to offer on the movement of people. We are not going to get all we want on one and not make a concession on the other,” he said.
Turnbull said he supported basing the Brexit team in the cabinet office, but argued that Oliver Letwin should only be a stop gap head of the negotiating team.
“The government has started building an apparatus and I think it’s in the right place in the Cabinet Office. At the moment it is under the charge of Oliver Letwin, who I think is completely unsuitable in the longer term. He has spent the last six years as a kind of consigliere of the prime minister. He has been absolutely at the heart of No 10. And that is not the profile needed for carrying its work forward.”
He said it needed someone committed to the cause of Brexit.
5.22pm BST
17:22
Ewen MacAskill
As long as Jeremy Corbyn has the support of the unions and the membership he has a strong chance of beating off the challenge. The unions provide the financial backing as well as contributing activists to organise campaign events and staff phone banks.
Len McCluskey, the leader of one of the biggest unions, Unite, confirmed his continued support for Corbyn in spite of speculation to the contrary. (See 5.14pm.) And Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association, also backed Corbyn. He said:
It is almost unbelievable to watch the Labour party plunge into a crisis of its own making as its MPs involve themselves in childish, self-indulgent behaviour which doesn’t befit their office.
Updated
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5.20pm BST
17:20
Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former communications chief, has just been on the BBC saying Jeremy Corbyn should resign. Campbell said that his own MP, Sir Keir Starmer, was excellent but he would find it hard to vote for him in the next general election if he thought that it would lead to Corbyn becoming prime minister. Corbyn was not up to the job, he said.
Campbell has written more about Corbyn on his blog. Here’s an extract:
MPs are of mixed quality. But they are not all daft. The avalanche of resignations of frontbenchers has come not merely because of [Corbyn’s] half-hearted, ineffectual campaigning in the referendum debate. It has come because they have seen up close that he cannot do the job. And we saw again last night, just as we saw in that car crash Vice documentary, is that he is great when telling the converted what they already think (and by the way large numbers in that crowd last night are dedicated to destroying Labour not saving it) but hopeless at winning over the people we are going to need to prevent an even bigger Tory majority in the coming election, whether it is Johnson, Theresa May or anyone else at the helm from Number 10.
Updated
at 5.40pm BST