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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/may/23/european-elections-uk-goes-to-the-poll-as-pressure-continues-on-may-to-resign-live-news
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| May close to abandoning Brexit bill amid growing cabinet backlash - live news | May close to abandoning Brexit bill amid growing cabinet backlash - live news |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Cat Smith, the shadow minister for voter engagement, has said the government is to blame for EU nationals having problems voting. In a statement she said: | |
| We repeatedly warned the government that European citizens living in the UK would be denied their right to vote because of its incompetent approach to Brexit. | |
| From day one, the Tories have buried their heads in the sand about these elections, even at the eleventh hour when it was clear that the government’s botched Brexit deal would not pass. | |
| This has caused havoc for electoral administrators tasked with delivering a national poll with extremely short notice. | |
| Labour pointed out on multiple occasions that EU citizens needed more time to return their declaration forms to ensure they can exercise their democratic right to vote. The government is solely to blame for this chaos. | |
| Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, says it it outrageous that EU nationals are being denied the right to vote. | |
| Just spoken to a constituent at a polling station who is from Poland, been here for years but wasn’t allowed to vote...even though he’s on register. It is outrageous. #DeniedmyVote https://t.co/9gyLlcUMnM | |
| Here is a variant on #dogsatpollingstations. | Here is a variant on #dogsatpollingstations. |
| This is from the3million, the campaign representing EU nationals in the UK, for any EU nationals who have been denied a vote today. | This is from the3million, the campaign representing EU nationals in the UK, for any EU nationals who have been denied a vote today. |
| UPDATE: we have just received a phone call from the Electoral Commission - they have been receiving many complaints via our email template. It is working! If #DeniedMyVote has happened to you today then please find template email & instructions below. https://t.co/wWl9DdseWB | UPDATE: we have just received a phone call from the Electoral Commission - they have been receiving many complaints via our email template. It is working! If #DeniedMyVote has happened to you today then please find template email & instructions below. https://t.co/wWl9DdseWB |
| Gavin Williamson, the former defence secretary, has formally announced that he is backing Boris Johnson for next Conservative leader. He told his local paper, the Express & Star: | Gavin Williamson, the former defence secretary, has formally announced that he is backing Boris Johnson for next Conservative leader. He told his local paper, the Express & Star: |
| I think he’s the best candidate. | I think he’s the best candidate. |
| He’s the one who can deliver change for both the Conservative Party and the country. | He’s the one who can deliver change for both the Conservative Party and the country. |
| I will be enthusiastically backing him and very much hope I can play a small role in making sure that his name is the one that the party chooses as leader. | I will be enthusiastically backing him and very much hope I can play a small role in making sure that his name is the one that the party chooses as leader. |
| The bottom line is that the only person who can deliver Brexit and defeat Labour is Boris Johnson. | The bottom line is that the only person who can deliver Brexit and defeat Labour is Boris Johnson. |
| The reference to playing “a small role” in the Johnson campaign will provoke wry smile in Tory circles. Williamson was not a great success as defence secretary, but he was rated as a chief whip and some people regard him as the best backroom fixer/organiser in the Conservative party. He played a leading role in Theresa May’s campaign in 2016. | The reference to playing “a small role” in the Johnson campaign will provoke wry smile in Tory circles. Williamson was not a great success as defence secretary, but he was rated as a chief whip and some people regard him as the best backroom fixer/organiser in the Conservative party. He played a leading role in Theresa May’s campaign in 2016. |
| His endorsement will be valuable to Johnson, not just because of the skills he can bring to the campaign, but because he is seen as someone with a track record for hitching up with the winning candidate. After Williamson, other Tories may feel more inclined to join the bandwagon too. | His endorsement will be valuable to Johnson, not just because of the skills he can bring to the campaign, but because he is seen as someone with a track record for hitching up with the winning candidate. After Williamson, other Tories may feel more inclined to join the bandwagon too. |
| Michael Gove, the Brexiter environment secretary, has been tweeting his support for the Tory MEP Daniel Hannan, the lead Conservative candidate in the south east region. Gove says Hannan has done more than anyone “to ensure the UK becomes an independent nation again” (which may come as a surprise to anyone who thought it wasn’t an independent nation). | Michael Gove, the Brexiter environment secretary, has been tweeting his support for the Tory MEP Daniel Hannan, the lead Conservative candidate in the south east region. Gove says Hannan has done more than anyone “to ensure the UK becomes an independent nation again” (which may come as a surprise to anyone who thought it wasn’t an independent nation). |
| It’s critical that people vote Conservative today in the European elections. I urge everyone in Surrey Heath to support our candidates in the South East - especially @DanielJHannan, who has done more than anyone else to ensure the UK becomes an independent nation again | It’s critical that people vote Conservative today in the European elections. I urge everyone in Surrey Heath to support our candidates in the South East - especially @DanielJHannan, who has done more than anyone else to ensure the UK becomes an independent nation again |
| An army veteran in his 80s acting as a teller for the Brexit party had a milkshake thrown over him outside a polling station in Aldershot, the Telegraph reports. | An army veteran in his 80s acting as a teller for the Brexit party had a milkshake thrown over him outside a polling station in Aldershot, the Telegraph reports. |
| The broadcaster Piers Morgan is among those speaking up for him on Twitter. | The broadcaster Piers Morgan is among those speaking up for him on Twitter. |
| This elderly gentleman served in the British armed forces for 22 years. Today he was manning a Brexit Party polling station when he was attacked & had milkshake thrown all over him. All because he wants the result of a democratic referendum to be honoured. Disgusting. pic.twitter.com/1vZMHM31M2 | This elderly gentleman served in the British armed forces for 22 years. Today he was manning a Brexit Party polling station when he was attacked & had milkshake thrown all over him. All because he wants the result of a democratic referendum to be honoured. Disgusting. pic.twitter.com/1vZMHM31M2 |
| It wouldn’t be a proper election without #dogsatpollingstations. Here is a selection that have caught my eye. | It wouldn’t be a proper election without #dogsatpollingstations. Here is a selection that have caught my eye. |
| Poppy says...don’t forget to vote! #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/7mBGOvIWBK | Poppy says...don’t forget to vote! #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/7mBGOvIWBK |
| Wallis was particularly excited about going to vote today #DogsAtPollingStations pic.twitter.com/qUwtGNgOVC | Wallis was particularly excited about going to vote today #DogsAtPollingStations pic.twitter.com/qUwtGNgOVC |
| Where is everybody ??? #earlydoors #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/vtNZyAkJLD | Where is everybody ??? #earlydoors #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/vtNZyAkJLD |
| Parliamentary democracy crumbling around our ears, but some traditions are worth preserving #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/zcVYtS67uY | Parliamentary democracy crumbling around our ears, but some traditions are worth preserving #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/zcVYtS67uY |
| #dogsatpollingstations #VoteSNP pic.twitter.com/SHyNXpW7xj | #dogsatpollingstations #VoteSNP pic.twitter.com/SHyNXpW7xj |
| George says please vote today! #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/utKFLj8igJ | George says please vote today! #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/utKFLj8igJ |
| Here is the SNP’s Pete Wishart commenting on the government’s announcement that it cannot confirm that the EU withdrawal agreement bill second reading will go ahead in the first week of June. (See 11.22am.) He said: | Here is the SNP’s Pete Wishart commenting on the government’s announcement that it cannot confirm that the EU withdrawal agreement bill second reading will go ahead in the first week of June. (See 11.22am.) He said: |
| The decision to shelve the damaging withdrawal agreement bill has confirmed beyond any doubt that this Tory government is in a state of paralysis, completely dysfunctional and unable to get on with the day job. | The decision to shelve the damaging withdrawal agreement bill has confirmed beyond any doubt that this Tory government is in a state of paralysis, completely dysfunctional and unable to get on with the day job. |
| Rather than seeking a way to end the Brexit impasse, the Tories have instead kicked the can further down the road. | Rather than seeking a way to end the Brexit impasse, the Tories have instead kicked the can further down the road. |
| This is the final humiliation for Theresa May, who surely cannot remain in office much longer. | This is the final humiliation for Theresa May, who surely cannot remain in office much longer. |
| Theresa May has bowed to pressure from backbenchers and cabinet ministers and abandoned plans to publish her controversial EU withdrawal agreement bill (Wab) tomorrow. She triggered a ferocious backlash in her party on Tuesday when she announced that the bill would include plans to give MPs a vote on holding a second referendum and on a temporary customs union, and this has intensified calls for her to announce that she will resign. Yesterday No 10 said the bill would be published on Friday, and that it would get its second reading vote in the week beginning Monday 3 June. But today the government announced that publication has been delayed until the first week of June, and a minister had to admit that it is now possible that the second reading won’t take place that week after all. (See 11.22am.) The news has heightened speculation that the bill will eventually be abandoned, although May is in talks with cabinet colleagues about whether it could be rescued via a rewrite. The fate of the bill is inextricably linked to her survival as prime minister because last week she agreed with the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee to postpone any announcement about when she will stand down until after the bill’s second reading. Any decision to kill the bill would leave her with no excuse not to resign as Conservative leader immediately, triggering the leadership contest that will choose her successor as PM. | Theresa May has bowed to pressure from backbenchers and cabinet ministers and abandoned plans to publish her controversial EU withdrawal agreement bill (Wab) tomorrow. She triggered a ferocious backlash in her party on Tuesday when she announced that the bill would include plans to give MPs a vote on holding a second referendum and on a temporary customs union, and this has intensified calls for her to announce that she will resign. Yesterday No 10 said the bill would be published on Friday, and that it would get its second reading vote in the week beginning Monday 3 June. But today the government announced that publication has been delayed until the first week of June, and a minister had to admit that it is now possible that the second reading won’t take place that week after all. (See 11.22am.) The news has heightened speculation that the bill will eventually be abandoned, although May is in talks with cabinet colleagues about whether it could be rescued via a rewrite. The fate of the bill is inextricably linked to her survival as prime minister because last week she agreed with the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee to postpone any announcement about when she will stand down until after the bill’s second reading. Any decision to kill the bill would leave her with no excuse not to resign as Conservative leader immediately, triggering the leadership contest that will choose her successor as PM. |
| May has appointed Mel Stride as leader of the Commons in a mini reshuffle prompted by the resignation yesterday of Andrea Leadsom. (See 1.18pm.) | May has appointed Mel Stride as leader of the Commons in a mini reshuffle prompted by the resignation yesterday of Andrea Leadsom. (See 1.18pm.) |
| Jean-Claude Juncker has suggested that the UK is drifting towards another Brexit extension in October as he criticised MPs for prioritising the prime minister’s removal over finding agreement on a Brexit deal. | Jean-Claude Juncker has suggested that the UK is drifting towards another Brexit extension in October as he criticised MPs for prioritising the prime minister’s removal over finding agreement on a Brexit deal. |
| A disturbing picture is emerging of EU citizens in the UK being denied their democratic right to vote in the European parliament elections taking place today because of administrative errors by local councils. | A disturbing picture is emerging of EU citizens in the UK being denied their democratic right to vote in the European parliament elections taking place today because of administrative errors by local councils. |
| Boris Johnson lied when he repeatedly claimed during the 2016 referendum on EU membership that the UK sent £350m a week to Brussels, lawyers attempting to launch a private prosecution of the MP have told a court. | Boris Johnson lied when he repeatedly claimed during the 2016 referendum on EU membership that the UK sent £350m a week to Brussels, lawyers attempting to launch a private prosecution of the MP have told a court. |
| Peter Hain, the Labour peer who used parliamentary privilege to accuse Sir Philip Green of being an abusive bully, has said he did so after hearing “horrible” claims of repeated sexual assaults resulting in hundreds of grievance cases. | Peter Hain, the Labour peer who used parliamentary privilege to accuse Sir Philip Green of being an abusive bully, has said he did so after hearing “horrible” claims of repeated sexual assaults resulting in hundreds of grievance cases. |
| Theresa May has left Downing Street and is heading for her Maidenhead constituency, the Press Association reports. | Theresa May has left Downing Street and is heading for her Maidenhead constituency, the Press Association reports. |