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Corbyn says Peterborough win justifies Labour's decision to focus campaigning on austerity, not Brexit – live news Corbyn says Peterborough win justifies Labour's decision to focus campaigning on austerity, not Brexit – live news
(32 minutes later)
The Jewish Labour Movement has issued a statement this morning saying Lisa Forbes, the party’s new MPs for Peterborough, should have the whip withdrawn.
JLM's statement on the result of the Peterborough by-election. pic.twitter.com/zEpYc2XAy4
And here are some more tweets on the Peterborough results.
From the Press Association’s Ian Jones
Peterborough was another good result for the smaller parties. pic.twitter.com/e5J3ges6Wo
Labour hasn't improved its share of the vote in any fully contested by-election since the referendum.(Batley & Spen excepted - where none of the other parties stood) pic.twitter.com/IBhvsdMFwc
From YouGov’s Chris Curtis
Feels like this is a failure of expectation management rather than an actual failure for the Brexit party.To come a very close 2nd with nearly 30% of the vote, considering they didn't exist at the start of the year, is really quite incredible.
Labour has lost over 1/3 of its vote share since 2017.Tories have lost over 1/2 of its vote share since 2017.That is quite something, even if Labour did manage to (just) top the ballot.
Labour has lost over 1/3 of its vote share since 2017.Tories have lost over 1/2 of its vote share since 2017.That is quite something, even if Labour did manage to (just) top the ballot.
From the politics professor Rob Ford
Completely agree, however losing Peterborough makes it harder for BXP to convince voters they are credible election winning force, so therefore harder for them to hold on to current vote shares. They’ve not broken the FPP Tinkerbell spell yet https://t.co/01C98Z1pDY
Here is another useful Twitter thread on the Peterborough results from Chris Hopkins, head of politics at the pollsters ComRes.
ComRes' Head of Politics @ChrisHopkins92 reflects on last night's by-election result from Peterborough and the wider implications for the UK's political landscape. A thread:
Sky’s Lewis Goodall has a good Twitter thread on the significance of the byelection result. It starts here.
PETERBOROUGH BY ELECTION RESULT (AND WHAT IT MEANS THREAD)Con: 7243 (3rd)Lab: 10484 (1st)Brexit: 9801 (2nd)Lib Dem: 4159 (4th)Green:1035 (5th)RESULT: LABOUR HOLDMAJ: 683Turnout: 48%
Here is one of his key observations, but it is worth reading the whole thread.
That's why when people say "where is the BXP manifesto?" they miss the point. They're not really a political party in many ways, at least not yet. They're a massive pressure group on the Tory Party, like UKIP was. That's where their significance in overall British politics lies.
My colleague Rajeev Syal has a good piece explaining the seven reasons why Labour won.My colleague Rajeev Syal has a good piece explaining the seven reasons why Labour won.
Seven reasons Labour won the Peterborough byelectionSeven reasons Labour won the Peterborough byelection
Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, has been in Downing Street this morning. But he was not invited in. He was there to deliver a letter saying the Brexit party should now be included in the government’s Brexit negotiating team.Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, has been in Downing Street this morning. But he was not invited in. He was there to deliver a letter saying the Brexit party should now be included in the government’s Brexit negotiating team.
Nigel Farage currently in Downing Street. Not for talks, but to deliver this letter. Drafted expecting a victory in Peterborough, perhaps? Either way party thinks Euro results mean it should be involved in negotiations... pic.twitter.com/abZBTKjKc3Nigel Farage currently in Downing Street. Not for talks, but to deliver this letter. Drafted expecting a victory in Peterborough, perhaps? Either way party thinks Euro results mean it should be involved in negotiations... pic.twitter.com/abZBTKjKc3
The Brexit party made this a campaign demand during the European elections campaign. Given that the Brexit party want a WTO Brexit, which would not require any negotiating, it is not immediately obvious how this would work, but the letter suggests the Brexit party could get involved reviewing no-deal preparations.The Brexit party made this a campaign demand during the European elections campaign. Given that the Brexit party want a WTO Brexit, which would not require any negotiating, it is not immediately obvious how this would work, but the letter suggests the Brexit party could get involved reviewing no-deal preparations.
But some Labour MPs are finding it harder to celebrate the Peterborough byelection result because Lisa Forbes, the party’s winning candidate, had to apologise during the campaign for liking a post that said Theresa May had a “Zionist slave masters agenda”.But some Labour MPs are finding it harder to celebrate the Peterborough byelection result because Lisa Forbes, the party’s winning candidate, had to apologise during the campaign for liking a post that said Theresa May had a “Zionist slave masters agenda”.
This is from Margaret Hodge, the former minister, who has been one of those MPs most critical of Jeremy Corbyn and the party generally for not doing more to tackle antisemitism in the party.This is from Margaret Hodge, the former minister, who has been one of those MPs most critical of Jeremy Corbyn and the party generally for not doing more to tackle antisemitism in the party.
Seriously mixed feelings about the Peterborough result. I never want to see Nigel Farage’s party in Parliament. But Lisa Forbes & the Labour Party have a lot to answer for. We must learn lessons & never have a repeat of this. Have formally raised concerns with party leadership.Seriously mixed feelings about the Peterborough result. I never want to see Nigel Farage’s party in Parliament. But Lisa Forbes & the Labour Party have a lot to answer for. We must learn lessons & never have a repeat of this. Have formally raised concerns with party leadership.
These are from Jess Phillips.These are from Jess Phillips.
Woke up to news of Peterborough win. Glad that Brexit Party didn't win and am in awe of my Labour colleagues who ran a tough campaign well. But the reality is I cannot be gleeful or proud as I'd want to be because of how it shows that antisemitism is becoming normal in the partyWoke up to news of Peterborough win. Glad that Brexit Party didn't win and am in awe of my Labour colleagues who ran a tough campaign well. But the reality is I cannot be gleeful or proud as I'd want to be because of how it shows that antisemitism is becoming normal in the party
Lisa ignored and endorsed anti-Semitic things, I'll take her explanation and apology at face value &look forward to her proving as others have that actions not excuses alone can heal. But with every case the parties values chip away and our ability to stand up against hate erodesLisa ignored and endorsed anti-Semitic things, I'll take her explanation and apology at face value &look forward to her proving as others have that actions not excuses alone can heal. But with every case the parties values chip away and our ability to stand up against hate erodes
And these are from Wes Streeting.And these are from Wes Streeting.
Just spoke to @LBCLondonNews about the remarkable result in Peterborough. Here’s my take on what it might tell us about the current state of politics and some raw honesty about why I wasn’t there this week...Just spoke to @LBCLondonNews about the remarkable result in Peterborough. Here’s my take on what it might tell us about the current state of politics and some raw honesty about why I wasn’t there this week...
1. Normally an opposition party winning a by-election isn’t really news, but these aren’t normal times. The result is remarkable, shows that Labour can win in Leave areas, that we can’t afford to lose voters to Lib Dems/Greens in marginals and have great organisers and activists: pic.twitter.com/UT57IszD5z1. Normally an opposition party winning a by-election isn’t really news, but these aren’t normal times. The result is remarkable, shows that Labour can win in Leave areas, that we can’t afford to lose voters to Lib Dems/Greens in marginals and have great organisers and activists: pic.twitter.com/UT57IszD5z
2. I haven’t been in Peterborough this week - or helped since the social media activity of our candidate came to light. When I said zero tolerance I meant it. When I said I’d stand in solidarity with @JewishLabour I meant it: pic.twitter.com/os2G35aBNe2. I haven’t been in Peterborough this week - or helped since the social media activity of our candidate came to light. When I said zero tolerance I meant it. When I said I’d stand in solidarity with @JewishLabour I meant it: pic.twitter.com/os2G35aBNe
3. I didn’t want to see the Brexit Party win, but I don’t believe there’s a hierarchy of racism of prejudice or that antisemitism is the lesser of two evils. Labour is normalising antisemitism and I won’t be a bystander to it. pic.twitter.com/LwO5pC8hIa3. I didn’t want to see the Brexit Party win, but I don’t believe there’s a hierarchy of racism of prejudice or that antisemitism is the lesser of two evils. Labour is normalising antisemitism and I won’t be a bystander to it. pic.twitter.com/LwO5pC8hIa
4. I’ve given up any hope that the Labour leadership is serious about tackling antisemitism. They’re welcome to prove me wrong. I haven’t given up hope that the new MP for Peterborough can be true to her apology. Based on everything else I know about her I really hope she does.4. I’ve given up any hope that the Labour leadership is serious about tackling antisemitism. They’re welcome to prove me wrong. I haven’t given up hope that the new MP for Peterborough can be true to her apology. Based on everything else I know about her I really hope she does.
Jeremy Corbyn is in Peterborough to congratulate Lisa Forbes, the city’s new MP. Speaking to Labour supporters, he said the result showed why Labour should not be written off. He said:Jeremy Corbyn is in Peterborough to congratulate Lisa Forbes, the city’s new MP. Speaking to Labour supporters, he said the result showed why Labour should not be written off. He said:
What we did was offer the politics of hope, not the politics of fear. We offered the politics of hope to end austerity, to fund our schools properly, to employ our police properly, to give our young people a future in this country. That is what the Labour offer is about.What we did was offer the politics of hope, not the politics of fear. We offered the politics of hope to end austerity, to fund our schools properly, to employ our police properly, to give our young people a future in this country. That is what the Labour offer is about.
Everybody, all the experts, wrote Lisa off. All the experts wrote Labour off yesterday. Write Labour off at your peril. We are strong, we are very determined to offer that politics that invests in decent services, in decent housing, in decent healthcare and in good quality jobs for the future, and a relationship with Europe that doesn’t take us over a cliff edge.Everybody, all the experts, wrote Lisa off. All the experts wrote Labour off yesterday. Write Labour off at your peril. We are strong, we are very determined to offer that politics that invests in decent services, in decent housing, in decent healthcare and in good quality jobs for the future, and a relationship with Europe that doesn’t take us over a cliff edge.
Yesterday the Labour party came together on the streets of Peterborough. The Labour party came together in this campaign. And, on the day that Theresa May ceases to be leader of the Conservative party, my message is, to all the squabbling contenders for the Tory party leadership, bring it on. We are ready for a general election. And that general election will deliver a Labour government that will work for the many.Yesterday the Labour party came together on the streets of Peterborough. The Labour party came together in this campaign. And, on the day that Theresa May ceases to be leader of the Conservative party, my message is, to all the squabbling contenders for the Tory party leadership, bring it on. We are ready for a general election. And that general election will deliver a Labour government that will work for the many.
Normally politicians prefer to talk about actual election results than about polls. But in his interviews this morning after his party narrowly lost in Peterborough, Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, has been anxious to turn the conversation away from last night’s results and towards a YouGov opinion poll for today’s Times putting the Brexit party six points ahead of Labour and the Lib Dems, on joint second.Normally politicians prefer to talk about actual election results than about polls. But in his interviews this morning after his party narrowly lost in Peterborough, Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, has been anxious to turn the conversation away from last night’s results and towards a YouGov opinion poll for today’s Times putting the Brexit party six points ahead of Labour and the Lib Dems, on joint second.
Here is an extract from the YouGov write-up.Here is an extract from the YouGov write-up.
The Brexit party takes the lead for the first time in our latest YouGov/Times Westminster voting intention survey, on 26% of the vote.The Brexit party takes the lead for the first time in our latest YouGov/Times Westminster voting intention survey, on 26% of the vote.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats are in joint second place on 20% apiece, with the Conservatives in fourth place on 18%.Labour and the Liberal Democrats are in joint second place on 20% apiece, with the Conservatives in fourth place on 18%.
Elsewhere, the Green party are on 9% while Ukip take 1% and Change UK, who lost half of their MPs this week, a statistical 0%. Votes for all other parties stand at 5%.Elsewhere, the Green party are on 9% while Ukip take 1% and Change UK, who lost half of their MPs this week, a statistical 0%. Votes for all other parties stand at 5%.
Farage said this poll result was unbelievably good for his party.Farage said this poll result was unbelievably good for his party.
Here is my colleague Dan Sabbagh’s take on the Peterborough byelection result.Here is my colleague Dan Sabbagh’s take on the Peterborough byelection result.
Labour's ground game helps secure coup in PeterboroughLabour's ground game helps secure coup in Peterborough
Michael Gove, another Tory leadership candidate, has now tweeted about the Peterborough result. Gove is a Brexiter, and he also (see 10.14am) thinks it shows that the party must deliver Brexit before the general election.Michael Gove, another Tory leadership candidate, has now tweeted about the Peterborough result. Gove is a Brexiter, and he also (see 10.14am) thinks it shows that the party must deliver Brexit before the general election.
A disappointing result in Peterborough last night, despite all the hard work by @paulbristow79 and team. Paul was a brilliant candidate who would have made a fantastic addition to Parliament, and anyone who has met him knows he will continue to be a great champion for his city.A disappointing result in Peterborough last night, despite all the hard work by @paulbristow79 and team. Paul was a brilliant candidate who would have made a fantastic addition to Parliament, and anyone who has met him knows he will continue to be a great champion for his city.
Results like last night’s show clearly that the Conservatives must honour the referendum result and deliver Brexit before risking a General Election.Results like last night’s show clearly that the Conservatives must honour the referendum result and deliver Brexit before risking a General Election.
We’ve got to come back together as a Party and work together to get Brexit done - otherwise we will lose to Labour and the Brexit Party and put Corbyn in Downing Street.#Gove4PM #ReadyToLeadWe’ve got to come back together as a Party and work together to get Brexit done - otherwise we will lose to Labour and the Brexit Party and put Corbyn in Downing Street.#Gove4PM #ReadyToLead
The Peterborough byelection result confirms that the issue of Brexit has turned the UK’s two-party system into a four-party system, Prof Sir John Curtice, Britain’s most respected psephologist, told the Today programme this morning.The Peterborough byelection result confirms that the issue of Brexit has turned the UK’s two-party system into a four-party system, Prof Sir John Curtice, Britain’s most respected psephologist, told the Today programme this morning.
Labour’s Lisa Forbes won the byelection with 30.9% of the vote over the Brexit party, which got 28.9%. The Conservative, who held the seat for 12 years until 2015, came third with 21.4%, and the Liberal Democrats fourth on 12.3%.Labour’s Lisa Forbes won the byelection with 30.9% of the vote over the Brexit party, which got 28.9%. The Conservative, who held the seat for 12 years until 2015, came third with 21.4%, and the Liberal Democrats fourth on 12.3%.
Curtice said that in the last general election in 2017 the two traditional main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, shared 95% of the vote in Peterborough, but got only 52.3% in the byelection. He told Today:Curtice said that in the last general election in 2017 the two traditional main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, shared 95% of the vote in Peterborough, but got only 52.3% in the byelection. He told Today:
Brexit has become such an important issue that rather than our traditional system of two-party politics, at the moment at least, we’ve got a system of four party politics.Brexit has become such an important issue that rather than our traditional system of two-party politics, at the moment at least, we’ve got a system of four party politics.
The two traditional parties, that are much happier talking about issues other than Brexit, have been joined by two parties: the Brexit party at one end of the spectrum; and the Liberal Democrats on the other, who are quite happy to carry on talking about Brexit. That’s the issue on which they are united and on which they seem to be winning votes.The two traditional parties, that are much happier talking about issues other than Brexit, have been joined by two parties: the Brexit party at one end of the spectrum; and the Liberal Democrats on the other, who are quite happy to carry on talking about Brexit. That’s the issue on which they are united and on which they seem to be winning votes.
Labour’s share of the vote in Peterborough was up nine percentage points compared to it disastrous showing in the European election. But Curtice said senior Labour figures could not pretend that the party was not losing support over Brexit.Labour’s share of the vote in Peterborough was up nine percentage points compared to it disastrous showing in the European election. But Curtice said senior Labour figures could not pretend that the party was not losing support over Brexit.
The idea, that the Labour party has been coming at this morning, that this all goes to show that the whole argument about Brexit and the legacy of the European election can be ignored, is wrong.The idea, that the Labour party has been coming at this morning, that this all goes to show that the whole argument about Brexit and the legacy of the European election can be ignored, is wrong.
The Peterborough result was consistent with recent opinion polls, he said and added: “Not as dramatic as the European elections but still more than enough to disrupt our usual politics.”The Peterborough result was consistent with recent opinion polls, he said and added: “Not as dramatic as the European elections but still more than enough to disrupt our usual politics.”
He pointed out that Labour’s vote in Peterborough represented the “smallest share of the vote that has ever been sufficient to win a general election in postwar British politics.”He pointed out that Labour’s vote in Peterborough represented the “smallest share of the vote that has ever been sufficient to win a general election in postwar British politics.”
Meanwhile, the Conservatives lost more than half the vote share they won in 2017, Curtice said:Meanwhile, the Conservatives lost more than half the vote share they won in 2017, Curtice said:
Some of the immediate pressure on both the Conservative and Labour Party will be thought to be eased, but if anybody comes away from this and thinks, ‘Oh, actually, you know, the impact that Brexit is having on our politics is beginning to disappear and dissipate’. Well, maybe it will eventually. But it certainly isn’t doing so yet on the evidence this byelection.Some of the immediate pressure on both the Conservative and Labour Party will be thought to be eased, but if anybody comes away from this and thinks, ‘Oh, actually, you know, the impact that Brexit is having on our politics is beginning to disappear and dissipate’. Well, maybe it will eventually. But it certainly isn’t doing so yet on the evidence this byelection.
Unless and until the Conservative party can deliver Brexit, it is going to be in trouble. And it remains the case that it looks as though the Labour party’s position on Brexit is not anything like adequate for the Labour party to be able to retain the kinds of support they had in the 2017 election.Unless and until the Conservative party can deliver Brexit, it is going to be in trouble. And it remains the case that it looks as though the Labour party’s position on Brexit is not anything like adequate for the Labour party to be able to retain the kinds of support they had in the 2017 election.
Earlier we quoted Jeremy Hunt, one of the leading Tory leadership candidates, saying that the Peterborough result showed why the Conservatives had to deliver Brexit. (See 7.02am.) Other leadership candidates, Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab and Esther McVey, are saying it shows that Brexit must be delivered before the end of October, when the article 50 extension is due to run out.
Here is Johnson.
Commiserations to the excellent @Paulbristow79 who did not deserve to come third in #Peterborough. Conservatives must deliver Brexit by 31st October or we risk Brexit Party votes delivering Corbyn to No10.
Here is Raab.
Last night’s result shows yet again that we must get on and deliver Brexit by the end of October. Failure to do so would not only break our promise to voters, it risks delivering Jeremy Corbyn by the backdoor.
And this is from McVey.
The result in Peterborough is the shape of things to come if we don’t deliver a clean Brexit on 31 October.
Our persistent thwarting of the referendum result shows that a Brexit party vote will let Jeremy Corbyn into No 10 by the back door.
Brexit is an opportunity to be seized not a problem to be mitigated. The UK can thrive after a clean break with the EU, and we will at last be able to show, once again, how a Conservative agenda can kickstart the economy.
But Matt Hancock, another leadership candidate, is drawing a different conclusion from the result. Hancock is pitching himself as a candidate who can appeal to centre-ground voters, not hardline Brexiters, and so it is not surprising that he is offering this interpretation.
The Peterborough by-election shows our real opponent is Jeremy Corbyn. We need to deliver Brexit then turn the page with a fresh face & concentrate on all the other things that matter to people
And Rory Stewart, another leadership candidate not running on a Brexiter platform, also has a different take on the message the Conservative party should be heeding.
Support for Remain parties now outnumbers support for parties that want no-deal in 124 conservative seats. We must reach across divides to the centre ground and win back younger, Remain voters as well as Leave voters. That’s the right AND the smart thing to do. And I will do it.
Here is a graphic showing the byelection results.
Jeremy Corbyn is visiting Peterborough this morning to congratulate Labour’s winning candidate, Lisa Forbes. Before he left he recorded a brief interview with Sky News.
Corbyn said the byelection result showed the voters of Peterborough rejecting austerity and rejecting a no-deal Brexit.
He sidestepped a question about whether the result would end Labour’s support for a second referendum. When he was asked if it would kill off Labour backing for a second referendum, he replied:
This win shows that Labour has support all across the piece, all across the country, and we are ready for a general election whenever it comes and we will stop the Tories taking this country into a no-deal Brexit will all the threats to jobs that go with that.
He said all the Tory leadership candidates were just offering a no-deal Brexit. When he was asked what his plan was when a new Tory leader took over, he replied:
I don’t know who the new leader is going to be, but it seems to be a choice between no-deal, no-deal and no-deal, as far as I can understand it.
Our position is there has to be good trade relations with Europe in the future, whatever the relationship is in a political sense. But there also has to be a government in his country that deals with the issues of inequality, injustice and poverty. The Peterborough result showed that the Labour message of investment in education, investment in our children’s future, has a big resonance.
It is not quite true to say that all the Tory leadership candidates are just offering no-deal. But it is true to say all the ones that have a realistic chance of winning say they would accept no-deal, and that the plans they are putting forward to get a deal through parliament (which most say is there preference) have been widely dismissed as implausible. My colleague Rowena Mason has a full analysis here.
He claimed Labour was on course to win a general election.
And we are ready for a general election, whenever it comes. And, do you know what, we’re going to win it?
He claimed Labour won in Peterborough despite “unbelievable levels of hostility” from the media. Asked if he were worried by how well the Brexit party did, he replied:
Our party campaigned very hard. We had unbelievable levels of hostility from much of the mainstream media throughout the campaign. But our doorstep message, our message in the communities, carried the day. And that is what political power is about.
Byelections sometimes attract huge interest, not because the national media is worried about who is going to represent a particular constituency, but because it is assumed that how people vote in a byelection tells you something about how parties will fare in the next general election. As such, they are unreliable signposts (there is a long history of protest parties doing well in byelections, only for them to fall back again at the next general), but they do give some useful clues as to how political loyalties are shifting.
But what probably matters more is how byelection results are perceived. In other words, it is not so much what the results show as what people think they show that matters. They influence internal party debates about strategy, sometimes with important consequences. For example, David Cameron would have been much less likely to commit his party to an in/out EU referendum in January 2013 if it had not been for the fact that in 2011 and 2012 Ukip, which used to lose its deposit in byelections was regularly starting to come second or third.
The Brexit party had been expected to win in Peterborough, and it was assumed that a victory for Nigel Farage would have helped Boris Johnson’s campaign for the Tory leadership, because Johnson is pitching himself as the candidate best able to win back Brexit party voters. “If the Brexit party win in Peterborough it will give the campaign for Boris monkey glands,” the Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell told the FT earlier this week. Now it looks as if Team Boris will have to manage without said monkey glands. It probably won’t amount to a huge setback for the Johnson campaign, but it is definitely a setback of sorts.
And the result will have an influence on Labour politics too. There has been an intense debate in the party between those who want to commit the party to a much stronger remain/second referendum position and Jeremy Corbyn and his close allies who are resisting this because they don’t want Labour to be defined as a remain party. After the European elections Corbyn shifted very slightly towards the remain camp (confirming that the party now favoured a public vote on any Brexit deal agreed by parliament). But Corbyn has long argued that the party should be campaigning principally on austerity, not on Breixt, and he has taken the Peterborough byelection result as vindication of this position. It will probably stop any prospect of Labour getting more remainy any time soon. In his statement last night Corbyn said:
I am delighted to congratulate Lisa Forbes on a great win and a people powered campaign.
Peterborough has shown clear support for Labour’s programme to end austerity and invest in services and communities, rejecting a decade of Tory cuts and their disastrous handling of Brexit. In this key seat, the Conservatives have been pushed to the margins.
This result shows that in spite of the divisions and deadlock over Brexit, when it comes to a vote on the issues that directly affect people’s lives, Labour’s case for real change has strong support across the country. I look forward to welcoming Lisa to parliament next week.
Q: Are you comfortable that your new MP had to apologise for liking an anti-semitic post?
McDonald says he is not comfortable about that. But she made a mistake. She was trying to show she liked a picture. And she has apologised.
And that’s it. The interview is over.
Q: Where will Labour get a trade deal? Given your relationship with Donald Trump, it won’t be the US?
McDonald says Trump said he wanted the NHS to be on the table in a trade deal.
Humphrys denies this. McDonald says Trump did say this. We all heard it.
He says Trump would only want a deal to his advantage.
Q: So you would not want a deal with him?
McDonald says trade deals take a long time to negotiate. He says he hopes Trump is “long gone” by the time any deal needs to be signed.
McDonald says the Tories are now offering a no-deal Brexit.
If that were to go ahead, the economy would be “trashed”, he says.
That is why we have to go back to the people.
Q: Are you calling for a second referendum?
McDonald says if that (no-deal) is the option, it should go back to the people. Or any deal coming from parliament should go back to the people, he says.
Q: John McDonnell said last week said Labour is the party of remain and reform. It that right?
McDonald said Labour fought the referendum on that basis.
Q: But Labour is now saying we must remain in the EU.
McDonald said Labour wanted to leave the EU on terms that would protect the economy. But that option is now no longer available.
The referendum did not ask people if they wanted a car factory in Bridgend to close.
He says he cannot sit here and let that catastrophe be inflicted on this country. That is not what people voted for.
Q: So Labour is telling leave voters they got it wrong?
McDonald says he is not saying that at all.
Q: Are you assuming people who voted leave are so thick they did not know what they are voting for?
McDonald says he is not saying that at all. He is cross that John Humphrys (the presenter) is suggesting that.
McDonald says a no-deal Brexit would be cataclysmic for the country.
The Tory Brexiters are so extreme they want to suspend parliament.
Andy McDonald, the shadow transport secretary, is on the Today programme now commenting on the byelection result for Labour.
Q: You squeaked in?
We won, says McDonald.
He says Labour won against the odds. Nigel Farage scuttled away from the count, he says.
He says the commentators expected Labour to lose.
Q: But you were fighting a Tory party that does not even have a leader. And the Brexit party were only a few hundred votes behind.
McDonald says the Labour margin of victory was bigger than it was in 2017. (See 8.09am for the figures.)
Here are the byelection results in full, from the Press Association.
Lisa Forbes (Lab) 10,484 (30.91%, -17.17%)
Mike Greene (Brexit) 9,801 (28.89%)
Paul Bristow (C) 7,243 (21.35%, -25.45%)
Beki Sellick (LD) 4,159 (12.26%, +8.92%)
Joseph Wells (Green) 1,035 (3.05%, +1.27%)
John Whitby (UKIP) 400 (1.18%)
Tom Rogers (CPA) 162 (0.48%)
Stephen Goldspink (Eng Dem) 153 (0.45%)
Patrick O’Flynn (Soc Dem) 135 (0.40%)
Howling ‘Laud’ Hope (Loony) 112 (0.33%)
Andrew Moore (ND) 101 (0.30%)
Dick Rodgers (CG) 60 (0.18%)
Peter Ward (Renew) 45 (0.13%)
Pierre Kirk (UKEUP) 25 (0.07%)
Bobby Smith (ND) 5 (0.01%)
Lab maj 683 (2.01%)
Electorate 70,199; Turnout 33,920 (48.32%, -18.43%)
And here are the 2017 general election results, for comparison.
2017: Lab maj 607 (1.27%) - Turnout 47,738 (66.75%) Onasanya (Lab) 22,950 (48.07%); Jackson (C) 22,343 (46.80%); Sellick (LD) 1,597 (3.35%); Radic (Green) 848 (1.78%)
Good Morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Matthew Weaver.
Brandon Lewis, the Conservative party chairman, has just finished another interview, on the Today programme.
Lewis said he though it was “highly unlikely” that, when the Tory leadership contests gets down to the final two candidates, one of those will pull out, as Andrea Leadsom did in 2016.
(Yesterday Fraser Nelson, the Spectator editor, said that two of the candidates had told him that they would pull out if they were up against Boris Johnson in the ballot of Tory members and it was obvious that Johnson would win.)
Q: Would it be undemocratic if the new Tory leader prorogued parliament to facilitate a no-deal Brexit?
Lewis said, if he commented too deeply on that, he would be starting to comment on the policy proposals of candidates. And he needed to stay neutral, he said.
But he said it has been clear to him that people wanted to see parliamentarians deliver on Brexit.
Q: You have allowed entryists into the Tory party on your watch?
Lewis said he preferred to focus on the fact. He said that he was proud that the party membership had got larger.
I would argue that we have not seen entryism.
Lewis claims the Conservative party has not been subject to entryism.