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| Thornberry blames Corbyn's advisers for election defeat and suggests they should be sacked - live news | Thornberry blames Corbyn's advisers for election defeat and suggests they should be sacked - live news |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including the Queen’s speech and Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn speaking in the subsequent Commons debate | Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including the Queen’s speech and Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn speaking in the subsequent Commons debate |
| Here are some more lines from Emily Thornberry’s interview with the Today programme this morning. | |
| Thornberry said that one of her strengths was that she could offer “clear strategic thinking”. Referring to how she argued against Labour agreeing to an early election, she said: | |
| She cited the response to the Salisbury poisoning attack as an example of when Jeremy Corbyn was led down by his advisers. She said: | |
| She dismissed suggestions that her background might be a handicap in the the leadership contest. She said: | |
| Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has insisted “democracy must and will prevail” as she confirmed she has now written to Boris Johnson formally requesting the power for Holyrood to hold a second independence referendum, the Press Association reports. She said that following last week’s election victory in which her party took 47 of the 59 Scottish seats at Westminster, the case for another referendum was “unarguable”. In a statement delivered at Bute House, her official residence in Edinburgh, Sturgeon said: | Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has insisted “democracy must and will prevail” as she confirmed she has now written to Boris Johnson formally requesting the power for Holyrood to hold a second independence referendum, the Press Association reports. She said that following last week’s election victory in which her party took 47 of the 59 Scottish seats at Westminster, the case for another referendum was “unarguable”. In a statement delivered at Bute House, her official residence in Edinburgh, Sturgeon said: |
| Sturgeon has also published a 38-page report (pdf) setting out arguments for why Scotland should have the power to decide for itself to hold a legally-valid independence referendum, instead of having to get approval from London under the Scotland Act, as is the case now. | Sturgeon has also published a 38-page report (pdf) setting out arguments for why Scotland should have the power to decide for itself to hold a legally-valid independence referendum, instead of having to get approval from London under the Scotland Act, as is the case now. |
| The UK government has said it will not give the Scottish parliament the power to hold a second independence referendum, arguing that the matter was settled by the referendum in 2014. But Sturgeon said: | The UK government has said it will not give the Scottish parliament the power to hold a second independence referendum, arguing that the matter was settled by the referendum in 2014. But Sturgeon said: |
| Good morning. It’s Queen’s speech day, again, with the Queen heading for parliament only two months after her last visit to read out the government’s legislative programme. Only this time it’s for real, because Boris Johnson now has a majority to pass the bills he is announcing. We are expecting the speech to be a beefed-up version of what we heard in October, with some of the measures in the phantom Queen’s speech being regurgitated, but some extra legislation added too. | Good morning. It’s Queen’s speech day, again, with the Queen heading for parliament only two months after her last visit to read out the government’s legislative programme. Only this time it’s for real, because Boris Johnson now has a majority to pass the bills he is announcing. We are expecting the speech to be a beefed-up version of what we heard in October, with some of the measures in the phantom Queen’s speech being regurgitated, but some extra legislation added too. |
| Here is my colleague Matthew Weaver’s preview story. | Here is my colleague Matthew Weaver’s preview story. |
| In the meantime electioneering in the Labour leadership contest continues. Having declared her candidature with an article in the Guardian yesterday, Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, has been giving interviews this morning. In her article she criticised Jeremy Corbyn for ignoring her warning that backing an early election would be an “act of catastrophic political folly”. Today, though, Thornberry has shifted her focus somewhat, laying the blame for Labour’s failings not so much with Corbyn himself, but with his advisers. | In the meantime electioneering in the Labour leadership contest continues. Having declared her candidature with an article in the Guardian yesterday, Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, has been giving interviews this morning. In her article she criticised Jeremy Corbyn for ignoring her warning that backing an early election would be an “act of catastrophic political folly”. Today, though, Thornberry has shifted her focus somewhat, laying the blame for Labour’s failings not so much with Corbyn himself, but with his advisers. |
| This is what she told Sky News when asked if she was willing to blame Corbyn for the election defeat. | This is what she told Sky News when asked if she was willing to blame Corbyn for the election defeat. |
| Thornberry did not name the advisers she was referring to. But people in the Labour party will have understood that she was referring to Seumas Milne, Corbyn’s director of communications and strategy, and Karie Murphy, who was Corbyn’s chief of staff before being moved to Labour HQ to run the general election, reportedly in response to complaints about how she was running his office. When it was put to Thornberry that she was talking about these two, she did not demur. | Thornberry did not name the advisers she was referring to. But people in the Labour party will have understood that she was referring to Seumas Milne, Corbyn’s director of communications and strategy, and Karie Murphy, who was Corbyn’s chief of staff before being moved to Labour HQ to run the general election, reportedly in response to complaints about how she was running his office. When it was put to Thornberry that she was talking about these two, she did not demur. |
| She also suggested Milne and Murphy should be dismissed. Referring to the fact that staff working in Labour’s HQ, in Corbyn’s office and for the shadow cabinet are facing the sack, but not Milne and Murphy, she said that was wrong. She said: | She also suggested Milne and Murphy should be dismissed. Referring to the fact that staff working in Labour’s HQ, in Corbyn’s office and for the shadow cabinet are facing the sack, but not Milne and Murphy, she said that was wrong. She said: |
| Here is the agenda for the day. | Here is the agenda for the day. |
| 9.15am: Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, holds a press conference to mark the publication of a paper making the case for Scotland being given the power to hold a second independence referendum. | 9.15am: Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, holds a press conference to mark the publication of a paper making the case for Scotland being given the power to hold a second independence referendum. |
| 11.25am: The state opening of parliament commences, with MPs and peers gathering in the Lords to hear the Queen’s speech. | 11.25am: The state opening of parliament commences, with MPs and peers gathering in the Lords to hear the Queen’s speech. |
| 2.30pm: Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn speak in the Queen’s speech debate. | 2.30pm: Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn speak in the Queen’s speech debate. |
| As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web, although mostly I will be focusing on the Queen’s speech and the subsequent debate. We plan to publish a summary at the end of the day. | As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web, although mostly I will be focusing on the Queen’s speech and the subsequent debate. We plan to publish a summary at the end of the day. |
| You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads. | You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads. |
| If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow. | If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow. |
| I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone. | I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone. |
| If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. | If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. |