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Jess Phillips to tell Labour MPs: 'I want to be PM to change people's lives' - live news
Jess Phillips to tell Labour MPs: 'I want to be PM to change people's lives' - live news
(32 minutes later)
Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen
Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen
Lisa Nandy’s pitch to the party has gone down well. Paul Waugh tweets that:
And Labour veteran Peter Hain said:
Paul Waugh, executive editor of Huffington Post, reports that deputy leadership hopeful Richard Burgon arrived at the hustings flanked by shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, newly elected MP Claudia Webbe and Nav Mishra, MP for Stockport who was elected in December. His hustings for deputy aren’t until tomorrow.
Responding to a constituent and party member on Twitter, Charlotte Nicholls, the MP for Warrington North, makes an important point that the PLP process is different from that involving Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs):
For more information on the slightly Kafka-esque process that the party now uses to select a leader, here’s our excellent guide by political editor Heather Stewart:
According to lobby journalist Alexandra Rogers, the candidates have been allowed two minutes to make their opening statements at the hustings:
Some Twitter banter as the hustings begin, former secretary of state for transport, Andrew Adonis, on just how many elections his colleague Margaret Beckett has endured:
While Louise Haigh, shadow minister for policing, seems somewhat less than enthused by the event:
Jess Phillips will tell the Labour hustings tonight that they have the chance to elect a different sort of leader who can communicate in a way that resonates with normal people, and who is a big enough personality to take on Boris Johnson.
Jess Phillips will tell the Labour hustings tonight that they have the chance to elect a different sort of leader who can communicate in a way that resonates with normal people, and who is a big enough personality to take on Boris Johnson.
She’ll tell Labour MPs: “I don’t want to be the leader of the opposition – I want to be prime minister. I want to be PM to change people’s lives. I have spent my life in one way or another working to change lives. What I have realised is that I can’t keep moving the dial slightly. We have to get power to really swing the dial and change lives. That would be radical.
She’ll tell Labour MPs: “I don’t want to be the leader of the opposition – I want to be prime minister. I want to be PM to change people’s lives. I have spent my life in one way or another working to change lives. What I have realised is that I can’t keep moving the dial slightly. We have to get power to really swing the dial and change lives. That would be radical.
“I understand that there’s a path that looks safe. But the pathway to being prime minister is much harder. Out of 31 elections since the Labour was created, we have won a working majority in only five. Boris Johnson has got a majority of 80. We run the risk of being completely irrelevant for the next four years. All over the country people have busy lives, with lots of noise from one way or another. We have got to get them to hear us in the little time they give us.”
“I understand that there’s a path that looks safe. But the pathway to being prime minister is much harder. Out of 31 elections since the Labour was created, we have won a working majority in only five. Boris Johnson has got a majority of 80. We run the risk of being completely irrelevant for the next four years. All over the country people have busy lives, with lots of noise from one way or another. We have got to get them to hear us in the little time they give us.”
The Guido Fawkes website is maintaining a running tally of the MPs who have publicly declared for the six leadership candidates, and as of around 5pm with 46 MPs having committed, 23% of the party, the total is:
The Guido Fawkes website is maintaining a running tally of the MPs who have publicly declared for the six leadership candidates, and as of around 5pm with 46 MPs having committed, 23% of the party, the total is:
The prominent names in the party to declare include shadow chancellor John McDonnell and shadow education secretary Angela Rayner for Long Bailey (as well as party chairman Ian Lavery); former cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw for Starmer as well as Tracy Brabin, who replaced Tom Watson as shadow culture secretary today; and ex-ministers Margaret Hodge and Chris Bryant for Phillips. Lisa Nandy is backed by Jon Cruddas, the MP for Dagenham and Rainham, who served in Ed Miliband’s shadow cabinet, while Lewis is supported by Rachel Maskell, who was today appointed to the shadow cabinet as employment rights spokesperson.
The prominent names in the party to declare include the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, and the shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, for Long Bailey (as well as party chairman Ian Lavery); former cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw for Starmer as well as Tracy Brabin, who replaced Tom Watson as shadow culture secretary today; and ex-ministers Margaret Hodge and Chris Bryant for Phillips. Lisa Nandy is backed by Jon Cruddas, the MP for Dagenham and Rainham, who served in Ed Miliband’s shadow cabinet, while Lewis is supported by Rachael Maskell, who was today appointed to the shadow cabinet as employment rights spokesperson.
In the Commons Stephen Barclay, the Brexit secretary, has just finished his speech opening the committee stage debate on the EU (withdrawal agreement) bill. As expected, he restated the government’s determination not to extend the post-Brexit transition period, which will finish at the end of 2020 (meaning any UK-EU trade deal must be concluded by then). Otherwise, he did not say anything particularly striking, and my colleague Peter Walker sums it all up well here.
In the Commons Stephen Barclay, the Brexit secretary, has just finished his speech opening the committee stage debate on the EU (withdrawal agreement) bill. As expected, he restated the government’s determination not to extend the post-Brexit transition period, which will finish at the end of 2020 (meaning any UK-EU trade deal must be concluded by then). Otherwise, he did not say anything particularly striking, and my colleague Peter Walker sums it all up well here.
That’s all from me for today.
That’s all from me for today.
My colleague Seth Jacobson is now taking over.
My colleague Seth Jacobson is now taking over.
During his statement earlier about the Iran crisis, Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, insisted that Britain’s support of the United States was not unquestioning. Responding to a question from Labour’s Chi Onwurah, who criticised the government’s “unquestioning support of Trump”, Wallace replied:
During his statement earlier about the Iran crisis, Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, insisted that Britain’s support of the United States was not unquestioning. Responding to a question from Labour’s Chi Onwurah, who criticised the government’s “unquestioning support of Trump”, Wallace replied:
During the general election campaign the Conservative party issued a press notice about what would happen in the first 100 days of a Boris Johnson government. Among other things, it promised “a post-Brexit budget in February which will cut taxes for hardworking families”. In perhaps the first broken election promise of this parliament, Sajid Javid, the chancellor, announced today that his first budget will in fact take place on 11 March.
During the general election campaign the Conservative party issued a press notice about what would happen in the first 100 days of a Boris Johnson government. Among other things, it promised “a post-Brexit budget in February which will cut taxes for hardworking families”. In perhaps the first broken election promise of this parliament, Sajid Javid, the chancellor, announced today that his first budget will in fact take place on 11 March.
No one would normally object to a budget being delayed by a week or two, regardless of what was said during the campaign. But in Scotland this has serious consequences because Scottish councils have to set their budgets by 11 March, and this year they will have to do so not knowing now much cash they will get from the Scottish government.
No one would normally object to a budget being delayed by a week or two, regardless of what was said during the campaign. But in Scotland this has serious consequences because Scottish councils have to set their budgets by 11 March, and this year they will have to do so not knowing now much cash they will get from the Scottish government.
Derek Mackay, the Scottish finance secretary, told the Scottish parliament that this was “disrespectful of devolution”. He went on:
Derek Mackay, the Scottish finance secretary, told the Scottish parliament that this was “disrespectful of devolution”. He went on:
In response, a spokesman for the UK Treasury said:
In response, a spokesman for the UK Treasury said:
This is from John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, responding to the report that Boris Johnson has told cabinet ministers to cut wasteful spending. (See 2.21pm.) McDonnell said:
This is from John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, responding to the report that Boris Johnson has told cabinet ministers to cut wasteful spending. (See 2.21pm.) McDonnell said:
In an interview before Christmas Dan Jarvis refused to rule out standing for the Labour leadership. But he has finally ruled it out now.
In an interview before Christmas Dan Jarvis refused to rule out standing for the Labour leadership. But he has finally ruled it out now.
Jarvis already has a second job in addition to being MP for Barnsley Central; he is mayor of Sheffield city region. Normally MPs with metro mayor positions stand down from parliament, but Jarvis has been able to hang on to both posts because the Sheffield city region mayor currently has only very limited powers and responsibilities.
Jarvis already has a second job in addition to being MP for Barnsley Central; he is mayor of Sheffield city region. Normally MPs with metro mayor positions stand down from parliament, but Jarvis has been able to hang on to both posts because the Sheffield city region mayor currently has only very limited powers and responsibilities.
Rebecca Long Bailey, the Labour leadership candidate, has recorded an interview with ITV’s Paul Brand. In it she insisted, as she did earlier today, that she was not a Jeremy Corbyn continuity candidate. (See 11.53am.) But when Brand tried to get her to identify any differences between them, he did not get very far. This is from the transcript sent out by ITV.
Labour does employ press officers whose job it is to present the party to the media in a positive light. And Corbyn has his own press team too. Long Bailey is implying either that they weren’t very good (not true, in my experience as a “customer”), or that they should have been more pro-active in responding to media criticism. She is not attaching any blame to Corbyn himself for the way he was presented in the media.
Brand also asked Long Bailey what she did for fun. She replied:
UPDATE: Here is a clip from ITV.
Turning back to Treasury questions, Rishi Sunak, the chief secretary to the Treasury, made what may be a revealing slip of the tongue when he spoke about the government’s plans to hire extra police officers. He said:
When he said “seats”, MPs erupted with laughter.
This is from my colleague Peter Walker, who is reporting back from the afternoon Downing Street briefing.
In the Commons Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, is giving a statement to MPs updating them on the Iran crisis. What he said at the start did not really go beyond what the government has already said about the US killing of Qassem Suleimani (lukewarm endorsement, combined with a call for restraint and de-escalation) and the most lively opening exchanges came when Wallace clashed with Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, who was responding for the opposition.
Wallace started by saying the UK would always defend the right of countries to defend themselves. He said the US had in the past shown restraint when its bases in Iraq were under attack, and he said the UK was urging all parties to de-escalate the crisis as soon as possible.
Travel advice for Iran and Iraq has been revised, he said. And he said non-essential UK personnel had been moved out of Baghdad. He went on:
Wallace said the Iraqi parliament had voted to end the coalition presence in Iraq. But that vote was only one part of the process, he said. The UK government was speaking to the Iraqi government about what this might mean, he said. He said the coalition was only in Iraq at the request of the Iraqi government.
He said the UK would be urging Iran to take a different path. Its aggressive behaviour, including targeting dissidents in Europe and hijacking civilian ships, was never going to go unchallenged. He went on:
In response Corbyn said Boris Johnson was “hiding behind” his defence secretary and that he should be making the Commons statement himself. He said the “assassination” of Suleimani put British servicemen and women in danger, but Johnson was afraid to say so. Corbyn explained:
Corbyn asked Wallace if he thought the killing of Suleimani was legal. And he criticised the government for saying that the onus was on Iran to de-escalate. If an American general had been killed, the government would not be telling the US to de-escalate.
Responding to Corbyn, Wallace said what he was saying was “usual anti-American tripe”.
On the issue of the legality of the killing, Wallace said it was for the US to make its case. But Wallace also said it was clear that a legal defence of self-defence could be made in this case relating to Suleimani going to Iraq plotting to murder American citizens.
My colleague Matthew Weaver has more about the Iran crisis on a separate live blog.
Boris Johnson likes to adopt a positive, optimistic approach to life and his outlook seems to be rubbing off on the chancellor, Sajid Javid, who has just told MPs that the UK has just ended “an unprecedented decade of growth”.
Javid was responding to a question from Peter Dowd, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, who asked what the government was going to do about falling productivity. Javid replied:
Javid’s claim may well be true, because the UK economy has grown every year since 2010 and this may well be only the third time since 1700 (although the economic data was probably a bit haphazard back then). But “unprecedented decade of growth” implies something to boast about. What has been unprecedented about the last 10 years is quite how feeble growth has been.
As this Bank of England chart shows, growth in recent years has been well below the post-war average.
And as this Financial Times chart (paywall) shows, this government’s record on growth is worse than any other postwar government.
And my colleague Larry Elliott wrote about what happened to growth in the last decade in a recent column. He says that what was remarkable about the 2010s was that the recovery expected 10 years ago never materialised.
In the Commons, in response to Javid, Dowd said the chancellor’s claim was “pathetic, absolutely pathetic” and that Javid was just engaging in bluster. He said Britain had had the worst recovery since the Industrial Revolution.
Later this afternoon MPs will start debating the committee stage of the EU (withdrawal agreement) bill. Eight hours have been set aside for debate, and the list of amendments tabled to the bill (pdf) runs to 78 pages.
Throughout the whole of 2019 the government’s lack of a majority meant that every Brexit vote was fraught with peril. But given that the government now has a majority of 88 (taking into account the seven Sinn Fein MPs who haven’t taken their seats), there is no need to stay up late to find out whether the government is going to beat the opposition.
Ministers always have the option of deciding to accept opposition amendments without letting them go to a vote. But on the BBC’s Politics Live programme earlier James Duddridge, a Brexit minister, said the government was not planning to accept any amendments. He told the programme:
A large number of amendments have been tabled by the DUP, and on some issues the DUP is lining up with the SDLP and the Alliance party to propose measures that would protect businesses in Northern Ireland from the impact of the plan that would effectively place a customs border down the Irish Sea. When asked specifically about these amendments, Duddridge said that Robin Walker, a Northern Ireland minister, would say more on this topic in the debate tomorrow. But Duddridge also said that some of these amendments were “probing amendments” (ie, amendments tabled with the intention of provoking debate, not with the intention of being passed into law).
At cabinet Boris Johnson and the chancellor, Sajid Javid, also unveiled a plan for what was described as “tough decisions” on spending ahead of March’s budget and the subsequent spending review.
“Ministers need to root out any waste, particularly anything that is not aligned with the government’s priorities and demonstrate value for money of every pound of taxpayers’ money that we spend,” the pair told the meeting, according to the No 10 spokesman. The spokesman went on:
The project will involve ministers and officials examining all ongoing projects, even those begun under the last nine years of Conservative rule, to both assess them for waste and for compliance with Johnson’s stated aim of spreading wealth around the country.
Such campaigns against supposed waste or flabbiness in Whitehall are traditional for new governments, and generally meet with mixed success.
David Cameron’s much-touted “bonfire of the quangos” in 2010, intended to abolish unnecessary quasi-government agencies, ended up costing twice as much to implement as planned, the National Audit Office concluded two years later.
Declining to give specifics on what projects could be at risk, the No 10 spokesman was asked how Johnson’s war on waste would differ from others in the past. He said:
Downing Street has indicated that it has abandoned plans to reshape or merge a series of ministerial departments, and will instead focus on more traditional new-government priorities such as a war on wasteful spending.
Ahead of the election aides around Boris Johnson said that a new government would merge the Department for International Development (DfID) with the Foreign Office, and create borders and immigration department, spun off from the Home Office, among other changes.
But asked whether these ideas had been abandoned following reports this was the case, a No 10 spokesman indicated this was correct.
While stressing that he could not discuss the “machinery of government changes”, the spokesman hinted that the decision had been taken to avoid the organisational turmoil.
“The PM has set out his ambitious programme to get Brexit done and level up the country,” the spokesman said, citing priorities such as investing in the NHS. “The government’s focus will be on delivery of these priorities.”
Here are some of the lines from the Downing Street lobby briefing earlier.
Downing Street said that force protection measures for British troops in Iraq were kept under “constant review”. The prime minister’s spokesman said:
The spokesman said Boris Johnson briefed ministers on the situation in Iraq at cabinet. The spokesman said:
A more “substantial” discussion would take place at the national security council following cabinet, the spokesman said.
The spokesman defended Johnson’s decision not to give the oral statement to MPs this afternoon about the Iran crisis himself. Instead Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, will address the Commons. Asked why the PM was not doing it, the spokesman said:
The spokesman said the government had raised “numerous concerns” about the judicial process in the Cyprus rape case case with the Cypriot authorities. The spokesman said:
UK ministers could make provision in areas of devolved policy as a result of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, according to a new report. As the Press Association reports, a briefing (pdf) by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) says new powers in devolved policy areas will be handed to Scottish ministers under Boris Johnson’s EU (withdrawal agreement) bill to ensure it is properly implemented. But the powers will also be conferred on UK ministers, allowing them to act “alone or jointly with Scottish ministers”, according to SPICe. It means the powers granted to UK ministers in the bill will extend to the whole of the UK and relate to both reserved and devolved matters.
