David Cameron attacked at PMQs for callous and incompetent immigration policy: as it happened
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Version 0 of 1. 6.10pm GMT18:10 Afternoon summary That’s all for today. I leave you with a round-up of events: 6.00pm GMT18:00 At last, Jim Murphy, the shadow development secretary, appears to be on the brink of declaring he wants to lead Scottish Labour. Two other candidates, Neil Findlay and Sarah Boyack, both MSPs with shadow portfolios, have already entered the contest. 5.52pm GMT17:52 Bad news for the Greens. The BBC have rejected the party’s efforts to be included in its election debates alongside Nigel Farage. My colleague Patrick Wintour writes: The BBC has rejected a demand from the Green party to be included in the proposed TV leader election debates, saying that it, unlike Ukip, has not demonstrated any substantial increase in support. The broadcasters have proposed three debates, one including Ukip, the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Conservatives, a second involving the Lib Dems, Labour and the Conservatives, and finally one between Ed Miliband and David Cameron. The Green Party was infuriated that they had been excluded and won support in online petitions. The BBC, in a letter to the Green party director of communications Penny Kemp, said: “Ukip has demonstrated a substantial increase in electoral support since 2014 across a range of elections along with a consistent and robust trend across a full range of opinion polls; the Green party has not demonstrated any comparable increase in support in either elections or opinion polls.” 5.46pm GMT17:46 The Lib Dems are doing a mischievous bit of politicking this evening by writing to all their Conservative colleagues to correct some “misinformation” in Tory chief whip Michael Gove’s letter about the death of the second EU Referendum bill. To recap quickly, the Tories say the Lib Dems killed it off. The Lib Dems say: The claim is utterly false. The Liberal Democrats have never had any intention of preventing this Bill from being debated in the House of Commons. We do not support it – in government we have already legislated for an in/out referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. However, we are more than happy to allow the appropriate passage of Bob Neill’s Private Members Bill, in line with standard parliamentary procedure. On that basis, the Liberal Democrats were happy to grant the required money resolution for Bob Neill’s Bill in return for agreement to a money resolution for Andrew George’s Affordable Homes Bill, as is normal practice. What we could not accept, however, was the demand by the Conservative leadership that - in return for a money resolution for Andrew George’s Bill - both a money resolution and government time were provided for the EU (referendum) Bill. This would have been highly unusual and would not have been a like-for-like arrangement. The only logical conclusion, therefore, is that the real block to Bob Neill’s Private Member’s Bill is the Conservative leadership, who – by creating an impossible hurdle for the Bill’s advancement through the Commons – have scuppered it and sought to lay the blame at the Liberal Democrats’ door, while distorting the potential costs of Andrew George’s bill in the process. 5.32pm GMT17:32 A few people have been asking for my verdict on PMQs: the truth is I always find it difficult to call these encounters for one side or another. I would observe, though, that Ed Miliband was brave to tackle Cameron on the subjects of immigration and the European Arrest Warrant and did not do a bad job. It was a clever plan to expose Tory splits on the European Arrest Warrant by challenging the prime minister to a vote. Cameron was unexpectedly clear that he would call his own vote before the Rochester & Strood byelection, but it was noticeable that many of the prime minister’s backbenchers looked sick at the thought. At least it smoked out Cameron’s true position, after speculation he was about to u-turn. Miliband’s line that the Conservatives are being both “callous and incompetent” also worked in the context of two key stories of the week: 1) the decision to stop international rescue efforts for migrants drowning in the Med, and 2) the backlog of asylum cases. The risk was that Cameron hit back with allegations about the record of the last government on immigration, since Miliband has already apologised on behalf of the party for not being sufficiently alive to people’s concerns under Blair and Brown. Of course, that happened, and the whole confrontation descended into each side demanding that the other say sorry for their failures on immigration, which was ultimately unilluminating. Michael Deacon, the Telegraph sketch-writer, characterises it quite well here. Updated at 5.41pm GMT 5.16pm GMT17:16 This is a really fascinating read from George Eaton over at the New Statesman on the twists and turns surrounding Johann Lamont’s departure as Scottish Labour leader. These are the opening paragraphs: On Friday 17 October, Ed Miliband’s chief of staff, Tim Livesey, phoned Johann Lamont, and informed her that the Scottish Labour general secretary, Ian Price, was no longer in his position. The opening shot in what would be her final week as party leader had been fired. Enraged that Price had been driven out without Lamont’s consent, an aide told Miliband’s team that it had made her look “ridiculous” and that her position was now “untenable”. To this, the response came that this was not the intention and that Miliband wanted her to remain in place. It was several days later that Lamont’s team concluded it had been lied to. By its account, Margaret Curran, the shadow Scottish secretary and a friend of Lamont’s since freshers’ week at Glasgow University 38 years ago, phoned members of Labour’s Scottish executive committee on Miliband’s behalf to canvass opinion on whether she should step down. It is a claim flatly denied by Curran’s office. “The only person she spoke to that week was the chair of the Scottish executive and it wasn’t about that [Lamont’s leadership],” a spokesman told me. But Lamont’s allies maintain that Miliband was guilty of a “ham-fisted plot”. “If Ed had wanted her to go, he just needed to sit down and say to her, ‘Thanks for what you’ve done over the last three years, I think it’s time for a change of direction,’” one told me. 5.08pm GMT17:08 Actress Maureen Lipman has written for the right-wing Standpoint magazine about being a Labour supporter and why Ed Miliband has lost her vote after five decades. Her reasoning is mostly to do with his stance on Israel and Labour’s backing for the House of Commons to recognise Palestine as an independent state. 5.01pm GMT17:01 Two days after Ken Clarke pointedly spoke up for the European Arrest Warrant in the Commons (and mocked the prime minister for being kept in the dark about the £1.7bn bill), he is delighted at Cameron’s confirmation that the UK would opt back in: It was certainly the right decision. The government’s got to stand up against the fashionable wave of eurosceptics and hysteria and put the interests of criminal justice and the police service first. International crime is much better organised that the international criminal justice system. These 35 measures, Europoll, the arrest warrant, the exchange of criminal records, are all absolutely essential to modern policing. To deal with serious crimes, drug smuggling, trafficking, international fraud. It would be an outrage if we released a lot of fugitives from justice and various European countries because the British had decided to give in to Ukip and abandon it. 4.34pm GMT16:34 The wrangling over the £1.7bn EU “bombshell bill” continues. Osborne, speaking in Germany, has told ITV News that he is determined to “get to the bottom of how these figures have been arrived at”. I am confident that we can get this changed, but it’s the beginning of the conversation. However, Downing Street’s position appears to have been undermined by Lord Hill, Cameron’s own choice to be the UK’s next European commissioner. Asked by the European scrutiny committee whether the formula was fair, he said: On one point of fact, which I don’t think has been clearly understood, the notion that this was some kind of surcharge on Britain’s economic success leading to additional money for the European Union, my understanding is that the net effect of these various calculations is that the money available to the European Union will actually fall. So I’m not sure, and I’m not in a position to judge, to be able to say to your question yes, I think the whole thing needs to be recalculated - I can’t say that. He said the principle of contributions being revised according to circumstances was “established”. There have been cases in the past to do, for instance, with Britain’s rebate where this country would be keen on those calculations and having such a rebate. There is a new commissioner in charge of the budget taking post shortly who is an experienced person who has come from the World Bank. I’m sure she will look at all these questions but I think the right way forward in the immediate term is for the meeting to take place about the statistical basis, the meeting to take place with the finance ministers and then for whatever the appropriate steps are that flow from that to flow from that. I think it would not be sensible for me to pre-judge that. Updated at 4.47pm GMT 4.24pm GMT16:24 We’re expecting a briefing in a bit about David Cameron’s meeting with the Emir of Qatar. Earlier, his spokesman said the PM would raise the issue of the high death rate for workers involved in the construction of the World Cup 2022 stadium, as well as allegations about the country’s links to Islamic State (IS). 4.10pm GMT16:10 This is a really good explainer on the European Arrest Warrant from my colleague Mark Tran. I’ve just been at a briefing for lobby reporters with the prime minister’s spokesman. Downing Street is still not really explaining why it wants to hold the vote on the EAW before the Rochester & Strood byelection, when it seems like political madness to stoke up the issue before polling day and the deadline is not until December 1. Updated at 4.10pm GMT 3.45pm GMT15:45 Jeremy Browne, who is standing down as a Lib Dem MP for Taunton Deane at the next election, has taken a swipe at his leader Nick Clegg (who sacked him as a Home Office minister to make way for Norman Baker): The Prime Minister just told me that he was sorry I'm standing down. First party leader to say that to me since I announced it. Appreciated. 3.40pm GMT15:40 George Osborne, the chancellor, is in Germany signing an agreement about tax evasion (and meeting his Berlin counterparts to discuss the £1.7bn EU bill). He had this soundbite to offer on tax dodgers: Tax evasion is not just illegal, it is immoral. You are robbing from your fellow citizens and you should be treated like a common thief. 3.35pm GMT15:35 Quite a few people have reacted to our story that John Manzoni, the new chief executive of the civil service, is under fire from doctors and health charities over his job at drinks giant SABMiller. They are questioning why he should be allowed to keep the corporate second job, even though the Cabinet Office rushed out a statement late last night saying he would now do it unpaid, waiving a £100,000 salary (this is not what they were saying two weeks ago). He has put his shareholdings in a blind trust. This is the reaction of John Holmes, an alcohol policy and public health researcher at University of Sheffield: Manzoni will keep SAB Miller position but unpaid - not convinced that's reassuring http://t.co/PmPaJeIdoW This is Sarah Wollaston, chairman of the Commons health select committee: Retaining shares doesn't mean civil service CEO is 'working for free', still a dangerous conflict of interest http://t.co/30ee9EJHms Here is James Nicholls, director of Research and Policy Development at Alcohol Research UK: Can anyone explain how waiving salary, but still working for major drinks producer removes conflict of interest? http://t.co/E7UpKioW9s And finally, Helen Goodman, Labour’s shadow media minister: If Manzoni doesn't see why he shouldn't do a part time job for the drinks industry he's not fit to be CEO of civil service. @AndyBurnham 3.25pm GMT15:25 Stephen Tall, a prominent Lib Dem and editor of the Lib Dem Voice, has written an interesting article about half of those voting for the Greens having switched from Nick Clegg’s party since 2010. Updated at 3.26pm GMT 3.08pm GMT15:08 People always talk about local Ukip-Tory pacts but what about the Lib Dems and the Greens? Andrew George, a Lib Dem MP, has said that is “well worth looking at”. But this has been roundly rejected by Tim Farron, the Lib Dem president, who said there should not be any such deals: I want to compete with those different ideas in a polite way, not to concede to them. Updated at 3.23pm GMT 2.59pm GMT14:59 Labour has sent out Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, to bat on the issue of the asylum backlog. He said the Government had a “record of shame” on asylum seekers. Challenged about Labour’s record, he gave a good answer: I served in that government and nobody disputes that there were problems in relation to asylum seekers in past years and action that required to be taken. But what the prime minister couldn’t run away from is the fact that the backlog has gone up and not down since 2010. He could not avoid the fact that actually just last year the home secretary, Theresa May, scrapped the UK Border Agency and assumed direct executive responsibility for enforcement on the border and since then backlogs have sharply increased. 2.52pm GMT14:52 An email pops into my inbox to announce that Baroness Anelay has just opened an event to mark 150 years of International Humanitarian Law. That’s the day after it emerged she told peers the UK will be axing its contribution to international efforts to rescue migrants drowning in the Mediterranean. 2.47pm GMT14:47 The new line-to-take for Tory cabinet ministers appear to be that the UK has achieved significant reforms to the European Arrest Warrant and the government is now happy with it. That will not hold water with a large chunk of hardline Conservative backbenchers. Justine Greening, the development secretary, told the BBC’s World at One: I think we’re happy to put it to a vote now in parliament because we feel we have got the reforms that are needed. There was a time when we had real concerns about how it was operating over recent years. One of those, as the PM set out today, was that people could be extradited from the UK for crimes that weren’t even crimes here. Those sorts of problems have now been fixed so we’re confident and indeed police inspectors around the country, chief constables, are saying that they need this in place and are confident that this is actually an important measure to combat crime. 2.43pm GMT14:43 At PMQs, Cameron slapped down Nicola Sturgeon’s calls for Scotland to have a separate say on its membership of the EU. The fear at Westminster would be that it would pave the way for another independence referendum if Scotland voted to stay and other UK countries wanted to leave. My colleague Libby Brooks has written about the incoming first minister and SNP leader’s speech: Scotland’s incoming first minister Nicola Sturgeon is calling for Scotland to have a veto over a future referendum on EU membership. Describing the prospect of being taken out of the European Union against Scotland’s will as “democratically indefensible”, Sturgeon, who will succeed Alex Salmond as leader of the SNP next month, says that her party will table an amendment to any bill on an in/out referendum requiring that all four nations of the UK have to agree to withdrawal. In a speech at Edinburgh’s Corn Exchange later on Wednesday, she will say: “This proposal transforms the terms of the UK debate on Europe – which so far has been all about the Westminster parties dancing to Ukip’s tune. It would give proper protection against any of the nations of the UK being removed from the EU against their will. And it puts into practice what Westminster leaders told us was the case during the referendum campaign – that the UK is a family of nations, with each member of the family enjoying equal status. 2.37pm GMT14:37 The news from Scotland is that Neil Findlay, Labour’s Holyrood health spokesman, has entered the race to become the next leader. These are the odds from Paddy Power (although Sarah Boyack is the only other to declare so far): 4/6 Jim Murphy 13/8 Neil Findlay 7/1 Sarah Boyack 25/1 Douglas Alexander 50/1 Alistair Darling 2.18pm GMT14:18 After Harriet Harman’s appearance in a feminist t-shirt at PMQs, it’s worth reading the excoriating analysis of women’s position in politics by my colleague Zoe Williams. This is an extract: The UK is 74th of 186 in terms of female representation in parliament. We are below Sudan, where they operate sharia law; below China, where there is a government policy that coerces professional women to get married, called (yes, really) Leftover Women; below Belarus, which is a patriarchal dictatorship; and below Iraq. I hope I don’t need to elaborate on the architecture of misogyny in Iraq. Let’s just say it’s still possible to get stoned to death for being raped. In other words, women in far more oppressive regimes than ours, in democracies far less mature, still manage more equal representation. The problem isn’t the electorate: 41% of MEPs are female, against 23% of MPs and 23% of Lords. The reason for that euro-spike is that those elections aren’t held onto so tightly by the three main parties, two of which make it their core business to ensure that women never feel equal or accepted. 1.50pm GMT13:50 Here is the spat between Cameron and Miliband on immigration, in which they both pointlessly demanded apologies from each other. First, the Labour leader demanded answers about chaos in the aslyum system: Can you explain why the number of asylum applicants awaiting a decision has risen by 70% in the last year?” Cameron replied: Let me just say this: we inherited from Labour a complete and utter shambles. A department that wasn’t fit for purpose, computer programmes that wouldn’t work and an immigration system that was a complete mess. Before you ask your next question, you might want to apologise for the mess Labour made. Miliband said it was the PM who should be saying sorry: On this day of all days, there is only one person who should be apologising on immigration and it’s you for your total failure.You’re not making it right, you’re making it worse. Since 2010, the backlog has gone up, not down, they (the Government) have wasted a billion pounds on failed IT projects and they have lost track of 50,000 people. What was your promise before the election? You said you would reduce net migration to tens of thousands a year. What is net migration now? 1.04pm GMT13:04 Downing Street aides have now stressed that no date has yet been set for a Commons vote on the European Arrest Warrant. It will have to take place by December 1 to meet the re-adoption deadline but surely the PM can’t really want to do it before the Rochester & Strood byelection is over on November 20? A senior Tory source confirmed that this is indeed Cameron’s plan. It will happen before the byelection. We are quite close. There’s been a long negotiation and there is one particular part that is yet to fall into place. The problem at the moment is Spain, which has been trying to get some concessions in relation to Gibraltar during negotiations. 12.50pm GMT12:50 Here is the key PMQs exchange on the European Arrest Warrant. The main point is that Cameron will hold a vote about opting into the controversial EU measures before the Rochester & Strood byelection. This move is likely to incur the wrath of dozens of Tory backbenchers, who claim it allows Brits suspected of crimes to be unfairly sent abroad to face trial in other EU countries. This is what Miliband said: A vital tool that has helped to bring murderers, rapists and paedophiles to justice is the European arrest warrant. Why are you delaying having a vote on it? Cameron replied: I’m not delaying having a vote on it, there will be a vote on it. We need in order to have a vote on it the small matter of a negotiation to take place within Europe which up to now the Spanish have been blocking. I think the Spanish will shortly remove their block and at that moment we will be able to have a vote. Miliband persisted and taunted Cameron over the possibility that the prime minister may have to rely on Labour to win the vote on the European Arrest Warrant: We all know the reason you are not having a vote - it’s the by-election in Rochester and Strood. You are paralysed by fear of another backbench rebellion on Europe. So I want to make an offer to you: we have got a Labour opposition day next week. We will give you the time for a vote on the European arrest warrant and we will help you get it through... All I can say is I look forward to us walking through the lobby together to vote for the European arrest warrant, two parties working together in the national interest. Or maybe, given your backbenchers, one and a half parties working together in the national interest. Cameron insisted he would hold a vote before the byelection takes place, and issued a warning to his backbenchers. Let me add some detail on the vote on the European Arrest Warrant, because this is an important issue. What we have achieved with the justice and home affairs opt-out is the biggest transfer of power from Brussels back to Britain as we have opted out of over 100 measures. But it is important we take action to keep Britain safe, particularly from serious criminals and terrorists, and the European arrest warrant offers the best way of doing that. I would stress to those who are concerned about this, the European arrest warrant is very different from the arrest warrant first introduced under the last Labour government. You cannot now be extradited for something that isn’t a crime in Britain, judges are able to reject European arrest warrants and they have done so in many, many cases. And you can’t be extradited if there is going to be a long period of detention. These are all important considerations.” I’m sure you are looking forward to walking through the lobbies with somebody because you’ve had rather a lonely week with the loss of your leader in Scotland, the total shambles in Yorkshire and all the other problems you have got. 12.42pm GMT12:42 John Mann, Labour MP, is asking the Commons why the CEOs of Twitter are not being held to account over the anti-semitic abuse of his colleague Luciana Berger online. An internet troll was was sentenced to four weeks in prison at Merseyside magistrates court over the abuse this week. Updated at 12.42pm GMT 12.37pm GMT12:37 Lib Dem MP Andrew George is now trying to make a point of order about money resolutions. He was not granted one by the Tories, stopping his bill on the bedroom tax from progressing as talks (see earlier the row over the EU Referendum Bill). He is not getting anywhere with the speaker. Updated at 12.38pm GMT 12.34pm GMT12:34 Joan Walley, Labour MP, is asking about the long waits for speech and language therapy for stroke victims. Cameron says “we need to do better in terms of treating the consequences of strokes”. 12.31pm GMT12:31 Lib Dem MP Martin Horwood has a theory about why Labour is on the attack over immigration: Ed Miliband's #PMQs questions seem calculated to help UKIP win Rochester by-election. Suicidal strategy? 12.31pm GMT12:31 Cameron has just launched into a barrage of insults against Labour, Flashman-style: They are melting down in Scotland, they’ve got a crisis in south Yorkshire... nobody trusts the leader 12.27pm GMT12:27 Cameron is talking about devolution, saying “if” we are going to have it in Scotland then we should have it in the rest of England as well. He corrects himself to say that it will definitely go ahead in Scotland. Then he goes on to attack Labour for having “given up” on getting a cross-party agreement for English devolution: For some reason, when it comes to England, they have absolutely nothing to say. It is a Lynton Crosby strategy to attack Labour hard on this issue - as he revealed in a private meeting to supporters at Conservative conference. 12.23pm GMT12:23 Now Cameron is being attacked over the government’s failure to meet A&E targets. The PM says he would like to meet the targets every day of the year but the system is under pressure from more than a million extra patients. 12.22pm GMT12:22 Here’s a bit of reaction to Miliband’s decision to take on Cameron over immigration: No score draw at #pmqs on immigration... Will be analysing it on Sky News shortly 'You can't control immigration!' 'No, YOU, can't control immigration!' Somewhere, Nigel Farage is lighting a cigar #PMQs Cameron wrong to claim Ed Mili didn't mention immigration in his Labour conference speech. He did... er, once #PMQs Two weak spots for PM today - EAW/immigration - but still Miliband doesn't really land blows. #PMQs Updated at 12.23pm GMT 12.18pm GMT12:18 Ian Austin, a senior Labour MP, also tackles Cameron on immigration, saying people in his Dudley constituency do not think the current system is fair, particularly child benefit being sent to the children of immigrants abroad. Conservatives are collapsing in mock laughter. Cameron says he does not want to be “uncharitable” but he does not remember Austin making these points under the last government. He goes on to promise that he will take action on these issues because the British people are “the boss”. 12.13pm GMT12:13 Liam Fox, former defence secretary, is up now condemning the “preposterous” EU demand for £1.7bn and calls the eurozone a failing area. He says: It is the European economic horror version of the Emperor’s new clothes Cameron says on the issue of the £1.7bn bill that the Dutch are now also refusing to pay without seeing more detail about the numbers. 12.11pm GMT12:11 Ed Miliband is not letting up on immigration. He says the government is combining callousness with incompetence, and brings up our story in the Guardian about the UK axing support for migrant rescue in the Med. For a second time, Cameron brings up an old comment about Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, suggesting the country should send out search parties to look for new migrant. It seems oddly irrelevant to today’s issues. 12.09pm GMT12:09 Lots of observers are pointing out Tory backbench unhappiness about the government’s decision to keep in the EAW. They had been buoyed by suggestions that Michael Gove, the chief whip, was mooting the idea of a u-turn. It's all gone quiet on government benches as Cameron waxes lyrical about the European Arrest warrant #pmqs 12.07pm GMT12:07 Miliband has now moved on to the chaos in the asylum system, pointing out that the backlog of cases “has gone up, not down”. He also points out Cameron’s failure to bring down net migration to tens of thousands a year. The PM resorts to blaming the last government, saying he is “happy to contrast our record any time” on immigration. Cameron also makes a jibe about Miliband forgetting to mention immigration in his conference speech. Updated at 12.08pm GMT 12.06pm GMT12:06 Cameron insists he will have vote on the EAW before the Rochester byelection and signals the government still wants to opt in - despite the prospect of a Tory backbench rebellion. He says the EAW is important to keep Britain safe. The backbenchers don’t sound happy as he adds: To those who are concerned about this, it is very different from the warrant introduced under the last government. 12.05pm GMT12:05 Ed Miliband has gone on the attack over the European Arrest Warrant, challenging Cameron to have a vote on the issue before the Rochester byelection. He says the PM is “paralysed” over Europe by his right-wing backbenchers. 12.04pm GMT12:04 Cameron dismisses the idea of allowing Scotland to effectively have its own referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, which Nicola Sturgeon has demanded. He said there will be one in-out referendum for the UK decided on the number of people who vote. The PM also says he is “very disappointed” it was too difficult to get a deal on an EU Referendum Bill with the Lib Dems 12.02pm GMT12:02 We’re off.... with Ian Lucas, Labour MP for Wrexham, who says he has seen an increase in people sleeping rough on Victoria Street. How can the government explain this failure? David Cameron points to figures showing there is lower worklessness. 11.57am GMT11:57 Almost time for PMQs! Here’s the order paper from the BBC’s Peter Henley: MPs on order paper for questions at #PMQs at 12:00 pic.twitter.com/vkdLrwPSVc Fingers crossed it won’t be another slanging match about whether the NHS is worse in England under the Tories or Wales under Labour. 11.44am GMT11:44 Ukip’s only MP Douglas Carswell is getting cocky about a Mark Reckless victory in the Kent constituency of Rochester & Strood: The news from #Rochester is good. For my new party, that is. Come and help us make history! Updated at 11.44am GMT 11.34am GMT11:34 Let’s have a closer look at this row over the Conservatives’ failed attempt at bring in an EU Referendum Bill, which would have promised a poll by the end of 2017. You might remember a previous version of this, brought forward by young Tory backbencher James Wharton in the last session. The Liberal Democrats would not sign up to joint coalition legislation, so it was in the strange position of being a backbench bill supported by the Tory frontbench but not the government. Eventually, it was killed off by the Libs and Labour in the Lords when it ran out of the time. This time around, there was meant to be an agreement that the Liberal Democrats would get through their backbench affordable homes bill proposing changes to the bedroom tax put forward by Andrew George. In return, the path would be clear for former minister Bob Neill’s EU Referendum Bill II. Now that deal has collapsed. It is all a bit tediously technical but the Lib Dems claim the Tories were refusing to allow them a resolution letting them discuss money without giving government time to the EU referendum bill. This is what a senior Lib Dem source says: The Tories put forward a proposal they know for certain will be turned down by the Lib Dems – a completely unfair deal. They know we are not about to sign up to their bill being given government time when it is neither the Liberal Democrats position, nor the Coalition Government’s, especially when they are not prepared to offer anything in return. The Coalition Government is a two-way street. The only logical conclusion that can be reached is that the Tories don’t really want their bill to pass and are trying to set the Lib Dems up as the scapegoats. Why else would they put forward a proposal they know cannot be agreed? We can only assume they would prefer it hadn’t become law by the time of the general election. They would prefer not to be talking about their bottom lines in their proposed grand renegotiation and instead try and deal with UKIP by saying the only way to get a referendum is to vote Tory. They couldn’t do the latter if their bill had become law. Michael Gove, the Conservative chief whip, has a different story in a letter to Tory MPs: With Bob’s Bill coming third in the ballot, it was always going to be very difficult to pass it. But until now we had hoped that our Liberal Democrat colleagues would play fair by granting this Bill the critical money resolution it needs to proceed into committee – as they did for James Wharton’s Bill last year. We also hoped that they might make the Bill a government Bill which would have guaranteed its safe passage through the Commons a second time. The Liberal Democrats refused. They asked instead that we give them permission to go ahead with a measure – the Affordable Homes Bill – which would cost up to £1 billion and unravel our welfare reform programme. We could not support this because it would have meant more borrowing, more debt and more people on benefits rather than in work. Whatever the truth of it all, it seems to mark a new acrimonious low in coalition relations and some unsavoury political game-playing of the kind that really turns off voters. 11.15am GMT11:15 Ukip have yet another opportunity to kick the Westminster parties tomorrow at the elections for the South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner. Nigel Farage’s team has been heavily campaigning against Labour, accusing the party of turning a blind eye to child abuse by men of mostly Pakistani origin because of cultural sensitivities. Shaun Wright, Labour’s PCC, was in charge of children’s services in Rotherham from 2005 to 2010. He triggered the fresh election by resigning three weeks after a damning report revealing the scale of child sex abuse in the town, which led to widespread calls for him to quit. Ukip, which is fielding a retired policeman, has faced criticism for exploiting the scandal for political ends. However, the party could well win, according to observers. Here’s a quick reading list to get you up to speed: Updated at 11.30am GMT 11.00am GMT11:00 Labour MP John Spellar makes a partisan but valid point about Theresa May here: asylum backlog soars 70% , when will Theresa start doing her job? http://t.co/MsjnXFYzn2 May has a reputation in Tory circles as a capable and tough pair of hands presiding over the difficult area of immigration, but previous Labour home secretaries have been sacked for far less than some of the scandals she has overseen. Anyone remember the passport delays, the unauthorised relaxation of border checks, her adviser’s late-night outburst about extremism in schools, not to mention last week’s reports about missing foreign criminals? On top of that, May has pretty much conceded defeat on meeting David Cameron’s target of getting immigration down to the tens of thousands from the hundreds of thousands. It is slightly mysterious why her stock is so high with core Conservative supporters. 10.46am GMT10:46 Our political editor Patrick Wintour reports on remarks by Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary, at a Progress event last night. The top line is his call for inspections of religious education in faith schools but the shadow cabinet minister also makes an interesting comparison between Labour and a beheaded monarch from the 17th century: There is a particular challenge for the Labour party. We are the last party of the union. We are the last United Kingdom political party, rather like poor King Charles and the three kingdoms trying to hold Great Britain together, dealing with the Irish, Scottish and English when each one of them is pulling in different directions. For the Labour party we face the challenge of the SNP in Scotland and Ukip in England. We are unique in facing these political challenges in different parts of the UK while remaining a strong unionist party. We have reached the end point of what began in 1950 when 98% of the public were voting either Tory or Labour and we are now at this point of multipolar politics. Everything the Scottish referendum threw up in terms of visceral dislike of Westminster, visceral dislike of politicians, the move from class identity to national identity, the end of distinctive party affiliations, we are seeing in our politics now. Our challenge is that voters have become shoppers and are much more consumerist, but they also want authenticity and beliefs. Updated at 10.48am GMT 10.36am GMT10:36 It looks like Harriet Harman will put David Cameron on the spot later over his refusal (five times) to wear a t-shirt for Elle’s women’s right campaign, unlike modern men Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg: This is what a feminist will look like at Prime Minister's Questions today @ELLEUK @fawcettsociety #ellefeminism pic.twitter.com/TqFcZ0Iqnb 10.30am GMT10:30 The immigration debate has now spilled over into the area of education policy this morning. Sir Michael Wilshaw, the Ofsted chief inspector, has told LBC Radio: Schools need the resources to deal with that. When they’re faced with an influx of children from other countries, they need the resources and capacity to deal with it and if those resources aren’t there, that’s a big issue for Government. That’s the first thing and we’ll be producing reports on this quite soon. 10.09am GMT10:09 Britain needs to do more to work with France to tackle the problem of migrants waiting in Calais for the chance to enter Britain illegally, Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said earlier. These are the quotes from her appearance on Good Morning Britain: The Labour government worked with the French government to get Sangatte closed, to get that problem sorted out, to get people moved on and problems dealt with. Refugees should be dealt with in the country that they arrive in, that’s not happening at the moment. People who are here illegally or in France illegally should have been deported. Again, that’s not happening. I’m not going to pretend to you that everything was right in the past, clearly it wasn’t. “But there are areas where action is taken to sort problems out, and it’s just not being done now. I think it says it all that Home Office ministers, Theresa May, won’t even come and talk to you about the failings on immigration. I think she should answer for the decisions that she’s getting wrong and get the system sorted out so that it is fair. “They’re not taking enforcement action; they’ve reduced the kid of enforcement, so for example the prosecuting for companies that are employing people illegally has dropped – fewer companies fined. That’s a huge problem, so people are allowed to work illegally. You’ve got to crack down on the illegal immigration, it’s the worst problem of all, and it undermines confidence in the whole system and that’s why I think they’ve got to take more action.” 10.06am GMT10:06 Could this be a clue about what Ed Miliband wants to challenge David Cameron about later? Or is he just backing up Emma Reynolds, the shadow housing minister, who on Monday revealed a collapse of nearly 50% in the number of affordable home ownership properties built since the coalition came to power. David Cameron has presided over the lowest level of house building in peacetime since the 1920s. Are you affected? http://t.co/BjoTqmaI7o 9.59am GMT09:59 It sounds like there was an interesting clash over the direction of the Tory party between Tim Montgomerie, who used to edit ConservativeHome, and Matthew Parris, the former MP, at the Times offices last night. They disagree in particular over how to respond to fears about immigration. This is what Parris, a former aide to Margaret Thatcher, wrote in his column (£): I know a bit about “swamping”. I was the clerk handling Margaret Thatcher’s general correspondence in 1978 when she was opposition leader. We had been averaging 500-700 letters a week when, discussing immigration in a TV interview, Mrs Thatcher used the word “swamped”. In the following week she received about 5,000 letters, almost all in support, almost all reacting to that interview. I had to read them. We were swamped indeed: swamped by racist bilge. It’s the things people confide in you when they think you’re one of them that can be so revealing. She was uncomfortable about that interview. I was only 28 and shocked at the response. Today’s scared politicians gibbering about it not being racist to talk about immigration are averting their eyes from something big. It need not be racist to talk about immigration but many who do are. Michael Fallon knows this. He knew he’d cause a stir, and did. This was disreputable. However, Montgomerie has worries about this approach and thinks it poses an existential threat to the future of the Tories: Matthew worries that some in UKIP want a country where everyone looks the same. I worry that Matthew wants a party where we all think as he does. He is that very modern phenomenon that is very powerful in the Liberal Democrats – an illiberal liberal who will tolerate anyone as long as they agree with him. Just as some in UKIP hate the diversity of modern Britain, Matthew Parris and certain modernisers are in danger of becoming haters, too. Hating the politics of places like Clacton. Accusing all people who worry about immigration of being racist. Deciding that anyone who questions David Cameron is an extremist. The Conservative Party becomes a broad church again – or, quite simply, it ceases to be the great electoral force that it once was. Forever. 9.47am GMT09:47 It’s PMQs later today. What will Ed Miliband lead on? The obvious topic would be various aspects of the immigration and Europe debate, with Cameron on the backfoot over chaos in the asylum system, the mayor of Calais’s remarks about Britain being a “magnet” for those seeking benefits, the failure of the EU referendum bill, the decision to axe help for migrants in the Mediterranean and resistance in Brussels to the UK’s calls for tighter immigration restrictions, highlighted by Boles’s comments. There is certainly plenty for Miliband to go at from whichever angle he chooses. However, that might be a bit outside Miliband’s comfort zone, giving Cameron the opportunity to repeat his old taunts about about the last government on immigration. I wonder whether instead the Labour leader might play to his party’s strengths and talk about the NHS again. There is a damning report out from Dame Julie Mellor, the Health Service ombudsman, saying she is concerned by a lack of care and compassion and basic mistakes in the health service following her report into 126 investigations of NHS complaints. My colleague Denis Campbell says this makes for very troubling reading: To deny that this particular litany of failings is significant is to add insult to the injury already caused. A patient’s poor experience of care is far too often compounded by the NHS’s failure to take an ensuing complaint seriously, thus compounding the pain, frustration and grief. This recurring inadequacy, vouchsafed in painful detail in recent years by compelling reports from the Patients Association and Healthwatch, is so familiar as to now be above dispute. Too often patients affected by poor care encounter a closed, self-serving system that is neither responsive nor effective. 9.24am GMT09:24 Here’s a quick aside from immigration matters to alert you to an interesting sort-of u-turn: Nicky Morgan, the education secretary and equalities minister, has (probably) changed her mind about gay marriage. A committed Christian, she voted against it just last year. Since then, Morgan has been elevated to the cabinet, taken on the equalities portfolio, hired an adviser from Stonewall, and done some thinking. Ahead of an appearance at a Pink News event in the House of Commons today, she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: I had a lot of constituents who asked me to vote in a particular way and I listened to them and it was an issue of conscience too, but I have certainly learnt an awful lot doing this job... “I think I probably would [vote in favour of gay marriage]. But at the end of the day, as a member of parliament, I’m also here to represent my constituents...I wish that people had come forward earlier to say ‘actually, we’d like you to support it’. “I suppose for some people it was...obvious but actually I think it was something that we needed to discuss and to debate. 9.16am GMT09:16 This is a longer extract from the Nick Boles interview about EU immigration: We have taken some pretty draconian steps to control the [level of] immigration we do have the power to control, but all that has done is reveal to people that there’s another big chunk of it that we can’t control, and that troubles them... We may never be able to control it entirely, because it’s a fundamental principle of the EU, but it will be very hard for the British people to accept that, for as long as Britain remains the most dynamic economy in the EU, we’re going to be the net recipient of a very large amount of immigration every year. And it’s going to be hard to bring those people back on board. That’s a challenge both to the Labour party and to us almost equally. It’s something we have to respond to, not because of an economic argument. Politics isn’t all about economics.” He later released a statement (after taking a phone-call from the Downing Street switchboard?): I do not believe and did not say that we cannot seek changes to the way immigration works within the EU. Quite the contrary, I think it is essential that we do so. This is a tweet from the Total Politics journalist who interviewed him: Candid? Absolutely. Correct? People seem to think so. Nick Boles' comments to me on immigration are making headlines http://t.co/YVt0C5c635 9.06am GMT09:06 Morning everyone. This is Rowena Mason standing in for Andrew Sparrow on Wednesday, 29 October. We are swamped by immigration (and related Europe) stories today, with five national newspapers splashing on the subject. |