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Good morning,
And welcome back to Westminster. As MPs unpack their new pencil cases and brag about their holidays with friends on the first day of term, very little has changed since they were last in the Commons.
A washing machine salesman called Jim is still chairman of the home affairs select committee (just).
Brexit still means Brexit.
And Jeremy Corbyn clings on. Obviously. |
Matt Chorley
Red Box Editor
@MattChorley
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| In today’s briefing |
- What Brexit means to May
- Britain's status: it's complicated
- Vaz doorstep challenge
- Labour conspiracy theories
- In the constituency: Ian Lucas
Today we begin a new series - What I Want From Brexit - inviting politicians from all sides to set out their best case for leaving the EU. But we'd also like to hear from you, whether you're a minister, councillor, think-tanker, lecturer, student or Red Box reader, let us know how you'd like to see Brexit implemented in no more than 500 words to redbox@thetimes.co.uk. |
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| BREXIT BRITAIN |
| What Brexit means to May |
Theresa May's catchphrase might be "Brexit means Brexit", but it is important to remember that she didn't actually back Brexit in the first place. (She barely backed Remain either, making Jeremy Corbyn's efforts look heroic, but that's for another day.)
The fact that the prime minister was not a paid-up Leaver gives her significant wriggle room over what sort of deal she wants with the European Union, and she has been doing a lot of wriggling.
On the flight to the G20 in China the PM took a series of questions from journalists, and to the shock of hardened journalists on board, she answered them. A picture of her vision for Brexit is emerging, as The Times splash makes clear.
On immigration, she says only that those who voted for Leave "didn’t want the free movement to continue as it has in the past".
Pressed on whether that means an Australian-style points-based system - in which skills, family ties and language are used to build up points to qualify for work permits - could be introduced for EU migrants, May replied: "One of the issues is whether or not points-based systems do work.” It is no "silver bullet", she added.
Let's not forget that this was precisely the system pushed during the referendum campaign by Boris Johnson, Liam Fox, Priti Patel, Chris Grayling and Andrea Leadsom, all now cabinet ministers.
Pressed on those other Vote Leave promises, to spend more on the NHS and cut the VAT on energy bills, May got out a bucket of cold water, saying only that she was "going to work for the best possible deal for the United Kingdom". The Brexiteers in the Tory party are already itching to stick the boot in.
But the PM will not be rushed, explaining to Andrew Marr yesterday how May's Method works: "The way that I work is to assemble the evidence, look at the evidence and then come to a decision."
That will buy some time. But the vagaries of "Brexit means Brexit" will eventually have to be replaced with specifics, and by then it will mean something very different to almost everyone.
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| Today’s cartoon from Morten Morland |
| Britain's status: it's complicated |
Barack Obama and John Kerry met François Hollande and Angela Merkel at the G20 summit in China this morning. America meets Europe. Without Britain. This is how things are now.
When Theresa May did meet Obama, the vast gulf between the podiums appeared to be a metaphor. The US president made clear that he thinks Britain was wrong to leave the EU and will remain behind it and Asia in the queue for a trade deal with the United States.
Iain Duncan Smith cheerfully tells the Daily Mail: "Who cares what he says? He’s going. Bye bye."
Even so, the Japanese government used a 15-page letter to warn that Brexit may cause “great turmoil”.
Then there was the family photo of world leaders, with May shunted to the far end while Merkel and Obama posed in the centre. It's notable that our new best friend seems to be Australia, after Malcolm Turnbull promised a "very strong" free trade agreement with the UK after it leaves the EU.
"These things don't add up to definitive change yet," said one diplomatic observer. "But each one makes your toe curl."
Sam Coates, The Times deputy political editor who is travelling with the PM, notes a few straws in the wind here.
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| Sorry Mr Putin, it’s not business as usual |
Theresa May resisted an attempt by Vladimir Putin to reset economic relations between Russia and Britain, making it clear that it could not be “business as usual”. Read the story
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| Trust issues |
Brexit is not the only elephant in the room in China. Hinkley Point looms large, as Theresa May refused to say that she trusted the Chinese ahead of her first, awkward meeting with President Xi today. Read the story
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| Leaving London |
Brexit could force insurance market Lloyd's to move some of its business to continental Europe, chairman John Nelson has warned.
He told the Today programme that operations may even start leaving London before Brexit negotiations are concluded unless the government can provide "clarity" about the UK's future relationship with the EU. |
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| Davis makes his debut |
David Davis gets his first turn at the dispatch box since June 2008, when he suddenly resigned as shadow home secretary in a fit of pique and has been on the back benches ever since.
The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union will make a statement in the House of Commons at about 3.30pm. "Brexit isn't about making the best of a bad job," he said overnight. "It is about seizing the huge and exciting opportunities that will flow from a new place for Britain in the world."
Elsewhere, a debate will be held in Westminster Hall today on the idea of a second EU referendum, after a petition was signed by more than four million people.
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| Parliament must be given a say on the final Brexit deal |
| Nicky Morgan |
| Tory MP and former education secretary |
Just because Whitehall will be focused on Brexit for years to come, this is no excuse to slow momentum on education reforms, welfare reforms and prison reforms. Of course what would be even better is a time machine to transport us back to before June 23 so the Remain campaign could run a relentlessly positive campaign which sets out the benefits of collaboration with other EU member states, and acknowledges the concern about immigration across the country .
Read the full article on the Red Box website |
| SW1 |
| Vaz doorstep challenge |
Keith Vaz is facing a big dilemma this morning: does he put today's papers in his vast archive of press cuttings?
The publicity enthusiast is making headlines for all the wrong reasons after allegations that he paid two male escorts for sex, allegedly telling them to bring the party drug known as poppers - which he opposed the government banning. Vaz was also quoted as discussing the possibility of paying for cocaine at a future meeting, but added that he would not take the drug himself.
It is not clear whether he is planning to resign as chairman of the home affairs select committee, but it is difficult to see how he could stay. Under his watch, it recently concluded that soliciting by prostitutes should no longer be a crime.
Jeremy Corbyn demonstrated his brilliance at reading the public mood by dismissing it as a "private matter".
Vaz is alleged to have told the men that he was a washing-machine salesman called Jim: “These are industrial washing machines, that I sell. Industrial. For big — for hotels.”
He could do with one of those to deal with all his dirty laundry that is currently being aired in public. Expect this to go down badly on the doorsteps of Leicester.
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| Conspiracy theories |
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YouGov
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| Corbyn's Labour |
| Half of Corbyn supporters suspect MI5 plot |
Isis. Al-Qaeda. Dissident Irish Republicans. Cyberespionage. You'd think MI5 have got enough on their plates.
But according to more than half (55 per cent) of Jeremy Corbyn supporters, Britain's spy agencies are also plotting to undermine the Labour leader.
Nine out of ten Corbyn backers think PR agencies helped to orchestrate the "coup" against their man, and more than a third (35 per cent) think that "some Labour MPs have been planted by Conservative strategists to undermine the left wing of the Labour Party".
This all comes from a YouGov poll. But you probably won't believe me: 97 per cent of Corbynistas, and 51 per cent of all voters, think "the mainstream media as a whole has been deliberately biasing coverage to portray Jeremy Corbyn in a negative manner". Read more on the Red Box website
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| Hard left want a baker's dozen |
The big row over the Labour leadership was that to get on the ballot paper candidates needed 15 per cent of MPs and MEPS - which was out of the question for Jeremy Corbyn.
So his supporters have a plan: change the rules. They want to cut the threshold to just 5 per cent, which would require only about 13 signatures.
Labour moderates aren't happy. (Are they ever?) So expect them to write some angry tweets on the subject - and then look on powerlessly as the rules are changed.
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| The health of the NHS |
| Golden goodbyes |
Remember how the last general election became a tussle over who would promise the NHS more cash: should it be £1.5 billion, £8 billion, £12 billion?
In that context, news that almost £2 billion has been paid to NHS managers in redundancy settlements since the government began its health service reforms is even more shocking.
About 50,000 staff have been paid off since the coalition announced plans to reshape the NHS in 2010, with thousands famously soon rehired by new health bodies.
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| Stakes raised for junior doctors |
Things are getting serious for the junior doctors, who have been warned against striking next week by their regulator.
The General Medical Council said that patients would suffer during a five-day strike and that doctors would be disciplined if harm was traced back to them.
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| Scotland |
| Sturgeon: breaking a taboo |
Nicola Sturgeon has said that by making her miscarriage public she hoped to challenge assumptions about women who do not have children, particularly in politics.
The first minister, who lost her baby six years ago in the early stages of pregnancy at the age of 40, was preparing to make the news public when she miscarried. Instead of recovering at home she attended a memorial service on January 3, 2011, for the 40th anniversary of the Ibrox disaster in which 66 Rangers fans died, where she looked visibly distressed. Read the story |
| What else do you need to know today? |
Rise of the right: She might be in China, but back home Angela Merkel endured a humiliating defeat by right-wing populists for the first time in a state election last night — a result seen as a damning verdict on her decision to welcome more than a million migrants to Germany. Read the story
Rebel miniser: Less than a week after he quit the ailing Hollande administration, Emmanuel Macron, the young star of French politics, has emerged as the second most popular potential candidate for the presidency. Read the story
Settling scores: This might not come as a great surprise, but Nick Clegg and Michael Gove really didn't get on. In his new book, Politics: Between the Extremes, Clegg describes how Gove banned Lib Dem special advisers from physically entering the Department for Education, let loose his "somewhat unhinged advisers" to brief against him and his wife Miriam, and on one occasion hid in the toilet to avoid speaking to David Laws. Read the story
Keeping mum: Sad news for Osbornites: the former chancellor is not planning to follow Clegg with a tell-all memoir. Reviewing Ed Balls' book in the Mail on Sunday, George Osborne revealed: "‘I’ve been wondering whether to write a political memoir and come to the conclusion that I’d rather not."
Multi-hatted: Labour is offering to work with the government "across party lines" to speed up UK ratification of the global climate deal. Although this is mainly notable for the job title of Barry Gardiner, who is described as Labour's "Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade, Europe, Energy and Climate Change".
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| In the constituency |
| Ian Lucas: Taking on Ukip is like fighting Scotch mist |
By Natasha Clark
Ian Lucas, who first won the Wrexham seat in 2001, believes the lack of clarity over Brexit shows that the Conservatives are still in a vulnerable position, and must be pressed. He also warns that Jeremy Corbyn winning again will be a "disaster", claims that John McDonnell doesn't understand the economy and rules out a Labour split.
During a tour of his constituency, he also faces a minor crisis... “If the judges don’t turn up, will you judge the dog show?” one volunteer asks. “Oh gosh, I know nothing about dogs…” Lucas admits. Read the full article on the Red Box website |
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| Strictly Balls: Saturday night saw Ed Balls make his debut on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, as he was paired with Russian professional Katya Jones. He is getting his excuses in early, telling the Marr show: "I could have decided to spend the last month and a half slimming and dance practising, but that wouldn’t be consistent with the spirit of the show, isn’t it?" |
£12,000 DEGREE A new university specialising in engineering intends to abandon lectures and teach students in project teams of no more than 30.
Read the story
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CHARITY FOLDS A charity run by the government-appointed children’s champion for more than 20 years has collapsed after losses built up under her control.
Read the story
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FORCED MARRIAGES There has been only one successful prosecution of forced marriage since it was criminalised two years ago, despite Theresa May’s pledge that new legislation would help to stamp out the “terrible practice”.
Read the story
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NAVY IN THE MED Another British warship is being deployed to Libya this week in attempt to arrest people smugglers and tackle the record numbers of refugees trying to cross the Mediterranean.
Read the story
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| TMS |
| From the diary |
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Teaching Trump a lesson
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You can’t always please your teachers. Patrick Kidd revealed this year what Nigel Farage’s Dulwich College master once told the future Ukip leader: “I feel you will go far, Nigel, but I cannot tell whether it will be in fame or infamy.”
Now the teacher of another right-wing pupil has been tracked down. In a new book called Trump Revealed, Charles Walker, Donald Trump’s former music teacher, made his views on the schoolboy clear. “He was a pain,” Walker said. “There are certain kids that need attention all the time. He was one of those.”
The teacher was clearly not one to forget a pupil, even while on his deathbed. At a hospice in 2015 he talked about the presidential hopeful. “When that kid was ten,” Walker told family members, “even then he was a little shit”.
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Read more from the TMS diary
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| Today |
- Theresa May meets Xi Xinping, the Chinese president, on the second day of the G20 in China.
- Two men will appear at Highbury magistrates court charged over a protest on the roof of Jeremy Corbyn’s house.
- 09:00: Owen Smith, the Labour leadership candidate, gives a speech in London on the "implications for the British people of a Tory victory in 2020".
- 10:00: Sir Michael Wilshaw, chief inspector of schools, addresses the London Councils education summit.
- 1:00pm: A Paris court hears a challenge brought by five members of the board of EDF against the decision to build two reactors at Hinkley Point.
- 4:00pm: The communities and local government committee takes evidence on the Homelessness Reduction Bill from charities including Crisis, Shelter and St Mungo’s.
- 4:05pm: The transport committee takes evidence on rail franchising from Joanna Whittington, chief executive of the Office of Rail and Road, and Andrea Coscelli, acting chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority.
- 6:00pm: The parliamentary Labour party meets in Westminster.
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| House of Commons |
- 2:30pm: Amber Rudd will take her first Home Office questions session as home secretary.
- Finance Bill - Programme motion and report stages
- Adjournment debate on the cost of Private Finance and Private Finance 2 initiatives
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| House of Lords |
- Lord Fowler takes over as Lords speaker
- 2:30pm: Oral questions on: serious crime affecting betting shops and staff; improving UK productivity; when the decision on extra runways at London’s airports will be taken; and teaching of drama in schools.
- Investigatory Powers Bill - committee stage
- Short debate on the elimination of HIV in the UK
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