Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen
9.21am BST
The pound is still struggling this morning. My colleague Graeme Wearden has the details on his business live blog.
Related: Pound under pressure amid reports of Brexit split in cabinet – Business live
9.17am BST
Theresa May’s government has only been in office for three months but already cabinet infighting has hit peak intensity on the “ferrets in a sack” scale. Amazingly, there was even a story yesterday (which was denied) claiming that Philip Hammond, the chancellor, was on the verge of resignation because he was so fed up.
The faultline is between those pushing for a hard version of Brexit (principally the so-called three Brexiteers, Boris Johnson, David Davis and Liam Fox) and the chancellor, who is urging caution. Today the Times and the Telegraph have both splashed with stories claiming Hammond has angered colleagues by expressing doubts about a plan to stop low-skilled EU migrants coming to the UK.
Monday’s Times front page:
Hammond clashes with Brexiteers on migrants#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers http://pic.twitter.com/WnPOVPBSvd
Monday’s Telegraph front page:
Hammond in Cabinet Brexit row#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers http://pic.twitter.com/Oep3E74oZo
Related: Philip Hammond’s Brexit worries point to cabinet tensions
The chancellor, Philip Hammond, has angered more pro-Brexit cabinet colleagues with his concerns over plans to swiftly restrict immigration from the EU, warning this could harm the economy, according to reports.
In a sign of apparent tensions within the cabinet over the balance between limiting immigration and keeping open access to the EU, unnamed cabinet sources briefed two newspapers about supposed worries over Hammond’s stance.
On the contrary. If we weren’t having lively debates in cabinet, you would be saying “What’s happened to cabinet government, why aren’t you going through incredibly thoroughly all the different arguments to make sure we end up with the right decision?”
The British people changed the history of our country on the 23 June. The cabinet is absolutely united that we must respect that decision.
This isn’t the first time in the history of government where you read reports in the newspapers that may not actually reflect what’s happened. All I would say is that you would expect lively debates to be happening in government because we are going to get the right solution in terms of securing our borders, but also the right solution economically.
Politics blog | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2emGpHj
Sig Nordal 