After 5,500 questions at the dispatch box, the PM faced the Commons for the final time before heading to the palace to resign

Corbyn used his tried and tested method of asking a constituent’s question, this time from Nina, asking for reassurance that as an EU citizen who has lived in the UK for 30 years she will have the right to stay here. Cameron responded with a firm guarantee, but then he said that he had an email to read as well. He says he got an email from Judith on 16 September 2015 telling him to be polite to Corbyn because Tom Watson was far more of a threat. “I must find the sender to find out what happens next,” he said.

Proof… http://pic.twitter.com/UZVXn6WcUw

I will watch these exchanges from the backbenches. I will miss the roar of the crowd, I will miss the barbs from the opposition, but I will be willing you on.

And when I say willing you on, I don’t just mean willing on the new prime minister at this dispatch box, or indeed just willing on the frontbench defending the manifesto that I helped put together. But I mean willing all of you on, because people come here with huge passion for the issues they are about. They come here with great love for the constituencies that they represent. And also willing on this place. Because, yes, we can be pretty tough and test and challenge our leaders – perhaps more than some other countries – but that is something we should be proud of and we should keep at it, and I hope you will all keep at it, and I will will you on as you do.

“They haven’t even decided what the rules are yet.

Democracy is an exciting and splendid thing.

Continue reading…

Politics blog | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2a8TwcH

Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen, including David Cameron’s last PMQs, Theresa May becoming prime minister and starting her cabinet reshuffle and Owen Smith launching his bid for the Labour leadership

9.10am BST

Last night Labour’s national executive committee decided that Jeremy Corbyn would be allowed to take part in the Labour leadership contest without having to get nominated by 51 MPs or MEPs, like his opponents. But it also decided that party members will not be able to vote in the contest as party members unless they joined more than six months ago. (Instead they will have to pay £25 to become a registered supporter if they want to have a vote, but there will only be a two-day window during which they can apply.)

Related: Labour executive rules Jeremy Corbyn must be on leadership ballot

We’ve seen since the Brexit vote probably the largest surge in political party membership in this country’s history, with almost 130,000 people joining the Labour party and a great number of those joined on the basis that they would be able to vote in a future leadership election.

8.55am BST

I’m Andrew Sparrow and I’m blogging today.

Owen Smith, the former shadow work and pensions secretary, has been on the Today programme to announce his bid for the Labour leadership. He told the programme:

I will stand in this election and I will do the decent thing and fight Jeremy Corbyn on the issues, just as he will do with me, and at the end of that I will stand behind whoever the leader is. But I hope and I expect it will be me.

8.54am BST

Good morning and welcome to our daily politics live blog which Andrew Sparrow will be picking up here shortly

Two right-wing papers, the Mail and the Sun not exactly in agreement as Cameron bows out. http://pic.twitter.com/sdmJfed1wr

Continue reading…

Politics blog | The Guardian http://ift.tt/29Qw7xy

Thoughts of past Tory prime ministers also taking office at times of national crisis will likely be playing on the mind of No 10’s newest occupant

Even the most assured of all-conquering politicians, a Churchill, Thatcher or a cocky young Blair, relishing their long-imagined moment of arrival at the top of Disraeli’s “greasy pole” of power, feels a sense of awe at the hallowed rituals of the day: the drive to the palace, the kissing of the royal hand, the entry through the big black door, the snappers on the pavement outside, inside the staff’s wary applause.

Which of them could not be aware of the burdens of history now falling on them. In war and peace, crisis and calm, they have fallen on every prime minister since the canny Norfolk squire, Robert Walpole, first established the de facto office, became its longest occupant (1721-42) and in 1732 occupied the jerry-built terraced house in Downing Street, handily across the park from King George II who gave it to him. Many prime ministers have disliked the place – and still do.

Related: Theresa May’s first job: decide on UK’s nuclear response

Continue reading…

Politics blog | The Guardian http://ift.tt/29OJv5s

The new leader’s proven competence at a time of acute national challenge arguably overrides the lack of a personal mandate

Why am I not alarmed at the prospect of Theresa May becoming prime minister this week without a contested leadership election, let alone a general election, when Gordon Brown’s similar “coronation” in 2007 left me full of foreboding?

Two reasons stand out. The most important is that the British state faces an existential crisis by virtue of 23 June’s slender majority to withdraw from the EU. It desperately needed to fill the power vacuum created by David Cameron’s refusal to stick around and sweep up the broken glass from his reckless referendum gamble.

Continue reading…

Politics blog | The Guardian http://ift.tt/29Mt8GM

Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen, including David Cameron chairing his last cabinet meeting and Labour’s NEC meeting to decide whether Jeremy Corbyn will be in the Labour leadership contest

8.48am BST

Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, and I’m blogging for the day.

Len McCluskey, the Unite general secretary, has been on the Today programme. He said that if Labour’s national executive committee tries to exclude Jeremy Corbyn from the Labour leadership contest when it meets this afternoon, that would be a “sordid fix”.

Len McCluskey says it would be ‘a sordid fix’ if Jeremy Corbyn is not automatically on the ballot. #r4today

8.47am BST

Good morning and welcome to our daily politics live blog

Merkel urges Britain to quickly clarify relationship with EU https://t.co/w180w0o53E http://pic.twitter.com/UKbP2r7KDf

Who’s the new top cat in Downing Street tonight – Larry in stand off – join us @ITV news at ten http://pic.twitter.com/OPkARFNWAj

Continue reading…

Politics blog | The Guardian http://ift.tt/29KucOo

Defeat all the more painful as French were in dire need of good news after tumultuous period of terrorism and civil unrest

What a tragic rollercoaster of a time for France. Bombs and savage murders, widespread floods that affected the heart of Paris, a series of violent strikes and then Britain’s Brexit vote – and the disruption still to follow. Thank goodness for the reassuring spectacle of the Tour de France and the chance of glory hosting football’s Euro 2016 championship.

But no. The Tour is still whizzing through the towns and villages of the republic in all their magnificent diversity – we watched it pass close to our holiday destination in the south-west the other day. However, Portugal’s 1-0 win over their more fancied French rivals on Sunday night left the same communities feeling distinctly gloomy.

Related: Andrea Leadsom to pull out of Tory leadership race, BBC reports – Politics live

Related: France makes strong bid for banking business poised to leave London

Continue reading…

Politics blog | The Guardian http://ift.tt/29IIb3J

Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen, including Theresa May launching her national campaign for the Tory leadership and Angela Eagle launching her bid for the Labour leadership

8.41am BST

Good morning and welcome to our daily politics live blog, where today’s coverage will be dominated by the leadership contests engulfing the UK’s two biggest parties that were triggered by the Brexit vote.

Continue reading…

Politics blog | The Guardian http://ift.tt/29uqG4R

Tory leadership contender’s ‘major speech on the economy’ was little more than a catalogue of slogans about optimism

In a speech in Westminster, Leadsom, the leading pro-Brexit candidate, appeared to ditch the economic strategy of her former boss George Osborne and sought to reassure the financial markets that Britain could cope with leaving the EU.

Together we will write another great chapter of prosperity and tolerance and hope.

Related: Tory leadership battle: Andrea Leadsom says ‘let’s banish pessimists’ – live

Related: Angela Leadsom calls for ‘prosperity not austerity’ in Tory leadership pitch

That was *not* as billed a ‘major speech on the economy’ by @andrealeadsom. More a series of optimistic hopes and soundbites

So Leadsom pitch…higher pay, no austerity, better training, banish pessimism . The Land of Milk and Honey ???

Continue reading…

Politics blog | The Guardian http://ift.tt/29mGwz5

Live coverage as Sir John Chilcot unveils his report into the Iraq war. Plus all the day’s other political news as Tory leadership runners go down to three

• Today’s Chilcot timetable: what you need to know
• Read Wednesday’s politics morning briefing

8.11am BST

Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Claire. I will be writing the blog today with my colleague Peter Walker.

Journalists have just been admitted to the “lock in” at the Queen Elizabeth conference centre in London where they have three hours to read the report before the embargo is lifted and the first stories about what it contains can be published at 11am. Sir John Chilcot will also make a statement about its contents then.

Behind this door is the #Chilcot report. Press heading in for three hours of speed reading http://pic.twitter.com/4sqMJX7B4x

The press wait for access to #Chilcot report at Westminster We see it at 8 http://pic.twitter.com/0cVKd2i0L8

7.54am BST

We are likely to hear directly from Tony Blair later today, after the publication of the Chilcot findings.

Blair is planning to hold a press conference to deliver a robust response to the findings. He will insist the Shia-Sunni split in Iraq, one of the driving forces of the continuing violence, preceded the invasion and was not the result of the disruption created by the war.

He will claim that Iran and al-Qaida had a role in creating the insecurity inside Iraq after the invasion. At same time, he will acknowledge he is now more cautious about the consequences of unleashing dangerous forces when a strongman such as Saddam Hussein is removed.

He will again apologise for the mistaken intelligence about Saddam’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction, but will point to evidence that the Iraqi leader sought to mislead the United Nations weapons inspectors and his own military in order to strengthen his political position inside Iraq.

Blair insists he gave no secret irrevocable pledges to Bush that the UK would go to war and any commitments of solidarity were subject to political support. His attempts to secure a second UN resolution that set tests Saddam needed to meet so as to avoid invasion is presented by Blair as proof there was no pre-ordained invasion.

7.49am BST

Mordaunt is asked about reports today that Andrea Leadsom’s banking career isn’t quite as billed.

A reminder from today’s morning briefing of today’s report in the Times, drawing on comments from a former colleague of Leadsom on Reaction:

Andrea Leadsom has no experience as an investment banker … During 10 years at the investment fund Invesco Perpetual, from 1999 to 2009, she did not have any role in managing funds or advising clients. Despite the title ‘senior investment officer and head of corporate governance’ she only held approval from the financial services regulator – required for any roles dealing with funds or clients – for a three-month period from December 2002 to February 2003.

Anyone who reads Andrea’s CV and attaches a lot of weight to that particular role may actually be under some slight misapprehension as to what it was she actually did.

totally bogus article that she [Leadsom] was not given the right to reply to.

This is a concerted effort to rubbish a stellar career and imply she was just making the tea.

Yes, she has … at Barclays.

She was running a fund. She was also managing the global banking network.

7.46am BST

Two Tory MPs – Penny Mordaunt, a supporter of Andrea Leadsom, and Ed Vaizey, a Michael Gove fan – are on the Today programme to, in essence, argue that their candidate ought to be the second name on the ballot to party members.

Mordaunt says:

We have a huge responsibility to put forward the two best candidates – it’s party leader but it’s also the prime minister.

A final with two women in it would be very exciting but it’s got to be on merit.

Michael Gove is the most experienced of the two candidates vying for second place on the ballot.

What motivates Michael … is about social justice, reaching out to those people who’ve been left behind.

He is very close to the chancellor and the prime minister … I think that’s important.

They’ll trust a man who was prepared to make that decision … He felt he [Johnson] wasn’t the right person to be prime minister.

7.31am BST

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Karen Thornton, whose son Lee was killed in Iraq in 2006, said she remained convinced that Tony Blair had exaggerated intelligence about Iraq’s capabilities and should face a trial for war crimes:

If it is proved that he lied then obviously he should be held accountable for it … He shouldn’t be allowed to just get away with it.

Nobody’s going to held to account and that’s so wrong … I think the people who lied should be held to account.

We just want the truth.

7.11am BST

With John Chilcot publishing – after seven years of inquiry – his report into the war in Iraq, we can expect/hope that the rest of the day will be relatively quiet. The world of politics does sometimes remember how to do respectful. This might be one of those days.

I think, given the seriousness of the situation, the quicker we have a new and strong prime minister in place, the better.

I think the message I have – optimism and hope about Britain’s bright future outside the European Union – is one that is shared by many Conservative members and voters, and indeed by the majority of the country …

I think that they [party members] should have a choice between two candidates of experience, two candidates who have delivered in government departments, and above all they should have a choice between one candidate who argued that we should remain in the European Union and one candidate who argued we should leave.

Andrea Leadsom has no experience as an investment banker … During 10 years at the investment fund Invesco Perpetual, from 1999 to 2009, she did not have any role in managing funds or advising clients. Despite the title ‘senior investment officer and head of corporate governance’ she only held approval from the financial services regulator – required for any roles dealing with funds or clients – for a three-month period from December 2002 to February 2003.

Anyone who reads Andrea’s CV and attaches a lot of weight to that particular role may actually be under some slight misapprehension as to what it was she actually did.

The TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, or her predecessor, Brendan Barber, are seen as potential chairs for the negotiations, which are aimed at averting an immediate challenge to Corbyn’s leadership and “cooling the temperature”. The role is likened by some senior party figures to that of Gen John de Chastelain, who oversaw the disarmament process in Northern Ireland.

As we were… @LadyBasildon & @SteveTheQuip still not attending Shadow Cabinet – a position supported by our Lords frontbench team & Group

Naz Shah stands out as someone who has been prepared to apologise to the Jewish community at a local and national level, and make efforts to learn from her mistakes. In that regard, her reinstatement today seems appropriate and we would hope for no repeat of past errors.

Across the Iraqi capital, there is little sense that the long-delayed Chilcot report into Britain’s decision to go to war will change anything. Thirteen years after the invasion, the country is still reeling from the upheaval unleashed by the war. What was envisaged by planners in London and Washington to be a seamless transition from dictatorship to democracy has proved to be anything but.

A tussle for control of post-Saddam Iraq has barely relented, and continues to ravage the country’s finances, communities and social fabric. Citizens say the relentless grind has become a ‘forever war’ that could rumble on over decades, ensuring that communities torn apart by sectarianism remain at odds for generations.

The ‘strong man’ notion of leadership by which Corbyn appears all too often to be judged is not … just a matter of a macho style. It is embedded in the nature of the UK’s unwritten constitution and the immense but opaque power that it gives to the executive: extensive powers of patronage, powers to go to war be ready to press the nuclear button, negotiate treaties of various kinds and in many ways preserve the continuity of the British state …

His credibility as prime minister, a different kind of prime minister from the current model, would require an effective challenge to the centralised nature of power in our political system. A challenge that would need to be made now, while in opposition, with extensive popular participation.

Prior to Brexit, Le Pen enjoyed a measure of exclusivity in being France’s Eurosceptic-in-chief. Both mainstream parties, President François Hollande’s Socialists and Nicolas Sarkozy’s Les Républicains, were equivocal about the EU and avoided advancing hard positions on the bloc’s future.

But with Brexit, France has a chance to reassert its role in the bloc, and the mainstream positions have shifted dramatically. All leading candidates for the Right’s presidential nomination want to roll back Brussels’ powers, give more say to national parliaments and ultimately vote on EU reform in a vast, bloc-wide referendum. The only difference between that and Le Pen’s proposal? They do not want to give the French an option to leave.

Hey #London based folks, send us your pics if you see our billboard! #ZeitFürDasNächsteBerlin #Berlin @SebCzaja http://pic.twitter.com/yH3pZDLhsQ

My theory … is that he was in for the start of the two-day debate on Brexit and its consequences. He’s clearly heard that the government has no direction.

Labour still has no shadow attorney general. Lucky there’s no legally tricky negotiations coming up.

6.53am BST

Good morning. Today’s live coverage will focus on the long-awaited publication of the Chilcot report on Britain’s role in the war in Iraq, as well as scooping up the day’s other political goings-on.

With so much news to sift through, I’m divorcing the early Chilcot news – the report itself is published at 11am – from the rest of the day’s developments; the regular morning briefing (covering leadership and Brexit latest) will follow this post.

I made very clear right at the start of the inquiry that if we came across decisions or behaviour which deserved criticism then we wouldn’t shy away from making it. And, indeed, there have been more than a few instances where we are bound to do that.

Continue reading…

Politics blog | The Guardian http://ift.tt/29lR8kh

• One of five leadership contenders eliminated today
• Andrea Leadsom boosted by Boris Johnson endorsement
• Tom Watson in ‘last-ditch’ meeting with unions over Corbyn leadership
• Read today’s morning briefing

9.00am BST

Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Claire.

Nigel Farage, the outgoing Ukip leader, has been on LBC this morning. He has joined the large chorus of Brexit politicians (and remain ones too) criticising Theresa May for refusing to promise EU nationals living in the UK that they will definitely be allowed to stay. These are from LBC’s Theo Usherwood.

Nigel Farage on LBC now: I might watch a bit of cricket, catch the odd fish, go to the pub…. I wouldn’t mind a bit of normality.

Farage: If I can help behind the scenes with the Brexit negotiations then I would be happy to do so.

Farage: I am disgusted at the way May has been speaking. The EU nationals living in the UK came here legally and they have protected rights.

8.42am BST

It was mainly Conservative MPs who were drinking in the House of Commons bars last night as many discussed how the leadership candidates had performed in the hustings.

Some joked that Andrea Leadsom had lost them when she began to talk about “frontal lobes” and her “3 B’s – Brussels, banks and babies”. The reference was to the attachment theory between parents and newborns and the impact on brain development, something she is passionate about.

8.32am BST

Crabb voted against same-sex marriage and has come in for criticism – particularly since he launched his leadership bid – for his views.

He told the BBC his objection had been on the “narrow issue of protection of religious freedom”:

I’m very happy with the outcome of the vote … I totally, totally support equal marriage in law.

I don’t want anybody in society feeling second best.

It’s certainly not part of my Christian outlook.

8.29am BST

Asked about his proposal for a £100bn Growing Britain fund – borrowing to invest in infrastructure projects – Crabb mentioned (a few times) the need for “bold choices”:

We’re at a major turning point … if we’re going to turn this [Brexit] to our advantage, we need to make some different economic choices.

It will always be a hallmark of a Conservative government to put a really strong emphasis on fiscal discipline and controlling spending.

[But] Britain has to forge a new future in the world.

8.23am BST

Stephen Crabb, work and pensions secretary and wannabe prime minister, is on the Today programme. He’s repeated his argument that the status of EU nationals already living in the UK should not be used as bargaining chips in Brexit negotiations:

The idea that we will be at some sort of Checkpoint Charlie scenario, arguing over who’s going to live in which countries … is not going to happen.

I think it’s a mistake for people to rush out to set out a timetable right now for activating article 50 … The dust hasn’t begun to settle. [The new PM] needs to take stock and work up a clear vision of what is in the national interest.

Some of the other candidates … have felt under pressure to set out now what their timetable would be. We need to take a whole UK perspective on this … the mayor of London has got a role in those kinds of discussions.

8.11am BST

The Bank of England will released its latest financial stability report at 10.30am, assessing the state of the UK’s economy. It looks rather more unstable than two weeks ago, of course, since the EU referendum vote turned politics on its head and put business confidence on its knees.

Then at 11am, Mark Carney will hold a press conference to explain the Bank’s thinking, and any new measures it is taking to tackle the crisis.

Related: Mark Carney to outline Bank of England’s Brexit stability moves – business live

8.06am BST

Buzzfeed’s Jim Waterson reports that Raheem Kassam, editor-in-chief of the UK outlet of rightwing news site Breitbart, and a former aide to Nigel Farage, is thinking of throwing his hat into the Ukip leadership ring. Sort of:

I intend to shake up the leadership contest. Maybe by running. Maybe another way. Farage knows and he told me by way of third party that it was a good idea. Don’t know if that is true or not, to be honest.

.@RaheemKassam says “breaking point” poster was poorly executed but “message was fine” #newsnight

7.47am BST

If you had to pick one of the Tory leadership contenders to describe as a “warrior for the dispossessed”, who would it be?

For Nicky Morgan, writing in the Telegraph this morning, it’s her predecessor as education secretary, Michael Gove. And so he ought to be the prime minister, she says:

It needs someone who will stand up for what’s right and not hide from big decisions. Someone with the ideas, passion and energy to get the job done. Someone who, through courageous and long-overdue education reforms (which I’ve had the privilege to build on) and wide-ranging changes to the way the criminal justice system works, has done more to transform the life chances of the most disadvantaged than any other Cabinet minister of recent times. Someone with an unshakeable commitment to being a ‘warrior for the dispossessed’.

Michael Gove offers the change and the leadership we need if we are to meet this moment with the hard-headed response it demands.

7.36am BST

Should Suzanne Evans – currently suspended from the party – be allowed to stand in the Ukip leadership, Nuttall is asked.

[It’s] not my decision, unfortunately. Suzanne is a fantastic frontwoman for the party and I hope Suzanne comes back into the party. If the national executive committee says that Suzanne is able to stand, then I will back them absolutely 100%.

I don’t have a problem on a personal level with Douglas Carswell at all … unity is the key.

7.33am BST

Reminded of a blogpost he wrote on 2010 (deleted but archived here) saying that “the very existence of the NHS stifles competition”, Nuttall tells the BBC:

I said that back in 2010 … I believe that lack of competition within the NHS does stifle … particularly in procurement. We could bring in private companies to buy on behalf of the NHS. The NHS should still be free at the point of delivery … I’ve never said anything else.

7.27am BST

Ukip also needs to stick around, Nuttall argues, to make sure Brexit actually happens:

We have to be there to ensure we hold the next prime minister’s feet to the fire to ensure they don’t backslide.

7.26am BST

Paul Nuttall, Ukip’s deputy leader and likely contender to stand for the top job after Nigel Farage’s resignation, has been speaking on the Today programme.

Farage really is going this time, Nuttall says:

Nigel has been a brilliant leader … he’s taken us from literally nothing … He really is going out on a high.

Ten years ago Ukip was a single-issue pressure group … That isn’t the case any more.

7.13am BST

Jo Johnson – previously backing his brother Boris (and we know these things aren’t guaranteed) – has switched his support to Theresa May:

It’s Theresa May. No question. #TM4PM @TheresaMay2016

6.49am BST

Good morning and welcome to our daily politics, leadership jousts and Brexit fallout coverage. I’m kicking things off with the morning briefing to set you up for the day ahead and steering the live blog until Andrew Sparrow takes his seat.

Do come and chat in the comments below or find me on Twitter @Claire_Phipps.

We are not leaving our party. We are going to fight and we are going to win!

I have the support to run and resolve this impasse, and I will do so if Jeremy doesn’t take action soon.

When we do things together we are very strong. Now is the time to come together.

Britain will remain a member of the EU in the future. In five years, there will still be 28 member states. When you look at all of those [companies] who want to move to the EU, it’s a wakeup call for Britain not to leave in the end.

When you get divorced, you do not get to stay at home. You have to leave the common house.

We cannot continue with a system in which on French territory the British authorities decide the people that can be welcomed and can be rejected. That is not acceptable.

Registered supporters have no “ongoing” relationship with the party and would thus have to sign up again, under Labour party rules. There is also no rule on the registered supporter fee remaining at £3, or on the timeframe in which new members should be allowed to sign up, which is a matter for the national executive committee (NEC) to decide.

“It could be free, it could be £50,000 – there’s nothing to say it has to be £3,” a Labour source told the Guardian.

YouGov Tory members poll. Behold utter destruction of Gove’s reputation – in under a week, from +41 to -20 http://pic.twitter.com/PfgQZxvSAv

Le vrai facteur d’incertitude, c’est, à supposer que l’article 50 soit déclenché, les conditions dans lesquelles le Royaume-Uni effectuera des transactions commerciales avec l’Union européenne (UE). L’hypothèse favorable, c’est un accord à la norvégienne. C’est politiquement difficile, car le pays y aurait toutes les obligations des membres de l’UE, notamment la libre circulation des personnes, mais aucun droit. Mais ce serait le plus raisonnable économiquement …

Mais nous n’avons pas la moindre idée ni du délai, ni de l’issue des négociations entre Londres et l’UE.

It would be sheer madness to contemplate even for a moment giving up Britain’s independent nuclear deterrent. And there is no room for compromise, and no room for cheese paring.

We need a full fleet of four submarines, capable between them of providing what the military call ‘Continuous At Sea Deterrence’, or permanent, around-the-clock cover. Doing so will send an important message that, as Britain leaves the European Union, we remain committed to working alongside our Nato allies and playing our full role in the world …

A former shadow cabinet minister describes this as a ‘clause 1 rather than a clause 4 moment’ because the first line of the party’s constitution defines its purpose as ‘to organise and maintain in parliament and in the country a political Labour party’.

What is fascinating, though, is that a growing number of MPs, peers, candidates and advisers now believe that it is time to start again with a new party of the centre left. Three months ago it was seen as foolish, or even heretical, to suggest such a thing, but since the EU referendum the idea has become mainstream. The Brexit vote has changed everything, with a former cabinet minister talking of the exciting possibilities for a ‘party of the 48%’ … One of those involved behind the scenes [says]: ‘There’s a massive opportunity for a pro-business, socially liberal party in favour of the EU.’

Of course the head rat would leave the sinking ship.

“Of course the head rat would leave the sinking ship” – Christoph Waltz reacts to @Nige_ Farage stepping down https://t.co/TG3iXxJRb0

Happy Independence Day!! The original #Brexit #happy4thofjuly http://pic.twitter.com/1s6mqb86hB

Continue reading…

Politics blog | The Guardian http://ift.tt/29eQ2IE