Jeremy Corbyn has called on the cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill to rule that the prime minister cannot go ahead with a no-deal Brexit if there is a general election, saying it would be an “anti-democratic abuse of power”.
Andy McDonald, shadow cabinet secretary, called on Sir Mark to be the “voice of sanity” if Boris Johnson tries to push ahead with no deal despite losing a confidence vote in the Commons.
It comes as the Conservatives were accused of “breaking the economy” after GDP figures showed the UK economy shrank. Former Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable, meanwhile, said a “significant number” of Tory MPs would back a no-confidence motion in September.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
From
15p
€0.18
$0.18
USD 0.27
a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.
Please allow a moment for the liveblog below to load:
2019-08-09T12: 16: 20.963Z
Conservative chairman James Cleverly recently promised an inquiry on Islamophobia in the Tory party.Labour MP Wes Streeting says the Tories must accept the definition of Islamophobia agreed by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APGG) on British Muslims.
2019-08-09T12: 01: 33.573Z
Glasgow has been chosen as the UK city to host a major UN climate change summit next year – if the UK’s bid to secure the presidency and host the COP26 is successful.The government said the conference would be hosted at Glasgow’s Scottish Events Campus (SEC) over two weeks at the end of 2020 in partnership with Italy, if the joint bid is given the go-ahead.Five years on from the Paris Agreement, the COP26 Climate Change Conference is the first major test of the international community’s commitment to scale-up efforts to reduce emissions over time.Former energy minister Claire Perry, recently named the UK nominated president for COP26 by Boris Johnson, said: “As one of the UK’s most sustainable cities, with a record for hosting high-profile international events, Glasgow is the right choice to showcase the UK’s commitment to the environment.”
2019-08-09T11: 48: 01.266Z
More from Sajid Javid. The chancellor has said that he is not “frightened” at the prospect of a no-deal Brexit on October 31.“Throughout government we are doing everything we can to prepare for a no-deal exit. If it comes to no-deal, it is not anything I am frightened of,” he told Sky News.“I am confident that if that is what it comes to, we will not just get through it, the UK will end up stronger and more resilient. It is something that we can deal with.”Javid acknowledged some sectors, such as the food and automotive industries, would be affected but said there was still time to put in place plans to protect them.“There is a lot of work that we can do in the time that we have got to make sure that we are better prepared and cushion them form potentially any temporary impact that it might have.”
2019-08-09T11: 28: 53.883Z
Boris Johnson has been accused of “breaking the economy” with continued threats of a no-deal Brexit and mounting fears the UK could face its first recession in a decade. It comes as GDP shrank by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2019 as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) latest figures on the state of the economy showed the first contraction since 2012. Reacting to the dire figures, Sajid Javid, the chancellor, insisted the “fundamentals” of the British economy remained strong, but admitted that it was a “challenging period” across the globe.
2019-08-09T11: 20: 20.000Z
The chancellor Sajid Javid has been repeating his line that “the fundamentals of the UK economy remain very strong”.
2019-08-09T11: 00: 19.260Z
Chancellor Sajid Javid is in hard hat and high-vis vest mode for a visit to the National Grid Training Centre outside Newark.He will be facing questions today about the dismal GDP figures: the UK’s economy shrank for the first time since 2012 in the second quarter of this year, as the manufacturing and construction sectors both slumped.
Sajid Javid at the National Grid Training Centre (PA)
2019-08-09T10: 53: 05.990Z
Our associate editor Sean O’Grady thinks the Labour leadership has employed “unexpectedly smart tactics” by writing to the cabinet secretary. Here’s why.
2019-08-09T10: 34: 44.716Z
As speculation grows about a No 10 plan to hold a general election in early November, Michael Gove has apparently raised the prospect of holding a bank holiday on 1 November in a meeting with business leaders.The cabinet minister in charge of no deal planning said the government would consider the idea because of concerns exiting without a deal on 31 October would cause financial turmoil the following day, according to The Times.No 10 told the newspaper creating a new bank holiday for the day was not government policy.Other ideas reportedly discussed in Gove’s meeting included business leaders being kept up to date with the latest no deal plans via a Whatsapp group.
2019-08-09T10: 17: 12.256Z
As you may know if you’ve read Tom Peck’s piece from earlier today, Boris Johnson has begun speaking to the nation directly using Facebook Live.The prime minister wants to go further still, and is planning to start a series of “People’s PMQs” where he will answer questions from voters through social media live streams.Here’s our political correspondent Lizzy Buchan with the details.
2019-08-09T10: 05: 56.856Z
More evidence of a Lib Dem surge? Jo Swinson’s party narrowly defeated the Tories to take a council seat in the latest local election, while the Conservatives regained a seat from Labour.The Lib Dem victory came by just 56 votes in a by-election at Worcester Council in the Claines ward following the death of a Tory councillor.The Tories, meanwhile, regained a seat on East Northamptonshire Council by 64 votes in a contest in the Irthlingborough Waterloo ward following the resignation of a Labour councillor who had been elected previously as Conservative.
2019-08-09T10: 00: 21.956Z
Linguistic experts have evaluated recent prime ministers attempts at speaking foreign languages when they give speeches in Europe.Boris Johnson generally approaches foreign languages with “gusto”, with his French being the most highly rated of any living PM, according to the linguists at Babbel.However, Johnson’s German “while always full of confidence, leaves a little to be desired”. With 83 days until Brexit, there might not be too many more opportunities to make European speeches for the PM.
2019-08-09T09: 42: 22.296Z
Boris Johnson has announced plans to fast-track visas for the world’s top scientists.But Nobel laureate Sir Andre Geim has warned that plunging Britain out of the EU could create turmoil, saying “scientists are not fools”. Here’s Ashley Cowburn with more on the row.
2019-08-09T09: 31: 44.153Z
Commenting on the GDP figures, Labour MP Wes Streeting, a leading supporter of the People’s Vote campaign, said: “The economic damage being done by Brexit is real and it is happening now.“This is not a projection or a forecast – these are the real-life consequence of the Brexit crisis, and they are being felt in our public services, businesses up and down the land and in the pockets of the vast majority of people in this country.“Having already cost more than £500m a week in lost growth since 2016, Brexit is now actively shrinking the UK economy, putting us just one negative quarter away from a recession. It is making our country poorer, deterring investment, shrinking our currency and leaving less money for our national priorities the NHS.“This is the real cost of Brexit. In 2016, Leave campaigners including Boris Johnson promised Brexit would lead to ‘sunlit uplands’ and a stronger economy. The reality is the exact opposite.”
2019-08-09T09: 25: 02.450Z
The chancellor Sajid Javid has responded to the news that the UK economy has shrunk.He claimed the “fundamentals of the British economy are strong” and said he had announced an accelerated spending round “so ministers can focus on delivering Brexit”.
2019-08-09T09: 11: 03.556Z
Boris Johnson spoke for two minutes on Facebook Live yesterday, something he is thought to be planning to do a lot more.Our political sketch writer Tom Peck was not clicking ‘like’. Here’s his take on the PM’s latest media strategy.
2019-08-09T08: 58: 12.070Z
There’s a lot of feverish talk about what happens in October. But we still have to get through the September party conference season.Ashley Cowburn has taken a look at what happens if MPs manage to cancel the traditional September recess in a bid to give themselves more parliamentary time to block no deal.
2019-08-09T08: 47: 33.490Z
Not good news for Sajid Javid. Not good news for anyone. The UK economy shrank by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter of this year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has announced. Our business editor Olesya Dmitracova has the details.
2019-08-09T08: 39: 21.126Z
Here’s Lib Dem MP Chuka Umunna – who has suggested a “substantial minority” of Labour MPs would not support their party leader becoming PM – claiming Jeremy Corbyn has already “flunked the opportunity to definitively table that motion of no confidence so that it in the end precipitates a general election”.The Lib Dems had urged Corbyn to table the no confidence motion in July, shortly after Boris Johnson became PM.
2019-08-09T08: 32: 43.610Z
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell is not impressed by Sajid Javid’s plan to have a “fast-tracked” one-year spending review to deliver on the government’s “priorities”.
2019-08-09T08: 00: 10.440Z
Liberal Democrat Chuka Umunna claimed a “substantial minority” of Labour MPs would not support their party leader Jeremy Corbyn being prime minister.The former Labour and Change UK MP told the Today programme: “The problem there is with the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn taking up the role of leading an emergency government is he cannot command a majority among his own MPs, never mind others like Conservative rebels who would refuse to give him confidence.“I know, because I have spoken to them, there is a substantial minority of Labour MPs at the very least who simply would not countenance Jeremy Corbyn being the prime minister of this country.“So the question is, is there a figure who, as an alternative, could command a majority?”
The latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox
The latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox