Timothy Garton Ash's Blog, page 10

January 10, 2019

Labour must back a people’s vote before the clock runs out | Timothy Garton Ash

A second referendum may be difficult – but the only alternative is a ‘blindfold Brexit’

Over the next few weeks, Britain faces a stark binary choice. It is not the blackmail choice that Theresa May misleadingly poses: my deal or no deal. Nor is it the choice Jeremy Corbyn still implausibly claims: her bad Brexit or his much better Brexit. The real choice we must make before B-day (currently 29 March) is this: blindfold Brexit or democratic timeout.

As parliament takes back control, we urgently need the Labour front bench to join MPs from all parties in getting us to the timeout. By timeout I mean a period of democratic deliberation leading up to a second referendum, in which we decide, on the basis of everything we now know, how we should address the real problems that contributed to the vote for Brexit in 2016, what kind of country we really want to be – and whether we can do that better outside or inside the EU. For this, our EU partners will extend article 50 and give us the necessary time.

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Published on January 10, 2019 22:00

December 13, 2018

Theresa May not expecting 'breakthrough' on Brexit deal at EU summit – as it happened

PM won party backing in confidence vote but faces uphill battle to get her deal through Commons

What the papers say: ‘Her goose is cooked’
What happens now for the prime minister and her Brexit plans?Theresa May: a crisis of confidence – Today in Focus podcast Afternoon summary

7.04pm GMT

We’re closing down this live blog now. See 5.26pm for a comprehensive summary of the day’s events. And you can read our main story here:

6.20pm GMT

There is no other credible fall-back solution to replace the backstop that would allay Irish fears of seeing a “corrosive” hard border on the island of Ireland, the country’s foreign affairs minister has said.

Simon Coveney has told an Irish parliamentary committee that, even though the country’s government did not want to use the insurance mechanism contained in the draft withdrawal agreement, it had to be included.

We are all committed to ensuring that the backstop never takes effect and should it take effect, we are committed to trying to ensure that it is only temporary so that it can be replaced with something more permanent.

But, for the moment in my view, there is not another credible fall-back solution that can take the place of the backstop and that is why EU leaders have been so clear and why the British prime minister has been so clear that there is a need for the backstop, even though we want to avoid using it.

Strong intervention from defence minister @Tobias_Ellwood - no deal “not an option” for the army

"MoD planning shows that arrangements are NOT in place - economically, and from security perspective, it’s not possible” @BBCNews

5.26pm GMT

It is clear there will be no changes to the deal the prime minister brought back last month. Theresa May herself says she isn’t expecting a breakthrough.

There must be no more dither and delay, or attempts to run down the clock in an attempt to deny parliament alternative options.

Brexit will happen at the end of March. I am working on the basis that May will try to bring the deal to a vote in the House of Commons in January. I very much hope that the British MPs will become aware over the Christmas holidays that they will not be doing their constituents a favour if they allow it to end in a no-deal Brexit.

At some point the day of truth will come. The vote has already been pushed back but it must happen before the end of March. The plan is that it will take place in January. Then we will see if there is a majority.

4.53pm GMT

Nigel Lawson, the Conservative former chancellor, is a hardline Brexiter. But even by their standards, what he says about Theresa May in a Prospect interview is unusually harsh. He says:

I would have obviously voted against her, because she has been a disaster in every way. The deal which she has come back with is the worst deal imaginable.

4.41pm GMT

4.32pm GMT

Jose Manuel Barroso, the former president of the European commission, is urging the EU to show a bit more flexibility towards the EU on the backstop issue.

Now that #Brexit appears unavoidable it’s extremely important to get a deal that avoids the so called hard Brexit. The #EuropeanUnion , that until now as shown such remarkable coherence and intelligence on this issue ,should show some flexibility on the #backstop.

I know it’s possible some flexibility of the #EU to get a deal acceptable by the #uk . If there’s political will the excellent lawyers of the #EU can find a creative solution for the #backstop issue. And wisdom should prevail btw the EU and U.K.

In the future there will be no relation more important for the #uk than the one with the #EU . And for the #eu also there will be no third country more important than the #uk. It’s crucial to avoid resentment in the way the withdrawal is made. I hope the #eucouncil understands it

4.28pm GMT

Tom Brake, the Lib Dem Brexit spokesman, seems to be on a mission to alienate Westminster political journalists. He has sent out a press release urging the government to cancel the Christmas parliamentary recess until there has been a vote on the Brexit deal. He explains:

At a time of so much uncertainty caused by this Brexit mess, it is an insult to the British people that Theresa May is happy for MPs to go on holiday without voting on the biggest issue in generations. People deserve better, and the Liberal Democrats demand better.

Liberal Democrats do not believe parliament should rise for the Christmas recess until Theresa May does what the people expect and give MPs a vote on her deal. Now more than ever MPs should be working to help their constituents, not least by giving them a final say on Brexit with the option to remain in the EU.

4.19pm GMT

Downing Street has now said the Commons vote on the Brexit deal will definitely not happen until after Christmas. At the afternoon lobby briefing, the prime minister’s spokeswoman said:

The ‘meaningful vote’ will not be brought to parliament before Christmas.

4.15pm GMT

And this is what Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach, said earlier after his meeting with Theresa May.

It was a very good meeting, it was an opportunity for all of us to put forward ideas that might work, things that might be considered. It really wouldn’t be helpful to go into that sort of detail.

[The threat of a no-deal Brexit] can be withdrawn at any point by the UK should they choose to revoke article 50 or, if that’s a step too far, to extend it to allow us more time, and to allow Britain more time. That’s certainly an option, but my preferred option is to ratify the deal we have.

4.09pm GMT

Over in Greece where memories are still fresh of the debt-stricken country’s own cliffhanger talks with the EU, the media are watching today’s events with a sense of déjà vu.

“May heads to Brussels with few hopes,” proclaimed the left-leaning Syntaktwn newspaper describing her survival of the confidence vote as a pyrrhic victory given the British PM had lost the support of a third of her MPs.

We Greeks are watching the unfolding of a situation which is somewhat paradoxical … we have seen how a country can enter a precarious phase when its establishment flounders and makes huge mistakes.

The difference between Greece and Britain? Basically, it is that we, as southern Europeans, are good at political acrobatics.

The British are making all the mistakes we made in Greece, but they lack our flexibility.

A British politician told me: “Obviously I believe there should be a second referendum and that a disorderly Brexit will be devastating. But I prefer [not to] because if parliament votes to have a second referendum we will become a banana republic. We will show that we do not respect the institutions and the opinion of the people.”

3.57pm GMT

And, talking of Ireland, Sky’s Faisal Islam has interviewed Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister. As Islam explains in a Twitter thread, starting here, Varadkar floated the idea of the UK revoking article 50 to allow more time for the Brexit talks.

Just had fascinating exchange with Taoiseach Varadkar
- who said No to idea of bilateral deal between London & Dublin as way through impasse
- who said the EU can help if the UK wants to avoid No Deal with A59 extension
- backed enthusiastically the UK-Ireland 2030 World Cup bid pic.twitter.com/YhTyLtLPzW

Shorter take:
EU leaders have effectively started public negotiations, not with Government, but with Parliament.

3.46pm GMT

RTE’s Tony Connelly says Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European commission, has resorted to sartorial diplomacy today to make a point about the EU standing behind the Republic of Ireland on the backstop issue.

⁦.@JunckerEU⁩ deliberately chose a green tie this morning, I’m told. #euco pic.twitter.com/GYdeDoXmoZ

3.38pm GMT

Theresa May was accused of putting “political power” ahead of “protecting victims of sexual abuse” by restoring the whip to suspended Tory MPs Andrew Griffiths and Charlie Elphicke. The issue come up during business questions in the Commons, where the Labour MP Jess Phillips read out some of the messages Griffiths sent to two young women. She said:

“She’s so cute, so sweet, I can’t wait to beat her. Can she take a beating?”

Not my words, but the words of the MP for Burton [Griffiths], as he was barraging two of his female constituents with thousands of sexual text messages.

Can she answer that question, and also answer me to what matters more; political power or protecting victims of sexual harassment and abuse?

There has been a process that has been undertaken, it has been a decision by the chief whip, it’s not something that I have been privy to.

They were elected as Conservatives. The restoration of the whip had been under consideration for some time, and the chief whip decided that in the circumstances of a leadership confidence ballot, it was right they have the whip restored to be able to vote in that.

3.12pm GMT

Xavier Bettel, the prime minister of Luxembourg, met Theresa May in Brussels before the formal start of today’s summit. He said it would not be possible to make significant changes to the withdrawal agreement. He said:

We won’t be able to do genuine changes. Renegotiating will be very, very hard, but if we need to do precisions or help Theresa May - I really want to help her.

3.01pm GMT

As Sebastian Kurz, the Austrian chancellor, was arriving at the EU summit (see 2.16pm), he was asked what concessions might succeed in winning over Theresa May’s domestic critics. He replied:

It is difficult to judge, because many of the sceptics do not argue in a way that is really rational.

2.52pm GMT

2.40pm GMT

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, also said the withdrawal agreement was closed as he arrived. These are from my colleagues Lisa O’Carroll.

Macron: "one cannot re open a legal agreement" "The discussion tonight is about politics". "We can have a political discussion , not legal"

Macron chimes with Merkel - no re-opening of negotiation on the withdrawal agreement.
"one cannot re open a legal agreement" "The discussion tonight is about politics". "We can have a political discussion , not legal"

Macron only spoke in French, usually stops to speak in English to Britpack, but declined this time.

It is important to avoid any ambiguity. We cannot reopen a legal agreement, we can’t renegotiate something which has been negotiated over several months. We can have a political discussion in this context.

2.33pm GMT

2.16pm GMT

You’ve got to hand it to the EU27; when it comes to message discipline, they are hard to fault. Sebastian Kurz, the Austrian chancellor, has arrived and he, too, is saying that the Brexit deal must stand, but that it could be clarified. He told reporters:

The deal we already have is a good one. I think there is also an understanding from Theresa May that there will be no new negotiation of the withdrawal agreement.

But, of course ... I think there will be some readiness from our side to maybe find some better explanation about the future relationship ...

If the British prime minister thinks one or another additional explanation can be helpful before she brings it to a vote, then we should do that.

2.06pm GMT

And Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, also told reporters as he arrived at the summit that he did not expect the withdrawal agreement to be opened.

Asked if it would be possible to give the British a new legal commitment relating to the backstop, he replied:

It depends on what you mean with legal. That is very difficult if you are not going to break open the withdrawal agreement.

Nobody, nobody, in the European Union wants [the backstop] to be triggered. But you need have this last resort if by 2021 or 2022 you have not by then decided on the new relationship. You need to maintain stability in Ireland. And it’s all about clarification tonight ...

We are working first of all on the assumption, and the absolute conviction, that the deal itself is non-negotiable. So today is about clarification ...

I feel respect. She is an able leader. I admire her tenacity and resilience. She’s a great leader. And if you saw the Labour people laughing at her when she said ‘I listened’ [in the Commons on Monday], I felt this was not very British. She stood there and kept her composure and won this fight within her party. I have the highest admiration for her.

What Rutte didn't say in his English comments: 'If anyone in the Netherlands thinks Nexit is a good idea, look at England and see the enormous damage it does' https://t.co/p62fQGnEtu

1.56pm GMT

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, has played down hopes of a major give-away for the UK. Arriving at the summit, she said:

Yesterday we have seen that the PM has survived the vote and can continue with her work, that is good news.

And we will hear from her again about what her ideas are. However, I would also like to say that I believe the exit agreement has been well negotiated and we will discuss among ourselves afterwards how we will proceed.

1.37pm GMT

At the Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee this morning, Sir Mark Sedwill, the cabinet secretary, admitted that some government departments had “paused” domestic policy work to focus on preparing for Brexit. He told the committee:

Some departments have paused some of their other domestic policy agenda in order to focus their attention on planning for March 29.

That partly reflects the nature of their Brexit portfolio compared to others ... each department essentially needs to make its own judgment between the secretary of the state and the permanent secretary about what their capacity is to deliver.

The central point here is this: that of course we can make contingency plans, but we don’t have complete control over the circumstances that would pertain in the event of leaving without a deal on March 29.

There are things that no government can control.

That is not what I said. I said it was less orderly and it was disorderly v an orderly. It might be inconvenient but I’m here to tell you what I think is really going on.

1.25pm GMT

Here is more on what the German papers are saying about Brexit.

“Take a look at that,” writes the Volksstimme, a regional newspaper based in the city of Magdeburg. It goes on:

May does have the ability to win. The crazy Tories who wanted to fire her with a vote of no confidence have failed. May will stay in her roles as party leader and prime minister. But this is a pyrrhic victory for her. The Brexit row has not moved on at all following this London intrigue. It has only served to cement the opposing positions within the largest governing party. All this hue and cry ... is only continuing to make British politicians and their people continue to look quite ridiculous. May has been demoted to a supplicant on the starting day of the EU summit.

May’s victory on Wednesday evening has not removed any of the stones on her path. The Tories remain split over Brexit ... and for the exit deal secured with Brussels there continues to be no majority in parliament. But whether the increased authority she has secured will help her to achieve more concessions over the Irish border question – which she needs in order to convince the British parliament – remains questionable.

When the leaders of the EU meet they will be looking at the smithereens that the Brexit referendum has left behind it. Two and a half years after the vote, this pile of rubble has already become so huge, that it is completely unclear whether it can be swept away. The imponderabilities in the Brexit drama are no less since PM Theresa May survived a vote of confidence. London continues to be governed by chaos. For the EU this can only mean that it has to act in a responsible way. As the council president, Donald Tusk, put it in an honest albeit rather perplexed way, it’s clear that the EU wants to help Britain, the question is only how. This is a good question ...

[But] even if both sides want to remain friends, in the negotiations over Brexit they can be nothing but opponents. And regardless of how complex the discussions might be, at the core it’s a banal fact: the EU needs to ensure that no one is tempted to imitate Brexit. It cannot allow an exit from the EU to be something worthwhile. This is responsible politics. One might also say: self-protection ... and when held up against the confusion in London the union cuts quite a good figure.

1.16pm GMT

Juha Sipilä, the prime minister of Finland, told reporters as he arrived at the EU summit that it would be “difficult” to provide the UK with the legally binding assurances on the backstop that Theresa May wants.

Asked if it would be possible to offer legally binding assurances, he replied:

Legally binding will be a little bit difficult.

But we all want to help [May] first of all, and then our goal is that the new relationship will be [in place] before the backstop.

This Irish question is very important for all of us. We have to have some kind of solution in case there is no deal for the future relationship. This is the reason why this backstop is there. But our primary goal is to find a solution for the [future] relationship so that we don’t need any backstops.

12.54pm GMT

Here are the main points from Theresa May’s brief statement to reporters on her arrival at the EU summit.

I don’t expect an immediate breakthrough, but what I do hope is that we can start to work as quickly as possible on the assurances that are necessary.

Can I just say a word about yesterday, which was a difficult day. And I’m grateful for the significant support I had from colleagues. But I have also heard loud and clear the concerns of those who didn’t feel able to support me. And I know the concerns there are in the House of Commons about this issue of the backstop, that they do not want it to be permanent.

And what I will be talking to European leaders about here today is what we need to get this deal over the line. I’ve already met Leo Varadkar, I will be addressing the European council later, and I will be showing the legal and political assurances that I believe we need to assuage the concerns that members of parliament have on this issue.

Yes. I have said that, in my heart I would love to be able to lead the Conservative party into the next general election, but I think it is right that the party feels it would prefer to go into that election with a new leader.

No. What I’m clear about is the next general election is in 2022 and I think it is right that another party leader takes us into that general election.

12.32pm GMT

Theresa May has arrived at the EU HQ for the formal start of today’s summit.

Speaking to reporters, she says she will be asking for assurances to assuage the concerns of MPs on the backstop.

12.19pm GMT

The editorials in today’s German newspapers are without exception indignant in tone about the political chaos in the UK. (The German version of what we now know the Scottish refer to as a clusterbùrach is a ”Tohuwabohu”, by the way.)

In a page-long commentary, the tabloid Bild says the unofficial motto of British politics right now is: “If that’s reality, I don’t want to have anything to do with it.” It says this applies equally to the Tories as to Labour.

Without an agreement the country is threatened with an economic disaster, according to its own central bank? Other people – not the politicians - are to blame.

It has become nothing more than a game of running down the clock, rather than finding a clear line and accepting the fact that there is a price to pay for an EU exit. Theresa May upturned the overdue parliamentary vote on the deal earlier in the week, and as a result the conservative Tories forced her a confidence vote, which she won by 200 to 117 votes.

11.45am GMT

At the Downing Street lobby briefing, when asked if the decision not to schedule the Brexit vote next week meant it would definitely be postponed until January, the prime minister’s spokeswoman was non-committal. All she said was:

We will be guided by the pace at which we can get the assurances that parliament needs. And obviously, a key part of that is happening today and tomorrow in Brussels, where the PM is meeting fellow leaders.

11.34am GMT

As well as her meetings in Brussels with Leo Varadkar, the Irish PM, and Donald Tusk, president of the European council, Theresa May has also got a bilateral scheduled with Xavier Bettel, the prime minister of Luxembourg, before the summit proper starts this afternoon.

11.24am GMT

It is generally assumed that the Tory Brexiters operate and vote as a bloc, but that is a mistake. The European Research Group was divided three weeks ago, when some members wanted to trigger a no confidence vote then and others didn’t. And this morning we’ve seen a more subtle split in the Brexiter ranks. While figures like Jacob Rees-Mogg (see 9.37am) and Steve Baker (see 9.51am) have continued to denounced the PM and her plan (“implacable Brexiters”), Sky News found another Brexiter who adopted a very different tone. If there are more like Nigel Evans (“biddable Brexiters’), then there might be a sliver of hope for Theresa May.

Evans would not say how he voted in the no confidence vote, because he is a secretary of the 1922 Committee and its officers agreed not to reveal how they voted, but he has always been placed squarely in the Brexiter camp. In the Guardian list of how MPs plan to vote on the deal, we have him down as committed opponent.

I think she now generally has the support of the vast majority of the party. We accept the verdict of yesterday, that Theresa had the confidence of two thirds of the party. Now I believe today she has the confidence of the vast majority of the Conservative party, apart from a very small number, for her to continue that negotiation with the European Union.

One leaver who's made headlines in recent dramas tells me could back May's deal with legal change. This could yet turn into impassioned debate about legal force of codicils

10.58am GMT

Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, is meeting Theresa May in Brussels. He has just tweeted a picture.

First meeting of the day here in Brussels is with ⁦@theresa_may⁩ Summit in the Irish delegation rooms before this afternoon’s ⁦@EUCouncil⁩. We’re talking state of play with #Brexit pic.twitter.com/ZqQjEhORy3

10.56am GMT

This is from Jenny Hill, the BBC’s Berlin correspondent.

And just in case you were in any doubt as to German position, the Bundestag has just agreed to oppose renegotiation of Brexit deal. Majority of MPs voted in favour of a motion which states ‘it would be an illusion to hope that a rejection of the deal could lead to renegotiations’

10.50am GMT

When pressed by Labour’s Valerie Vaz in business questions on when the vote on the Brexit deal would take place (see 10.45am), Andrea Leadsom, the Commons leader, would just say that the government has given a commitment to hold the debate before 21 January.

10.45am GMT

In the Commons Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the Commons, has just announced the business for next week. It does not include a vote on the Brexit deal.

That means it won’t take place until January, because the Christmas recess starts a week today.

The business for next week will be: pic.twitter.com/NXk2ctECNx

10.42am GMT

Here is an extract from the AFP’s story about the EU summit starting this afternoon.

The other 27 EU countries have drawn up a six-paragraph statement designed to appease concerns about the “Irish backstop” in the Brexit withdrawal and ease the deal’s passage through the British parliament.

According to European diplomats, the leaders will not allow the backstop nor the deal itself – which was only agreed at the end of last month – to be renegotiated at this stage.

EU leaders won't give May much until January, for fear that the Brexiteers will just ask for more now - key details from @AFP story on today's #EUCO summit pic.twitter.com/3IEuLFBc2P

10.25am GMT

The UK supreme court has ruled that a key part of the Scottish government’s emergency Brexit legislation breaches the law, because ministers in Edinburgh cannot veto legislation introduced by the UK government.

UK ministers said the ruling vindicated their decision to challenge legislation introduced by the Scottish parliament earlier this year in a constitutional confrontation over the repatriation of EU powers into domestic law.

10.13am GMT

Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative Brexiter and former party leader, also criticised Philip Hammond for his saying the Brexiters were “extremists”. (See 10.06am.) Speaking on the Today programme, Duncan Smith said:

I have one simple message for the chancellor: When you start turning on your own party and making accusations about them, that’s the beginning of the end for your party.

You need to moderate your language and recognise that a party is a coalition and we need to get this thing through the line. I do not want to see the party where it is at the moment.

10.06am GMT

James Cleverly, the deputy chairman of the Conservative party, has also joined those speaking out against Philip Hammond for his comment yesterday about Theresa May’s opponents being “extremists”. He does not name Hammond, but it is obvious that he is referring to the chancellor in this tweet.

Some colleagues, perhaps out of frustration, saying foolish things about other Conservatives.

Now would be a good time to stop.

Respect the results of the two referendums; 52% to leave the EU and 63% to support @theresa_may

There’s work to do.

Hearing the PM rebuked the chancellor after he described some Brexiteers as extremists.

Source said she told room: “There are no extremists here”

What this vote today will do is flush out the extremists who are trying to advance a particular agenda which would really not be in the interests of the British people or the British economy. Leaving the European Union without a deal would be bad for Britain.

9.57am GMT

Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, has said he is holding last-minute talks with Theresa May ahead of today’s EU summit.

Ahead of #EUCO I will meet PM @theresa_may for last-minute talks.

9.51am GMT

Steve Baker, the former Brexit minister and deputy chairman of the European Research Group, which represents Tory MPs pushing for a harder Brexit, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that Theresa May should stage the vote on the Brexit deal soon. He said:

I’d like the prime minister to bring this deal forwards, let us vote it down, so it can go back to the European Union and we can say this clearly won’t go through parliament, we need to change the backstop.

It’s an awful deal, the country doesn’t want it. Parliament would overwhelmingly reject it. This isn’t personal, this is about the policy being wrong for the country long-term.

9.48am GMT

Sir Bill Cash, the Tory Brexiter, has just told BBC News that there is no chance of his lining up with Labour to vote against the government in a no confidence motion. Asked about the chances of this happening, he replied: “None at all.”

That may not sound at all surprising, but there has been speculation that Brexiters like Cash are so determined to see Brexit happen that they would rather bring down their own government than allow it to do something that would deliver a softer Brexit, or no Brexit at all.

9.43am GMT

The Press Association has snapped this.

The supreme court has ruled that parts of a Brexit bill passed by the Scottish government would be outside its legislative powers.

9.42am GMT

And, since we’re on the subject of Jacob Rees-Mogg, this is what the pro-European Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt posted on Twitter last night after watching Rees-Mogg on Newsnight.

They never, ever stop. Votes against them, letters going in late- nothing matters to ERG. After the apocalypse, all that will be left will be ants and Tory MPs complaining about Europe and their leader. https://t.co/n3Jt04CjJe

9.37am GMT

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Tory Brexiter and chair of the European Research Group, which was the driving force behind the move to oust Theres May, was also on the Today programme this morning. After the result was declared last night he said that May should resign, and this morning, when it was put to him that she was staying put, he claimed that she might think again. He said:

You may remember that Margaret Thatcher... said ‘We fight on, we fight to win’. Nobody was tougher than Mrs Thatcher, and the next day she resigned. So it’s not impossible.

I think Theresa May should consider what she said last night. I agree with her that we do want somebody who can unite the country and the Conservative party and she has to ask herself is she realistically that person?

It wasn’t referred to as that by me, I think it was only referred to as that by our opponents. I think it’s a deeply disagreeable term invented by people who wanted to support the prime minister. I never heard anybody refer to it as that, I would not have dreamt of referring to it as that. I think it’s deeply silly to have done so, and I don’t think it came from us, it came from others.

Don’t take the chancellor too seriously when he gets a little bit over-excited - an unusual state for him, it has to be said.

9.18am GMT

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

Here is the agenda for the day.

8.57am GMT

The Brexit secretary, Steve Barclay, has indicated that the government will try to run down the clock in the hope of getting the withdrawal agreement through parliament. Speaking on the Today programme he said:

It is a question of having the time. The prime minister through the mandate she secured from the parliamentary party last night, now has the time to have those discussions with European colleagues.

The question is how do we ensure that that movement is sufficient for colleagues. But colleagues also need to focus on the alternatives – the alternatives deals also require a backstop.

The prime minister has been very clear that this is the only deal that will command the confidence of the house. But there is an issue that she has listened to colleagues on, the issue of the backstop, that’s why she is back out in Brussels again today.

All of us say sometimes things in interviews which we perhaps could have phrased in a better way. It’s not the phraseology I have would of used.

8.08am GMT

Former cabinet minister Nicky Morgan suggested that a split in the Conservatives may be looming, with hardline Eurosceptics leaving the party.

She told the BBC:

I think there’s an inevitability that some of these people – the hardest Brexiteers – are going to walk.

There may be some sort of reconfiguration of parties on the right of the UK political spectrum and that may be something we are going to have to accept in order to get a Brexit deal through the House of Commons.

8.05am GMT

George Freeman, the Conservative MP and former head of the PM’s policy board, warned that the PM faces further struggles to get her Brexit plan through parliament, PA reports. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

I think there will be at least one if not two or three defeats before opposition MPs and Conservative MPs start to realise that they’ve done their signalling and now it’s real.

One of the reasons I think it’s important that the prime minister stayed is that whoever leads through this, I think, will be finished by it.

I’ve no doubt that there will have been people in the room there who applauded the prime minister but are part of one campaign or another.

I’ve had potential leadership candidates approaching me. I’ve had people I haven’t spoken to in nine years since I was first elected in 2010 using this opportunity to sell their own credentials and engage in a private beauty parade.

7.53am GMT

Iain Duncan Smith, the Brexiter former Tory leader, told the Today programme that the last thing people wanted was a government of national unity with the Tory party reaching out to the Labour party to get May’s Brexit deal through. That idea was coming from “a mad place”, he told Today.

People like me have never voted against the Conservative party in decades.

If you think you can reach out to the Labour party with the leadership they have got at the moment you must be living in a mad place, because there is no way on earth the public want to see us deal with the Labour party.

The reality is for them the biggest issue for them is the backstop. If that’s not resolved they cannot go back to their electorate and say we allow that to go through where we are basically tied to Ireland. that would be a disaster for them.

7.50am GMT

Stephan Mayer, a minister in the German government, has insisted there is no scope for renegotiating the withdrawal agreement. Speaking to Today he said:

There were very serious negotiations for one year and now we closed these negotiations. I’m deeply convinced there is no better deal to achieve for the UK than what we have now.

We should do everything to find a solution. One thing is clear there is no room for changing the treatment [withdrawal] agreement itself. But I’m deeply convinced that the EU 27 should be open to push forward clarifications especially with regard to the backstop.

We should consider to make clarifications in the political declaration or elsewhere to avoid a hard Brexit. This must be the main objective for both sides for the United Kingdom and for the EU 27.

My perception is that Theresa May did negotiate quite well. After one year of negotiations the treaty which lays on the table isn’t too bad for both sides. It is not possible to achieve any better deal than that which is not laying on the table.

7.26am GMT

Former Tory leader and cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith confirmed he voted against May in last night’s vote, but was not one of the MPs who wrote to trigger the ballot.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he also called for changes to the withdrawal bill. “Yesterday’s vote said ‘engage’, ‘listen’,” he said.

7.17am GMT

The morning spinning against Theresa May has begun. Tory Brexiter Peter Bone said the result was “very damaging” against the prime minister.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast Bone pointed out that the majority of backbenchers voted against her. He said he hoped she could secure substantial changes to her withdrawal bill, but said this would be “difficult”.

7.12am GMT

That’s it from me, I’m handing over to my colleague Matthew Weaver.

7.02am GMT

Germany is not willing to renegotiate a backstop solution for Northern Ireland that is laid out in the draft agreement for Britain’s exit from the European Union, foreign minister Heiko Maas told Deutschlandfunk radio on Thursday.

6.52am GMT

A taste of the Brexit coverage from some European newspapers today. Süddeutsche Zeitung has “May is weakened but not weak”.

6.35am GMT

The pound largely held on to overnight gains on Thursday after the British prime minister, Theresa May, survived a no-confidence vote on her leadership, buying her more time to sell her unpopular Brexit deal to a deeply divided parliament.

Sterling held steady at $1.2627 in early trade on Thursday. It had bounced off a 20-month low of $1.2477 during the previous session, ending 1.1% higher on the day in the aftermath of the vote.

6.19am GMT

Timothy Garton Ash has written a letter to Europe, imploring them “tell us you want Britain to stay” He writes:

Dear European friends,

We are fast approaching a critical period in Britain’s Brexit drama. Incredible though it may seem, there is now a serious chance of the British voting in a second referendum to stay in the European Union. What an extraordinary boost that would be to the whole post-1945 project of building a better Europe!

6.00am GMT

No 10 will not be happy with today’s front pages, which are all about Theresa May’s survival in the no-confidence vote, but paint the win as less of a triumph for May than a pyrrhic victory.

The Sun tells the prime minister: “Time to call it a May”, showing its inability to pass up any opportunity to get a play on words into their headline. Let’s hope for the sake of the Sun’s subeditors that whoever is PM next has a name that lends itself equally well to punning.

Tomorrow's front page: Theresa May was left wounded after a battering by Tory Brexit rebels in a make-or-break confidence vote https://t.co/SZTSNZoCZq pic.twitter.com/3OO11Qrm85

Tomorrow's front page: It's lame duck for Christmas#tomorrowspaperstoday https://t.co/fFIeHwiekz pic.twitter.com/xL0ijW0Qzv

The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph 'A vote to Remain, but when will she leave?' #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/t5XG22nstC

FINANCIAL TIMES: May survives Brexiter challenge but margin fails to quash revolt #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/p48ZZRZqSD

The Guardian front page, Thursday 13 December 2018: Tory coup fails. But scale of rebellion damages May pic.twitter.com/ZPOVCnTkbR

Thursday's front page: Stay of execution - Theresa May unable to pass her deal, and Tories unable to oust Theresa May #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/iLWDQtagdo

THE TIMES: May scrapes home #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/A58v5ABXls

EXPRESS: Now just let her get on with it #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/jBhPRSqbAc

DAILY MAIL: Now let her get on with the job! #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/oaEihTtsOv

5.43am GMT

Politicians are heading back to Brussels for further discussions about the Brexit deal.

Helen McEntee, the Irish minister for European Affairs, has tweeted a view from her car (which I’m hoping was not being driven by her) as she headed in for meetings at 6am, sharing it with the caption “#Backto Brussels #EUCouncil #tooearly”.

#BacktoBrussels #EUCouncil #tooearly pic.twitter.com/zGMuTFUpsD

5.22am GMT

Good morning and welcome back to another day of Politics live.

I’m Kate Lyons and will be steering the ship until Andrew Sparrow is up and about and takes things over in a few hours.

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Published on December 13, 2018 11:04

Theresa May heads to Brexit talks in Brussels after seeing off confidence vote – politics live

PM won party backing by 83 votes but faces uphill battle to get her deal through Commons

Full story: May defeats leadership challenge What the papers said: ‘Her goose is cooked’ - papers wonder how long PM can last Theresa May: a crisis of confidence – Today in Focus podcast

8.08am GMT

Former cabinet minister Nicky Morgan suggested that a split in the Conservatives may be looming, with hardline Eurosceptics leaving the party.

She told the BBC:

“I think there’s an inevitability that some of these people - the hardest Brexiteers - are going to walk.

“There may be some sort of reconfiguration of parties on the right of the UK political spectrum and that may be something we are going to have to accept in order to get a Brexit deal through the House of Commons.”

8.05am GMT

May’s former policy adviser George Freeman warned that the PM faces further struggles to get her Brexit plan through Parliament, PA reports.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think there will be at least one if not two or three defeats before opposition MPs and Conservative MPs start to realise that they’ve done their signalling and now it’s real.”

7.53am GMT

Iain Duncan Smith says the last people want is a government of national unity with the Tory party reaching out to the Labour party to get her Brexit deal through.

That would put be ‘a mad place”, he told Today.

7.50am GMT

Stephan Mayer, a minister in the German government, has insisted there is no scope for renegotiating the withdrawal agreement.

Speaking to Today he said: “There were very serious negotiations for one year and now we closed these negotiations. I’m deeply convinced there is no better deal to achieve for the UK than what we have now.”

We should consider to make clarifications in the political declaration or elsewhere to avoid a hard Brexit. This must be the main objective for both sides for the United Kingdom and for the EU 27.

7.26am GMT

Former Tory leader and cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith confirmed he voted against May in last night’s vote, but was not one of the MPs who wrote to trigger the ballot.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he also called for changes to the withdrawal bill. “Yesterday’s vote said ‘engage’, ‘listen’,” he said.

7.17am GMT

The morning spinning against Theresa May has begun. Tory Brexiter Peter Bone said the result was “very damaging” against the prime minister.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast Bone pointed out that the majority of backbenchers voted against her. He said he hoped she could secure substantial changes to her withdrawal bill, but accepted this will be “difficult”.

7.12am GMT

That’s it from me, I’m handing over to my colleague Matthew Weaver.

7.02am GMT

Germany is not willing to renegotiate a backstop solution for Northern Ireland that is laid out in the draft agreement for Britain’s exit from the European Union, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told Deutschlandfunk radio on Thursday.

6.52am GMT

A taste of the Brexit coverage from some European newspapers today. Suddeutsche Zeitung has “May is weakened but not weak”.

6.35am GMT

Sterling held steady at $1.2627 in early trade on Thursday. It had bounced off a 20-month low of $1.2477 during the previous session, ending 1.1% higher on the day in the aftermath of the vote.

6.19am GMT

Timothy Garton Ash has written a letter to Europe, imploring them “tell us you want Britain to stay” He writes:

Dear European friends,

6.00am GMT

No 10 will not be happy with today’s front pages, which are all about Theresa May’s survival in the no-confidence vote, but paint the win as less of a triumph for May than a pyrrhic victory.

The Sun tells the prime minister “Time to call it a May”, showing its inability to pass up any opportunity to get a play on words into their headline. Let’s hope for the sake of the Sun’s sub-editors that whoever is PM next has a name that lends itself equally well to punning.

Tomorrow's front page: Theresa May was left wounded after a battering by Tory Brexit rebels in a make-or-break confidence vote https://t.co/SZTSNZoCZq pic.twitter.com/3OO11Qrm85

Tomorrow's front page: It's lame duck for Christmas#tomorrowspaperstoday https://t.co/fFIeHwiekz pic.twitter.com/xL0ijW0Qzv

The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph 'A vote to Remain, but when will she leave?' #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/t5XG22nstC

FINANCIAL TIMES: May survives Brexiter challenge but margin fails to quash revolt #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/p48ZZRZqSD

The Guardian front page, Thursday 13 December 2018: Tory coup fails. But scale of rebellion damages May pic.twitter.com/ZPOVCnTkbR

Thursday's front page: Stay of execution - Theresa May unable to pass her deal, and Tories unable to oust Theresa May #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/iLWDQtagdo

THE TIMES: May scrapes home #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/A58v5ABXls

EXPRESS: Now just let her get on with it #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/jBhPRSqbAc

DAILY MAIL: Now let her get on with the job! #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/oaEihTtsOv

5.43am GMT

Politicians are heading back to Brussels for further discussions about the Brexit deal.

Helen McEntee, the Irish minister for European Affairs has tweeted a view from her car (which I’m hoping was not being driven by her) as she headed in for meetings at 6am, sharing it with the caption “#Backto Brussels #EUCouncil #tooearly”.

#BacktoBrussels #EUCouncil #tooearly pic.twitter.com/zGMuTFUpsD

5.22am GMT

Good morning and welcome back to another day of Politics live.

I’m Kate Lyons and will be steering the ship until Andrew Sparrow is up and about and takes things over in a few hours.

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Published on December 13, 2018 00:17

December 12, 2018

My message to Europe: tell us you want Britain to stay | Timothy Garton Ash

Leaders across Europe might want to get Brexit over the line. But in the long term the EU would be weaker without the UK

Dear European friends,

Of course we might lose the referendum vote again. Even then, the country would be in no worse a position than it is now

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Published on December 12, 2018 22:00

November 16, 2018

Europe’s door is still open – but Britain will have to move fast | Timothy Garton Ash

The EU is fed up with the UK’s Brexit drama, but would extend article 50 to allow for a second referendum

As Britain agonises over its destiny, I’ve been in Brussels discovering what other Europeans think about Brexit – and therefore what real options Britain still has. Essentially, there are just two. Europe’s door is still open for Britain to stay, if we vote to do so in a second referendum, preferably before the European elections in late May. Otherwise, most of our fellow Europeans would rather we left on 29 March, leaving everything else to be sorted out later and allowing them to get on with confronting their own big challenges.

Of course, it’s impossible to generalise about the views of some 450 million Europeans, but among the leaders and official representatives of the 27 other member states, and the European institutions, there is a remarkable degree of consensus. They are fed up to the back teeth with how long the Brexit drama has taken and how unrealistic the British side has been.

Britannia has put a pistol to her own head and said, 'Give us a good deal or I will shoot myself'

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Published on November 16, 2018 22:00

October 18, 2018

If you think Brexit will leave us weaker and poorer, march for a people’s vote | Timothy Garton Ash

Rather than walking the country off a gangplank and into thin air, parliament should go back to the electorate

Enough! Let us put an end to this national humiliation. Around the world, Britain is increasingly viewed with pity or contempt. Brexit, were it to happen, would be the most consequential and gratuitous act of national self-harm in our recent history.

It is now crystal clear that there is no available deal with the rest of the European Union that can realise even a fraction of Brexit’s stated objectives. The only good way forward is for parliament to put the question back to the people, and for the people to decide that Britain should stay in the EU. To achieve that, everyone who possibly can needs to turn out in London tomorrow to march for a people’s vote.

Ultimately I must be true to what we all know in our heads and feel in our hearts: the only good Brexit is no Brexit

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Published on October 18, 2018 21:59

September 27, 2018

It’s not just Trump. Much of America has turned its back on Europe | Timothy Garton Ash

The United States is no longer passionate about the transatlantic alliance; its president is reflecting the national mood

Can Donald Trump get any worse? Yes, he can. But our fixation on his personal awfulness, which was on full display at the UN this week, blinds us to the larger forces behind his Trumpery. Over the last few days here in Washington, I’ve been trying to work out what will be left of the old transatlantic west even if Trump departs the scene in January 2021 – or, pray heaven, sooner. The answer is sobering. Even in the best case, the United States and its international alliances are not going to bounce back as they did after the era of Watergate and Vietnam. This time is different, for reasons that lie both inside and beyond the US.

Yes, Trump is personally responsible for much of the damage. In the already famous anonymous op-ed in the New York Times, a “senior official” wrote: “In public and in private, President Trump shows a preference for autocrats and dictators, such as President Vladimir Putin of Russia and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, and displays little genuine appreciation for the ties that bind us to allied, like-minded nations.” Trump demonstrated that once again in this week’s address to the UN general assembly. He is an activist of the Xi-Putin-Orbán sovereigntist front, that impossible international of nationalists, and a sworn enemy of liberal order.

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Published on September 27, 2018 22:00

July 26, 2018

A humiliating Brexit deal risks a descent into Weimar Britain | Timothy Garton Ash

The EU must not impose a punitive exit agreement on the UK. The fallout from a resentful nation would be felt throughout the continent

Over the next year or two we could witness the emergence of a rancid, angry Britain: a society riven by domestic divisions and economic difficulties, let down by its ruling classes, fetid with humiliation and resentment. Any such country is a danger both to itself and to its neighbours. This prospect will come closest, fastest, if there is no deal on Brexit and Britain crashes out of the European Union, with what the country’s top civil servant has described as “horrendous consequences”. We have been warned that these could include miles-long queues of lorries at Dover, planes grounded, and the army called in to distribute emergency supplies of food and medicine.

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Published on July 26, 2018 22:00

July 8, 2018

Liberal Europe isn’t dead yet. But its defenders face a long, hard struggle | Timothy Garton Ash

Populism is gripping the heart of Europe. Those fighting it must reclaim the idea of the nation from the nationalists

One of the most memorable book titles in the English language is The Strange Death of Liberal England. Are we now witnessing the strange death of liberal Europe? As anti-liberal populism grips the very heart of Europe, threatening even the throne of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, the danger is in plain view. There is a new political dividing line in Europe, at least as important as the old line between left and right. It splits existing parties and throws up new ones. It opens new fronts between nations as well as parties. On one side, there is the camp of Merkron (Merkel-Macron), on the other, that of Orbvini (Orbán-Salvini).

Immigration is a symbolic issue, gathering concerns about culture and identity like metal filings on a magnet

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Published on July 08, 2018 22:00

May 31, 2018

Macron’s plan to save Europe is compelling – but he’s on his own | Timothy Garton Ash

The French president is the best European leader we’ve got. But without support from Germany, there’s little he can do

France is back: vigorous, lucid, ambitious. Hurray. But who else is there to help get Europe going again? Italy is having a nervous breakdown, Spain weighed down by trouble at home, Poland throwing a massive wobbly, Britain hovering near the exit, and Germany slumped on the sofa. Talk about a dysfunctional family.

But let’s dwell for a moment on the good news. Macron is spelling out a coherent vision for reviving Europe, while briskly proceeding with long-overdue change at home. Twelve months into his five-year term, he has used his parliamentary majority and the extraordinary power of the presidency created by Charles de Gaulle to push through a whole raft of domestic reforms. His government is considering what Le Figaro calls a “vast programme” to cut public spending by around €100bn (£88bn) over the five years of his term. Here in Paris, train strikes make getting about a little bit more complicated, but the inevitable protests have so far been modest by French standards. If the eurozone economy keeps growing – and with the Italian crisis, that’s now a bigger if – France could not only have more growth but, crucially, more jobs.

I looked across to Merkel and I reckon she gave about two perfunctory handclaps, maybe two and a half

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Published on May 31, 2018 08:08

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