Key events
Jedidajah Otte
This from my colleague Heather Stewart:
Results of the (right-wing) 92 group hustings this evening – not great for Raab, this should be a happy hunting-ground for him… pic.twitter.com/GlFgfs6esQ
— Heather Stewart (@GuardianHeather) June 10, 2019
All the fun jousting aside, Tom Kibasi from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) shares Michael Gove’s belief that it’s ultimately between Gove and Boris Johnson.
Gove is the only pro-deal candidate with the Brexit bona fides to take on Boris Johnson and win. The no dealers in the Tory Party and Tory press know this. That’s why they’ve focused on taking him down.
— Tom Kibasi (@TomKibasi) June 10, 2019
I’m going to wrap up now. Goodnight everyone.
This just in from Sky’s Beth Rigby:
NEW. This is what I’ve been sent on the ‘92 Group Hustings (to the right of the party). Johnson romped home. Raab fading >> Johnson: 34 Raab: 18 Gove: 6 McVey: 6 Harper: 5 Javid: 5 Hunt: 2 Leadsom: 2 Hancock: 0 Stewart: 0
— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) June 10, 2019
These ‘92 Group endorsements are in stark contrast to the wider party, as the Independent’s John Rentoul has just shared:
Leadership contender Rory Stewart, the international development secretary, who will launch his campaign tomorrow, has accused rival candidates of having made “reckless” tax and spending pledges.
This from the Press Association:
[Stewart] said the “eye-watering” cost of his rivals’ promises risked undermining the party’s reputation for economic prudence.
According to figures released by Mr Stewart’s campaign team, Dominic Raab is the biggest spender so far with 38.2 billion of tax cuts promised.
They include raising the national insurance threshold to 12,500, scrapping stamp duty on homes under 500,000, and a 5p cut in the basic rate of income tax.
He was followed by Michael Gove, whose promise to scrap VAT and replace it with a lower and simpler sales tax was put at 20 billion.
Boris Johnson’s plan to raise the 40% tax threshold from 50,000 to 80,000 was said to cost 14.1 billion, Jeremy Hunt’s promise to cut corporation tax to 12.5% was put at 11 billion, and Sajid Javid’s suggestion he could scrap the top rate of tax was put at 700,000.
In all, Mr Stewart said their commitments added up to 84 billion.
“We must restore – for Britain and for the Conservative Party – our reputation for economic and fiscal prudence. We simply cannot make spending and tax cut promises that we can’t keep,” he said. “This number – of total spending promises by other candidates in this campaign – is eye-watering. We have to be straight with people, truthful on Brexit, and truthful on spending. “We cannot criticise Jeremy Corbyn for reckless spending pledges if we start doing the same ourselves. Cheap electoral bribes could cost us dear. Our members are smarter than this.”Mr Stewart said he would use the fiscal “headroom” from a “good” Brexit deal to invest in education and infrastructure, while borrowing to fund marketable assets such as houses as part of a drive to build two million new homes.
Dominic Raab, whose leadership campaign slogan is “For a fairer Britain”, just posted a video of his Q&A session earlier on Twitter. Asked what exactly he hoped to achieve in regard to the withdrawal agreement, Raab said he planned “a targeted forensic change to the backstop”, and that he was “absolutely committed” to leaving “on WTO-terms” if that wouldn’t bring the deal through the House of Commons.
Really enjoyed my launch this morning, taking questions from the media about my plan for a #FairerBritain. As candidates for the highest office it is important that we face scrutiny.https://t.co/BIJyb8DgJH
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) June 10, 2019
My colleague Jessica Elgot has written up how that PLP meeting went for Jeremy Corbyn tonight. Spoiler alert: apparently not very well.
And here we have what looks like a plot twist, served hot by the BBC’s Iain Watson:
Outside unofficial @Conservatives leadership hustings a leading Brexiteer emerges to rate Sajid Javid and Andrea Leadsom as ‘good’, Jeremy Hunt as ‘fair’ and Boris Johnson as ‘weak’
— iain watson (@iainjwatson) June 10, 2019
Here is my colleague Polly Toynbee’s take on the final ten in the Tory den:
The Conservative MP Lucy Allan has endorsed Sajid Javid’s leadership bid.
A very good thread by Sky’s Lewis Goodall on the very different treatments Michael Gove and Boris Johnson have enjoyed in the aftermath of their respective cocaine-gates.
Yesterday I observed that there is a stark set of double standards operating about the cocaine use of Michael Gove vs Boris Johnsson in this leadership contest. Johnson has now denied he ever took the drug. I have scoured the archives for everything we know about it. Here it is. https://t.co/9QEUnZgMRY
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) June 10, 2019
In 2005, under pressure from Paul Merton and Ian Hislop on HIGNFY, Johnson said he’d been offered cocaine and characteristically made a joke about it:
“I think I was once given cocaine but I sneezed and so it did not go up my nose. In fact, I may have been doing icing sugar.” pic.twitter.com/Or6OKhXVGD
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) June 10, 2019
Then in July 2007, Mr Johnson gave an interview to GQ magazine. This particular passage was widely reported at the time but weirdly is now absent from the online version of the interview. I’m not sure why. He apparently told them he tried cocaine at Oxford. I’ve enquired with GQ. pic.twitter.com/58o8QHHgr4
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) June 10, 2019
If this is an accurate quote (it is still widely reported to this day) note the story has morphed. It now says Johnson tried it but it had no effect. Regardless of this passage….
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) June 10, 2019
…he later expanded on this account with Janet Street Porter in Marie Claire in 2008. This exchange followed. He doesn’t demur from the direct allegation that he “snorted coke”, he just says he did it when he was 19. Seems quite conclusive. pic.twitter.com/RMSbBSSwf5
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) June 10, 2019
Fastforward to today his office is now saying this version is correct. He is ergo absolved because he didn’t insufflate (the statment implies he didn’t accept it at all) and even then he doesn’t know for sure if it were coke.
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) June 10, 2019
That, however, goes against the account he gave in the original 2007 GQ interview. Piers Morgan pressed him on whether or not it actually went into his nose. Johnson replied: “It must have done, yes, but it didn’t do much for me I can tell you.” pic.twitter.com/FsKl04CsF6
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) June 10, 2019
In sum we know that at some point Mr Johnson was offered at least something he thought was cocaine and attempted to take it.
His defence has been manifold and mutated and reverted over time.
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) June 10, 2019
This is some pretty high calibre dissembling. It would be good to hear from Mr. Johnson to settle these questions. It remains curious to me why Mr. Gove’s campaign has been derailed by these revelations, when Mr Johnson’s appears to be sailing smoothly ahead.
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) June 10, 2019
My colleagues Rowena Mason and Jessica Elgot on Jeremy Hunt’s very successful first day in the leadership battle – which has propelled him to second place in the race.
And here some impressions from the PLP gathering from BuzzFeed’s Hannah Al-Othman:
Jeremy Corbyn raised his voice at Wes Streeting, told him to be quiet after he brought up the EHRC investigation
— Hannah Al-Othman (@HannahAlOthman) June 10, 2019
Wes interjected when Corbyn was speaking about the Labour Party being anti-racist. Corbyn said shouted him down, apparently saying “I’m speaking.”
— Hannah Al-Othman (@HannahAlOthman) June 10, 2019
One MP leaving the meeting described it as “really heated”, “an absolute fucking car crash” and “the worst one I’ve been in”
— Hannah Al-Othman (@HannahAlOthman) June 10, 2019
Corbyn was getting it on all fronts. Jess Phillips attacked him over his record on harassment saying his friends get protected.
— Hannah Al-Othman (@HannahAlOthman) June 10, 2019
In his speech tonight Corbyn also referenced the Tory leadership contest: “Labour will never accept No Deal, which will hit living standards and prolong not end uncertainty. Nor will MPs from across parliament. We will work on a cross party basis to block a No Deal outcome.”
— Hannah Al-Othman (@HannahAlOthman) June 10, 2019
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg on the PLP meeting:
While Tories warming up for six weeks of campaigning and fighting over policy, sounds like PLP tonight was very stormy indeed – Labour in a bad place since Euro elections, tonight was Corbyn’s first appearance at MP s meeting in a while and it sounds like he had a very hard time
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) June 10, 2019
Meanwhile, things at that PLP meeting seem to have escalated somewhat.
My colleague Jessica Elgot reports a greatly charged atmosphere and protests from members against Jeremy Corbyn’s request that Labour staff and cabinet ministers be not criticised in public.
Corbyn tells PLP that staff and shadow cabinet ministers should not be publicly attacked. MPs saying they believe this refers to his chief of staff Karie Murphy, criticises over the weekend after revelations by @Gabriel_Pogrund about how she dealt with two harassment allegations
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) June 10, 2019
Meg Hillier speaking at PLP says members are leaving over antisemitism and says many disgusted at treatment of Emily Thornberry since she spoke out on Brexit policy on election night. MP calls her speech “excoriating.”
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) June 10, 2019
MPs in PLP now speaking who never really speak out. Huge cheers and whistles for Marie Rimmer who says she felt ashamed of Labour’s position.
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) June 10, 2019
Margaret Hodge is raising other issues surrounding Lisa Forbes, including her signing a letter opposing the IHRA definition
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) June 10, 2019
Before Hodge it was Lloyd Russell-Moyle speaking at PLP, one MP says he implies that senior members of staff who have direct influence on policy are not above criticism.
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) June 10, 2019
Labour MPs leaving now – one calling it “the absolute worst meeting ever.”
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) June 10, 2019
This from the Times’ Patrick Kidd on former defence secretary Michael Fallon’s endorsement of Boris Johnson:
Michael Fallon says that he is backing Boris Johnson to be PM because of experience. Many would say that this is exactly why he shouldn’t be PM. I wonder what Boris has actually done that so impresses Fallon.
— Patrick Kidd (@patrick_kidd) June 10, 2019
This from the Sun’s James Forsyth:
Michael Fallon, who was Defence Secretary when Boris Johnson was Foreign Secretary, backs Boris for PM. Tory leadership is fast becoming Boris’s to lose https://t.co/KhxdJZCMbY
— James Forsyth (@JGForsyth) June 8, 2019
Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, has also found blistering words to express the dismay the leadership contest is causing her:
We now face nearly two months of political paralysis while we are all subjected to the spectacle of Conservative party infighting. While that is going on, nothing will happen to address the real concerns of people in Britain over public services, the security of their jobs or the climate crisis.
The hypocrisy over drug-taking has been quite sickening. That’s matched only by the shamelessness of candidates throwing a few right-wing policy bones to the Conservative party membership, like tax cuts for the better-off, in the hope of buying their support.
The comments coming from some leadership contenders on how they would get round parliamentary opposition to a No Deal Brexit are deeply worrying, and show a contempt for parliamentary sovereignty and the democratic process in Britain.
When the UK was given a few months extension on the Brexit deadline, the EU warned us to use the time well. This precious time is not being well spent.
According to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, David Lidington is backing Matt Hancock in the Tory leadership race.
May’s Deputy, David Lidington backing Matt Hancock
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) June 10, 2019
This development seems to have stunned quite a few people. The Telegraph’s Christopher Hope has seized the opportunity to make a dig at Jeremy Hunt, who has had a rather successful day and is, as of today, one of the most dangerous contenders for Boris Johnson.
Wow! Some of us thought Jeremy Hunt was the continuity candidate for Theresa May, not Matt Hancock … https://t.co/76TGb7IKW0
— Christopher Hope📝 (@christopherhope) June 10, 2019