Leadership contest 1) Javid enters the race with a pledge to ‘restore trust’
‘Sajid Javid promised to bridge the Brexit divide and heal Britain as he became the ninth cabinet minister to join the race to succeed Theresa May. Shortly afterwards Kit Malthouse, a housing minister, became the tenth. The home secretary avoided setting out his position on a no-deal Brexit as he staged a belated entry into the Tory leadership contest. Instead, he declared his candidature with a short video on the need to “restore trust” and spread economic opportunities. Mr Javid, 49, the first home secretary from an ethnic minority, said that the results of the European election were “all too clear” about the need to “get on deliver Brexit”.’ – The Times
- ‘Friends’ claim he has wider appeal in the country than Johnson – FT
- He will pledge today to make 101 calls to report crime free – Daily Telegraph
- There’s almost enough candidates to make a football team – Matt Chorley, The Times
- Farage’s victory tilts the contest in favour of a Brexiteer – Martha Gill, The Guardian
>Today: ToryDiary: Next Tory Leader: Present runners and riders
>Yesterday: WATCH: “I love my country” – Javid launches his leadership campaign
Leadership contest 2) Hunt: ‘Trying to deliver no deal through a general election…is political suicide’
‘With the current deal, I cannot see a way forward. I voted for it three times because I believed that, for all its imperfections, leaving quickly was better than risking no Brexit. I have always believed that no deal is better than no Brexit, but parliament has passed laws to stop a government willingly walking into no deal. It could do so again, if necessary through a confidence vote. Any prime minister who promised to leave the EU by a specific date – without the time to renegotiate and pass a new deal – would, in effect, be committing to a general election the moment parliament tried to stop it. And trying to deliver no deal through a general election is not a solution; it is political suicide. That would delight Nigel Farage and probably put Jeremy Corbyn in No 10 by Christmas. A different deal is, therefore, the only solution.’ – Jeremy Hunt, Daily Telegraph
- ‘Political suicide actually lies in not leaving’, McVey retorts – Daily Mail
- Johnson, McVey and Raab have endorsed No Deal – FT
- There is no mandate for such an outcome – The Guardian Leader
- The concept has become the early battleground of the contest – The Times
- They will regret making promises they cannot keep – William Hague, Daily Telegraph
- We’re losing Remainer and Leaver voters – and we need to win back both – Matt Hancock, Daily Mail
- Would our Union survive No Deal? – Alan Cochrane, Daily Telegraph
- The Foreign Secretary criticises deselection attempts and calls for a ‘broad church’ – Daily Telegraph
>Today: MPsETC: Leadership election candidate MP support numbers: Hunt 29, Johnson 24, Gove 23, Raab 20, Javid 12
>Yesterday: Steve Brine on Comment: Why I am voting for Hunt
Leadership contest 3) Malthouse launches campaign as ‘the new face, with fresh new ideas’
‘This leadership campaign cannot be about the same old faces, scarred by the wars that have split the Tory Party over the last three years. I believe I’m the new face, with fresh new ideas, from a new and talented generation. And with that, I have two decades of front line political experience -leading overseas trade missions, putting my arms around the families of knife crime victims and building homes for young people. We need to end the Brexit paralysis, and while I voted to leave the EU, I know that without unity across the UK we can’t get a deal over the line…I’m a Northern boy who built a business in the Midlands and now represents a stunning part of Hampshire. My granddad was a Yorkshire wagon driver, my grandma a teacher, and my Mum and Dad were the first in their families to go to university. My family’s story is one of education, hard work and opportunity, and that’s what I want for everyone.’ – Kit Malthouse, The Sun
- The election result should focus contenders’ minds – Daily Express Leader
- Ordinary Britons have enjoyed shaking Westminster up – Allison Pearson, Daily Telegraph
- Thatcherism is going to gain from this race – Isabel Hardman, The Guardian
Leadership contest 4) Gove proposes scrapping citizenship fees
‘Michael Gove will offer three million EU citizens the chance of free British nationality if he becomes Prime Minister, in an eye-catching policy pitch in the Tory leadership race. The environment secretary will waive the usual £1,330 fee for eligible EU nationals who lived in the UK at the time of the June 2016 referendum. And in a break with Theresa May’s policies, Mr Gove will also water down the controversial ‘settled status’ scheme for EU nationals, replacing it with a less stringent registration scheme. Lobbying for Mr Gove’s leadership campaign, his supporters said the plan was intended to ‘heal the nation’. Tory MP Alberto Costa, who has lobbied for such a move, said he was ‘delighted [Gove] will guarantee EU nationals’ rights with a declaratory scheme and offer them fee free British Citizenship. ‘This is the morally right thing to do & will help heal our nation. He has my full support to be our next PM.” – Daily Mail
- May let EU citizens down, but Gove will put that right – Alberto Costa, The Times
- The EU Settlement Scheme won’t leave vulnerable people behind – Caroline Nokes, The Times
- All eight of Johnson’s rivals now support live leadership debates – Daily Telegraph
- I am endorsing Stewart – Nicholas Soames, Daily Mail
- I am backing Johnson – Anne-Marie Trevelyan, The Times
The Brexit Party intends to contest every seat at the next election
‘Nigel Farage has warned the next Conservative leader that they must take Britain out of the EU by the end of October or face a reckoning with his new Brexit Party at the next general election. The former Ukip leader followed a victorious night for his new party in the European parliamentary election by increasing pressure on Theresa May’s successor to pursue a no-deal Brexit… He said the Brexit Party would be heading “en masse” to Peterborough and would then begin interviewing and vetting candidates for all 650 seats for the next general election.’ – The Times
- The Brexit Party’s next focus is the Peterborough by-election – The Guardian
- We will stun everyone in a General Election, too – Nigel Farage, Daily Telegraph
- Farage rejects the prospect of an alliance with any of the would-be Tory leadership candidates – Daily Telegraph
- He is relishing his time at the top – Henry Deedes, Daily Mail
- On board the Brexit bus – Daily Telegraph
- I can’t wait to be fired from my new job by leaving the EU – Annunziata Rees-Mogg, Daily Telegraph
- Remainers claiming this as their victory have lost the plot – The Sun Says
- No, no, no, the real winners were second referendum supporters – FT Leader
- Stupid voters, you’ve got it wrong again! – Richard Littlejohn, Daily Mail
- Both sides are trying to weaponise the results – John Curtice, Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday:
- Lord Ashcroft on Comment: My EU election poll. Most former Tory voters say they will stay with their new party at the next election.
- WATCH: Farage – “We’re getting ready” for a General Election
Wallace: Step one on the road to Tory recovery is fulfilling the Brexit promise
‘This crisis is entirely self-inflicted. The Conservatives gave the people a referendum and promised, before, during and after, to do as voters decided. Theresa May pledged scores of times that we would leave the EU, deal or no deal, in March. She broke that promise and her Cabinet colleagues let her do it…If there’s a glimmer of hope it’s that May has agreed to resign. There is no time to waste. This has got to be a proper contest, to produce a leader whose abilities and ideas have been thoroughly tested. The stakes are high. Tory members, disillusioned, frustrated and bruised, want to return their party to winning ways. Democrats want the Leave vote to be honoured. And everyone wants to hear the proposals put forward by those who want to govern. The only option is to get this right and keep that essential promise.’ – Mark Wallace, The Sun
- The new leader must take the fight to Labour – The Sun Says
- They must unequivocally become the party of Leave – Daily Telegraph Leader
- May has handed her successor a Catch-22 – Daniel Hannan, Daily Telegraph
- She should have kept her promise – Norman Tebbit, Daily Telegraph
- They cannot afford to delay Brexit again – Robert Shrimsley, FT
- May belatedly says the results are ‘very disappointing’ – FT
>Today: Henry Newman’s column: Remainers are desperately spinning the result. But the moral of this election is that Britain must now leave.
Under-pressure Corbyn shifts closer to a second referendum
‘After Labour was pushed into third place nationally by the pro-Remain Liberal Democrats on Sunday night, Mr Corbyn’s colleagues demanded an end to the ambiguity. In a dramatic intervention, Shadow Chancellor Mr McDonnell said: ‘Our only option now is to go back to the people in a referendum.’ Last night, Mr Corbyn made what his aides described as a ‘tonal shift’ to his position. In a letter to his MPs, the Labour leader said: ‘It is clear that the deadlock in Parliament can now only be broken by the issue going back to the people through a general election or a public vote. We are ready to support a public vote on any deal.’ The statement moved the party closer to fully committing to a second referendum, but Mr Corbyn will still face intense Labour pressure to back a so-called ‘people’s vote’ without delay, in any circumstances – and to campaign on the Remain side. The major obstacle to this remains his hard-Left allies such as powerful union boss Len McCluskey, who is vehemently against a second Brexit vote.’ – Daily Mail
- Abbott joins Thornberry in endorsing the idea – The Guardian
- It’s a bad option, but it might be the only one available – Owen Jones, The Guardian
- The Labour leader is being broken on the horns of a dilemma – Tom Harris, Daily Telegraph
- He is becoming a liability – Peter Oborne, Daily Mail
- Backing Remain would wreck our party – Gloria de Piero, The Guardian
- Without radical change, both main parties are headed for oblivion – Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Mail
- The Tories had the worst time statistically, but psychologically it is Labour who are hurting most – John Curtice, The Sun
- Labour are in the most danger – Tim Stanley, Daily Telegraph
- Can they find a way to be clear? – The Times Leader
- Calls for Scottish Labour Leader to quit – The Scotsman
Political elite left reeling as both main parties suffer at the ballot box…in Germany
‘The German political establishment is reeling after most voters rejected the two historical parties of government for the first time in a nationwide ballot. Angela Merkel’s conservative Union alliance recorded its worst result in four decades, with 28 per cent of the vote. Its embarrassment was overshadowed only by that of the chancellor’s Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partner, which came third with its lowest vote share at a free election in 130 years. The age in which the two “people’s parties” dominated politics appears to be over. The chief disruptor was the Green party, which took 21 per cent of the vote to finish second and cement its place as heavyweight of the centre left.’ – The Times
- Selmayr suggests Juncker might hang onto office after his term expires – The Sun
- France and Germany battle over top EU jobs – FT
- Brussels should be concerned by the trends – The Times Leader
- The result raises serious questions for the Spitzenkandidat system – FT Leader
- Salvini urges Le Pen and Farage to join supergroup in Brussels – Daily Mail
- Green parties have gained ground across the EU – FT
- Spain might block fugitive Catalan candidates from taking up MEP seats – The Scotsman
- Austrian government toppled by corruption scandal – The Times
Soubry attacks Allen’s ‘bizarre’ behaviour as Change UK leader
‘Change UK descended into civil war yesterday after their election flop. Seething Anna Soubry slammed their leader Heidi Allen for saying voters should tactically back the Lib Dems. Ms Soubry blasted: “I think it is rather bizarre for an interim leader on the eve of poll to tell people essentially not to vote for their party.” She added: “You do not stand candidates and then say to people ‘we are going through a complete farce please don’t vote for them. Let’s engage now in big grown-up politics.” The gaffe-prone party was left humiliated after failing to win a single MEP seat, limping in at eighth place.’ – The Sun
- Tigger Towers is riven by in-fighting – The Times
- Whatever they are selling, nobody wants it – Hugo Rifkind, The Times
- Davey and Swinson set to stand in Lib Dem leadership race – FT
- Divided Remainers are shambolic – Rob Wilson, Daily Telegraph
- UKIP is crushed – The Times
Lithuanian hospitals advertise to British patients fed-up of NHS waiting lists
‘Hospitals in Lithuania are to start advertising cheap operations to patients in the UK because of a surge in demand on the back of the NHS crisis. Health Tourism Lithuania claims it has been inundated with enquiries from Britons frustrated at having to wait months for routine treatment. The body has now revealed that, from next month, it will target patients across the home nations with Facebook and Google adverts. NHS data revealed a total of 4.23million people in England were waiting for hospital treatment in March – the longest the waiting list has ever been. Reda Ambrozaite, one of the founders of Health Tourism Lithuania, claimed the NHS crisis is tempting scores of patients to seek care abroad.’ – Daily Mail
- ‘Burn-out’ is officially recognised as a disease – Daily Mail
- Antibiotics in the Thames are above safe limits – The Times
- Scientists discover compound that combats antibiotic-resistant bugs – Daily Telegraph
- Britain’s richest man donates £25 million to rehab centre for wounded soldiers – Daily Mail
- Prisoners will be offered jobs at Pret to help keep them away from a life of crime – Daily Mail
News in Brief
- Climbers die on overcrowded Everest – Huffington Post
- A big broom for CCHQ – Country Squire
- Towards tech utopia – The Spectator
- Patients suffer for regulatory failures on medicinal cannabis – 1828
- How Macron lost a referendum on himself – New Statesman