Labour chiefs had finalised the party’s manifesto for the general
election as the Sunday politics shows got underway.
It includes powers for councils to introduce state-owned bus companies and a windfall tax on oil company profits, according to a report in the FT.
But Jeremy Corbyn, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and others were quizzed mainly about
Brexit and
immigration policy as the campaign for the December 12 election gathers pace.
Here is everything that happened. Jeremy Corbyn was on the Andrew Marr Show#Marr: Will freedom of movement end after the
UK leaves the EU?Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn: “There will be a great deal of movement”https://t.co/u5Mom1OF2Kpic.twitter.com/4xqE1Iwa3a—
BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) November 17, 2019Amid claims Labour’s Brexit policy would commit to freedom of movement, Corbyn told BBC presenter Andrew Marr the party manifesto would allow “a great deal of movement”.
Adding said “you’ll have to wait until Thursday to see the wording”, he said: “A lot of EU nationals have made their homes in this country and made a massive contribution to our society.
“A lot of
British people live in different parts of the EU and many of those families have been through unbelievable stress. So they absolutely must have the right to remain and bring their families here.”
He added that there are “huge economic demands” in the UK with the need for nurses and doctors.
“We cannot exist in isolation, therefore there has to be migration into
Britain in order to maintain our
economy and our services,” he said.
Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth was asked numerous times by both Sky News’ Sophy Ridge and the BBCs John Pienaar, on separate programmes, whether immigration would go up or down under a
Labour government, and he refused to answer.
“A Labour government will have a balanced, fair approach to immigration,” he said. “A Labour government is not going to set an arbitrary target like the government are because they’re not credible, they’ve never delivered.”#Marr: Does
Jeremy Corbyn want to leave the EU or remain?Labour leader says he wants a “close relationship with the EU in the future" and "we will put that decision to the British people”#Brexithttps://t.co/u5Mom1OF2Kpic.twitter.com/bGSTauyawr— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) November 17, 2019Corbyn also hinted he could take Labour Brexiteers with him to thrash out a new deal with Brussels.
Asked how credible it was to negotiate with cabinet members who had publicly said they would campaign for Remain, he replied: “Well you don’t know who I’m going to take with me into those negotiations.”
He added the team of people involved that would be “representative of all parts of the UK and of areas that have different views on it”.
Corbyn also accepted that a Labour government may pay for access to EU markets, but said it “depends how much”, adding: “I can’t put a figure on that any more than you could or the EU could at this very moment.”#Marr: Is
Nato the most successful military alliance in history?Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn: “I’m not sure I’d define it as that”https://t.co/u5Mom1OF2Kpic.twitter.com/L6OV3BBbG2— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) November 17, 2019Asked if he agrees with army chief Nick Carter’s claims that NATO was the most successful military alliance in history, Corbyn said “I’m not sure I’d define it as that” but as “a product of an attempt to bring people together after the Second World War”.
On Trident, Corbyn said the nuclear deterrent would part of “nuclear non-proliferation discussions” if he became prime minister, signalling that cyber-security should be a priority.On the party’s pledge to give people free dental check-ups, Corbyn said it would save money.
“You should look at expenditure as investment in the future,” he said.He described plans for re-nationalisation in the manifesto, thought to include water companies and Royal Mail and to be set out on Thursday, as “very, very modest”.
He finished the interview by saying he was “determined” to win the election and that he was “looking forward to winning it on December 12”.Dominic Raab Says No-Deal ‘Not Remotely Likely’ “We’re not going to fix on an arbitrary target” on immigration says Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab#Marrhttps://t.co/us0v3VtSMApic.twitter.com/osJ5m9GsV5— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) November 17, 2019In a significant toning down of the Conservatives’ rhetoric on a no-deal Brexit, Dominic Raabs aid he does not think it “remotely likely” the UK will leave the EU without a deal.
Asked “could we leave without a deal?”, he said: “I think it’s, no, it’s not what we’re, I don’t think it’s remotely likely.”
Raab also said that the “vast majority” of migrants would need a job to come to the UK, but, sounding very similar to Labour, said a Conservative government would not set “arbitrary targets” on numbers.
The foreign secretary said
Boris Johnson would make exceptions, such as high-skilled scientists and migrants hoping to start a business in the UK.
The apparent relaxing of immigration rules follows the Tories being unable to keep to Theresa May’s pledge of reducing net immigration to “the tens of thousands”.
Asked about the Conservative Party’s immigration proposals, security minister Brandon Lewis told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “Anybody who’s already here and is part of the EU settled status scheme, their rights are protected, they are absolutely clearly protected and in place.
“This will be for new people coming from the EU once we’ve left the
European Union under a future immigration system.”Tory ‘Peerage Offers’ Show ‘Corruption’, Says FarageNigel Farage have claimed the Tories are guilty of “corruption” amid claims Boris Johnson’s staff offered Brexit Party candidates peerages and jobs to standing aside at the election.
Ann Widdecombe and the Brexit Party’s Peterborough candidate Mike Greene have made claims, Farage told BBC Five Live’s Pienaar’s Politics show. Addressing reports Johnson’s government denied the claims, he said: “Is he calling Ann Widdecombe a liar? Perhaps he is, I don’t know. Ann Widdecombe made it perfectly clear she received two phone calls, from a senior official in number 10, offering her a job on the negotiating team if she stood down as an election candidate. Fact. “You can agree with Ann’s views in life or disagree, but the fact that she’s a very honest woman, I think nobody would ever disagree with. Fact.“Fact number two, Sir Eddie Lister, rang up our candidate for Peterborough, offering him a job in higher education if he stood down as a candidate. They’re the things that are already out in the open. What I have said, John, is there was actually a package put together, in which eight senior figures of the Brexit party would go to the house of Lords and be offered a place in the negotiating team.“It’s corruption.”
Security minister Brandon Lewis flatly denied any peerages have been offered.
He said: “We have not offered any deals to anybody. I think what’s rather surreal with this conversation, not least of all is the fact that actually as chairman I removed [Brexit Party candidate] Ann Widdecombe’s membership of the Conservative Party because she had joined the Brexit Party - that’s completely in breach of our constitution - but also because we’re the party saying we need to get a clear Conservative majority, we are fighting these seats to get Brexit done and deliver for people.” Wrangle Over Independence Referendum #Marr: Does Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn need to scrap Trident to gain SNP support?SNP’s Ian Blackford: “We need to modernise our defence forces, Trident doesn’t play a part in that”General election 2019 https://t.co/qyQiq2uLIopic.twitter.com/NtNmJbd2QU— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) November 17, 2019SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has been clear she will “not pick up the phone” to Jeremy Corbyn if his party refused the Scottish government’s request for a second independence referendum.
Corbyn told Marr he ruled a second poll out “in the early years of a Labour government” and stressed that after the election the SNP could face a choice between backing a minority Labour administration and empowering the Tories.
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford also appeared to throw a second demand to Labour in the mix, telling Marr “Trident does not play a part in our future defence needs” and his party had been “pretty consistent” on scrapping the nuclear deterrent.
When pressed on the first term claim, given Corbyn has also said he did “not countenance” another independence
referendum in the “early years” of a Labour government, Ashworth told Ridge: “We’re not offering a referendum on Scottish independence.
“This is a Tory line because they want to say there is a Scottish referendum coming which will break up the United Kingdom. It’s not true.”
He added: “A referendum on independence in
Scotland is not our policy, we don’t believe one should be granted, it’s up to the Scottish people to demand what they want but we don’t believe it’s in the interests of the United Kingdom.
“We believe the interests of the
United Kingdom are that we stay together because we are, if you like, stronger together as one United Kingdom.” Election ‘Most Important In Generation’, Says CBI"Is Jeremy Corbyn a friend to business?" asks @SophyRidgeSky.@CBItweets chief @cbicarolyn says she's spoken to businesses who worry "we're next" in Labour's nationalisation plans.#GE2019More on #Ridge: https://t.co/tfevKoFTzypic.twitter.com/y0BZmxg92y— Sophy Ridge on Sunday (@RidgeOnSunday) November 17, 2019Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the UK’s biggest business lobby group the CBI, has said the UK faces an “extraordinary” general election.
She told Sky: “Next year will be the most important year, I think in a generation, because we’ve seen so much uncertainty, investment plans put on hold.”
She said focus must go back to the long-term challenges facing the economy around building skills for the future, tackling climate change and inequality.
“This has to be a partnership between business and government. So we’re looking for that – a resetting of that partnership,” she said.
Fairbairn also said infrastructure projects such as HS2 and Heathrow are “absolutely fundamental signals” that the UK is “open to the world”.
She added: “And, finally, of course, getting the right Brexit deal. Frictionless trade for our economy and also a great deal for our services.”Election ‘Uphill Battle’ For Green Party"It's an uphill battle."Green party co-leader @sianberry says party members are 'fired up' for the #GeneralElection2019 as they hope to secure 11 MP seats, but admits it's an 'uphill battle' to win them all. #GE2019Latest #Ridge updates here: https://t.co/F8HpARPPFFpic.twitter.com/q4vc0ceaEV— Sophy Ridge on Sunday (@RidgeOnSunday) November 17, 2019The Green Party’s co-leader Sian Berry said her campaigners would be focusing on 11 seats after doing a deal with other pro-Remain parties to stand aside in other areas.
Asked about the Greens’ chance of winning, Berry admitted it was “obviously an uphill battle”, but added: “If you look at what happened in 2015 when we were in the middle of a green surge as well in Bristol West which is the seat week we concentrated on, we managed to 23% sweating so we can make big swings.
“Green Party members are very fired up for this election.” Related... Explained: What NHS Privatisation And 'On The Table In Trade Talks' Actually Mean Get Brexit Done So What's Important In Our Lives Can Be Addressed | The People's Election This Election, I'll Be Spoiling My Ballot Paper