How does Theresa May’s plan for a new Commons vote on her Brexit deal affect those hoping to succeed her? Politics Explained: The prime minister might finally run out of options in June, but the timing of her departure could still make things awkward for whoever is next into No 10
Farage: Vote for Brexit Party Lets People ‘Put No Deal Back on the Table’
Nigel Farage believes a strong, first-place finish for his Brexit Party will put a clean, No Deal exit from the European Union “back on the table”, despite the strenuous efforts of Britain’s Remainer-dominated House of Commons to rule it out.
Many of the front pages feature stories about Theresa May's decision regarding her future as Conservative leader. The Financial Times says Mrs May has finally bowed to the inevitable by confirming her departure in June, regardless of whether she secures support for her Brexit deal. The Daily Mirror describes how she was left in tears after being forced to announce a date to finally quit.
Tears welled in her eyes as she made her argument to stay in Downing Street a little longer, says the Daily Telegraph, but the sympathy and patience of senior Tories on the 1922 Committee had run out. The Guardian says the heavy hint that Mrs May will resign if her withdrawal bill legislation is rejected once again is likely to incentivise even more Tory Eurosceptics to vote against it. The Daily Mail thinks her chances of success are slim, so a dignified exit is now probably for the best. Johnson's leadership bid The Daily Telegraph believes her successor must learn from her mistakes - and take a clear pro-Leave line on Brexit and stick to it. It suggests they make the case for what they are doing with conviction, because the country has not got the patience for another enigma. Inevitably, much of the speculation about who replaces her focuses on Boris Johnson. The Daily Express says his supporters see him as someone who could neutralise the growing threat to the Tories posed by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party. The Daily Mail feels Mr Johnson has many flaws and divides opinion like no other politician, but acknowledges that he is charismatic. James Forysth in the Spectator says he is not only back in contention but is now the man to beat. The editor of the i newspaper, Oliver Duff, suggests the former foreign secretary remains the biggest obstacle to his own ambitions, lacking the judgement and work ethic to succeed in high office.
The Independent's chief political commentator, John Rentoul, says that whether the new leader is Mr Johnson or the traditional surprise candidate, they will face the problem that the Tory party is finished if it fails to deliver Brexit. The Sun believes that getting Brexit over the line, even via her deal, is still the best option. With the opinion polls suggesting Nigel Farage's Brexit Party will make big gains in the European elections, Philip Collins in the Times argues that letting Brexit happen may be smarter than allowing Mr Farage to nurse a grievance about the failure to respect the referendum result.
How the viral Led by Donkeys anti-Brexit campaign is haunting flip-flopping politicians Led By Donkeys shames Brexit-backing equivocators, bloviators, and blowhards, one billboard at a time
Illegal immigration to UK will rise after Brexit, study suggests Report urges politicians to 'come clean' about consequences of ending free movement or risk 'creating the sort of conditions in Britain that helped Donald Trump become US president'
Illegal immigration is likely to rise when Britain leaves the EU and freedom of movement ends, a new study has found. The report by the Social Market Foundation said closing legal migration routes after Brexit would lead to more people trying to enter and stay in the UK illegally.
It said politicians who claim that Brexit will solve public concerns about immigration should "come clean" about the actual consequences of ending free movement.
Failure to do so would result in a backlash when voters realised that leaving the EU had not solved their fears about immigration, and risked “creating the sort of conditions in Britain that helped Donald Trump become US president”, the SMF said.
The study analysed previous cases where immigration was restricted and entry policies tightened, including Britain ending unrestricted migration from Commonwealth countries in the 1960s and the US stopping a programme for Mexican workers in 1965. It found that stricter controls on immigration often led to an increase in the total number of migrants in the country, because people who could previously travel back and forth easily instead opt to stay.
Greater restrictions also fuel an increase in illegal migration as people who would previously have entered the country legally instead do so through other routes. The SMF predicted that the number of people living in the UK illegally would increase after Brexit, as EU nationals who have not been given the right to remain in the country decide to stay without permission.
A £200,000 Donation Merely Covers Around 15Months Rent.
Didnt He Even Have The Dignity to Pay For His Own Crockery, Or Shower Curtain?
The Man Is A Parasite.
Arron Banks 'gave £450,000 funding to Nigel Farage after Brexit vote'
Nigel Farage was lavishly funded by Arron Banks in the year after the Brexit referendum, Channel 4 News has alleged, with the insurance tycoon providing him with a furnished Chelsea home, a car and driver, and money to promote him in America. According to invoices, emails and other documents, Banks, who regularly bankrolled Farage’s former party, Ukip, spent about £450,000 in the year after the referendum, when Farage had quit as Ukip leader, the programme said. It said the money, some provided via Rock Services Ltd, a company owned by Banks, was used to rent a Chelsea home for £13,000 a month, with Banks purchasing furniture and fittings including crockery and a shower curtain. Farage was also provided with a Land Rover Discovery and a driver, and Banks sought to raise an extra £130,000 from supporters to cover security. Farage refused to comment on the claims while Banks dismissed them as a “smear”
Farage is now leading the Brexit party, formed in January 2019, which is topping polls for this month’s European elections. After quitting as Ukip leader he remained as an MEP, and also made regular appearances on Fox News and other TV shows. During this period, as well as his MEP’s salary of nearly €9,000 a month, and an extra €30,000 a month declared in media appearances, Farage complained in an interview that he was “53, separated and skint” and that “there’s no money in politics”. At the time, critics noted that this appeared an unusual claim, given he was then living in the Chelsea home, which is valued at about £4m. Banks is under investigation by the National Crime Agency over allegations of criminal offences by him and his unofficial leave campaign in the EU referendum. Farage has said that Banks is not funding the Brexit party. According to Channel 4 News, the documents show that Banks and his companies, organised and funded visits to the US by Farage in the year after the referendum, including a trip in July 2016 to the Republican national convention.
The programme says that Banks, through another of his companies, Southern Rock, paid an American lobbyist, Gerry Gunster, to arrange a Nigel Farage “Brexit policy luncheon”. It added that in 2016, Rock Services arranged visits by Farage and his key aide, Andy Wigmore, to travel to America on a series of occasions, including one where Farage was first introduced to Donald Trump. Other invoices show Gunster’s company billed £108,684 for a party in Farage’s honour at a five-star hotel in Washington DC. A Channel 4 News reporter approached Farage in Merthyr Tydfil on Wednesday to ask him about the alleged funding by Banks, with Farage saying he had no comment. Banks told the programme: “Channel 4 attempts to smear myself and Nigel come at a time when the Brexit party is riding high in the polls, so it should come as no surprise to anyone.
Farage has said that the Brexit party is predominantly financed by the £25 fees of its 100,000-plus paying supporters – it has no members. He has also said that financier Jeremy Hosking, a regular donor to the Conservatives in the past, has given £200,000 to the new party.
May averts Tory mutiny by agreeing to set her exit date after Brexit bill vote
Theresa May has been given a three-week reprieve by mutinous Conservative MPs, but has agreed to set out her departure date from No 10 after the vote on the Brexit withdrawal agreement bill, the chair of the Tory backbench committee has said. In a statement after the 90-minute meeting with the prime minister in the House of Commons, the chair of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, said: “The prime minister is determined to secure our departure from the European Union and is devoting her efforts to securing the second reading of the withdrawal agreement bill in the week commencing 3rd June 2019 and the passage of that bill and the consequent departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union by the summer.
Related: 'I'm going for it!': Boris Johnson says he will run for Tory leader
Before the meeting, executive member Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said it would be “much more dignified” for May to name a date, rather than oblige the committee to change party rules to oust her.
The international development secretary, Rory Stewart, said setting a departure date would not “make the slightest difference” to getting her Brexit deal approved. “People said it would be two months ago when she announced that she was stepping down and it didn’t help her get votes through the House of Commons,” he told the Press Association. “The problem is the country is split absolutely down the middle – Scotland against England, London against the north, young people against old – and it’s a very divided, fractious issue which is why we’ve got to get it resolved and move on.” Should she still be in office, May will also face a no-confidence vote from party officials and members on 15 June at an extraordinary general meeting – though it is non-binding.
We could extend again. Although the EU seems to be getting fed up. One dissenting voice could scupper a further extension, as the vote to permit one has to be unanimous amongst the other members. France for one has been making warnings.
Between now and then. We will have a Parliamentary Summer break, and a Tory leadership campaign, and election.
Interesting to note that will of the people campaigners will be aware that the electorate as a whole will have no say in the appointment of the next Tory leader, and Prime Minister. We will be forced to accept what we get. Democracy in action?
In order to facilitate this the Tory Party may be forced to change their internal rules. So to remove an elected Prime Minister, and appoint a new one will be done by the Tory Party, without any reference to the electorate. More Democracy in action? The will of the people?
Theresa Mays downfall will be precipitated by a fourth vote on the Withdrawal Bill.
The PM that we get will obviously affect the Brexit deal we get, but without any input from the electorate.
What effect can a new leader have?
When will they be in place?
Are we lurching towards the no deal cliff edge because of this?
How will a new leader affect the Parliamentary arithmetic?
Theresa May is blamed by many for the current situation.
I have been critical myself.
I believe that she has made mistakes, although I now believe that the task that she faced was impossible.
This is because there are a range of Brexit options, and many leave voters are clearly in favour of one option, and opposed to others that would still represent leaving.
The no deal supporters hate a Norway solution.
Despite the obvious fact that Norway are not members, and that no deal really involves a deal later.
Unless we can agree a Withdrawal Bill, there will be no trade with the EU. This was an option not supported by anyone during the referendum campaign.
If we start at the beginning to immediately invoke Article 50 was a mistake, even though she was under pressure to do so, and a huge majority of MPs were in favour.
She has faced criticism from some quarters regarding her agreement on the sequencing of the talks.
Suggesting that she should have entered into trade talks as well as the items included in the Withdrawal Agreement.
This criticism is unfounded as the EU does not negotiate trade deals with existing members, for obvious reasons.
She has been roundly criticised over her red lines.
These red lines were forced on her by the various factions of the Tory Party.
The ERG have their red lines, as do the DUP, and the Dominic Grieve supporters who looked for a post Brexit close relationship with the EU.
None of these factions cared about each others red lines.
David Davis said straight off that we would get the same benefits after leaving that we got as members. This would obviously be impossible.
The Eu have rules.
If they allowed a non member the same benefits as a member, then all the members would leave.
The four freedoms are indivisible. You cant choose one, without allowing the others.
The main things that affect our trade are the Single Market and the Customs Union.
Anyone in their right mind would to continue our rights to both, but this choice involves obligations.
Some of our car factories receive 300 trucks per day delivering parts, and just in time manufacturing is dependant on frictionless borders.
The Irish border problem is solved if we maintained membership of the Single Market and the Customs Union.
However membership of the Single Market, would mean continuing with freedom of movement, and the payment of our annual membership fee.
Customs Union membership means we have no independent trade policy.
So whilst I would suspect that many of the factions would be unanimously in favour of the Single Market, and Customs Union if there were no associated obligations. Their support ends when the obligations are taken into account.
This was the cherry picking in the early days.
We wanted the Single Market, without paying for it, or allowing freedom of movement.
We wanted the Customs Union, but also pursue our own independent trade policy.
I therefore think that it is very easy to blame Theresa May, but what we wanted was impossible to get.
Changing the leader will make this no less impossible.
Brexit means various things to different leave voters.
Not many will get what they believed they voted for.
1/12 When he unveiled that 'breaking point' poster during the referendum Mr Farage was accused of deploying “Nazi-style propaganda” when he unveiled a poster showing Syrian refugees travelling to Europe under the next “Breaking point”. Users on social media were quick to compare the advert to a Nazi propaganda film with similar visuals and featuring Jewish refugees. The poster was particularly controversial because it was unveiled the morning of the killing of Labour MP Jo Cox
2/12 When he said he’d be concerned if his neighbours were Romanian In May 2014 Mr Farage was accused of a “racial slur” against Romanians after he suggested he would be concerned living next to a house of them. “I was asked if a group of Romanian men moved in next to you, would you be concerned? And if you lived in London, I think you would be,” he told LBC radio during an interview. Asked whether he would also object to living next to German children, he said: “You know the difference”
3/12 When he said the EU campaign was won 'without a bullet being fired' Nigel Farage has said the next Prime Minister has to be a Leave supporter
4/12 When he resigned as Ukip leader and came back days later After failing to win the seat of South Thanet at the general election, Nigel Farage stepped down as Ukip leader – as he had promised to do during the campaign. Days later on 11 May he “un-resigned” and said he would stay after being convinced by supporters within the party. We’ll see how long his resignation lasts this time
5/12 When he blamed immigrants for making him late Mr Farage turned up late to a £25-a-head ‘meet the leader’ style event in Port Talbot, Wales in December 2014. Asked why he was late, he blamed immigrants. “It took me six hours and 15 minutes to get here - it should have taken three-and-a-half to four,” he said. “That has nothing to do with professionalism, what it does have to do with is a country in which the population is going through the roof chiefly because of open-door immigration and the fact that the M4 is not as navigable as it used to be”
6/12 When he wanted to ban immigrants with HIV from Britain Mr Farage has used his platform as Ukip leader call for people with HIV to be banned from coming to Britain. Asked in an interview with Newsweek Europe in October 2014 who he thought should be allowed to come to the UK, he said: “People who do not have HIV, to be frank. That’s a good start. And people with a skill.” He also repeated similar comments in the 2015 general election leadership debates
7/12 When he defended the use of a racial slur against Chinese people Defending one of Ukip’s candidates, who used the word “ch**ky” to describe a Chinese person, Mr Farage said: “If you and your mates were going out for a Chinese, what do you say you're going for?" When he was told by the presented that he “honestly would not” use the slur, Mr Farage replied: “A lot would”
8/12 When he said parts of Britain were ‘like a foreign land’ The Ukip leader used his 2014 conference speech to declare parts of Britain as being “like a foreign land”. He told his audience in Torquay that parts of the country were “unrecognisable” because of the number of foreigners there. Mr Farage has also previously said he felt uncomfortable when people spoke other language on a train
9/12 When he said the British army should be deployed to France At the height of trouble at Britain’s Calais border Mr Farage proposed a novel solution. The Ukip leader called for the British army to be sent to France to put down a migrant rebellion. “In all civil emergencies like this we have an army, we have a bit of a Territorial Army as well and we have a very, very overburdened police force and border agency,” he said. “If in a crisis to make sure we’ve actually got the manpower to check lorries coming in, to stop people illegally coming to Britain, if in those circumstances we can use the army or other forces then why not”
10/12 When he said breastfeeding women should ‘sit in the corner’ Mr Farage sparked protests from mothers after he told women to “sit on the corner” if they wanted to breastfeed their children. “I think that given that some people feel very embarrassed by it, it isn’t too difficult to breastfeed a baby in a way that's not openly ostentatious,” Mr Farage said. He added: "Or perhaps sit in the corner, or whatever it might be”
11/12 When he said the gender pay gap exists because women are ‘worth less’ At a Q&A on the European Union in January 2014 Mr Farage said there was no discrimination against women causing the gender pay gap. Instead, he said, women were paid less because they were simply “worth far less” than many of their male counterparts. “A woman who has a client base, has a child and takes two or three years off - she is worth far less to her employer when she comes back than when she went away because that client base won't be stuck as rigidly to her portfolio,” he said
12/12 When he said he actually couldn’t guarantee £350m to the NHS after Brexit During the EU referendum campaign the Leave side pledged to spend £350 million a week on the National Health Service – claiming that this is what the UK sends to Brussels. Nigel Farage didn’t speak out against this figure and also pledged to spend EU cash on the health service and other public services himself. Then the day of the election result he suddenly changed his tone, saying he couldn’t guarantee the cash for the NHS and that to pledge to do so was “a mistake”
Bombshell Brexit leak reveals Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn discussed plan to leave EU on July 31 and avoid second referendum
A bombshell leaked document today reveals Theresa May’s plan to block a second referendum and stage “preferential votes” in the Commons designed to allow Britain to leave the EU on July 31. The leaked memo, shown to the Evening Standard, was sent to Labour on Wednesday, a day after the Prime Minister and Jeremy Corbyn met for private talks. Related: Cross-party Brexit talks collapse as Corbyn says he can't trust 'unstable' May The revelation came as a surprise on the day Mr Corbyn pulled the plug on cross-party talks with the Government, saying that they had “gone as far as they can”.
The plan involves: Free votes for MPs in which they would rank in order of preference five different forms of customs arrangements with the EU, ranging from a full permanent trade pact to a looser or temporary arrangement. The aim is to force the Commons, which has rejected every option shown so far, to a decision. A free vote on making any deal subject to a second referendum, which appears designed to block the campaign backed by 150 Labour MPs for a confirmatory ballot attached to any deal. Whipped votes on other areas where the two sides appear to have reached agreement, including to keep European worker rights and green standards. The document infuriated Labour MPs opposed to Brexit who said it seemed that the two leaders had discussed the plans.
Labour MP Alex Sobel called on Mr Corbyn to disown the plan - and to back a referendum immediately. “This is the battle plan for a desperate Prime Minister to freeze the people out over the biggest decision facing the country in two generations,” said the MP. There will be fury at Mr Corbyn from Labour supporters of a second referendum or confirmatory ballot, because the leaked paper says there will be a separate free vote earlier on whether to let the public have a final say.
Glum faces at a Conservative European election event in Bristol provide the front page photo for the Daily Telegraph, under the headline: "I'm a Tory MEP candidate, get me out of here". Prime Minister Theresa May, it reports, made an unannounced appearance at a campaign rally "in front of an empty room" and "scarcely managed a smile". In the paper's cartoon, Mrs May is dressed as Napoleon on the Eurovision stage, singing: "Finally facing my Waterloo". By contrast, Boris Johnson appears in many of the papers smiling and waving a flag on what looks like a merry-go-round at the opening of a children's playground in his constituency. The i says he is the clear front-runner to become prime minister.
The Times agrees. It cites a YouGov poll of Conservative Party members which suggests he has three times the support of his nearest rival, Dominic Raab. The Daily Mail, which has a Survation poll, says Mr Johnson is 20 points clear. Both papers note that he's a divisive candidate. The Mail says a "stop Boris" campaign has swung into action at Westminster. According to the Sun, Tory leadership rivals fear that Michael Gove, Matt Hancock and Amber Rudd are ready to form a "dream team" to seize Number 10. The paper reports that Mr Gove is picking up support - having hosted a dinner for 50 Conservative MPs in a pub in Chelsea. The paper says Britain needs a new prime minister fast, and Mrs May's replacement must be in power by early July.
The Daily Telegraph thinks the hint from Health Secretary Matt Hancock that he would not call an early general election, if he became Conservative leader, will be music to some MPs' ears. They are, it says, understandably worried about their jobs. But the Telegraph wants to see more of an air of emergency from the Tories, instead of vague talk of timetables for Theresa May's departure. It is as if the party is inches from going over a cliff, the paper says, but everyone is too polite to say anything. Writing in the same paper, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, says the party can win back voters under a new prime minister. Over the page, Tory MP Crispin Blunt is calling for an electoral pact with Nigel Farage's Brexit Party.
'Sinking ship' Mr Johnson's sister, Rachel, a European election candidate for Change UK, tells The Times that she is "the rat that jumps on the sinking ship". She says her party has "a terrible name", wants to "focus-group everything" and has "a leadership team of about eleven people". But she's not giving up hope: "I think it will be a slow build... a reverse Macron", she says.
Comments
Shares in holiday giant slump by more than 17 per cent after results announced
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/thomas-cook-share-price-profit-loss-results-brexit-travel-flights-a8916061.html
Politics Explained: The prime minister might finally run out of options in June, but the timing of her departure could still make things awkward for whoever is next into No 10
https://www.independent.co.uk/independentminds/politics-explained/brexit-latest-theresa-may-resign-next-prime-minister-withdrawal-agreement-commons-vote-a8914731.html
Nigel Farage believes a strong, first-place finish for his Brexit Party will put a clean, No Deal exit from the European Union “back on the table”, despite the strenuous efforts of Britain’s Remainer-dominated House of Commons to rule it out.
Many of the front pages feature stories about Theresa May's decision regarding her future as Conservative leader.
The Financial Times says Mrs May has finally bowed to the inevitable by confirming her departure in June, regardless of whether she secures support for her Brexit deal.
The Daily Mirror describes how she was left in tears after being forced to announce a date to finally quit.
Tears welled in her eyes as she made her argument to stay in Downing Street a little longer, says the Daily Telegraph, but the sympathy and patience of senior Tories on the 1922 Committee had run out.
The Guardian says the heavy hint that Mrs May will resign if her withdrawal bill legislation is rejected once again is likely to incentivise even more Tory Eurosceptics to vote against it.
The Daily Mail thinks her chances of success are slim, so a dignified exit is now probably for the best.
Johnson's leadership bid
The Daily Telegraph believes her successor must learn from her mistakes - and take a clear pro-Leave line on Brexit and stick to it.
It suggests they make the case for what they are doing with conviction, because the country has not got the patience for another enigma.
Inevitably, much of the speculation about who replaces her focuses on Boris Johnson. The Daily Express says his supporters see him as someone who could neutralise the growing threat to the Tories posed by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party.
The Daily Mail feels Mr Johnson has many flaws and divides opinion like no other politician, but acknowledges that he is charismatic.
James Forysth in the Spectator says he is not only back in contention but is now the man to beat.
The editor of the i newspaper, Oliver Duff, suggests the former foreign secretary remains the biggest obstacle to his own ambitions, lacking the judgement and work ethic to succeed in high office.
The Independent's chief political commentator, John Rentoul, says that whether the new leader is Mr Johnson or the traditional surprise candidate, they will face the problem that the Tory party is finished if it fails to deliver Brexit.
The Sun believes that getting Brexit over the line, even via her deal, is still the best option.
With the opinion polls suggesting Nigel Farage's Brexit Party will make big gains in the European elections, Philip Collins in the Times argues that letting Brexit happen may be smarter than allowing Mr Farage to nurse a grievance about the failure to respect the referendum result.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-48304282
Led By Donkeys shames Brexit-backing equivocators, bloviators, and blowhards, one billboard at a time
Report urges politicians to 'come clean' about consequences of ending free movement or risk 'creating the sort of conditions in Britain that helped Donald Trump become US president'
Illegal immigration is likely to rise when Britain leaves the EU and freedom of movement ends, a new study has found.
The report by the Social Market Foundation said closing legal migration routes after Brexit would lead to more people trying to enter and stay in the UK illegally.
It said politicians who claim that Brexit will solve public concerns about immigration should "come clean" about the actual consequences of ending free movement.
Failure to do so would result in a backlash when voters realised that leaving the EU had not solved their fears about immigration, and risked “creating the sort of conditions in Britain that helped Donald Trump become US president”, the SMF said.
The study analysed previous cases where immigration was restricted and entry policies tightened, including Britain ending unrestricted migration from Commonwealth countries in the 1960s and the US stopping a programme for Mexican workers in 1965.
It found that stricter controls on immigration often led to an increase in the total number of migrants in the country, because people who could previously travel back and forth easily instead opt to stay.
Greater restrictions also fuel an increase in illegal migration as people who would previously have entered the country legally instead do so through other routes.
The SMF predicted that the number of people living in the UK illegally would increase after Brexit, as EU nationals who have not been given the right to remain in the country decide to stay without permission.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-illegal-immigration-free-movement-eu-leave-a8915816.html
A £200,000 Donation Merely Covers Around 15Months Rent.
Didnt He Even Have The Dignity to Pay For His Own Crockery, Or Shower Curtain?
The Man Is A Parasite.
Arron Banks 'gave £450,000 funding to Nigel Farage after Brexit vote'
Nigel Farage was lavishly funded by Arron Banks in the year after the Brexit referendum, Channel 4 News has alleged, with the insurance tycoon providing him with a furnished Chelsea home, a car and driver, and money to promote him in America.
According to invoices, emails and other documents, Banks, who regularly bankrolled Farage’s former party, Ukip, spent about £450,000 in the year after the referendum, when Farage had quit as Ukip leader, the programme said.
It said the money, some provided via Rock Services Ltd, a company owned by Banks, was used to rent a Chelsea home for £13,000 a month, with Banks purchasing furniture and fittings including crockery and a shower curtain.
Farage was also provided with a Land Rover Discovery and a driver, and Banks sought to raise an extra £130,000 from supporters to cover security.
Farage refused to comment on the claims while Banks dismissed them as a “smear”
Farage is now leading the Brexit party, formed in January 2019, which is topping polls for this month’s European elections. After quitting as Ukip leader he remained as an MEP, and also made regular appearances on Fox News and other TV shows.
During this period, as well as his MEP’s salary of nearly €9,000 a month, and an extra €30,000 a month declared in media appearances, Farage complained in an interview that he was “53, separated and skint” and that “there’s no money in politics”.
At the time, critics noted that this appeared an unusual claim, given he was then living in the Chelsea home, which is valued at about £4m.
Banks is under investigation by the National Crime Agency over allegations of criminal offences by him and his unofficial leave campaign in the EU referendum. Farage has said that Banks is not funding the Brexit party.
According to Channel 4 News, the documents show that Banks and his companies, organised and funded visits to the US by Farage in the year after the referendum, including a trip in July 2016 to the Republican national convention.
The programme says that Banks, through another of his companies, Southern Rock, paid an American lobbyist, Gerry Gunster, to arrange a Nigel Farage “Brexit policy luncheon”.
It added that in 2016, Rock Services arranged visits by Farage and his key aide, Andy Wigmore, to travel to America on a series of occasions, including one where Farage was first introduced to Donald Trump.
Other invoices show Gunster’s company billed £108,684 for a party in Farage’s honour at a five-star hotel in Washington DC.
A Channel 4 News reporter approached Farage in Merthyr Tydfil on Wednesday to ask him about the alleged funding by Banks, with Farage saying he had no comment.
Banks told the programme: “Channel 4 attempts to smear myself and Nigel come at a time when the Brexit party is riding high in the polls, so it should come as no surprise to anyone.
Farage has said that the Brexit party is predominantly financed by the £25 fees of its 100,000-plus paying supporters – it has no members. He has also said that financier Jeremy Hosking, a regular donor to the Conservatives in the past, has given £200,000 to the new party.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/arron-banks-gave-£450000-funding-to-nigel-farage-after-brexit-vote/ar-AABs8hb?ocid=spartandhp
Theresa May has been given a three-week reprieve by mutinous Conservative MPs, but has agreed to set out her departure date from No 10 after the vote on the Brexit withdrawal agreement bill, the chair of the Tory backbench committee has said.
In a statement after the 90-minute meeting with the prime minister in the House of Commons, the chair of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, said: “The prime minister is determined to secure our departure from the European Union and is devoting her efforts to securing the second reading of the withdrawal agreement bill in the week commencing 3rd June 2019 and the passage of that bill and the consequent departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union by the summer.
Related: 'I'm going for it!': Boris Johnson says he will run for Tory leader
Before the meeting, executive member Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said it would be “much more dignified” for May to name a date, rather than oblige the committee to change party rules to oust her.
The international development secretary, Rory Stewart, said setting a departure date would not “make the slightest difference” to getting her Brexit deal approved.
“People said it would be two months ago when she announced that she was stepping down and it didn’t help her get votes through the House of Commons,” he told the Press Association.
“The problem is the country is split absolutely down the middle – Scotland against England, London against the north, young people against old – and it’s a very divided, fractious issue which is why we’ve got to get it resolved and move on.”
Should she still be in office, May will also face a no-confidence vote from party officials and members on 15 June at an extraordinary general meeting – though it is non-binding.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/may-averts-tory-mutiny-by-agreeing-to-set-her-exit-date-after-brexit-bill-vote/ar-AABs8Yy?ocid=spartandhp
March To Leave. March To Remain.
We could extend again. Although the EU seems to be getting fed up. One dissenting voice could scupper a further extension, as the vote to permit one has to be unanimous amongst the other members. France for one has been making warnings.
Between now and then. We will have a Parliamentary Summer break, and a Tory leadership campaign, and election.
Interesting to note that will of the people campaigners will be aware that the electorate as a whole will have no say in the appointment of the next Tory leader, and Prime Minister. We will be forced to accept what we get. Democracy in action?
In order to facilitate this the Tory Party may be forced to change their internal rules. So to remove an elected Prime Minister, and appoint a new one will be done by the Tory Party, without any reference to the electorate. More Democracy in action? The will of the people?
Theresa Mays downfall will be precipitated by a fourth vote on the Withdrawal Bill.
The PM that we get will obviously affect the Brexit deal we get, but without any input from the electorate.
What effect can a new leader have?
When will they be in place?
Are we lurching towards the no deal cliff edge because of this?
How will a new leader affect the Parliamentary arithmetic?
I have been critical myself.
I believe that she has made mistakes, although I now believe that the task that she faced was impossible.
This is because there are a range of Brexit options, and many leave voters are clearly in favour of one option, and opposed to others that would still represent leaving.
The no deal supporters hate a Norway solution.
Despite the obvious fact that Norway are not members, and that no deal really involves a deal later.
Unless we can agree a Withdrawal Bill, there will be no trade with the EU. This was an option not supported by anyone during the referendum campaign.
If we start at the beginning to immediately invoke Article 50 was a mistake, even though she was under pressure to do so, and a huge majority of MPs were in favour.
She has faced criticism from some quarters regarding her agreement on the sequencing of the talks.
Suggesting that she should have entered into trade talks as well as the items included in the Withdrawal Agreement.
This criticism is unfounded as the EU does not negotiate trade deals with existing members, for obvious reasons.
She has been roundly criticised over her red lines.
These red lines were forced on her by the various factions of the Tory Party.
The ERG have their red lines, as do the DUP, and the Dominic Grieve supporters who looked for a post Brexit close relationship with the EU.
None of these factions cared about each others red lines.
David Davis said straight off that we would get the same benefits after leaving that we got as members. This would obviously be impossible.
The Eu have rules.
If they allowed a non member the same benefits as a member, then all the members would leave.
The four freedoms are indivisible. You cant choose one, without allowing the others.
The main things that affect our trade are the Single Market and the Customs Union.
Anyone in their right mind would to continue our rights to both, but this choice involves obligations.
Some of our car factories receive 300 trucks per day delivering parts, and just in time manufacturing is dependant on frictionless borders.
The Irish border problem is solved if we maintained membership of the Single Market and the Customs Union.
However membership of the Single Market, would mean continuing with freedom of movement, and the payment of our annual membership fee.
Customs Union membership means we have no independent trade policy.
So whilst I would suspect that many of the factions would be unanimously in favour of the Single Market, and Customs Union if there were no associated obligations. Their support ends when the obligations are taken into account.
This was the cherry picking in the early days.
We wanted the Single Market, without paying for it, or allowing freedom of movement.
We wanted the Customs Union, but also pursue our own independent trade policy.
I therefore think that it is very easy to blame Theresa May, but what we wanted was impossible to get.
Changing the leader will make this no less impossible.
Brexit means various things to different leave voters.
Not many will get what they believed they voted for.
The will of not so many people.
1/12 When he unveiled that 'breaking point' poster during the referendum
Mr Farage was accused of deploying “Nazi-style propaganda” when he unveiled a poster showing Syrian refugees travelling to Europe under the next “Breaking point”. Users on social media were quick to compare the advert to a Nazi propaganda film with similar visuals and featuring Jewish refugees. The poster was particularly controversial because it was unveiled the morning of the killing of Labour MP Jo Cox
2/12 When he said he’d be concerned if his neighbours were Romanian
In May 2014 Mr Farage was accused of a “racial slur” against Romanians after he suggested he would be concerned living next to a house of them. “I was asked if a group of Romanian men moved in next to you, would you be concerned? And if you lived in London, I think you would be,” he told LBC radio during an interview. Asked whether he would also object to living next to German children, he said: “You know the difference”
3/12 When he said the EU campaign was won 'without a bullet being fired'
Nigel Farage has said the next Prime Minister has to be a Leave supporter
4/12 When he resigned as Ukip leader and came back days later
After failing to win the seat of South Thanet at the general election, Nigel Farage stepped down as Ukip leader – as he had promised to do during the campaign. Days later on 11 May he “un-resigned” and said he would stay after being convinced by supporters within the party. We’ll see how long his resignation lasts this time
5/12 When he blamed immigrants for making him late
Mr Farage turned up late to a £25-a-head ‘meet the leader’ style event in Port Talbot, Wales in December 2014. Asked why he was late, he blamed immigrants. “It took me six hours and 15 minutes to get here - it should have taken three-and-a-half to four,” he said. “That has nothing to do with professionalism, what it does have to do with is a country in which the population is going through the roof chiefly because of open-door immigration and the fact that the M4 is not as navigable as it used to be”
6/12 When he wanted to ban immigrants with HIV from Britain
Mr Farage has used his platform as Ukip leader call for people with HIV to be banned from coming to Britain. Asked in an interview with Newsweek Europe in October 2014 who he thought should be allowed to come to the UK, he said: “People who do not have HIV, to be frank. That’s a good start. And people with a skill.” He also repeated similar comments in the 2015 general election leadership debates
7/12 When he defended the use of a racial slur against Chinese people
Defending one of Ukip’s candidates, who used the word “ch**ky” to describe a Chinese person, Mr Farage said: “If you and your mates were going out for a Chinese, what do you say you're going for?" When he was told by the presented that he “honestly would not” use the slur, Mr Farage replied: “A lot would”
8/12 When he said parts of Britain were ‘like a foreign land’
The Ukip leader used his 2014 conference speech to declare parts of Britain as being “like a foreign land”. He told his audience in Torquay that parts of the country were “unrecognisable” because of the number of foreigners there. Mr Farage has also previously said he felt uncomfortable when people spoke other language on a train
9/12 When he said the British army should be deployed to France
At the height of trouble at Britain’s Calais border Mr Farage proposed a novel solution. The Ukip leader called for the British army to be sent to France to put down a migrant rebellion. “In all civil emergencies like this we have an army, we have a bit of a Territorial Army as well and we have a very, very overburdened police force and border agency,” he said. “If in a crisis to make sure we’ve actually got the manpower to check lorries coming in, to stop people illegally coming to Britain, if in those circumstances we can use the army or other forces then why not”
10/12 When he said breastfeeding women should ‘sit in the corner’
Mr Farage sparked protests from mothers after he told women to “sit on the corner” if they wanted to breastfeed their children. “I think that given that some people feel very embarrassed by it, it isn’t too difficult to breastfeed a baby in a way that's not openly ostentatious,” Mr Farage said. He added: "Or perhaps sit in the corner, or whatever it might be”
11/12 When he said the gender pay gap exists because women are ‘worth less’
At a Q&A on the European Union in January 2014 Mr Farage said there was no discrimination against women causing the gender pay gap. Instead, he said, women were paid less because they were simply “worth far less” than many of their male counterparts. “A woman who has a client base, has a child and takes two or three years off - she is worth far less to her employer when she comes back than when she went away because that client base won't be stuck as rigidly to her portfolio,” he said
12/12 When he said he actually couldn’t guarantee £350m to the NHS after Brexit
During the EU referendum campaign the Leave side pledged to spend £350 million a week on the National Health Service – claiming that this is what the UK sends to Brussels. Nigel Farage didn’t speak out against this figure and also pledged to spend EU cash on the health service and other public services himself. Then the day of the election result he suddenly changed his tone, saying he couldn’t guarantee the cash for the NHS and that to pledge to do so was “a mistake”
A bombshell leaked document today reveals Theresa May’s plan to block a second referendum and stage “preferential votes” in the Commons designed to allow Britain to leave the EU on July 31.
The leaked memo, shown to the Evening Standard, was sent to Labour on Wednesday, a day after the Prime Minister and Jeremy Corbyn met for private talks.
Related: Cross-party Brexit talks collapse as Corbyn says he can't trust 'unstable' May
The revelation came as a surprise on the day Mr Corbyn pulled the plug on cross-party talks with the Government, saying that they had “gone as far as they can”.
The plan involves:
Free votes for MPs in which they would rank in order of preference five different forms of customs arrangements with the EU, ranging from a full permanent trade pact to a looser or temporary arrangement. The aim is to force the Commons, which has rejected every option shown so far, to a decision.
A free vote on making any deal subject to a second referendum, which appears designed to block the campaign backed by 150 Labour MPs for a confirmatory ballot attached to any deal.
Whipped votes on other areas where the two sides appear to have reached agreement, including to keep European worker rights and green standards.
The document infuriated Labour MPs opposed to Brexit who said it seemed that the two leaders had discussed the plans.
Labour MP Alex Sobel called on Mr Corbyn to disown the plan - and to back a referendum immediately.
“This is the battle plan for a desperate Prime Minister to freeze the people out over the biggest decision facing the country in two generations,” said the MP.
There will be fury at Mr Corbyn from Labour supporters of a second referendum or confirmatory ballot, because the leaked paper says there will be a separate free vote earlier on whether to let the public have a final say.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/brexit/bombshell-brexit-leak-reveals-theresa-may-and-jeremy-corbyn-discussed-plan-to-leave-eu-on-july-31-and-avoid-second-referendum/ar-AABuGZj?ocid=spartanntp#image=2
Glum faces at a Conservative European election event in Bristol provide the front page photo for the Daily Telegraph, under the headline: "I'm a Tory MEP candidate, get me out of here".
Prime Minister Theresa May, it reports, made an unannounced appearance at a campaign rally "in front of an empty room" and "scarcely managed a smile". In the paper's cartoon, Mrs May is dressed as Napoleon on the Eurovision stage, singing: "Finally facing my Waterloo".
By contrast, Boris Johnson appears in many of the papers smiling and waving a flag on what looks like a merry-go-round at the opening of a children's playground in his constituency. The i says he is the clear front-runner to become prime minister.
The Times agrees. It cites a YouGov poll of Conservative Party members which suggests he has three times the support of his nearest rival, Dominic Raab.
The Daily Mail, which has a Survation poll, says Mr Johnson is 20 points clear. Both papers note that he's a divisive candidate. The Mail says a "stop Boris" campaign has swung into action at Westminster.
According to the Sun, Tory leadership rivals fear that Michael Gove, Matt Hancock and Amber Rudd are ready to form a "dream team" to seize Number 10. The paper reports that Mr Gove is picking up support - having hosted a dinner for 50 Conservative MPs in a pub in Chelsea.
The paper says Britain needs a new prime minister fast, and Mrs May's replacement must be in power by early July.
The Daily Telegraph thinks the hint from Health Secretary Matt Hancock that he would not call an early general election, if he became Conservative leader, will be music to some MPs' ears.
They are, it says, understandably worried about their jobs. But the Telegraph wants to see more of an air of emergency from the Tories, instead of vague talk of timetables for Theresa May's departure.
It is as if the party is inches from going over a cliff, the paper says, but everyone is too polite to say anything.
Writing in the same paper, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, says the party can win back voters under a new prime minister. Over the page, Tory MP Crispin Blunt is calling for an electoral pact with Nigel Farage's Brexit Party.
'Sinking ship'
Mr Johnson's sister, Rachel, a European election candidate for Change UK, tells The Times that she is "the rat that jumps on the sinking ship".
She says her party has "a terrible name", wants to "focus-group everything" and has "a leadership team of about eleven people". But she's not giving up hope: "I think it will be a slow build... a reverse Macron", she says.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-48318119