Summary

  • UK's main parties focus on Brexit ahead of general election on 12 December

  • Departing MPs making final valedictory speeches in the Commons

  • Former Chancellor Philip Hammond announces his decision to quit as an MP

  • Earlier, Jo Swinson launched her party's campaign, promising a £50bn "Remain bonus"

  • Jeremy Corbyn made a speech setting out how Labour will "get Brexit sorted"

  • But the Conservatives called Labour's plans "fairy tale politics"

  1. Jacob Rees-Mogg Grenfell comments condemnedpublished at 13:02 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    BBC Politics Live
    BBC2's lunchtime political programme

    Opposition politicians have condemned the Leader of the House of Commons' comments on Grenfell after he said it is "common sense" to flee a fire, ignoring fire brigade advice.

    "I cannot believe that the Leader of the House was so crass and insensitive," says Sir Ed Davey

    "It was an awful, upsetting thing to say" said Labour peer Charlie Falconer.

    Mr Rees-Mogg has apologised for the comments.

    Our full story on it is here.

  2. Government challenged over Russian interference report 'delay'published at 13:01 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Emily ThornberryImage source, HoC

    Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry has questioned why a report on alleged Russian interference in UK democracy will not be published until after December's election.

    Speaking during a Commons debate, Ms Thornberry accuses the government of "delaying" the report's publication.

    "What on earth do they have to hide?" she asks.

    Responding, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says reports by the Intelligence and Security Committee "go through a number of different stages of clearance", adding it "usually takes several weeks to complete".

    "This report was only submitted on 17th October so it has been handled in the correct way," he says.

    Read more on this story here.

  3. Can Labour meet its Brexit deadline?published at 12:52 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    BBC Radio 5 Live

    Speaking after Jeremy Corbyn’s speech in Harlow, Norman Smith, the BBC’s assistant political editor, tells BBC 5 Live's Emma Barnett there could be obstacles to the 13 June Brexit deadline pinpointed by Jeremy Corbyn.

    He says there is a "big question mark" over whether Labour could meet the deadline "because they’d have to agree a new deal with the EU" and negotiations could become more complicated than initially thought.

    "You'd have to get the legislation for a referendum through parliament, and then you’d have to get the electoral commission to give it the thumbs up and then you’d have to have a ten-week campaign."

    He adds Mr Corbyn could also face "absolutely ferocious entrenched opposition from aggrieved Brexiteers" in trying to get legislation for a second referendum passed.

  4. 'We need to get on and do it' - Tory MP on Brexitpublished at 12:51 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    BBC Politics Live
    BBC2's lunchtime political programme

    "The fact is, we had a referendum, we need to get on and do it," says Conservative MP Helen Whately.

    She also said that voting for the Lib Dems or Labour party would result in more "dither or delay".

  5. Revoking Article 50 won't end Brexit debate says Tomineypublished at 12:50 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    BBC Politics Live
    BBC2's lunchtime political programme

    Telegraph journalist Camilla Tominey, asked about the Liberal Democrat promise to revoke Article 50, says it wouldn't end the debate over Brexit.

    "What do you expect Leave voters to do?" she asked Deputy Lib Dem Leader Sir Ed Davey.

  6. Watch: Ed Davey on Russian interference reportpublished at 12:48 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

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  7. None of pledged starter homes built, says watchdogpublished at 12:46 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    Block of flatsImage source, Getty Images

    A government plan to create 200,000 new homes in England for first-time buyers has resulted in no homes being built, the National Audit Office has found.

    Announced in 2014, "starter homes" were meant to be aimed at those under the age of 40 and sold at a 20% discount.

    But legislation to take the project forward was never passed.

    John Healey, Labour's shadow housing secretary, says the Conservative Party has wasted four years and spent millions of pounds.

    However, the government says it has a "great track record" for house building.

    Read more

  8. Labour MP defends party's referendum promisepublished at 12:40 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    BBC Politics Live
    BBC2's lunchtime political programme

    Labour MP Laura Pidcock says it's wrong to "obsess over what position" she or other Labour politicians would take.

    "Importantly, people can get to choose, people would get to see a credible leave option and they would have the option to remain," she says.

  9. Davey criticises Labour on Brexitpublished at 12:39 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    BBC Politics Live
    BBC2's lunchtime political programme

    But Labour "cannot expect" people to support Jeremy Corbyn to be prime minister without knowing whether he supports remaining in or leaving the EU in any future referendum, says Deputy Lib Dem Leader Sir Ed Davey.

  10. Labour 'will bring Brexit to a conclusion'published at 12:39 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    BBC Politics Live
    BBC2's lunchtime political programme

    Jeremy Corbyn "wants resolution" on Brexit by holding a new referendum on the EU, says Labour peer Charlie Falconer.

    "There's no other way of getting to a result," that brings a conclusion to Brexit, he says.

  11. 'Process to follow' on Russia says ministerpublished at 12:38 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    BBC Politics Live
    BBC2's lunchtime political programme

    "The government has a normal process to follow," when it comes to publishing reports, Arts minister Helen Whately said when asked about the government report on Russian interference in UK politics.

  12. Public has 'right to know' on Russian interference - Daveypublished at 12:36 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    BBC Politics Live
    BBC2's lunchtime political programme

    Deputy Lib Dem Leader Sir Ed Davey said that the UK public "have a right to know" about whether there was evidence to show Russian interference in UK politics and the EU referendum.

    He believes a report - finalised in March and returned to No 10 in October - should be published before the election.

    Read our full story here.

  13. How would Labour campaign in another referendum?published at 12:29 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    Sir Keir Starmer

    Jeremy Corbyn has so far refused to say whether he would back Leave or Remain in another referendum.

    However, if elected PM, he says he will secure a "sensible" deal with the EU and put this to the people in another referendum, with the choice of remaining in the EU or leaving with the deal Labour negotiates.

    Challenged on whether it was acceptable for the Labour leader not to be candid about how he would campaign in another referendum, shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer tells the BBC: “The position we’ve adopted is that we are taking this decision away from the politicians and putting it to the public.

    “So what matters now is those options are going up for the public to decide – do you want to leave on this deal or do you want to remain?”

  14. Barnier: Brexit has many 'underestimated' consequencespublished at 12:27 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

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    The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier says Brexit is not only about divorce, as so many consequences can be "underestimated", Reuters reports.

    Speaking at Web Summit, a global technology event in Lisbon, Portugal, he says the EU and the UK had worked together to find a unique solution in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

    He says the EU commission will be ready to start negotiations on a future relationship as soon as the UK ratifies the Brexit agreement, adding that time for discussions will be extremely short.

    He knows those negotiations will be difficult, and the EU will require strong guarantees for a level playing field across the board.

    He adds Brexit is a lose-lose situation but says efforts were being made to "build a new partnership with the UK".

  15. Could the NHS be 'up for sale'?published at 12:12 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    NHS posterImage source, Getty Images

    In his speech, Jeremy Corbyn accused Boris Johnson of seeking to "hijack Brexit to sell out the NHS" to American firms, as part of a future trade deal with the US.

    He claimed the PM's strategy could see an extra £500m-a-week spent on buying medicines.

    The Conservatives have strongly denied that the NHS is in any way "up for sale".

    They argue there will be red lines with the British position in any trade talks, which protect the current status of the health service and the drug purchasing regime.

    When Mr Trump visited the UK in June, he said the NHS would form part of negotiations over a possible future trade deal between the UK and US. However, the next day, he rowed back from those remarks.

    When asked in a recent radio interview with LBC, whether the NHS would feature in trade talks, President Trump said: "We wouldn't even be involved in that, no. It's not for us to have anything to do with your health care system."

    Read more analysis from BBC health editor Hugh Pym here.

  16. Ex-Tory MP: 'Hard' to vote Conservative based on Brexitpublished at 12:10 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    BBC Radio 5 Live

    Ex-Tory MP and cabinet minister Justine Greening, who will stand down at the election, tells BBC 5 Live's Emma Barnett it would be "very hard" for her to vote for the Conservatives based on their Brexit position.

    She says she did not want to see "us getting on with what would be a very damaging deal for Britain".

    She adds that Brexit was "part of her voting" decision making, but that she was also "extremely worried about a Jeremy Corbyn government".

  17. Social media giants asked to protect election candidates from abusepublished at 12:07 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    Nicky Morgan MPImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Nicky Morgan said being an MP had a "clear impact" on her family.

    Downing Street is writing to social media companies asking them to protect election candidates from online abuse.

    The final Cabinet meeting before polling on 12 December discussed the need to ensure there were proper safeguards for election candidates, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.

    "We hope social media companies will do all they can to ensure this election is free from intimidation and abuse," they said.

    The government's intervention comes after a number of high-profile female MPs cited online abuse as a factor in their decision to step down at the next election.

    Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan has been subject to a number of threats.

  18. Would Labour join a coalition government?published at 11:59 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    Asked whether he would enter into a coalition with another party if Labour was unable to secure a majority, Mr Corbyn says: "We are campaigning to win this election with a majority Labour government.

    “We are not campaigning to form a coalition with anybody.”

  19. How much could Labour's nationalisation plans cost?published at 11:59 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    Reality Check

    Jeremy Corbyn has been talking about his nationalisation plans.

    We've been looking at estimates of how much they could cost.

    You can read it here.

  20. My Brexit timetable's realistic says Corbynpublished at 11:50 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November 2019

    Mr Corbyn insists his party's plan to get Brexit sorted within six months is "realistic".

    He says he and shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer have "spent many hours" in Brussels speaking to officials, governments and other socialist parties, and they believe Labour's timetable is feasible.