Tory health minister Nadine Dorries has been widely mocked for claiming “Brexit got done” after the Withdrawal Agreement Bill cleared the Commons. The bill still needs approval in the Lords, and a UK-EU trade deal still needs to be forged after 31 January.
It comes as Northern Ireland could see a return to power-sharing arrangements today after the UK and Irish governments published a draft deal, urging the five main parties to get back to work at Stormont.
Meanwhile, Labour leadership candidate Clive Lewis has called for a referendum on the future of the monarchy, saying: “Let the British public decide.” It follows shadow trade secretary Barry Gardiner’s decision to rule himself out of the contest.
To follow events as they unfolded, see our live coverage below:
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of British politics, as Northern Ireland faces a possible return to power-sharing after a dramatic night of developments in political efforts to resurrect devolution.
Powersharing could return to Northern Ireland after draft deal published
Northern Ireland could witness a return to powersharing today after a dramatic night of developments in political efforts to resurrect devolution.
The UK and Irish governments jointly published a suggested deal late last night and urged the five main parties to sign up and get back to work at Stormont.
Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith wrote to the speaker of the defunct Assembly requesting him to convene a sitting on Friday – issuing a challenge to the parties to turn up and get back to business.
The DUP, the party blamed by both governments for holding up a deal in December, responded positively to the ‘New Decade, New Approach’ text published by the governments.
Party leader Arlene Foster said there was a basis to re-establish the devolved institutions in a”fair and balanced way”.
All eyes will now turn to Sinn Fein – the other party whose agreement is required to secure the return of a mandatory coalition executive. Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said: “We are studying the text and will give it careful consideration.”
Governments publish draft deal to restore powersharing in Northern Ireland
House speaker asked to recall assembly, without DUP or Sinn Fein having agreed to proposals‘Brexit got done’, claims Tory minister
The Tory health minister Nadine Dorries has been mocked for premature celebrations after claiming “It happened. Brexit got done”. It followed the Withdrawal Agreement Bill clearing the House of Commons with a comfortable majority of 99.
But the legislation now heads to the upper chamber, where there is no government majority and where peers repeatedly dealt blows to Theresa May’s administration.
And, as many people pointed out to Dorries on social media, the UK’s formal exit from the UK on 31 January only sets up the next stage of the process as the two sides attempt to thrash out a trade deal.
She wasn’t the only one in triumphant mood. Tom Hardwood tweeted “Brexit: done.”
Nigel Farage, meanwhile, has already organised his “Happy Brexit Day” celebration day at Parliament Square.
Thornberry and Lewis struggling to get enough support among Labour MPs
Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy and Jess Phillips have all won enough the support of at least 22 MPs to pass the first hurdle of the Labour leadership contest.
Frontrunner Keir Starmer has increased his lead to 63 backers, while Long Bailey takes second place with 26 supporters, while Nandy is in third on 24 supporters and Phillips is fourth on 22 endorsements.
It leaves Emily Thornberry lagging behind with only nine supporters, while outsider Clive Lewis has picked up four backers – in serious danger of failing to meet the required number of nominations by Monday.
The Labour MPs who have passed the first hurdle to succeed Corbyn
Candidates join shadow Brexit secretary Keir StarmerBarry Gardiner bows out of brief Labour leadership bid
So having teased us all so delightfully, the shadow trade secretary Barry Gardiner announced he won’t formally stand for the Labour leadership after all.
Gardiner confirmed last night that he hadn’t been able get enough support – after a furious round of calls to MPs from Abu Dhabi – to join the contest.
He tried though; he really tried. Speaking live from the Persian Gulf on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show yesterday, he claimed he could win a general election, and pleaded for the Unite boss Len McCluskey’s backing. “Len, if you’re watching … I’d like to talk.”
But in statement last night he said: “I am now clear that at this late stage I cannot secure sufficient nominations to proceed to the next round. I have therefore decided not to stand for the leadership at this time.
“I will continue to serve the party loyally under whichever of my colleagues has the honour of leading our party forward to win the next general election.”
Raab calls for ‘transparent’ investigation into plane crash in Iran
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has called for an “independent, full and transparent” investigation to determine what caused the Tehran airliner crash.
His comments came after Boris Johnson suggested there was now a “body of information” that indicated the crash was caused by an Iranian missile.
The PM made the announcement after US officials and the Canadian leader said Iran looked to have been involved in the downing of the Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752.
Speaking in Canada, Raab said: “We agree with the Canadian assessment that indicates that Ukrainian International Airlines flight was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, and as (Canadian foreign minister) Francois-Philippe (Champagne) said, it may well have been unintentional.
"The Iranian regime must open up to the international community, including access to the crash site, so we can get to the truth as quickly as possible to give the families of the victims an understanding of what happened to their loved ones.”
The Foreign Office has also advised British travellers against all air travel to, from and within Iran.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe admitted to clinic after panic attack, says husband
British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran spent one night in a clinic after experiencing “palpitations and panic attacks”, her husband has said.
Richard Ratcliffe said tensions in Tehran, sparked by the US assassination of General Qasem Suleimani, are taking a toll on the mental health of his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
She is midway through a five-year sentence, accused of spying, which she denies.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Friday morning, Mr Ratcliffe said: “This is a situation where there is a lot of anger in Iran and a lot of vulnerability, and it’s very stressful for the people involved.
“I mean, Nazanin was taken down to the clinic overnight two nights ago, through palpitations and panic attacks. So I think it’s important for the government to just do what they can.”
He added: “She was put on beta blockers to calm down. We usually expect things to happen a week or 10 days later, so there is a sense of foreboding which is affecting all the prisoners.”
He added that he should be meeting Foreign Office officials later on Friday. “(We are) really pressing up on the media for a meeting with the prime minister. So we will be calling to find out when we can do that.”
‘We need to get back to work’, says NI secretary
The Northern Ireland secretary Julian Smith reiterated that his financial package could end the nurses strike in the region.
He said: “The package is dependent on the executive getting back up and running. We have gone for three years without government, without politicians taking the right decision, three years where MLAs (assembly members) have been paid their salary.
“The time is up, we need to get back to work.”
Smith visited Maghaberry Primary School in Co Antrim where he fielded questions like what he did when he was recognised out on his regular runs.
He conceded: “Most of the time people are more interested in musicians or sportspeople.”
‘Four more to go!’ Burgon close to passing first hurdle
The Labour deputy leadership candidate Richard Burgon – flagbearer for the Corbynite left – has been backed by 18 Labour MPs so far.
The shadow justice secretary says he won’t get greedy, and will encourage colleagues to endorse others if he passes the threshold of 22 nominations needed by Monday to advance to the next stage of the contest.
‘Delighted’: Labour back possible return to powersharing at Stormont
Tony Lloyd, Labour’s shadow Northern Ireland secretary, has said the party was “delighted” to see Northern Ireland’s political leaders reach an apparent compromise.
He tweeted: “We all hoped to see Northern Ireland returned to the pathway and principles outlined in the Good Friday Agreement, for public services and particularly the NHS.
“The Labour party will support any legislation to ensure a Stormont government returns and thrives.”
Draft deal back by NI police chief
Simon Byrne, the chief constable for the Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI), said he “welcomed” the publication of the draft agreement for a return to powersharing in Stormont.
“There is much in this document which is good for policing,” he said – backing the plan to raise the number of officers to 7,500.
“We welcome plans to reform and streamline our outdated criminal justice processes and also address the issue of legacy investigations which drain our focus on policing the issues of here and now.
“A fresh emphasis on tacking the scourge of paramilitary crime and intimidation, supported by legislation to tackle unexplained wealth, sits four square with our operational priorities.”
The Police Federation for Northern Ireland and NI Policing Board also backed the plan.
McDonnell pleads on behalf of deputy leadership hopefuls
Let’s have a look at the where the Labour deputy leadership contest stands. As of last night, Angela Rayner and Ian Murray have the nominations they need to pass the first hurdle.
But three others are tantalisingly close to the 22 MPs’ nominations they need by Monday. Richard Burgon has 18 endorsements, Rosena Allin-Khan has 16 and Dawn Butler has 14.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has appealed for “sufficient” support for these three “great” candidates, saying: “I believe Labour members will want to select from a broad church range of candidates at least in the deputy leader election.”
Clive Lewis: ‘Labour must modernise or die’
Labour MP Clive Lewis only has four nominations from colleagues in his bid to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as leader – but he is still hoping to pick up the required 22 by Monday.
He is setting out his vision for how Labour can win the next election at a speech in Brixton this morning (our correspondent Ashley Cowburn is there).
Keen to be avoid the idea of continuity Corbynism, he is expected to say: “We can’t have more of the same. The Labour party needs to modernise, or it will die.
Lewis believes it is time to start “devolving power in our party away from head office” and is calling for the House of Lords to be abolished and replaced with an elected second chamber.
Corbyn given ‘6 out of 10’ by Labour deputy leadership candidate
Rosena Allin-Khan – still looking for another six nominations to make it to the next stage – is the latest Labour figure to give Jeremy Corbyn a leadership rating.
While Rebecca Long Bailey gave the current boss “10 out of 10” for his leadership, the MP for Tooting has handed him a more mediocre score.
“I would have to give him six out of ten,” she told The Huffington Post. “He did get us to a point where we are an anti-austerity party and we have a record number of young people signed up to the party and registered to vote, but the biggest judge is the electorate and we didn’t wow anyone at the last election, did we?”
Although Corbyn claimed his party “won the argument”, Allin-Khan said: “It’d be an incredible error to not recognise that we have suffered a catastrophic defeat and a blow to our party.”
Clive Lewis backs PR and elected second chamber
The Labour leadership hopeful has been setting out his vision for constitutional reform, including his support for scrapping first past the post and the House of Lords.
“We must come out in favour of proportional representation – not only because it is the fairest way to elect a parliament, but also because it will put into practice our fundamental belief in the value of collaboration and cooperation,” he said.
On the first past the post system, Lewis said Labour “can remain the biggest centre-left force in Britain … but it will never be in power because too much is weighted against it if it tries to win with the current model.”
And on the Lords he added: “We must abolish the House of Lords and move towards an elected second chamber. How can the public have faith in politics when people like Zac Goldsmith can lose their seat in a democratic election one week, get put in the House of Lords the week after, and be back in cabinet. It’s a public scandal and just demonstrates the crisis in our democracy.”
Clive Lewis: Why not have a referendum on the royals?
Labour leadership hopeful Clive Lewis has suggested a referendum on the “future” of the royal family.
Asked about his views on the monarchy after his speech, Lewis said: “Why not have a referendum in this country in the future of the royal family?
“We’re a democracy – I’d rather see as citizens than subjects in the 21st century.”
“Let the British public decide what the future of the monarchy is and what shape it should be.”
Government to keep ban on chlorinated chicken after Brexit, raising fresh doubts over UK-US trade deal
The UK will continue to ban the import of chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-injected beef after Brexit, the environment secretary has said, raising doubts over the prospect of a trade deal with the US.
Theresa Villiers said the government would adopt an EU ban on the two products once Britain leaves the EU.
However, the comments are likely cause problems during trade deals with the US, which is expected to demand access to UK markets for US food producers.
Clive Lewis says it is democratic to hold referendum on royal family
Labour leadership hopeful Clive Lewis has put out a tweet following his speech in London, which is sure to attract controversy.
See our story here:
No 10 praises plans to restore powersharing in Northern Ireland
Downing Street said the new deal designed to restore powersharing in Northern Ireland was “a fair and balanced deal” and urged parties in the region to accept the terms.
A spokesman for the prime minister told journalists in Westminster: “The Northern Ireland Secretary, working with the Northern Ireland parties and Irish government, has published a fair and balanced deal to get Stormont back up and running after three years.
“Agreement could see the executive and assembly restored as early as today.
“Should an agreement be reached, reforms to the health service, education and justice will be prioritised by a new executive.
“It is up to the parties to come together now and accept this deal in the interest of everyone in Northern Ireland.”
Boris Johnson’s real battle with the EU is only just beginning
The prime minister has got MPs to back him – but his next test, on a trade deal, will be even tougher, writes Sean O'Grady.
