Brexit news - as it happened: Corbyn-backing union shies away from backing fresh Brexit referendum
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Your support makes all the difference.Britain’s biggest union, Unite, has shied away from backing a fresh referendum on the final Brexit deal but said it “remains open to the possibility” of one.
At the start of the day, it looked like Unite would support a public vote on Theresa May's exit terms, which flies in the face of Labour's official policy.
However delegates voted overwhelmingly in a favour of a weaker statement, which said: “Our priority will be to force an early general election which can lead to the election of a Labour government which would, among other things, reach a better deal with the European Union and improved relations with Europe all round.”
“We are also open to the possibility of a popular vote being held on any deal, depending on political circumstances.
“Within these principles, the executive council has authority to respond as it thinks best to a fast-changing political situation.”
It comes as the prime minister’s warring cabinet has been urged to “get on with the job” by senior Tories as UK businesses warned their patience is reaching “breaking point” over the government’s inability to answer key questions on Brexit.
In a podcast for the ConservativeHome website, Jacob Rees-Mogg has said:
"I am trying to support the Prime Minister's position and to remind people that any implementation deal has to get through Parliament, and if it is a bad deal, or it doesn't meet the manifesto commitments, people won't vote for it," said Mr Rees-Mogg, who chairs the European Research Group of Eurosceptic Tories.
"It is a reflection of both the strength of the Prime Minister's position and the reality of what would happen if the Cabinet went away from the Prime Minister's avowed position."
Mr Rees-Mogg warned there had been a "breakdown in collective responsibility" in the Cabinet, with pro-EU ministers openly promoting solutions "against the Prime Minister's speeches, against the position formally of the Cabinet and against the manifesto".
And he said: "This is really serious, it is constitutionally unsuitable, it is damaging to the Conservative Party and most importantly it weakens us in negotiations."
“The Chancellor doesn’t have to worry about others undermining capitalism – they are doing a pretty good job themselves,” John McDonnell says to Hammond during Treasury questions.
This is from one of the MPs who wrote a letter to Theresa May on Friday, making a series of demands ahead of the Chequers meeting on Friday. Ms Jenkyns resigned from her PPS role in government earlier this year to speak out on Brexit related issues.
Theresa May's spokesman was staying tight lipped on details of the new post-Brexit customs plan that the prime minister has come up with, and which is at the center of a lot of speculation ahead of Friday's meeting at Chequers, writes political editor Joe Watts.
He would not venture to say what the parameters of the discussion will be on Friday, or say which ministers have been or will be briefed in advance on the customs plan and white paper.
He did confidently say that "decisions" will be taken, though declined to say on what exactly.
With a lot pressure on May from the Brexiteer wing not to soften her stance, he told _The Independent_: "The package that we bring forward will be something that we'd hope everyone in the house and in the country can support."
Responding to the government's LGBT+ action plan, Matthew Fell, the chief policy director at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said: "Anyone who runs a business knows that a happy, diverse and inclusive workplace where people can bring their whole self is more successful.
“One bad experience, regardless of your gender identity or sexuality, is one too many and unacceptable in modern Britain.
“The results of this survey should be a wake-up call to everyone – workplaces cultures are getting better but not fast enough. The CBI will continue to promote LGBT+ rights. We will encourage businesses to educate their staff, understand the progress they are making and empower role models.”
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