Matthew Taylor

Sunday shows round-up – Simon Coveney: The backstop ‘isn’t going to change’

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Andrew Marr was joined this morning by the Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney. The interview turned immediately to the divisive backstop, the arrangement whereby the UK could effectively remain in the EU’s customs union after 2020 if no alternative arrangement is made to avoid a ‘hard border’ on Northern Ireland. Coveney told Marr that there was no appetite from either the Irish government or the EU for further change:

AM: Can I ask you first of all whether you are prepared to shift at all on this very vexed question of the backstop?

SC: Well, I mean, the straight answer to that is that the backstop is already a compromise… The very need for the backstop in the first place was because of British red lines that they wanted to leave the customs union and single market as well as the European Union. So the Irish position is, look, we have already agreed to a series of compromises here… The backstop, as part of the withdrawal agreement, is part of a balanced package that isn’t going to change.

Coveney continued, ‘The problem with arguing against the backstop is that nobody yet who argues against that insurance mechanism… has come up with a pragmatic, sensible and legally sound way of avoiding border infrastructure re-emerging’. He declared that there was ‘no magic solution’, and added ‘we have to work out these things together and stop talking about games of chicken’. He went on to conclude that ‘the European Parliament will not ratify a withdrawal agreement that doesn’t have a backstop in it. It’s as simple as that’.

Nicola Sturgeon – Salmond charges will not derail independence
Marr interviewed the First Minister of Scotland after a week which saw her predecessor Alex Salmond charged with 14 offences, including attempted rape and sexual assault. Nicola Sturgeon told Marr that despite these allegations, which Salmond denies, the case for Scottish independence was not diminished:

AM: Do you think this affair has any effect whatever on your campaign for another referendum in Scotland?

NS: No, I don’t think it has an impact on the future political and constitutional direction of Scotland. The case for independence is bigger than any one man. It’s bigger than any one woman. It’s not about individual personalities, it’s about what is best for the country now and in the longer term.

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Sturgeon cited ‘the material change in circumstances since the last referendum [and] our experiences over the last two and a half years’ as grounds on which to seek a second referendum, complaining that Scottish voices had been ‘ignored’ throughout the Brexit process. She deemed Theresa May to be ‘in complete denial’ about getting a revised version of her withdrawal agreement through the House of Commons and repeated her call for to seek an extension to Article 50.

Yvette Cooper – We can’t carry on with a ‘game of chicken’
Marr also spoke to the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee Yvette Cooper, who is preparing to table a bill next week which could see the UK extend its Article 50 deadline by up to nine months. Marr asked her whether she could expect support from the Labour leadership, which would be critical for the bill to become law:

AM: You’ve talked to Jeremy Corbyn this week about it… Have you got his support?

YC: Well, I hope that he will support it… What I would say to him, to the Prime Minister, to government ministers… we can’t keep waiting for other people to sort this out. We can’t just carry on with a kind of game of chicken that you described. That’s not a way to make sensible decisions… If the Prime Minister runs out of time she may need some more time. And that is not about blocking Brexit, that is about being responsible and making sure you can try and get a Brexit deal.

Cooper added that she was firmly opposed to a ‘no deal’ exit, and its wealthier advocates, saying ‘they’re not the ones who are going to suffer if food prices go up and if medicines are delayed’. Seeking potential support from Conservatives, she cited Neil Basu, the Metropolitan Police’s new counter-terrorism chief: ‘He says we will be less safe because we won’t have the information that we need at the border to stop wanted criminals, terror suspects, entering the country’.

Matt Hancock – We must act on social media companies
Marr’s final guest was the Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock. The discussion turned to the tragic case of Molly Russell, who took her own life in 2017. It transpired that Russell had viewed ‘disturbing’ content about depression and suicide via her social media accounts. Marr asked how much power Hancock could exert over the international tech giants in this case:

AM: Do you actually have the power to compel them to do what you think needs to be done?

MH: Yes, absolutely. Now, I think that lots of people feel powerless in this situation, but of course we can act… We can legislate if we need to. It would be far better to do it in concert with the social media companies, but if we think they need to do things that they are refusing to do, then we can and we must legislate.

Hancock was reluctant to issue any kind of ban on social media, saying ‘it’s not where I’d like to end up’, but added ‘we must act to make sure that this amazing technology is used for good’. Turning to Brexit, he told Marr that he would not be at all swayed by Yvette Cooper’s proposals, ‘because delaying Brexit won’t help solve these problems’. On the question of removing the backstop from Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement, Hancock said ‘we have got to listen very carefully to people who are willing to vote for the deal’. Regarding reports that the government could consider martial law to maintain order in the event of a ‘no deal’ scenario, Hancock said ‘I wouldn’t put a stress on that’, but confirmed that ‘it remains on the statute book’.

Damian Hinds – No deal unlikely to be government policy
Sophy Ridge interviewed the Education Secretary Damian Hinds. In remarks likely to irritate some of his Brexit-supporting colleagues, Hinds opined that he could not imagine a scenario in which the government would stick to Theresa May’s original principle that ‘no deal is better than a bad deal:

SR: If the government were to move towards no deal, could you support that and remain in government?

DH: …I don’t envisage a scenario in which no deal becomes government policy but it is important that it remains as a possibility, because on the other hand there is still a possibility that some people will try to thwart Brexit altogether. I want them both of those sides, people to be moving a little bit towards each other, so that we come to a good negotiated exit deal.

SR: Some of your colleagues have said that they are willing to step down if no deal does become effectively government policy.

DH: That’s something that only individuals can obviously answer for.

On his brief at Education, Hinds told Ridge the government needed to do more to make sure that teaching ‘remains a compelling attractive prospect’ and acknowledged that pay levels were ‘an important part of the attractiveness of the profession’. He also recognised that ‘there has been a bit of an explosion’ in parents emailing their schools and urged parents to be aware of the impact of this.

Andrea Jenkyns – Theresa May needs to hold her nerve
And finally, the Leave supporting MP Andrea Jenkyns who resigned her ministerial post in order to ‘fight for Brexit’, has argued that the Prime Minister can get a stronger deal for the UK, as long as she is prepared to go down to the wire:

SR: You of course voted against the Prime Minister’s deal, you have been very vocal on the reasons why you don’t think it’s a good idea. What would she have to do to win your support?

AJ: Well, first of all the Prime Minister needs to hold her nerve. I think we’ve seen a lot of movement over the last week and going forward, we’ve heard them saying, we’ve heard talk about, rather than having a backstop and a border between Britain and Northern Ireland, we’re hearing talk now of the possibility between the EU and Ireland, so stuff like this. We have also heard this week about the French farmers fearing us leaving on a no deal and also the fishermen. Ministers in France are saying their fishing industry could be destroyed and it would be catastrophic for them so I think [the EU] are starting to get a reality check now.

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