Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen, including the ongoing controversy about David Cameron and offshore trusts, and the row about the government’s £9m pro-EU leaflet campaign
Cameron defends pro-EU leaflet campaign
Gove criticises government for spending £9m on ‘one-sided propaganda’
Cameron’s Q&A - Snap verdict
Lunchtime summary
Afternoon summary
5.06pm BST
The battle now joined over Europe has - on one side - the romantic nostalgia of an Out campaign that aches for a past that has long gone, in a world that has moved on. On the other side those - like me - who wish to remain are not European dreamers: we are realists who see an edgy, uncomfortable world, and believe that the UK is safer, more secure and better off remaining with our partners in Europe.
In the referendum, the easiest slogans inevitably lie with the Out campaign, and repudiating their often foolish and extreme claims is for a UK audience. Suffice to say, the Out advocates, whether in enthusiasm or ignorance, lace their argument with false statistics and unlikely scenarios.
4.48pm BST
According to Exeter University’s student newspaper, the university’s Labour club and Lib Dem club were invited to hear David Cameron speak today, but not the student Conservative association.
Ben Bradshaw, the Labour MP for Exeter, is gloating on Twitter.
Oh dear, Tory students in Exeter are so incompetent they can't even get themselves invited to see their own leader! https://t.co/HZ1Bqc04cq
4.38pm BST
The British Election Study has released some research today arguing that Britain is becoming a nation of swing voters. The key fact is that at the 2015 general election 38% of voters had changed their mind since the previous election. In 1966 the equivalent figure was 13%.
Jon Mellon, the BES research fellow who produced the study, says this has important implications for the parties. In a news release he said:
For decades, political parties have based their strategies around targeting wavering voters.
Most people had settled views – which just weren’t going to change: the public was either Labour or Tory through and through.
4.26pm BST
Here is the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast. It features David Pegg, Heather Stewart, Luke Harding and Tom Clark discussing the Panama Papers.
Related: The Panama Papers - Politics Weekly podcast
3.52pm BST
David Cameron did not seem to go down well with some of the students at Exeter.
Imogen Groome, who was in the audience, has emailed me this.
David Cameron, if you are going to take a Q&A session on the EU referendum at a University, aimed at young people, it might have been good if you turned up when the students were actually around [ie, not during the university holidays]. If you’re going to answer questions, you might want to acknowledge more people than just a hand-picked few, before breezing out and driving away. If you want to encourage people to vote, please just do that. Don’t tell us to vote, then give us pro-EU propaganda. Listen to us, take on board what we have to say and what we want to ask. Because I still have questions for you. Some of them got answered in the session, but not to my satisfaction. In fact, I don’t think many people are satisfied with what went down at the University today. The media storm is testament to that.
@AndrewSparrow Very very angry about this; students were not informed in time and most of the people invited were staff. Perfect...(1/2)
@AndrewSparrow (2/2) example of David Cameron's refusal to engage with young people and actual students beyond a perfunctory few.
@AndrewSparrow Postgrad researchers from the Politics department were left out, and none of us were invited in. Disgraceful.
3.35pm BST
Earlier I quoted Robert Peston’s Facebook post in which he argues that the tax-avoiding aspects of the offshore trust run by David Cameron’s late father have been misunderstood. (See 11.42am.) Richard Murphy, the tax campaigner, has responded with an angry blog of his own arguing that Peston is wrong. Here’s an excerpt.
So first, let’s be clear what the objective of tax compliance – that is tax honesty – is. It is seeking to pay the right amount of tax (but no more) at the right rate, in the right place at the right time, where right means that the economic substance of the transactions undertaken coincides with the place and form in which they are reported for taxation purposes.
So what is tax avoidance? That is using loopholes within and between laws and legal systems to make sure that tax payments are not compliant (as defined above) in ways that do not breach the law.
2.57pm BST
The Electoral Commission has defended the government’s right to send out its pro-EU leaflet.
The government is only prevented from publishing material of this kind during the “purdah” period - the 28 days before the referendum.
After the referendum on Scottish independence, the Electoral Commission recommended that governments should conduct no taxpayer-funded advertising activity during the regulated period.
However, parliament decided not to put any legal restrictions on government activity until 28 days before the poll, the 27th of May. These are the same rules that were in place for other recent referendums.
The Electoral Commission response to the EU leaflet row can pretty much be summed up with ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/ewqCp2IN2g
2.34pm BST
It’s a question of fairness. The government knows that it wouldn’t be allowed to put this leaflet out during the last four weeks of the campaign and is taking advantage of that loophole. What the Government are effectively doing is doubling the funding for one side, i.e. the Remain campaign, by spending this amount of money.
I think it’s very important the Dutch government stops and thinks and looks at that referendum and doesn’t try to dismiss it and I know they won’t do that.
2.23pm BST
My colleague Rowena Mason has more from Exeter, where David Cameron is still ignoring the press pack.
David Cameron hiding behind a giant gate for photo opp with a pro-EU bus. Press pack not allowed in... pic.twitter.com/dz7hhjbeTI
1.58pm BST
The government has argued that its decision to spend £9m distributing pro-EU leaflets is justified partly because this is what happened ahead of the 1975 referendum on EEC membership. But, speaking at the launch of Ukip’s Holyrood manifesto in Edinburgh, Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, said election rules were meant to be fairer now than they were then. He said:
I know that this was a stunt that Harold Wilson pulled back in 1975 but I would have thought one of the very reasons for the establishment of an Electoral Commission was that the ground rules in this referendum were supposed to be free and fair.
Given that HM government is not a registered participant in this campaign, I think, frankly, it’s outrageous to use 10m of our money to tell us how we should think and how we should vote.
1.35pm BST
This what David Cameron said during the Q&A defending the government’s decision to spend £9m on its pro-EU mailshot.
I make no apology for the fact that we are sending to every household in the country this leaflet which sets out what the government’s view is and why we come to that view.
We are not neutral in this. We think it would be a bad decision to leave. We think it would be bad for our economy, bad for jobs, bad for investment, bad for families’ finances.
1.20pm BST
Michael Gove, the justice secretary and one of the cabinet ministers backing Brexit, has criticised the government’s decision to spend £9m on a pro-EU leaflet. He told BBC News:
I want a fair campaign, I want people to hear from both sides but what I think is wrong is spending £9m of taxpayers’ money on one particular piece of one-sided propaganda. I think it is wrong that money that should be spent on priorities like the NHS is being spent on Euro-propaganda.
What people want are the facts and, of course, in a debate both sides will try to give people the information they need to make up their mind but the critical thing is I just think it’s wrong that at a time of austerity £9m of taxpayers’ money is going on a one-sided piece of propaganda, that money should be spent on the NHS, on the people’s priorities.
1.11pm BST
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. The journos will not be happy. Not happy at all. It takes two hours at least to get from London to Exeter by train, and more than three hours with some services, and the main reason for attending these events is the prospect of getting to ask the prime minister a question. And today he snubbed them all. It is one thing saying no to Jeremy Paxman. But when the prime minister cannot even bring himself to record a clip with BBC South West, that does not look good at all.
And it is not as if there were no options available to Cameron. He could, for example, have followed the wise words in today’s Guardian editorial when looking for a form of words to use on offshore trusts.
An equivalent blast of Cameronian chutzpah today might work wonders again – assuming, of course, that no awkward secrets are still lurking behind the evolving denials. To give the PM his due he has, since 2013 at least, uttered some very good words about tax. If he would now follow up with commensurate deeds, and next month’s OECD summit provides an opportune moment for that, then the fine rhetorical record could yet allow him to emerge with his reputation enhanced. Especially, perhaps, if he combined it with a “and yes, that includes us” speech about how wealthy families had retarded action for too long.
12.53pm BST
Here are the speaking notes that David Cameron was using.
12.44pm BST
But the New Statesman’s Stephen Bush thinks that David Cameron may have been wise to ignore the press.
Depressing but why would Cameron take media questions? Clegg had the most transparent and press-friendly campaign in 2015 & got slaughtered.
12.43pm BST
The journalists are not happy at all. This is from the Telegraph’s Ben Riley-Smith.
Not a single question for the media at Cameron Q&A. 400 miles round-trip well worth it.
This is ridiculous.... https://t.co/t69oJYl9wt
12.41pm BST
And Cameron is not even doing interviews with regional media, Martyn Oates, the BBC South West political editor reports.
No media interviews at all allowed at Cameron pro-EU event in Exeter today.
12.38pm BST
That is the first time Cameron has avoided press questions at an event like this.
PM doesn't take any media questions - first time on the EU campaign trail I've seen that he hasn't
12.36pm BST
Q: If we leave the EU, what would happen next? Would there be work permits for EU citizens?
Cameron says that is a good question, but it is really a question for the Leave side.
12.32pm BST
Q: A few weeks back Iain Duncan Smith resigned, saying benefit cuts were not fair. Was this a deliberate move to destabilise you as prime minister and damage the Remain campaign? And how stable is the government as a whole?
Cameron says he does not have much to add to what was said at the time. He was “sad” to see Duncan Smith resign.
12.29pm BST
Q: What should the EU do about tax avoidance, something you have experience of?
Cameron says there is a need for action nationally. But there is a need for action internationally too, he says. He says he has pushed for action on this on the world stage.
12.27pm BST
This is from my colleague Rowena Mason.
Students much better at grilling PM than employees in front of bosses. Qus on student fees, steel bail-out, taxpayer funded EU leaflet
12.27pm BST
Q: What would be the impact of leaving on agriculture?
Cameron says for him the key think about the EU is that it is a market of 500m.
12.25pm BST
Q: What is the impact of EU membership on universities?
Cameron says the universities are strongly in favour of staying in the EU. The university sector is one of the economy’s strengths. If Britain left, they would lose funding for research.
12.23pm BST
Q: Why are you spending £9m on the leaflet campaign?
Cameron says the Leave and Remain sides will send out their own leaflets. But he wants to ensure that everyone knows what the government thinks.
12.21pm BST
Q: [From the president of the Welsh Society] You haven’t bailed out steelworkers like you did the bankers. You opposed tariffs on Chinese steel. Will the new navy frigates be built with British steel?
Cameron says the steel industry is a strategic industry. The government wants to support it. It stands ready to help.
12.17pm BST
Q: You raised my tuition fees by £9,000, so it is nice to hear you care about students. So why are you holding the referendum on a date so bad for students. We’ve got exams, there are graduation ceremonies that day, and there is Glastonbury?
Cameron says he thought that was a reasonable time. But we have got postal voting, he says. He advises the student to apply for a postal vote and then go to Glastonbury.
12.14pm BST
Q: What are the risks of staying in the EU?
Cameron says some argue that Britain would be in a better position to deal with crises like the migration one or the Eurozone one by being out of the EU.
12.12pm BST
Cameron is now taking questions.
Q: How will the results of the Dutch referendum affect our referendum?
12.09pm BST
Cameron says in this referendum he wants to combine the idealism of the young with the wisdom of those who are older.
He urges young people to persuade their parents and grandparents to vote in the referendum.
12.07pm BST
Cameron says if Britain votes to leave the EU, young people will face a decade of uncertainty. They will be starting their careers when Britain faces a period of seven to 10 years working out its relationship with the EU.
12.06pm BST
Cameron says he has a particular argument for young people (his audience today).
Young people have most to gain from being in the EU, and most to leave from Britain leaving, he says.
Related: Britain's membership of the EU could fall down the generation gap | Andrew Rawnsley
12.04pm BST
Cameron reiterates his standard three arguments for Britain remaining in the EU; staying in will make Britain stronger, safer and better off, he says.
He says he thinks the best argument is the final one - that Britain will be better off being in a market of 500m people.
12.03pm BST
David Cameron starts by defending the government’s decision to send out its leaflet. He says the government is not neutral on this. It wants to make the case for staying in the EU.
12.00pm BST
David Cameron is just about to start his Q&A on Europe.
There is a live feed at the top of this blog.
11.48am BST
And while we’re on the subject of Blairmore, Bloomberg says the fund has actually performed relatively poorly in recent years. Here’s an extract from its story.
The fund linked to UK prime minister David Cameron’s father in the leaked Panama documents may be sparking questions about tax avoidance, though whoever invested in it didn’t fare so well.
The Blairmore Global Equity Fund, of which Cameron’s late father was director, has risen about half as much as the MSCI All-Country World Index since he became prime minister in May 2010. The $30 million fund invests primarily in stocks worldwide, with a focus on financial companies, and has climbed 21 percent in the period.
11.42am BST
When David Cameron speaks later he will probably face further questions about his late father’s offshore fund (assuming reporters get the chance to ask them - Cameron is often elusive at events like this, and tends to take two or three questions from journalists at most.)
But there is some good news. ITV’s political editor Robert Peston has written a post for Facebook arguing that tax-dodging nature of Blairmore Holdings (the offshore fund) has been misunderstood. The company itself may not pay tax, but people in the UK receiving income from it would, he says.
There is a widespread presumption, I think, that the incorporation of Blairmore in Panama and its location for operating purposes in the Bahamas somehow meant that its shareholders - including members of the Cameron family - were protected from paying income tax and capital gains tax.
But Blairmore’s 2006 prospectus is explicit that is not so. Its British investors were and are liable to income tax on the dividends they receive and capital gains tax on whatever profits they earn when they sell their Blairmore shares (and as far as I can tell they would have been lucky to make profits, since the performance of this small £21m fund has been anything but stellar).
11.22am BST
Labour has come back with a slightly more robust response to the statement from the Board of Deputies about British Jews claiming Jeremy Corbyn does not take antisemitism seriously. (See 10.15am.) A spokesman for Corbyn said:
It is Jeremy Corbyn who is taking action on antisemitism. He has consistently condemned anti-semitism and all forms of racism and under Jeremy’s leadership, Labour is clamping down on antisemitism and taking clear action against offenders.
10.54am BST
One of the reasons why Brexit campaigners are so angry about the government’s £9m pro-EU mailshot is that ministers played down suggestions that they were going to do this last year, as MPs were debating the EU referendum bill.
In the Commons ministers repeatedly said they would not be sending out leaflets etc during the short campaign, ie in the four weeks before the referendum. To be fair, they never ruled out sending out leaflets at an earlier point (see here, for example), but sometimes this was not very explicit. Vote Leave have been highlighting various examples of allegedly misleading statements, including this quote from David Lidington, the Europe minister, in a debate in September.
Let me repeat that we have no intention of legislating to allow the government to do things such as mailshots, paid advertising or leafleting.
They denied hard. And lo.... https://t.co/cWD1smDgo0
Bravo @mattholehouse for his 'pro-EU leaflet sent to every UK household' story in Dec 15. Attacked by No 10 at time. https://t.co/ikM7OO7Br2
10.26am BST
Ukip is launching its local election campaign today. It has set up a local elections website and produced this video.
Ukip is the only party showing real growth in local government, while the other parties are trying to hang on to what they have. This is because local government is under pressure and services are stretched due to the government’s open door policy combined with reduced funding. Ukip will change this, put people first and stop mass uncontrolled immigration which is pushing our infrastructure to breaking point.
Every year more and more Ukip councillors are being elected. We are giving people and communities what they deserve, more power for local people and local communities and more say over what happens in your street, village, town and city. We are doing this by offering local referenda on big issues. We promise an alternative of direct democracy and empowering the people who elect us. Ukip is putting democracy back into local government.
10.15am BST
The Board of Deputies of British Jews has issued a statement criticising Jeremy Corbyn for not taking antisemitism seriously enough. The statement was prompted by what Corbyn said defending his brother Piers after Piers posted a comment on Twitter denouncing a Labour MP as “Zionist”. This morning Jonathan Arkush, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said:
Jeremy Corbyn’s defence of his brother’s belittling of the problem of antisemitism is deeply disturbing. We cannot imagine that any other minority’s concerns would be dismissed off-hand in this way. In the last few weeks we have witnessed a stream of clear-cut cases of antisemitism in the Labour party, which can’t just be fobbed off as differences over Israel. Most of the Jewish community, numerous Labour MPs, Labour peers, and Labour’s London mayoral candidate are crying out for the leader to take action on antisemitism. It would be incomprehensible for Mr Corbyn to remain inert and refuse to take this form of racism in his party seriously.
Jeremy has consistently denounced antisemitism and racism in all its forms and he has taken strong action in the Labour party to clamp down on antisemitism.
9.52am BST
Liam Fox, the Conservative former defence secretary and leading Brexit campaigner, thinks people should protest about the government’s pro-EU leaflet by sending them back to Number 10. According to the Telegraph, he told Sky News:
I don’t want my taxes to be used for pro-EU propaganda so when I get my leaflet I’m going to stick it in an envelope addressed to Number 10 and I would suggest others do the same.
9.47am BST
You can read the government’s pro-EU leaflet, or download a copy, from the government’s new EU referendum website.
9.41am BST
Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, has been giving a series of interviews this morning to defend the government’s decision to send pro-EU leaflets to all homes. As I reported earlier, he dismissed claims this was an attempt to distract attention from David Cameron’s Panama Papers difficulties. (See 9.05am.) Here are some of the other points he has been making.
We’re doing this because every government has published a leaflet for a referendum. We did it for the Scottish referendum a year and a half ago, Labour did it for the referendums for the Scottish Parliament. Every government has done it for a referendum.
Let’s be clear about this, the government is not neutral in this particular battle, the Government takes the view that we would be better off, safer and stronger inside a reformed Europe and we’re entitled as the democratically elected government to set out our view as government have done in every referendum we’ve had, going all the way back to the original European referendum back in 1975.
What we’re giving is the facts and the government’s judgement to go with these facts and what’s really striking about this leaflet actually, is it’s rather restrained and moderate, it does not make extravagant claims for staying in.
He’s already answered these questions – he may not have answered them to your satisfaction but these questions have been answered and I’ve nothing more to add to them.
9.05am BST
David Cameron is out campaigning for EU membership again today - he will be urging the young to ensure they vote - and he is likely to be asked to justify the government’s decision to spend £9m sending pro-EU leaflets to 27m homes.
The announcement came last night, and here is Heather Stewart and Rowena Mason’s overnight story.
Related: EU referendum: £9m taxpayer-funded publicity blitz pushes case to remain
This government scam confirms my view that the EU referendum is defined by the battle of the people against the political elite.
They are going to spend £10m of taxpayers money on a pro-EU leaflet and website which are full of lies.
[Cameron] is failing to answer questions and that’s the really important point. He hasn’t answered the questions about his historical income and whether that has come from tax havens or not. He needs to answer that question and it’s clearly very uncomfortable for him and this diverts attention.
How could it be a diversion? This is a leaflet that has been weeks in preparation and I really think it’s well beneath Graham Stringer to try and suggest that we’re doing this to divert from anything else.
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