All the day’s news as chancellor warns of £30bn black hole if UK leaves the EU, and Nigel Farage leads pro-Brexit flotilla along the Thames
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1.29pm BST
The flotilla arrived at Tower Bridge as Greenpeace attacked one of the largest trawlers in the protest, the Christina S from Peterhead, over its role in a £63m fisheries fraud scandal four years ago, the worst yet involving the UK fisheries industry.
The joint skippers of the vessel, Ernest Simpson and his son Allan Simpson, were each fined £65,000 and had a total of £725,000 confiscated by Scottish courts in September 2012 after they admitted illegally landing mackerel and herring in Peterhead and Shetland.
1.28pm BST
Here’s some video footage from the battle of the Thames.
1.24pm BST
Pro-Brexit campaigners in Scotland, led by the former SNP deputy leader Jim Sillars and ex-Tory MSP Brian Monteith, have claimed the country would have far more “democratic sovereignty” and money outside the EU.
They released a pamphlet through the Leave.eu campaign headed by Nigel Farage just as an Ipsos Mori poll for STV found the gap between the in and out vote in Scotland had narrowed sharply, by 13 points over the last six weeks.
1.17pm BST
Here are some more pictures from the flotilla.
1.10pm BST
On the waves outside parliament, fishermen claim they have boarded Geldof’s boat “to tell him the truth”. A police boat is alongside but the pro-Brexit fishing vessel Wayward Lad has pulled up to Geldof’s pleasure cruiser.
Parliamentarians are looking on from the terrace, three helicopters, including police hovering above.
1.10pm BST
Nigel Farage has attacked Bob Geldof’s aquatic intervention as “ignorant” and “insulting”.
“He doesn’t know anything about the common fisheries policy,” he told the Guardian. “You can’t reform it from within. You can’t change it. There is nothing you can do apart from leave.”
1.07pm BST
Angus Robertson, the SNP leader, gets two questions at PMQs, but they were left out in my minute by minute coverage because I was doing the snap summary. So here they are.
Robertson started by asking about the referendum.
Does the prime minister agree with me if we want to protect jobs, if we want to protect public services, we must remain in the European Union?
I do believe the most important argument is about the future of our economy and it seems obvious to me today we have full access to a market of 500m people, for an economy like Scotland which is such a big exporting economy, there’s no way we would get a better deal outside that market than on the inside.
Decisions to cut public spending in the UK budget do have an impact, through Barnett, on Scotland. To anyone who says these warnings could be wrong or inaccurate - there were warnings about the oil price before the Scottish referendum, it turned out actually to be worse than the experts warned.
12.41pm BST
Christopher Chope, a Conservative, says he is looking forward to the UK voting for Brexit, so that he can vote against Osborne’s vindictive budget.
Cameron says he hopes people will vote to remain in the EU.
12.39pm BST
Asked about the North Middlesex A&E unit, Cameron says the health secretary is monitoring this closely. But if we stay in the EU, there will be more money for the NHS.
12.38pm BST
Nigel Adams, a Conserative, says there has been “hysterical scaremongering” during the EU referendum. Will Cameron assure people he will follow the results on the referendum.
Yes, says Cameron. He says out means out of the single market too. He says he would say to anyone still in doubt, to anyone uncertain, don’t risk it.
12.37pm BST
Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, says the wealthy elite fuelling Leave will not be harmed by the interest rate rise that will follow Brexit. Would Cameron advise his Tory colleagues that there is a long-term economic plan on offer on Thursday - voting remain.
Cameron says it says volumes about the Remain campaign that the Lib Dems, Labour, the Greens and others are joining him in backing staying in the EU.
12.35pm BST
Jack Lopresti, a Conservative, says he hopes Britain will vote to leave the EU. Cameron himself said Britain could survive outside, he says.
Cameron says of course Britain can survive outside the EU. But the question is, how are we best off? On all the arguments, we are best off in, he says.
12.34pm BST
Siobhain McDonagh, the Labour MP, says M&S workers are due to face an effective pay cut because of the “national living wage”.
Cameron says he does not know about the situation at M&S. But he wants to see pay go up, not down. M&S won’t attract good staff if they cut pay.
12.32pm BST
Cameron says we will enhance the power of Britain by staying in the EU.
12.31pm BST
Alasdair McDonnell, the SDLP MP, says the SDLP is backing a Remain vote. The return of a hard border with Ireland would be bad for Northern Ireland.
Cameron says is the UK votes to stay in, we know what the situation is. If we were to leave, and make a big issue about borders, then there would be a land border with the EU in Ireland. You would need new border controls between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Or you would have to have controls on people leaving Northern Ireland and coming to the mainland. We can avoid these risks by voting to stay, he says.
12.29pm BST
Robert Jenrick, a Conservative, says his parents set up a manufacturing business. Manufacturers are worried. They will have to sell to the EU, but they won’t have a say in deciding EU standards.
Cameron says Jenrick is making a v good point. If you leave the EU, and don’t have say over making those rules, you lose control; you don’t gain control.
12.28pm BST
Labour’s Ruth Smeeth says EU funds have helped her constituency. Does Cameron agree that a Brexit vote would leave us picking up the pieces of a broken economy for years to come.
Cameron agree. The UK would have to spend two years leaving the EU. Then it would have to negotiate a trade deal, with could take seven years. So overall it could take a decade to get a new trade deal.
12.25pm BST
Labour’s Carolyn Harris says leaving the EU would be too big a risk.
Cameron says he agrees. If the pound were to fall, prices would rise and the cost of holidays would rise.
12.24pm BST
David Nuttall, a Conservative, asks when the government will get net migration below 100,000.
Cameron says EU migration was in balance last in 2008. He says the government has introduced sensible ways of reducing immigration. Leaving the EU would not be a sensible way, he says.
12.22pm BST
Cameron says we need to ensure migrants are working. But we should celebrate the contribution they make.
12.20pm BST
PMQs - Snap verdict: A peculiar PMQs, in some respects more interesting than usual, and perhaps most remarkable because Cameron seemed uncharacteristically hesitant and unfocused. Is the pressure getting to him? It would be very odd if it isn’t, although Cameron was only unfocused relative to his usual suave professionalism. It is not really a day for normal party politics and Corbyn responded to that with a series of sharp, reasonable questions that did him credit, but did not go in for the kill. His best line was the one branding the 57 Tory MPs who are opposing George Osborne as converts to anti-austerity. Cameron enjoyed that - perhaps because he has little else to smile about at the moment.
12.14pm BST
Corbyn asks about the flotilla coming up the Thames. He says EU reforms gave new powers to member states over fishing quotes. The UK government has given two thirds of them to just three companies.
Cameron says the value of the UK fishing industry has increased in recent years. No country in the world has a trade agreement with the EU that does not involve a tariff on fish.
12.09pm BST
Corbyn says he is concerned about the expoitation of migrant workers. Will Cameron commit to outlawing agencies advertising jobs only abroad?
Cameron says he and Corbyn agree on the evils of modern slavery. The government will continue to take action to ensure that people are paid what they should be paid. He wants people to get a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.
12.06pm BST
Jeremy Corbyn also offers sympathy to the relatives of those killed in Orlando. He attended a vigil to express his horror on Monday, he says.
He says three years ago there was agreement for implementation of Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act. Cameron said three years ago MPs did too much cosying up to Murdoch. Will Cameron keep his promise and implement Leveson in full.
12.03pm BST
Peter Aldous, a Conservative, says a firm has put on hold plans to build a factory in Lowestoft.
Cameron says he shares Aldous’s concern about this. Many firms come to the UK to get access to the single market. He hopes people will vote to put our place in that beyond doubt.
12.01pm BST
David Cameron starts with sending his sympathies to the families and friends of those killed in the Orlando attack. It highlights the need to fight the poisonous ideology of Daesh, he says.
11.59am BST
And this.
Earliest I've ever seen Cameron come in for #PMQs, before 11.45am
11.59am BST
This is from the Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop.
The body language of Cameron and Grayling on the front bench at the moment can only be described as both fascinating and awkward #pmqs
11.58am BST
So many MPs wearing IN or OUT badges in the commons chamber for #pmqs - it's becoming more of a question why someone ISN'T wearing one!
11.57am BST
#PMQs @ 12 -q Remainy order paper, tho Speaker calling outers: My panel: @GiselaStuart @andreajenkyns @joannaccherry pic.twitter.com/MzaHJFGSJy
11.56am BST
Cameron's already in the chamber for #PMQs, glasses on, scrawling on his notes
11.56am BST
PMQs starts in five minutes.
There is no PMQs next week, so it is quite possible - given the rise in support for Leave in the polls - that David Cameron may have announced his resignation by the time he next faces Jeremy Corbyn across the despatch box in the Commons.
11.53am BST
Nigel Farage has tweeted this about Bob Geldof.
Multimillionaire Bob Geldof on the Thames mocking our declining fishing industry and families who have had their lives destroyed by the EU.
11.49am BST
Bob Geldof has pulled alongside Farage’s boat and blasted “I’m In With The In Crowd” over a rig of four ear bleedingly loud speakers before taking the mic and declaring: “Nigel, you are a fraud.”
The Leave campaigners tried to shout back: “shame on you” but were drowned out.
11.46am BST
Q: 57 Tory MPs have effectively expressed no confidence in you. Would you be around to pass these measures?
Osborne says measures like this would have to be passed. He says the only thing worse than not taking action would be not taking action. People need to know this, he says.
11.44am BST
The Osborne/Darling event is now on BBC News.
Q: Are you sacrificing your job to win the referendum?
If you create a mess, you have to clear it up. Far better not to create a mess in the first place.
11.40am BST
The Brexit debate has taken to the waves. As we wait for Nigel Farage to join a flotilla of fishing vessels campaigning for Brexit by sailing upstream to the Palace of Westminster, a smaller fleet of Remain campaigners have embarked on vessels to come alongside, I think that’s the nautical term, and shout them down. Farage’s flotilla of about six vessels tethered near the north bank of the Thames near London Bridge l were just buzzed by the Sarpedon pleasure cruiser stuffed with black flag waving and jeering In campaigners and followed by more on a couple of inflatable ribs.
11.37am BST
This is what Alistair Darling, the Labour former chancellor, has been saying at the Brexit budget event with George Osborne.
Darling says conventional party politics is "on hold" until next Thurs, saying the vote will determine Britain for a generation
Economic security and social justice go hand in hand, Darling says, that's why Labour is backing this
Beyond doubt that Brexit would tip UK back into recession, Darling says. Look at what is happening in the real world.
Once you light a blue touch paper on the economy, you can't be sure where it will end up, but an explosion will follow, says Darling
I'm even more worried now, much more worried than in 2008, says Darling pic.twitter.com/FTCkCoGxYB
This would not be the only emergency budget, Darling says, says he suspects it would be first of many after #Brexit
11.33am BST
Rolls-Royce has written to its staff saying it wants Britain to stay in the EU.
Here’s the Guardian’s story.
Related: Rolls-Royce backs remain in EU vote
This is yet further evidence of the benefits membership of the largest single market brings to British workers and businesses. Nine out of ten economists agree that Britain is better off in and that a vote to leave the EU is a threat to jobs and the economy.
Rolls-Royce is a world-leading engineering company and employs 23,000 staff in the UK. This letter to staff makes clear that the uncertainty of a vote to leave the EU would be unsettling for the company.
11.28am BST
And back to the Osborne/Darling announcement.
Of Brexit and Black Holes. @George_Osborne at Hitachi pic.twitter.com/JV7JaLfG70
11.27am BST
More from the flotilla wars. This is the scene from Bob Geldof’s boat.
@CharKrol @AndrewSparrow pic.twitter.com/nOzQhPfhoH
11.23am BST
And here is Steven Woolfe, Ukip’s financial affairs spokesman, on George Osborne’s proposed pro-Brexit budget.
If George Osborne thinks he will still be chancellor in the event of a Brexit, he is living in cloud cuckoo land.
His conduct during this campaign – culminating in Project Fear’s nuclear bomb today – has been nothing short of disgraceful. Given this fact, his threat to hold a punishment emergency budget which promises tax rises and extra austerity should be treated with the contempt it deserves.
11.21am BST
As George Osborne announces his hyphothetical Brexit budget, Tory MPs continue to criticise him.
This is from Owen Paterson, the former environment secretary, who is one of the 57 Tory MPs who has said they would vote against Osborne’s plans.
The Remain campaign have reached panic stations. They have lost all the major arguments and have now resorted to scaring the British people. They are taking us for fools.
If the Chancellor thinks he could pass such a punishment budget through the House of Commons he is utterly delusional. I wouldn’t hesitate about voting against it.
11.18am BST
Here’s another extract from the Brexit budget.
Osborne's Brexit budget says Britain would not be able to 'grow its way out of this problem' pic.twitter.com/AzIbWkFWE9
11.16am BST
Alistair Darling and @George_Osborne join together to warn of the economic impact of a vote to leave #strongerin pic.twitter.com/XPZpvobq00
11.12am BST
Here is the key chart from the document.
.@George_Osborne and Darling leak their post Brexit emergency budget. Hmmm pic.twitter.com/6Q9ry7yByr
11.11am BST
Journalists have been handed the Brexit budget.
Osborne's Brexit Budget has a very Brown look about it... pic.twitter.com/W8CkBL7lqd
11.07am BST
George Osborne is about to make his announcement about his proposed post-Brexit emergency budget shortly.
Waiting for Osborne's emergency #Brexit budget pic.twitter.com/89L2vDyWiy
11.02am BST
David Cameron is trying to arrange a joint pro-EU appearance with his predecessors Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and Sir John Major, Christian Today reports. The story by James Macintyre (who used to be the New Statesman’s political correspondent) says: “Plans are well developed for the prime minister to appear on a platform next week alongside Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and Sir John Major.”
10.57am BST
But the Mirror’s Mikey Smith is with Bob Geldof on a rival Remain flottila.
So I’m on a Remain boat with Bob Geldof and Rachel Johnson. They’re heading off Nigel Farage’s Thames flotilla. pic.twitter.com/JU3vpuwWtK
General consensus is Farage has more boats, but Sir Bob has a better sound system. pic.twitter.com/ILjTpUuSKJ
SHOTS FIRED! A Leave vessel just hit Remain supporters with a hose
Putin also here. #BattleOfTheThames pic.twitter.com/MhTGORVMZt
10.54am BST
Here are some pictures from the Brexit flotilla coming up the Thames.
And here is a statement from Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, about the flotilla.
The governing principle of the common fisheries policy is that of “equal access to a common resource”. Fish stock is that should be within the UK’s internationally recognised territorial waters are now shared our European Partners. This has led to a 60% drop in oversized landings and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in our industry.
There are now many harbours without a single commercial vessel, not satisfied with that the EU is now regulating our recreational sea anglers. Under and EU regulation issued in December no anglers may take a single bass for tea.This is now leading to a loss of jobs in our charter angling fleet.
10.48am BST
It is an opposition day in the Commons, which means the afternoon has been set aside for a debate on a motion tabled by Labour. Their motion, tabled by Jeremy Corbyn and others, is about the economic benefits of membership of the EU. This is what it says:
That this House believes that the UK needs to stay in the EU because it offers the best framework for trade, manufacturing, employment rights and cooperation to meet the challenges the UK faces in the world in the twenty-first century; and notes that tens of billions of pounds worth of investment and millions of jobs are linked to the UK’s membership of the EU, the biggest market in the world.
10.36am BST
John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, said the party would never support such an emergency budget and disowned Alistair Darling’s backing for the approach.
This maybe a natural Tory approach but no Labour chancellor would respond to an economic shock in this manner. And neither did Alistair Darling in 2008. Any credible economist would tell you that raising taxes or cutting spending or both in response to an economic shock is the wrong thing to do.
It’s deeply worryingly that this suggests the current Tory chancellor thinks this is a sensible response. But it highlights what is on offer under a Tory Brexit as George Osborne is only saying what those Tories campaigning for a Tory Brexit truly believe deep down.
10.31am BST
Nicola Sturgeon has warned that a Brexit vote next week will lead to “a rightwing Tory takeover” of the UK, allowing a “power grab” by Conservatives who believe David Cameron and George Osborne are moderates.
Urging remain supporters to “vote in big numbers” next week, the first minister has said a Brexit vote would leave Scotland “vulnerable to the most rightwing Tory government in modern history.”
10.28am BST
Here is a Guardian video explaining some of the EU referendum lies, myths and half-truths.
10.23am BST
It is not all bad news from George Osborne today.
At 5%, unemployment at its lowest rate for eleven years - let's not put that at risk by irreversible decision to quit EU #StrongerIn
Unemployment has fallen to an eight-year low as the numbers in work continues to reach record levels, new figures have shown.
The jobless total was cut by 20,000 in the quarter to April to 1.67m, the lowest since the spring of 2008.
10.07am BST
And here is some Ukip reaction to George Osborne.
From Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader
Academic review shows Treasury wildly exaggerating impact of Leaving EU. Mr. Osborne's claims not credible. https://t.co/Ht2P8If5L8
If my timeline is anything to go by, Osborne is toast.
#punishmentbudget illustrates the depth of contempt Osborne & #Remain chums have for us, the UK & his own -quite clearly - lying manifesto.
10.03am BST
Here is ITV’s Robert Peston on George Osborne’s stance.
.@George_Osborne bet his job as Chancellor on winning referendum vote for Remain, as 57 Tory MPs say he has to go if pushes emergency budget
9.58am BST
Here is Jonathan Portes, a former senior government economist and now a fellow at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, on George Osborne’s proposals.
Post-Brexit, an "emergency Budget" to raise taxes & cut spending would be precisely wrong response. My thoughts: pic.twitter.com/LiX8RSZOyD
9.51am BST
This is what journalists are saying about George Osborne’s Today interview, and about his post-Brexit emergency budget proposal generally.
From PoliticsHome’s Kevin Schofield
That might be the worst Today interview George Osborne has ever given. Sounded rattled.
Bravo @MishalHusainBBC for calling out George Osborne on apocalyptic Punishment Budget threat @BBCr4today
After Brexit, public finances need 2 things: Immediate flexibility, & a plan for postponed prudence. Osborne weak on 1), strong on 2)
I would not play a game of chicken with George Osborne. He has a stronger nerve than most. Certainly stronger than flapping backbenchers.
Osborne's attempt to scare people with Brexit=Cuts is irresponsible nonsense - I'll try to persuade you to Remain calmly & rationally (1/2)
(2/2) as Macmillan said: UK workers beat Hitler & Kaiser... They won't be scared sh*tless by Osborne and the Institute for Fiscal Studies
On Osborne Brexit fiscal black hole fears -said similar re Scotland 2014 - Project Fear? - It turned out even worse: pic.twitter.com/geTdBoQxr3
- on above tables, look at the last line "Memo" - Osborne 2014 warning of £4bn fall in volatile North Sea revenues - correct, conservative
Starting to think Osborne may have delivered his last Budget, whichever way the referendum goes
Substantial Tory backbench revolt says if Mr Osborne proceeded with his "punishment" budget, his position as Chancellor would be untenable.
If there's a #Remain vote, Osborne has now dented his reputation with huge chunk of Tory MPs. Big sign of #Brexit worry inside Downing St.
If Brexit happens, MPs will stop Osborne's emergency budget. And he won’t be in post for long anyway. https://t.co/OvP9cxhEnM
Bear in mind that if Britain votes for Brexit @George_Osborne wont be Chancellor any more. He'd prob have to resign within hours
9.42am BST
Here is Robert Oxley, head of media for Vote Leave, on George Osborne’s proposed post-Brexit emergency budget.
Osborne says this is how any Chancellor would respond. Darling faced with an actual crisis in 2008 chose precisely opposite fiscal policies
9.35am BST
Here is the Labour MP Gisela Stuart, chair of Vote Leave, on George Osborne’s claims about the need for a tax-raising emergency budget after a vote to leave the EU. She said:
I simply can’t believe that Alistair Darling and the Labour party would support an Osborne punishment budget that is designed to hit the poorest hardest. George Osborne’s reckless and shameful proposals would, if not blocked, cut the NHS, cut pensions and cut funding for schools and I will never vote for this and nor do I think will any of my Labour colleagues.
I hope the Labour party will now make clear that these desperate proposals would never have our support, and are nothing more than another sorry attempt to scare the British people into supporting George Osborne, David Cameron, and their rich friends who want us to remain in the EU.
9.26am BST
Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative former work and pensions secretary and one of the 57 Tory MPs who has signed the letter saying they would vote down George Osborne’s proposed post-Brexit emergency budget (see 8.29am) has told LBC that Osborne’s warning is the most irresponsible thing he has seen from a chancellor.
IDS on LBC: Osborne’s budget claim the most irresponsible thing I’ve seen from a Chancellor https://t.co/XXNMVjAEbE pic.twitter.com/hA3kKJ9x6B
9.20am BST
Here are the main points from George Osborne’s Today interview.
No Conservatives want to raise taxes, least of all me. But equally Conservatives understand, and indeed I suspect many Labour politicians understand, you cannot have chaos in your public finances. You have to deal with the hole that would emerge if we quit the EU.
The point is the county does not have a plan if we quit the EU. We would wake up, in just over a week’s time, with no plan for our country, with financial instability, with year’s of uncertainty. And you have to cut your cloth accordingly. The country would not be able to afford the size of the public services we have at the moment and we would have to increase taxes. That is the reality of a country that is not just immediately poorer, because of the uncertainty and the financial markets, but for decades ahead would be doing less trade with its key partners, its key allies, and the rest of the world.
Just look at the people voting with their own money. They are not British people. They are investors in Britain. All around the world, sterling is falling, money is coming out of our stock market. You have got big companies like Rolls-Royce warning their workforce. You’ve got big property developers saying people aren’t buying homes. You’ve got small businesses worried about their future. This isn’t warnings just from a Conservative chancellor. This is real money out there in the real world.
Brexit might be for the very richest in our country. But it is the people on lower and middle incomes who will be affected, it is the people with job insecurity who will lose their jobs. They are the people who will pay the price for this enormous leap in the dark.
And by the way, when we walk through that door next Thursday, there is no coming back. We are not going to be rejoining the European Union in years to come when we think we have made a mistake. It will be a one-way exit, and that is going to live with us for decades to come.
The short answer is no, because we have a plan and the plan is to restrict the welfare that people have when they come to this country.
8.37am BST
And here is Matthew Elliott, the Vote Leave chief executive, on the statement from the 57 Tory MPs.
George Osborne’s reckless teenage temper tantrum has proved a step too far. Threatening to vandalise the economy has led to his MPs effectively declaring no confidence in him. The prime minister must reflect on the failure of his appalling scare tactics and stop undermining the British economy for his own political interests.
8.29am BST
Here is the statement signed today by 57 Tory MPs saying they would vote against George Osborne’s proposed post-Brexit emergency budget. It has been issued by Vote Leave.
It says:
We find it incredible that the chancellor could seriously be threatening to renege on so many manifesto pledges. It is absurd to say that if people vote to take back control from the EU that he would want to punish them in this way. We do not believe that he would find it possible to get support in parliament for these proposals to cut the NHS, our police forces and our schools.
8.23am BST
Q: You are trying to scare people. This is a classic case of Project Fear.
Osborne says look at what investors are doing. Sterling is falling. Money is being taken out of the stock market. This is real money, in the real world.
8.22am BST
Q: How will you get EU migration down?
Osborne says the government is addressing abuse of the welfare system. It will be harder for EU migrants to claim benefits. And the government is doing what it can to promote economic growth in eurozone economies.
8.19am BST
Q: Voters may not believe you. Or they may think this is worth it. Is there anything more the government can offer on freedom of movement?
Osborne says it is all very well for people who are wealthy to say it does not matter if the country is worse off. Osborne says he cares about that. Brexit might be for the very richest in this country. But it is not for others.
8.16am BST
Q: But the economy was weak before the EU referendum campaign started.
Osborne says the country does face economic challenges. But cutting off your links with your closest trading allies is not the answer to any of those problems.
8.13am BST
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Claire.
George Osborne is being interviewed on the Today programme.
7.53am BST
Sky News is reporting that 57 Conservative MPs say they would vote down a post-Brexit emergency budget of the kind dangled by George Osborne today:
Some 57 Tory MPs have written a letter saying they will vote down the Brexit budget, which would contain £30bn of tax hikes and spending cuts, signalling a significant escalation in the Conservative civil war over the EU.
7.32am BST
The British Medical Journal has published an editorial – penned by editor in chief Fiona Godlee and colleagues – on why it thinks doctors should vote remain. The authors acknowledge that this is “an unusual move” for the journal:
Some readers may wonder why the BMJ is intervening in a political debate. We think this issue transcends politics and has such huge ramifications for health and society that it is important to state our case …
It has become increasingly obvious that the arguments for remaining in the EU are overwhelming, and that now is not the time for balance.
Its constant claim that the UK sends £350m to the EU every week has been blown out of the water … But perhaps the most laughable untruth is that the NHS would be safer in their hands …
Those who want the UK to leave are not unlike the antivaccine lobbyists who, having forgotten the evils of measles, mumps and rubella, turn to the alleged harms of the vaccines themselves. Likewise Brexit campaigners have forgotten the evils of virulent nationalism because Europe has succeeded in containing them.
6.58am BST
Good morning and welcome to our daily EU referendum coverage.
I’m kicking things off with the morning briefing to set you up for the day ahead and steering the live blog until Andrew Sparrow takes his seat. Do come and chat in the comments below or find me on Twitter @Claire_Phipps.
Far from freeing up money to spend on public services as the leave campaign would like you to believe, quitting the EU would mean less money. Billions less. It’s a lose-lose situation for British families and we shouldn’t risk it.
It would damage the chancellor’s credibility and would be putting his own position in jeopardy.
I think the British public would react adversely to such a threat based on the chancellor being afraid they will vote the wrong way in his opinion.
Osborne threatening emergency tax rises and cuts post-Brexit. How would he do that from the backbenches?
For the first time ever, we saw German government bonds offering a negative yield – in other words, investors are paying Germany to look after their money as they seek safe havens.
The impact on shares in London and across the continent was dramatic as stock markets tumbled and one analyst declared that “the stench of Brexit was stalking the streets of the City”. The pound also tumbled 1.2% to below $1.41, its lowest for two months.
In such moments – when faced by a choice between an imperfect status quo and a leap into the dark – Britons have, in the past, rarely chosen the latter. To defy that tradition, Leave has to disguise a vote to quit the EU as the safer, more small-c conservative option. Yet here too, the polling (judging by YouGov’s tracker) suggests that the campaign has failed.
For all its bogus claims that Turkey will soon join the EU, I have yet to see proof that it has persuaded voters that the dangers of continuing in the club are greater. That most voters rightly consider the choice before them on June 23rd more significant than that at a general election suggests that they will be particularly risk-averse next week.
Nobody in Europe appreciates your culture more than we do. The Beatles, Bridget Jones, One Direction, EastEnders, Brideshead Revisited, we love it all. Many of us know Monty Python’s Dead Parrot sketch by heart.
We admire your stiff upper lip. And every year we remember, with the greatest respect, all those who have fallen to liberate our country.
Vote Leave to protect our country … and our cabbages from nasty crop-ravaging Euro moths set to hit the UK.
I don't want to leave a union that has brought more peace and stability to the region than it has ever known #Remain https://t.co/lsPqxUKe7k
2. There's warning the country of post-Brexit consequences & then there's suggesting you're not good enough a chancellor to mitigate them
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