Follow live coverage and get the latest news as leadership elections in Britain’s main parties get under way in earnest
Michael Gove’s surprise leadership bid announcement
Gove’s announcement - Analysis
Theresa May’s leadership campaign launch - Summary
Afternoon summary
10.31pm BST
As the five candidates for the Tory leadership sought to win support from MPs tonight, David Cameron and his wife Samantha popped into Il Posto on Vauxhall Bridge Road near Victoria station for a spot of dinner. He had earlier attended a memorial service to commemorate the Battle of the Somme at Westminster Abbey.
10.03pm BST
Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman responds to ITV News presenter Tom Bradby’s quip about BoJo.
I'll take a bet with you he'll leave politics https://t.co/osXDajDh3o
I wonder if Boris will, one way or another, end up on Top Gear...
9.49pm BST
If you’re looking for a laugh - if that’s quite the right word - take a stroll back through Boris Johnson’s Twitter account, full of gems like this one:
Please Vote Leave on Thursday, because we'll never get this chance again: https://t.co/x9GsokCeXC
9.28pm BST
Election analyst and blogger Mike Smithson says Andrea Leadsom is moving up the ranks.
Andrea Leadsom now 2nd favourite on Betfair exchange as sentiment moves away from Gove pic.twitter.com/Z1Q5xcWsZ5
9.15pm BST
More on the surge in Labour party membership from political editor Heather Stewart:
Are new Lab members signing up in droves to back Corbyn in any leadership contest - or to oust him? Both rebels and backers are recruiting.
9.11pm BST
Theresa May is at the US ambassador’s London residence, Winfield House, for the annual Fourth of July celebration tonight. I ask her if she’d give Boris Johnson a job in her cabinet. “I’m not offering any jobs at the moment,” she replies.
9.04pm BST
ITV political editor Robert Peston tweets:
Sources tell me Gove urgently wooing @George_Osborne to stay on as chancellor if he wins.
Number of Labour joiners in past week is 60,000. Bloody hell. If most joining to defend Corbyn, scary for estranged MPs (& vice versa)
8.51pm BST
The bloc of 13 Scottish Labour MSPs who have backed demands for Jeremy Corbyn to stand down includes two former Scottish party leaders – Iain Gray and Johann Lamont – who both resigned after suffering humiliating election defeats, and Anas Sarwar, formerly deputy leader under Jim Murphy and once acting Scottish Labour leader.
Their decision to support the Corbyn rebellion en masse, following party leader Kezia Dugdale’s lead from yesterday, opens up a schism inside the Labour group at Holyrood.
8.35pm BST
With the first vote to whittle down the five Conservative leadership candidates to two coming on Tuesday, the five hopefuls are frantically wooing fellow MPs for support.
8.20pm BST
Several Tory MPs have been speaking to Channel 4 News.
8.00pm BST
Labour MPs have been urged to contact the police about threatening behaviour amid reports that the attempted coup against Jeremy Corbyn has resulted in some politicians receiving death threats.
7.46pm BST
Author and former Telegraph journalist Robert Colville gets a football analogy into the mix:
Until recently, it would have been as crazy to bet on a Tory leadership shortlist w/out Boris and Osborne as on Leicester winning the league
7.35pm BST
Jeremy Corbyn - who is still the Labour leader in case you were wondering - was engulfed in a fresh row over Israel earlier today when he appeared to compare the government of Binyamin Netanyahu to Islamic extremists. His comments came at the launch of an independent review into antisemitism in the Labour party.
Paul Waugh, the Huffington Post’s politics executive editor, tweets:
Exclusive: Emily Thornberry phoned Israeli ambassador in London to apologise for any offence caused by Corbyn remarks today.
7.27pm BST
Turning back to the Labour turmoil for a moment, BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones makes an interesting observation:
https://t.co/1YdpUVXrCi Someone registered angela4leader on Saturday - two days before Angela Eagle resigned...
7.17pm BST
Europe now has yet another reason to grumble about the UK’s Brexit vote: it has prompted credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s to cut its credit rating for the European Union.
7.02pm BST
In Wroclaw in west Poland, the UK’s Brexit decision has been met with bewilderment and regret. Szymon Rozwadowski, a 25-year-old welder, said he had been shocked by how British politicians had fought the Vote Leave campaign.
“It feels like the British politicians lied and none of them actually wanted to leave, but they won anyway. I hope people realised that the politicians didn’t care about them, just their own careers,” he said.
6.42pm BST
With Johnson out of the race, Theresa May appears to have built a commanding lead in winning the support of the 329 Tory MPs to become the next Tory leader and thus prime minister. She and her four rivals – Michael Gove, Liam Fox, Andrea Leadsom and Stephen Crabb – have until Tuesday to drum up support.
Whichever of the hopefuls proves least popular is eliminated until just two remain from whom the wider Conservative party membership will choose. Bookmakers make May the odds-on favourite to be the next PM, with Gove the clear favourite to be her rival. Fox is set to win the fewest backers, behind Leadsom and Crabb.
6.28pm BST
Newsnight’s political editor, Nick Watt (formerly of this parish), tweets this insight from Nadhim Zahawi (the Tory MP for Stratford-on-Avon) ahead of tonight’s programme:
Boris Johnson ally @nadhimzahawi tells me BJ bowed out saying: I am not doing a @jeremycorbyn I am not splitting party. Details #newsnight
6.24pm BST
Guardian political editor Heather Stewart tweets:
Ouch: one of Boris's key lieutenants is not best pleased with Gove... https://t.co/py8iPYNmFA
"There a number of people who have said to me during the week: Michael, it should be you." https://t.co/pbAtS5ZFL4
5.14pm BST
5.08pm BST
Gove has told the BBC he only made his decision to run last night.
He said:
There were a number of people that said to me during the week: ‘It should be you.’
There are far too many people who feel left behind ... I want to heal and unite.
5.03pm BST
It never rains, it pours:
Jeremy Corbyn has just released a statement. In which he spells his own name wrong. https://t.co/ZPy1H1A6Ej pic.twitter.com/UnlDGdH1QJ
4.45pm BST
Three senior and influential Labour MSPs on the left of the Scottish parliamentary party have attacked critics of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, accusing them of “exploiting” the membership and treating it as an electoral plaything.
Alex Rowley, the party’s deputy leader at Holyrood, Neil Findlay, a previous Scottish leadership contender, and Richard Leonard, a senior GMB Scotland official who joined Holyrood in May’s election, issued a joint statement saying the current feud has “broken the hearts” of party members across the UK.
Labour party members are not passive onlookers to be used and exploited at election time, only to be ignored thereafter – they are the lifeblood of our party, we are nothing without them.
Democracy wherever it is found is a precious thing – we therefore want to make it clear that we wish to uphold the democratic rights of Labour party members and support the democratically elected leader of the Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn.
4.43pm BST
Barack Obama has suggested Brexit may not actually happen:
4.42pm BST
Shami Chakrabarti, the chair of Labour’s antisemitism inquiry, has accused the media of spinning Jeremy Corbyn’s comments at today’s event, which have seen him accused of comparing Israel with Islamic State.
The former Liberty chair told LBC radio:
I’m sorry that there are a few things that have been spun in the media ... have kind of cast a shadow over two months’ really hard, open-hearted work ...
I learned something today.
The comments by the leader of the Labour party at the launch, however they were intended, are themselves offensive, and rather than rebuilding trust among the Jewish community, are likely to cause even greater concern. Full and unhesitating implementation of the report’s findings must now follow. I call upon the Labour party to guarantee that there will be zero tolerance of antisemitism.
4.27pm BST
Jeremy Corbyn has struck a defiant tone in an email to Labour party members, which includes a plea for unity.
He writes:
United we stand, divided we fall is one of the oldest and truest slogans of the Labour movement.
After last week’s referendum, our country faces major challenges. Risks to the economy and living standards are growing. The public is split.
4.16pm BST
The Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, has signalled possible interest rate cuts following the Brexit vote, saying some monetary policy easing will likely be required over the summer. You can follow Carney’s speech on our business live blog.
This is how the pound has reacted to Carney's announcement of the possibility of more QE. https://t.co/yTCnQEghTL pic.twitter.com/EBh2yPchXI
4.03pm BST
You might see this replayed quite a lot in the coming weeks:
ICYMI here's Mr Gove telling us he wouldn't make a very good PM and wd happily confirm in blood he doesn't want it..https://t.co/4jNF0YPzFw
3.56pm BST
Israel’s former foreign minister has joined in the criticism of Jeremy Corbyn over his choice of words at the launch of Labour’s antisemitism report earlier today.
Corbyn's words imply a serious lack of moral judgement. Just as all Muslims are not to blame for ISIS, not all Brits are to blame for Corbyn
3.41pm BST
There’s been another resignation by a shadow minister, accompanied by a call for Jeremy Corbyn to go.
This time it’s Rob Marris, who was appointed shadow financial secretary to the Treasury in September.
Rob Marris resigns as shadow treasury minister and calls on Jeremy Corbyn to resign. The pressure continues...
3.34pm BST
And the Labour resignations are continuing. This is from the Sun’s Craig Woodhouse.
Labour resignations have started again: Rob Marris as Treasury frontbencher, during Finance Bill committee
3.30pm BST
Here is more on the Johnson/Gove fallout.
From Sky’s Sophy Ridge
Tory MP & former Boris backer: "Michael has behaved badly towards Boris.I'm not sure people will feel they can trust him after this morning"
View from small unscientific sample of Cons MPs - much distrust of Gove after morning's events, he needs to be handshaking & reassuring
Boris was trying to get @andrealeadsom on his team (they did @ITV & @bbc debates together). But she pulled out overnight & made her own bid
Jacob Rees-Mogg has switched his support from Boris Johnson to Michael Gove
3.27pm BST
The Tory grandee Michael Heseltine has really put the boot into Boris Johnson for pulling out of the leadership race, accusing him of ripping the party apart and creating “the greatest constitutional crisis in peacetime in my life”.
Here's what Lord Heseltine had to say about Boris Johnson pulling out of leadership race pic.twitter.com/pffxChI00k
3.26pm BST
Theresa May will be pleased with this.
Our colleagues in Germany are seeing parallels between Theresa May and the German chancellor pic.twitter.com/BGkak6y4jH
3.19pm BST
Here is an extract from George Parker’s account of the Gove/Johnson fallout for the Financial Times.
Stories circulated that Mr Johnson had failed to attend a meeting with about 50 pro-Remain Conservative MPs. Key people, including the prominent pro-Brexit minister Andrea Leadsom, had failed to commit to his campaign. “Michael tried to make Boris’s campaign work but it was becoming clear it wasn’t going to work,” the ally said. “He wasn’t giving people the love or attention or making the offers to people that were required.”
Mr Gove’s friends say that a convoluted Daily Telegraph article written by Mr Johnson on Monday had added to a sense of concern among Conservative MPs about his leadership qualities, but allies of the former London mayor said the piece was “sub-edited by Michael”. Mr Johnson’s backers also deny he was responsible for chaos in the leadership bid, saying that Mr Gove was in charge of the campaign, including arranging meetings with MPs and signing up new backers.
3.07pm BST
Boris Johnson’s father has likened Michael Gove to the assassins who murdered Julius Caesar.
Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s The World at One, when asked about Gove’s intervention, Stanley Johnson quoted Caesar’s supposed last words after he was stabbed by his former friend Brutus.
‘Et tu Brute’ is my comment on that. I don’t think he is called Brutus, but you never know.
This has obviously been a very, very stressful time. I think he was probably very surprised by Michael Gove’s sudden move as indeed many people are.
Boris’s career move I think was in a sense an absolutely brilliant move in one way because it did put on the table crucial issues for the British electorate.
It put on the table the immigration issue, the direction of travel issue, the sovereignty issue - all those things.
2.54pm BST
The Labour MP Ruth Smeeth has urged Jeremy Corbyn to resign immediately, accusing him of a “catastrophic failure of leadership”, after he failed to defend her when she was abused at the launch of a report into antisemitism in the party. In a statement she said:
I was verbally attacked by a Momentum activist and Jeremy Corbyn supporter who used traditional antisemitic slurs to attack me for being part of a ‘media conspiracy’. It is beyond belief that someone could come to the launch of a report on antisemitism in the Labour party and espouse such vile conspiracy theories about Jewish people, which were ironically highlighted as such in Ms [Shami] Chakrabarti’s report, while the leader of my own party stood by and did absolutely nothing.
People like this have no place in our party or our movement and must be opposed. Until today I had made no public comment about Jeremy’s ability to lead our party, but the fact that he failed to intervene is final proof for me that he is unfit to lead, and that a Labour party under his stewardship cannot be a safe space for British Jews.
No one from the leader’s office has contacted me since the event, which is itself a catastrophic failure of leadership. I call on Jeremy Corbyn to resign immediately and make way for someone with the backbone to confront racism and antisemitism in our party and in the country.
2.44pm BST
The former German chancellor Helmut Kohl has warned European leaders against applying too much pressure on Britain, in the wake of the vote for Brexit.
In an account of an interview for the tabloid newspaper Bild by its editor-in-chief, Kai Diekmann, Kohl, 86, is indirectly quoted as warning against “unnecessary severity and haste” in the post-referendum negotiations.
2.40pm BST
I’m hearing strong rumours that some of the “core loyal” Corbyn supporters are planning to tell him that they think it’s time to go.
2.36pm BST
Emma Reynolds, chair of the parliamentary Labour party’s (PLP’s) health committee, has written to the party’s general secretary Iain McNicol to complain about John McDonnell in response to an article in the Guardian about the shadow chancellor setting up a secret group of advisers to help shape Labour’s stance on the NHS.
She writes:
It has been reported in today’s Guardian that John McDonnell has set up a parallel organisation to formulate health policy. As you can see from the article, members of other political parties, including somebody who stood in competition with one of our party’s parliamentary candidates, are members of this organisation:
I would like to formally complain against John McDonnell. I would also like to seek your advice as to whether, in setting up this parallel organisation and working with members of other political parties, he is breaking any of the party rules or the PLP code of conduct.
2.28pm BST
This is a video of Jeremy Corbyn at Labour’s anti-semitism event earlier today, when he was accused of comparing Israel with Islamic State:
Dan Hodges just tweeted that Corbyn is about to resign, so presumably he'll be leader until 2025.
Understand Corbyn on edge of resigning.
Eagle launch definitely pulled. Want to give Corbyn space do decent thing.
2.21pm BST
Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench, has announced that the first vote in the Conservative leadership contest will take place on Tuesday next week, 5 July.
In theory the voting will go like this.
2.07pm BST
Angela Eagle is definitely not launching her Labour leadership challenge today, it has been confirmed.
Source close to Angela Eagle confirms no launch today but she is DEFINITELY running. "Today's a day for the Tories. But she will stand"
The Eagle hasn't landed, but may take off next week. #labour
The Eagle is stranded https://t.co/FamItPThtN
Corbynista source on Eagle: "She's already the disunity candidate. Some of these people are just confirming why we lost two elections."
Pro-JC Lab source: "Where Eagles Daren't...that's the movie title. Even she's not sure if she should run. Shes's a second rung Brownite"
1.56pm BST
Discussions on transitional arrangements for an independent Scotland to remain in the European Union (EU) after the UK leaves are taking place in Brussels, a former senior adviser to the European Commission (EC) has disclosed.
As the Press Association reports, Dr Kirsty Hughes told MSPs discussions are taking place about putting Scotland in a “transitional holding pen” after Brexit to avoid “an absurd out and then in process”.
I talk to people in Brussels, off the record, who are talking about Scotland being in some sort of transitional holding pen.
It wouldn’t have a seat in the council of ministers until ratification of the treaties, but it wouldn’t have to go through an absurd out and then in process.
1.45pm BST
For what it’s worth, here’s a snapshot from what’s going on in the Labour party. A source (who is not well disposed towards Jeremy Corbyn) says that Holborn and St Pancras Labour party debated a motion supporting Corbyn last night and that it was defeated by 44 votes to 35. Apparently soft left members who have supported Corbyn in the past swung against him because of his performance in the EU referendum. Sir Keir Starmer, the MP, criticised Corbyn not just for being lacklustre during the campaign, but also for saying on Friday morning that the government should trigger article 50 (starting the withdrawal process) immediately. That would limit the government’s room for manoeuvre, Starmer said. The Momentum organiser James Schneider was there and apparently was none too pleased ...
1.38pm BST
1.34pm BST
Here is the Guardian’s panel - Jonathan Freedland, Zoe Williams, Mary Dejevsky and Mark Wallace - on how Boris Johnson’s departure will affect the Conservative leadership contest.
Related: How will Boris Johnson’s departure change the Tory leadership contest? | The panel
The choice now is between, in Gove, a true Brexit believer and, in May, a candidate who today declared “Brexit means Brexit”. Those who had hoped that the next prime minister might look for a fudge, a way out of the 23 June verdict, need to lower their expectations – and accept that out might really mean out.
1.30pm BST
Turning to the Labour party for a moment, we were expecting an announcement this afternoon from Angela Eagle about challenging Jeremy Corbyn for the leadership. But, according to Sky’s Jon Craig, that may be delayed.
Shad Cab member tells me probably no Angela Eagle launch today. Expects hustings between Eagle & Owen Smith on Mon to decide who will run.
1.22pm BST
Dominic Raab, the justice minister, was on the Daily Politics earlier explaining why he and his boss, Michael Gove, the justice secretary, decided they could no longer support Boris Johnson’s bid for the Conservative leadership. Along with Gove and Johnson, Raab was a leading leave campaigner.
Raab told the programme:
We were striving and struggling not just for a dream ticket, but a dream team ... We had certain reassurances about the team that were treated in a rather cavalier fashion - and you can see if you look at the runners and riders this morning the outcome of that ... Putting together a really strong unifying team was an absolute condition. When that fell away, I think that Michael felt things had changed ...
Boris was cavalier with assurances he made ... We’re picking a prime minister here to lead the country, not a school prefect.
Michael Gove is the right leader for the country ... He can speak out to the aspirational underdog in our society, the kid from the council estate ... I also think when it comes to delivering on Brexit, we need someone with a passion but also the mastery of the detail. He combines both.
1.11pm BST
My colleague Sam Coates from the Times (standing on the right, behind Norman Smith) found it hard to conceal his surprise after Boris Johnson’s announcement.
The lobby's reaction as expressed by @SamCoatesTimes pic.twitter.com/iOjhy1lhfa
1.07pm BST
Here is the Tory MP Paul Scully on Boris Johnson’s announcement.
Gracious speech by @BorisJohnson pulling out of the race for leader. Hope he continues to play a big role.
1.03pm BST
Jeremy Corbyn is attracting more criticism over the anti-semitism event, where he was accused of comparing Israel with Isis.
From PA:
A Labour MP stormed out of a press conference staged by Jeremy Corbyn after being accused of colluding with the right-wing press by one of the leader’s grassroots supporters.
A clearly upset Ruth Smeeth had been at the launch of a report into anti-Semitism in the party when it was claimed she was in cahoots with The Daily Telegraph.
You sat there and watched our colleague Ruth Smeeth abused at a Labour event this morning. Your words are hollow. https://t.co/XvJQQUeFt6
1.03pm BST
Stewart Jackson is another disappointed Brexit Tory MP
I feel terribly disappointed for Boris who on any event has made history and for whom the UK will be indebted. I'll make my choice on Monday
1.01pm BST
These are from my colleague Martin Kettle.
Boris Johnson will be editor of the Daily Telegraph by Christmas
As Boris Johnson has a US passport maybe he is about to run for president instead
The Tory party has proved yet again it has PhD in ruthlessness. Labour hasn't even passed GCSE.
12.58pm BST
These are from the BBC’s Andrew Sinclair.
Boris supporter @JDjanogly "i'm dissappointed" @JamesCleverly fighting back tears "i'm gutted"
Boris supporter @NadineDorriesMP in tears at decision not to stand
12.51pm BST
Boris Johnson and Michael Gove are both coming in for stick over today’s drama but for different reasons.
Rob Ford, professor of political science at Manchester University, says of Johnson:
Boris engineered the largest constitutional crisis in post-war history but won't even put his name forward to clear it up?
What. A. Prat.
@BorisJohnson You spineless c$&t You lead this ludicrous campaign to leave EU. Win, and now fuc& off to let someone else clear up your mess.
I will say a bit not good of Boris to invite his supporters and strand them in public like that without telling them. Feel sorry Nadine now
One MP loyal to Boris:"What Michael Gove has done today will live on in political history for a long time. He's trashed his own reputation"
Michael Gove has just been the most amazing shit.
12.49pm BST
James Wharton, a communities minister, who declared his support for Boris Johnson yesterday has said that he does not know who he will support now. He said:
I am disappointed but it is a fast moving political environment. I will now look at what other candidates will propose.
I had a private meeting with Boris on Monday where he gave me assurances about the sort of things I wanted to see for the north of England, for the way we will take the Northern Powerhouse forward.
12.37pm BST
Michael Gove decided late last night that he could no longer support Boris Johnson’s bid for the Tory leadership, according to sources familiar with what happened. Until very recently he had been clear that he would not stand himself. But he thought it would boil down to a contest between Theresa May and Boris Johnson. Having concluded he could not support Johnson, he was then reluctant to see May go unchallenged, because he thought there had to be a leave candidate. And so he decided to stand himself.
Gove tried to call Boris Johnson this morning to tell him, but could not get hold of him. But he did speak to Sir Lynton Crosby, who was running Johnson’s campaign, before releasing his statement to the media.
12.32pm BST
Here is the official list of contestants in the Tory leadership contest. Nominations closed at noon.
Here now are the official runners and riders (candidates, proposers, seconders) as announced by the 1922 Committee. pic.twitter.com/QZsVjYu1OH
12.28pm BST
A Labour briefing says Michael Gove has gone on the record as saying he is “not equipped to be prime minister” and points out that he has ruled himself out of standing at least nine times.
It says:
In doing so [standing] Michael Gove has sent a message that he would rather the country get a prime minister who himself thinks he’s not up to the job than let one of his Tory rivals succeed.
In saying that he is better suited for the role than his other rivals, Michael Gove is in effect saying that they are not up to the job of prime minister. We know this because he doesn’t think he is up to the job and shouldn’t be doing it.
The justice secretary Michael Gove compared pro-remain economists to Nazi collaborators, a startling example of the way in which the Nazi regime and the Holocaust can be minimalised, trivialised or even forgotten by ill-judged comparisons.
12.03pm BST
Here is Johnson’s surprise announcement at the end of his speech. It came after he called for measures to cut inequality and spread opportunity.
That is the agenda for the next prime minister of this country.
Well, I must tell you, my friends, you who have waited faithfully for the punchline of this speech, that having consulted colleagues and in view of the circumstances in parliament, I have concluded that person cannot be me.
12.00pm BST
Meanwhile, the embattled Labour leader Jeremy Corby has put the cat among the pigeons at the launch of a report into antisemitism within the party with a quote which appeared to liken Israel to Islamic State (Isis):
Corbyn: "Our Jewish friends are no more responsible for the actions of Israel than our Muslim friends are for the self-styled Islamic State"
.@PolhomeEditor asking Corbyn whether he's comparing Israel to Isis. Corbyn says no. No questions taken from UK Jewish media. Shambolic
Our Jewish friends are no more responsible for the actions of Israel or the [Binyamin] Netanyahu government than our Muslim friends are for those of self-styled Islamic states or organisations.
Jewish supporters of Labour party, after Corbyn compares Israel to ISIS, during launch of report on antisemitism pic.twitter.com/zlyo2UAfFh
11.54am BST
He is not taking questions.
11.54am BST
Johnson has finished his speech now.
11.53am BST
Johnson says that this is the agenda for the next leader.
But that person will not be him.
11.52am BST
Johnson says the biggest gains in life expectancy have been made in London amongst the poor.
He says the prophets of doom were wrong about Brexit.
11.48am BST
Johnson says the party needs to unite now. He wants the most talented people in the country to come together.
London has been transformed from relative stagnation to a dynamic economy.
11.46am BST
Johnson says now is the chance to strike trade deals.
He says some countries have already been in touch.
11.44am BST
Boris Johnson says people voted to leave the EU last week. It was a cause he passionately supports.
This is our chance, he says. We need to create an economy where everyone benefits from success.
11.39am BST
Liam Fox set out his case to be the next Tory leader and prime minister on Sky News (quotes from Politics Home). Like everyone else, he tried to portray himself as the unifying candidate.
I think that we’ve just been through quite a traumatic period in our referendum and I think we need to try to heal the divisions on that and I think I can do that having been on the leave side of that equation but having many friends on the other side who were in the remain camp and all through that referendum I urged people to be civil and courteous to one another which I think is the tone we should also adopt, incidentally, in the leadership campaign.
I think we’ve just broken free from the EU into a much wider, greater opportunity, one that Britain is very well placed to take advantage of and so it’s with a great sense of optimism that I come into this contest. I know people are saying ‘look at the difficulties of the world around us’ – I think there’s really a new dawn here for this country and we’re particularly well-placed to take advantage of the challenges and the opportunities out there.
In terms of the EU I think we need to make it very clear that we intend to honour the instruction given to us by the British people last week, we will leave the EU. I don’t believe the British public will accept the concept of free movement in return for full membership of the single market, I think we need a more free trade approach.
11.32am BST
Here are the main points from Theresa May’s speech and Q&A. It was a solid, serious speech, with more detail than Stephen Crabb’s speech yesterday, and concessions designed to appeal to Tory Brexiteers and Tory liberals (there are a few) respectively.
Here are the main points.
Britain still needs a government that is capable of delivering a programme of serious social reform and realising a vision of a country that truly works for everyone.
The evidence of this need has been known to us for a long time. If you’re born poor, you will die on average nine years earlier than others. If you’re black, you’re treated more harshly by the criminal justice system than if you’re white. If you’re a white, working-class boy, you’re less likely than anybody else to go to university. If you’re at a state school, you’re less likely to reach the top professions than if you’re educated privately. If you’re a woman, you still earn less than a man. If you suffer from mental health problems, there’s too often not enough help to hand. If you’re young, you’ll find it harder than ever before to own your own home. These are all burning injustices, and - as I did with the misuse of stop and search and deaths in police custody and modern slavery - I am determined to fight against them.
But the mission to make this a country that works for everyone goes further than fighting these injustices. If you’re from an ordinary, working-class family, life is just much harder than many people in politics realise. You have a job, but you don’t always have job security. You have your own home, but you worry about mortgage rates going up. You can just about manage, but you worry about the cost of living and the quality of the local school, because there’s no other choice for you.
Some need to be told that what the government does isn’t a game, it’s a serious business that has real consequences for people’s lives.
While it is absolutely vital that the government continues with its intention to reduce public spending and cut the budget deficit, we should no longer seek to reach a budget surplus by the end of the Parliament. If before 2020 there is a choice between further spending cuts, more borrowing and tax rises, the priority must be to avoid tax increases since they would disrupt consumption, employment and investment.
The second point is while the ability to trade with EU member states is vital to our prosperity, there is clearly no mandate for a deal that involves accepting the free movement of people as it has worked hitherto. Now is not the time for me to set out my full negotiating principles - that will come later. But I want to be clear that as we conduct our negotiations, it must be a priority to allow British companies to trade with the single market in goods and services - but also to regain more control of the numbers of people who come here from Europe. Any attempt to wriggle out of that - especially from leadership candidates who campaigned to leave the EU by focusing on immigration - will be unacceptable to the public.
I will therefore create a new government department responsible for conducting Britain’s negotiation with the EU and for supporting the rest of Whitehall in its European work. That department will be led by a senior secretary of state - and I will make sure that the position is taken by a member of parliament who campaigned for Britain to leave the EU.
Brexit means Brexit. The campaign was fought, the vote was held, turnout was high, and the public gave their verdict. There must be no attempts to remain inside the EU, no attempts to rejoin it through the back door, and no second referendum.
Lots of people on the Tory left couldn't support a candidate who would pull the UK out of the ECHR, so May is dropping that pledge now
I know some politicians seek high office because they’re driven by ideological fervour. And I know others seek it for reasons of ambition or glory. But my reasons are much simpler. I grew up the daughter of a local vicar and the granddaughter of a regimental sergeant major. Public service has been a part of who I am for as long as I can remember.
I know I’m not a showy politician. I don’t tour the television studios. I don’t gossip about people over lunch. I don’t go drinking in parliament’s bars. I don’t often wear my heart on my sleeve. I just get on with the job in front of me.
And you can judge me by my record. As Home Secretary, I was told I couldn’t take on the Police Federation, but I did. I was told I couldn’t cut police spending without crime going up, but crime is lower than ever. I was told I shouldn’t start asking questions about police corruption, but everywhere I’ve seen it - from Stephen Lawrence to Hillsborough - I’ve exposed it. I was told I couldn’t stop Gary McKinnon’s extradition, but I stood up to the American government and I stopped it. I was told I couldn’t deport Abu Qatada, but I flew to Jordan and negotiated the treaty that got him out of Britain for good.
11.23am BST
Tory MP Nigel Evans, who is backing Boris Johnson, was asked whether Theresa May had stabbed his favoured candidate in the back and Michael Gove had stabbed him in the front. He replied:
That’s about it. It makes House of Cards look like Teletubbies.
I think there’s almost an expectation that it should be Theresa and Boris. I think they’d be real surprise if it ended up with someone else.
11.16am BST
The decision on expanding airport capacity in south-east England has been deferred until a new Conservative leader is elected, the government has confirmed.
David Cameron was expected to confirm whether projects at Heathrow or Gatwick would get the go-ahead in the coming weeks if the UK voted to remain in the EU.
But Cameron’s resignation following the Brexit vote means the decision will not be made until the autumn.
I had hoped that we would be able to announce a decision on airport capacity this summer.
Clearly any announcement on airport capacity would have to be made when the House is in session and being realistic, given recent events, I cannot now foresee an announcement until at least October.
11.13am BST
Here is Nicky Morgan’s statement on why she is backing Michael Gove. And here’s an extract.
It is equally important that we now secure the right deal for Britain – and the next leader must have the skill and credibility to put together the right team to renegotiate our exit from and future relationship with Europe and explain the final terms to the British people.
Having spent the past week talking to colleagues in parliament, party members and constituents I have concluded unequivocally that the right person to do that is Michael Gove and I am delighted to be endorsing his candidacy today.
11.12am BST
And Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, who was also mulling over his own leadership bid, has announced that he is backing Theresa May. He said:
I have decided that now is not the right time for me to run for the leadership - though I remain completely committed to ensuring we secure our position as a great trading nation with sensible controls on migration. I believe that Theresa May has the strength, judgement and values to deliver those things. She is the right choice to lead Britain in a challenging period and will make a truly outstanding prime minister.
11.10am BST
According to Sky News, Nicky Morgan, the education secretary, has said she will not stand for the leadership. She is backing Michael Gove, Sky says.
11.09am BST
Tory MP Nadine Dorries not part of the alleged “stampede” to Gove. She is typically outspoken about his candidature for the leadership, suggesting he cannot be trusted. She also says Conservative party members will be furious if Boris Johnson does not make the final two.
Conservative party members will be very very angry if Boris not on final 2. Treachery of Gove won't be forgiven easily
Gove didn't get the big job Mrs Vine wanted for him - Boris doesn't do bribes
Conservative party members have no forgiveness for opportunism and treachery - those days are gone
' I don't want to be PM' who can ever believe a word Gove says again
11.05am BST
Channel 4’s Tim Bouverie quotes an MP saying there is a “stampede” from Johnson to Gove.
There is "a stampede away from Boris to Gove" - Tory MP.
Nick Boles who had declared for Boris is running Gove's campaign. Other defections: Raab, Hayes, Gibb
Michael Gove is the man the party and country can trust to deliver Brexit. He's a passionate believer in social justice and a true reformer.
11.01am BST
Dominic Raab, the justice minister, was backing Boris Johnson. But he’s just told Sky News that he is now backing Michael Gove.
As 5 News’s Andy Bell points out, Raab has an article in today’s Sun saying why Johnson should be the leader.
Just watched Dominic Raab backing Michael Gove while reading his Sun article backing Boris #ToryLeadership pic.twitter.com/46LAggVoWW
10.59am BST
Good morning, this is Haroon Siddique, I’ll be helping Andrew out with blog today as there is so much going on today.
Bookies have installed Michael Gove as the second favourite behind Theresa May.
I am quite surprised [by his announcement]. I never really thought it [the referendum campaign] was about Michael’s political ambitions ...
I am also surprised at what he said. He talks about healing and speaking for all and bringing the country together. From my experience of Michael and his approach towards teachers, the legal profession, ethnic minorities, that is not the Michael Gove I see.
10.56am BST
Here is Paul Goodman, editor of ConservativeHome, on why Michael Gove abandoned Boris Johnson.
Gove's decision 1) He came to believe that @BorisJohnson was prepared to backtrack on Brexit.
Gove's decision 2) It's claimed that Johnson refused to allow his Daily Telegraph column text to go through a campaign approval process.
Gove's decision 3) The Justice Secretary & supporters concluded that Johnson was unlikely to defeat May.
10.50am BST
Here’s a clip from Theresa May’s leadership launch.
10.37am BST
These are from the Spectator’s James Forsyth.
Think if Gove can make it to the last two, then he has a chance. But next 24 hours absolutely key for him
Understand that it was concerns, and frustrations, about the Boris operation and Boris’s way of working that tipped Gove over the edge
10.29am BST
Here is Channel 4 New’s Gary Gibbon’s take on Michael Gove’s declaration he is standing. And here is an extract.
The PM’s circle were already calling him Brutus. Samantha Cameron has told friends she will never speak to the Goves again.
Now the Johnsons’ dinner parties are off limits.
10.23am BST
The Conservative MP Michael Fabricant has announced he is switching his support to Michael Gove from Boris Johnson.
I am transferring my support to Michael Gove for the leadership of the @Conservatives and Prime @Number10gov. pic.twitter.com/C8yUvy9mhg
10.13am BST
Q: What would you do about the border with Ireland?
May says there is a common travel area in Ireland. The government is speaking to the Irish government about this.
10.12am BST
Q: Given the government is abandoning so many policies, aren’t voters entitled to another election?
May says the government was elected on a clear manifesto. It should deliver on that. And, given the uncertainties around at the moment, it would be wrong to introduce further uncertainty by having an election.
10.11am BST
Q: Can you guarantee that EU citizens living in the EU will be allowed to stay?
May says this will be part of the negotiation.
10.06am BST
Q: Are you committed to getting net migration below 100,000?
May says it was in the manifesto in 2010 and 2015. The government will have to negotiate controls on free movement.
10.05am BST
Q: Would leaving the EU bring down net migration below 100,000?
May says you cannot simply pull a lever and bring down immigration. You have to work at this through various policy means.
10.01am BST
Q: You are home secretary, and responsible for immigration. And remain lost because of immigration. So why should people trust you to control it?
May says she has done this. She has sat around the table in Europe. And she delivered in Europe. Other people have delivered in Europe too. Like Boris Johnson. The last time he did a deal with the Germans, he came back with three nearly new water cannon.
9.57am BST
I will summarise Theresa May’s speech soon. It was substantial.
She is now taking questions.
9.56am BST
This is what political journalists are saying about Michael Gove’s declaration that he is standing for the Conservative leadership.
This massively helps Theresa May look like unifying, stable candidate while Gove and Johnson fight it out
The other interesting thing about Michael Gove's statement is that the pitch he's making is continuity Vote Leave.
Must assume Murdoch and Dacre could not endorse Boris - step forward the proprietors choice Michael Gove.
To the extent official Leave campaign had a policy prospectus, Michael Gove will attempt to fulfil it. The @odysseanproject continues.
Important: Gove wants to leave the single market https://t.co/7fleFljNkb
Nick Boles abandons Boris Johnson to chair Gove campaign
So if you were a conspiracy theorist, you would say that Mr Gove was behind the leaking of the prophetic Mrs Gove email, to soften us up
The power of a determined wife: Gove runs!
Or is Gove's running he power of Dacre and Murdoch..who are said to doubt Boris?
The 3 people who spent the last few months working hand-in-glove with Boris—Gove, Leadsom and Boles—all abandon him at once. Fancy that.
Maybe Boris didn't see this quote from Cameron: "(Gove is) basically a bit of a Maoist. He believes in...a process of creative destruction.”
9.48am BST
This is a terrific Gove profile by Decca Aitkenhead from four years ago https://t.co/FZU2TdPhEe
9.47am BST
This is from the Sun’s Tom Newton Dunn.
A text arrives from a senior Team Boris figure: "Gove is a c*** who set this up form start". This is going to be bloody.
9.44am BST
Last week Michael Gove’s Vote Leave campaign ended the career of David Cameron - a man that Gove has counted as a close friend for more than a decade.
Today the Gove career-destroying machine has turned on Boris Johnson, who until about half an hour ago was the favourite to win the Conservative leadership. Gove, who is respected by colleagues, Tory members and the media, has just published a damning character reference about the man with whom he jointly ran the victorious Vote Leave campaign. Here it is again:
I respect and admire all the candidates running for the leadership. In particular, I wanted to help build a team behind Boris Johnson so that a politician who argued for leaving the European Union could lead us to a better future.
But I have come, reluctantly, to the conclusion that Boris cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead.
But I understand that Gove is not planning to put himself forward.
One influential figure in the Leave campaign says: “Michael has acquired a new respect for Boris in this process.”
9.35am BST
Chris Grayling, the leader of the Commons, is introducing Theresa May. He is chairing her campaign.
That is significant because he was as significant leave campaigner.
9.34am BST
Theresa May, the home secretary, is launching her leadership bid with a speech around now.
She has set out her case in a long post on Facebook.
9.17am BST
Andrea Leadsom, the pro-Brexit energy minister, has announced that she is also running for the Conservative leadership.
Delighted to say I'm running for the @Con