EU leaders plan to meet next month to discuss Brexit without UK - Politics live
Rolling coverage of all the day's political developments as they happen
5.07pm GMT
5.03pm GMT
Theresa May was not invited to a European Union summit in Bratislava soon after she became prime minister. She will have to get used to it.
EU leaders are planning a meeting in December to discuss Brexit without the British prime minister, the Guardian has learnt.
4.56pm GMT
The Welsh government's law officer has strongly criticised the attacks on the Brexit high court judgement and explained why he wants to be able to make representations at the supreme court hearing.
Assembly member Mick Antoniw, Counsel General for Wales, said the judgement had been deliberately misrepresented by some. He said:
There are those who have deliberately chosen to misrepresent the facts to challenge the independence of the judiciary, one of the cornerstones of our democratic parliamentary system. The reporting of this judgment in some newspapers was frankly a disgrace and an insult to the good name of journalism.
The democratic structure of the UK and indeed this assembly is built on a foundation of the rule of law and the independence of our judicial system. The tragic recent history of Europe is littered with examples of countries that overthrew the rule of law and undermined the independence of the courts. That road is not a democratic one and leads only in one direction. I would hope those who may have made comments and statements in haste, will want to reflect.
I consider that this case raises issues of profound importance not only in relation to the concept of parliamentary sovereignty but also in relation to the wider constitutional arrangements of the United Kingdom and the legal framework for devolution.
I think it is of paramount importance to emphasise at this point that despite the political furore surrounding it and the frankly alarming tone of much of the press coverage, as the high court itself said, this case involves a pure question of law. It is not concerned with the merits and demerits of leaving the European Union and the politics surrounding that.
Having outlined what the case is about I should also make a comment on what it is not about. The first minister has made crystal clear and I repeat that sentiment now: the Welsh government respects the result of the referendum and this is absolutely not about overturning that decision.
4.23pm GMT
The legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg has posted a good story on his Facebook page. He says that Liz Truss, the lord chancellor and justice secretary, is being sued by six high court judges for age discrimination. Two of the judges are also claiming sexual discrimination and racial discrimination respectively.
Here is an extract from Rozenberg's post.
All the claims relate to reduced benefits the judges can expect to receive under a new judicial pension scheme introduced last year.
A two-week hearing has been arranged before a tribunal judge who is not affected by the new pension arrangements. There could be further hearings before appeal judges.
4.14pm GMT
Turning back to the IFS report (pdf), this is interesting. It's a table showing how many of the fiscal targets set by the Treasury since 1997 have been met.
Only two targets managed to be met consistently: that is the coalition government's initial target to aim for a cyclically-adjusted balance on the current budget five years out and its subsequent revised target to aim to achieve this three years out. It is perhaps not a coincidence that these two targets also had much to commend them. In contrast the other targets either had more thresholds that were more arbitrary ("when did the cycle start and end?", "why 40% of GDP?", "why should debt definitely fall between two future points in time?", "why should welfare spending definitely be below some fixed level?") and/or were not sufficiently flexible in the face of adverse fiscal shocks ("why must there be an overall surplus in 2019-20?", "why must borrowing in 2013-14 be no more than half what it was in 2009-10?"). The weaknesses of these other targets often meant that their abandonment was preferable than trying slavishly to adhere to them.
3.56pm GMT
Here are some more pictures from Theresa May's India tour today.
The prime minister will visit the Sri Someshwara Temple in the Ulsoor District of Bengaluru later today to pay her respects at this ancient Hindu place of worship.
She will be welcomed by a guard of honour consisting of garlanders (who place a garland of fragrant flowers around the neck) and musicians playing drums and horns.
3.00pm GMT
A senior City figure who was a remain supporter during the EU referendum has urged Theresa May to "get cracking" with the process of Brexit, warning that any delays would only cause more uncertainty for business.
John Nelson, the chairman of Lloyd's of London, said: "To be blunt with you, the longer the uncertainty goes on the worse it is for business."
Get cracking is my view. It's not a view that's shared by all my colleagues here.
From our point of view we are very, very keen to have passporting rights and single market access. I detect that ministers are getting that very strongly now indeed.
The other thing is we have to negotiate transitional arrangements otherwise we will be at a cliff edge for both sides, the EU and us. And they won't start negotiating those until article 50 has been moved.
2.49pm GMT
Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, was inevitably also asked about the US election at her regular press conference this lunchtime.
Unsurprisingly, she's expressed her preference for Hillary Clinton before now. Today she added that, whilst this is America's election and not usual for a leader of another country to comment, "it would be good to see that biggest crack to date in the glass ceiling".
I think her experience, her strength, her resilience which has been on show throughout this campaign will make her a good president and somebody well able to address the challenges America in common with many other countries faces."
Above and beyond that, I'm standing here as the first woman to hold the office of first minister and I think it would be great to see the world's biggest democracy elect the first woman leader. The message that would send to women and girls across the world would be a very positive one. It would be good to see that biggest crack to date in the glass ceiling.
2.24pm GMT
Business leaders expressed concerns about a move that they said risked undermining effectiveness. The CBI and Insitute of Directors were among the groups to raise fears, quietly supported by the Treasury.
Mrs May used her Conservative Party conference speech to underline her commitment to the plan and Downing Street has repeatedly denied that it was being weakened. A senior figure involved in the preparations, however, said that the consultation, probably in the shape of a green paper, would seek to encourage rather than mandate workers' representation when it was published as early as next week.
There is no change to our plan to have workers on boards. How that actually unfolds, clearly there's a consultation process that we're going to start, I clearly can't anticipate what that consultation process will find, but there is no change to what the prime minister said at conference.
Giving workers a say in how the business they work for operates is an idea whose time has come. If it can work in Germany and other major industrial countries then it can work here. If Theresa May wanted to deliver her promise to make Britain a place that works for everyone then she could - sadly it seems she doesn't have the political will to do so.
1.20pm GMT
Jeremy Corbyn has not been commenting on Bill Clinton, but his brother Piers has been using his Twitter feed to comment on Clinton's wife today. He's not a fan.
WhoeverUvote #TRUMP'S RIGHT THAT #ManMade #CO2 #ClimateChange is a #GR8 CON LIKE #Hilary+#ClintonFoundation FACTS https://t.co/zUmOeShYAS RT https://t.co/R1884awuqg
#Gr8 QUESTION! WHY WOULD any SelfRespecting Latino Vote 2continue 2live with InnerCity degredation #CorruptClintons keep in "GOOD" #USA? RT https://t.co/CnRxkAnEtc
1.16pm GMT
Jeremy Corbyn's office has not commented on the Clinton leak. This is from Huffington Post's Paul Waugh.
Corbyn's office says he has no comment on Clinton describing him as 'the maddest person in the room', via @wikileaks https://t.co/aVKiFS4668
1.14pm GMT
The Bill Clinton speech also includes reference to another British politician. Clinton told his audience:
I had a man come up to me this summer when we were on our family vacation, and a friend of ours holds a party on Long Island every summer and I'm honored to go to the party. I was the designated attendee from our family. So I'm just standing there drinking a Coke and this guy comes up to me and says, "You don't know me because I was not in government when you were there, but when your wife was Secretary of State, I was the British cabinet [secretary] for Northern Ireland." And I thanked him. Cameron was good on Northern Ireland; we did pretty well when he was there. So he said in 2010 - remember when the whole thing was about to come off the track? We had terrible conflicts. He said, "I was desperate. I didn't know what to do. And finally, I realized that Hillary was the only person in office anywhere in the world that had enough influence with the Irish to solve it, so I called and pleaded with her to help me put it back on track. Thirty-six hours later, we were moving again." She's the only person in the world who could have done that. And he said, "She did that for a lot of us in a lot of different places, and a lot of us would like to help her now."
1.05pm GMT
Here is a longer extract from the leaked Bill Clinton speech. (See 12.45pm.)
My experience is that very often the winner of any election is determined by what people think the election is about. So we should all give a lot of thought to that when you're talking to your friends and neighbours and trying to influence them. The first thing this election is about is how to restore broad-based prosperity and growth to the American economy. And I hope in the next presidential debate she and Senator Sanders and the others will be able to talk about what the best way to do that is. Hillary says that you have to have a campaign that appeals to the struggling, the striving and the successful. We have to do this together. And Bernie says just go get the money from the millionaires. And it sounds good because there's - to a lot of people, if you look all over the world - the British Labor Party disposed of its most (inaudible) leader, David Miliband, because they were mad at him for being part of Tony Blair's government in the Iraq War. And they moved to the left and put his brother in as leader because the British labor movement wanted it. When David Cameron thumped him in the election, they reached the interesting conclusion that they lost because they hadn't moved far left enough, and so they went out and practically got a guy off the street to be the leader of the British Labor Party, who I saw in the press today said that he was really a British citizen and had real British (inaudible). (Laughter.)
But what that is reflective of - the same thing happened in the Greek election - when people feel they've been shafted and they don't expect anything to happen anyway, they just want the maddest person in the room to represent them. And that is perfectly psychologically understandable and predictable. Most people in America haven't had a raise in 15 years. 86 percent of the American people, adjusted for inflation, have an income today lower than it was the day before the crash. The median income of American families, adjusted for inflation, is lower than it was the day I left office.
1.02pm GMT
Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that the Scottish government will intervene in the article 50 legal case as the UK government prepares to appeal the decision at the supreme court.
At a regular press briefing held at Bute House in Edinburgh, Sturgeon confirmed that the Lord Advocate will lodge a formal application to intervene in the UK government's supreme court appeal against last week's high court ruling that Theresa May's government must seek the permission of the Commons before it can trigger article 50 and begin the process of leaving the EU.
The Scottish government is clear that triggering article 50 will directly affect devolved interests and rights in Scotland.
And triggering article 50 will inevitably deprive Scottish people and Scottish businesses of rights and freedoms which they currently enjoy.
Let me be clear - I recognise and respect the right of England and Wales to leave the European Union.
But the democratic wishes of the people of Scotland and the national parliament of Scotland cannot be brushed aside as if they do not matter."
12.45pm GMT
WikiLeaks has been publishing documents in instalments documents obtained from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, whose emails were hacked. Today it has released a transcript of a private speech given by Bill Clinton at a fundraiser in October last year in which he described Jeremy Corbyn as "the maddest person in the room".
Bill Clinton in private speech: UK's Jeremy Corbyn is a "guy off the street... the maddest person in the room" https://t.co/DdUH1QXGlk pic.twitter.com/iwNHTebCwm
12.31pm GMT
The Ukip MEP Patrick O'Flynn took to Twitter this morning to criticise the plan for a march on the supreme court that Nigel Farage, the outgoing party leader, is reportedly planning to lead.
1/2 Just putting this out there; I reckon right time for demo on Brexit will be if/when MPs mess with it, not at start of Supreme Court case
2/2 downside of demo outside Supreme Court is it will give Remainers material to depict us as bullies +make a finding against us more likely
Finally; the right target for "people power" is clearly parliamentarians who gave the decision to the people and now want to mess with it.
Glad to see planned date for Brexit march is now Sun Dec 4 and not Mon Dec 5 as originally reported. Much harder for Remainers to knock.
12.19pm GMT
Here's what the Treasury is saying about today's IFS report. (See 10.33am.) This is from a spokeswoman.
The chancellor has been clear that, although we have already made significant progress in bringing the public finances under control, our debt and deficit remain too high.
Sustainable public finances are necessary to build an economy that works for all and we will return the budget to balance in a way that allows us the space to support the economy as needed.
12.12pm GMT
Dame Lowell Goddard, who resigned in the summer as the (third) chair of the child sexual abuse inquiry, has told the Commons home affairs committee that she will not give evidence to it in an oral hearing. Goddard, who is from New Zealand, was offered the chance to give evidence by video, but in a letter to the committee (pdf) she said that giving evidence in a hearing like this could lead to false allegations against her being made in a privileged setting (ie, in one where she cannot sue her accusers for libel).
Yvette Cooper, the chair of the committee, has put out a statement describing her refusal to appear as "disgraceful". Cooper said:
Dame Lowell Goddard's refusal to give evidence to the home affairs select committee about her resignation from the Independent Inquiry into child sexual abuse Is disgraceful.
Dame Goddard has been paid significant amounts of public money to do an extremely important job which she suddenly resigned from, leaving a series of questions about what has been happening over the last 18 months and why the Inquiry got into difficulties.
11.38am GMT
Theresa May has also been speaking to the BBC in India. She was specifically asked about today's IFS report (see 10.33am), but played down its warnings about Brexit leading to prolonged austerity. In response to a question about its analysis she told the BBC:
Remember the fundamentals of the British economy are very strong and what I have heard here [in India] from businesses is that they see the UK as an attractive place to do business, an attractive place to invest and they want us to develop that relationship so there is more trade. That means more jobs, more investment in the UK ...
We've seen our deficit reduced by two thirds. We are determined to continue to live within our means. Of course we have seen in recent weeks some of the economic data for this year being revised upwards in terms of GDP but what matters is us taking the opportunities that are now open to us to develop trade around the world. I want us to be a global leader in free trade and ensuring we are taking those opportunities.
11.29am GMT
Here is John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, commenting on today's IFS report. (See 10.33am.) He said:
The fact that the Tories have no credible plan for the economy and no plan at all for Brexit, is starting to build up problems for the public finances. This report further highlights the past six years of Tory failure on the economy that Philip Hammond supported every step of the way, and which has meant our economy is not properly equipped for any downturn that may arise from Brexit. It is time the chancellor learnt the lessons of George Osborne rather than repeat them.
This Brexit black hole means having to take billions out of public spending or rapidly increase taxes. Yet the government continues to pretend that all is well. They cannot keep ducking the question of how they are going to cope with the economic reality of Brexit.
These are not small numbers - 25bn is double what we spend on policing each year. Cuts of this size mean hitting schools, the NHS and public services up and down the country.
11.14am GMT
Theresa May is returning to the UK today at the end of her tour of India. She has given an interview to Sky News, and here are the key lines.
I think what we need to do now is not focus on what happened during the campaign. People voted on whether or not they wanted to leave the EU. They voted to leave the EU and what I'm focusing on now and what I'm determined to do is to deliver on that and make a success of it.
Leaving the EU presents us with a world of opportunities and I'm determined to seize them. That's why I'm here in India, delivering on global Britain. And I have to say the response has been very good. During this visit, we've seen 1bn worth of deals being signed and we've come to an agreement with the Indian government that we will work together with them on developing our trade relationship for the future.
I will be taking the earliest opportunity to speak to whoever the winner of that contest is and talking to them about the special relationship that the UK has with the US. That relationship spans a whole range of issues, not just trade but also dealing with terrorism, security matters and defence matters as well.
10.33am GMT
No, we didn't cancel today's blog because all the interesting politics is happening in the US, although it is, and you can read about it here. I'm late starting because I got held up this morning for various reasons. Sorry.
Related: US election 2016: voters head to polls as Trump and Clinton aim to make history - live
Related: 25bn hole will limit Philip Hammond's options in autumn statement, says IFS
Another reason for the chancellor to wait before implementing any further fiscal tightening is that there is even more economic uncertainty than usual. But building a plan for further austerity in the next parliament would be prudent. Indeed even if a balanced headline budget was delivered in 2020-21 and then maintained thereafter public sector net debt would not be on course to reach its pre-crisis level of 40% of national income until around the mid-2040s. Unfortunately if anything the 25 billion estimated deterioration in the public finances in 2019-20 is likely to understate the increase in the longer-term challenge that has occurred since the March Budget. The OBR's previous long-run projections were based on an optimistic assumption about NHS productivity growth which they have recently said is likely to be revised down in their future projections. More fundamentally any reduction in future immigration, any reduction in longer-term growth or any increase in future interest rates would make the fiscal arithmetic harder still.
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