Brexit. Why do Brits want Out of the EU?

A staggering 40 per cent of Conservative councillors say they will back Nigel Farage's new Brexit Party in the European elections, in a fresh grassroots revolt against Theresa May.

Three-quarters of Tory councillors want the prime minister to quit, a survey found – while an overwhelming 96 per cent believe their party has been damaged by the Brexit stalemate.

The devastating results come after one local Conservative group took the extraordinary step of refusing to help with the 23 May elections – insisting they “should not be happening”.

And they come ahead of a fresh push, when parliament resumes on Tuesday, to change party rules to enable MPs to force Ms May out of No 10 this summer.

The 1922 Committee of backbench MPs will meet to discuss removing the ban on a fresh no-confidence vote within 12 months of the last challenge – which currently prevents it happening before December.

Farage 'will beat mealy-mouthed Brexit referendum calls', Corbyn told
Meanwhile, Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, attacked participation in the European elections, warning 50 “disruptive and resentful” British MEPs were heading to Brussels.

The EU would suffer a knock-on effect at the highest levels because the make-up of the new parliament would have an effect on the formation of the next European Commission, he said.

Mr Farage only launched his Brexit Party 9 days ago, but one poll last week put its support at 27 per cent – well ahead of both Labour (22 per cent) and the Tories (15 per cent).

At a rally on Saturday, Mr Farage said: “I will do my best to upset and irritate every single European leader. I promise to be more obstructive and difficult than I have ever been in previous times.”

And he told The Sunday Telegraph that “millions of natural Tory voters have said emphatically that they will never vote Conservative again”.

“My strong sense is that they mean it,” he added. “Far from being seen as the party to solve the EU question, the Tories are now actively regarded by a growing number of people as being a major part of the problem.”

The anger of Tory councillors was revealed when Survation questioned 781 local elected representatives for The Mail on Sunday, between April 17 and 19.

Researchers were bombarded with vitriolic remarks including: “The Conservative Party is dead. It will take a strong leader to dredge it out of the mud.”

Another councillor said: “For God's sake get on with it [Brexit] - it is killing us on the doorstep.”

Of Tory councillors who said they were certain to vote in the elections, 52 per cent said they would vote for their own party, while 40 per cent would vote for the Brexit Party.

If Boris Johnson was prime minister, the proportion voting Tory would rise to 65 per cent and 22 per cent would vote for Mr Farage.

The election of 73 UK MEPs is almost certain to go ahead next month, the price the EU demanded for agreeing an extension to the Article 50 process until 31 October.

They will leave Brussels if the Commons ratifies the withdrawal agreement, but – with Brexiteer anger growing and the talks with Labour on the brink of collapse – that looks increasingly unlikely.

Keep shaking your empty head.

Nicola Sturgeon will make a "detailed and substantive" speech tomorrow on plans for Scottish independence, her spokesman has just confirmed.

In a 30-minute statement to the Scottish Parliament, the SNP leader will set out her "thoughts on independence and how that relates to where the country currently finds itself".

Ms Sturgeon's spokesman added: "The first minister will give a detailed and substantive statement setting out the path forward for Scotland amid the ongoing Brexit confusion at Westminster.

"The first minister will take time to set out her thoughts on that front and in doing so she will seek to strike an inclusive tone."

Theresa May is said to be considering forcing MPs to vote on her Brexit deal for a fourth time next week after she saw off the latest attempt to oust her from office.

The prime minister is planning to bring forward a law to enact her withdrawal agreement, even though it has been rejected by MPs three times, reports suggest.

The law is expected to include new guarantees that the government hopes will entice both Tory Eurosceptics and wavering Labour MPs to vote for the deal.

A Brexiteer attempt to force a second vote of no confidence in Ms May was scuppered on Wednesday after senior Tories decided not to change party rules to allow another ballot to be held.

Leader says he is ‘not a dictator’ and party will decide what is in its European election manifesto

Labour’s ruling body will decide on Tuesday whether the party will campaign for a public vote on any Brexit deal, Jeremy Corbyn has said on the campaign trail in leave-voting Peterborough.

Almost 90 Labour MPs and MEPs, including a number of frontbenchers, wrote to the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) to demand that its European election manifesto include a “clear commitment to a confirmatory public vote on any Brexit deal”.

However, Corbyn declined to guarantee the commitment. He stressed that he was not a dictator and that the matter would be for the NEC to decide.

“The national executive will decide on Tuesday what will be in the European election manifesto, and we will reflect the decisions made [at] last year’s Labour party conference, which were for a customs union, market access and rights protection within – with – the European Union,” he said.

“We would prefer to have a general election, but failing that, if we get that agreement, we are prepared to consider putting it to a confirmatory vote. That is a decision the national executive of the party will make.

“It’s important that the party, which is a democratic party structure, makes those decisions. Sadly – or perhaps it’s a good thing – I’m not a dictator of the Labour party.”

Corbyn’s visit to the east of England comes amid an internal row over the wording of a draft Labour election leaflet. A number of pro-EU Labour MPs were angered by the absence of a reference to another referendum.

On Saturday afternoon, the BBC reported that the leaflets would be reprinted to refer to Labour’s preparations for a general election, with a referendum if necessary to avoid what it calls a “bad Tory deal”.

However, suggestions of a U-turn were downplayed by Corbyn’s office. “There are a number of different texts for different leaflets in circulation, including for a freepost and for other campaign purposes,” a spokesperson said. “They all reflect existing party policy. Our manifesto for the European elections will be decided in due course.

Shadow Treasury ministers Clive Lewis and Anneliese Dodds, shadow minister for the disabled Marsha de Cordova and shadow minister for industrial strategy Chi Onwurah are among the frontbenchers backing the call for a referendum.

More than half the public (55%) now think it would have been better never to have held the EU referendum given the difficulties of reaching an agreement on Brexit, according to the latest Opinium/Observer poll.

Strikingly, more Conservative voters (49%) now think the referendum was a bad idea than believe it was the right thing to have done (43%).

Among Labour supporters, 72% believe it would have been better never to have staged the vote, while 18% say it was worthwhile.
[...]
Support for The Brexit party and Labour stands level at 28% - double that for the Conservatives who are on 14%. The pro-remain Liberal Democrats and Change. UK parties both stand on 7%, while the Greens are at 6%, the SNP 5%, Ukip 3% and Plaid Cymru 1%.

If a second referendum were held between the options of leaving the EU on the prime minister’s deal or remaining in the EU, 46% say they would vote to remain (unchanged on a fortnight ago) while 34% would vote to leave (down 4%).

Nearly half of those polled thought Theresa May should resign either once the withdrawal agreement has been passed or sooner, with only 14% believing she should continue as prime minister and lead the second phase of the Brexit negotiations before resigning.

Public thinks EU referendum was a bad idea, says poll

Quote:

More than half the public (55%) now think it would have been better never to have held the EU referendum given the difficulties of reaching an agreement on Brexit, according to the latest Opinium/Observer poll.

Strikingly, more Conservative voters (49%) now think the referendum was a bad idea than believe it was the right thing to have done (43%).

Among Labour supporters, 72% believe it would have been better never to have staged the vote, while 18% say it was worthwhile.
[...]
Support for The Brexit party and Labour stands level at 28% - double that for the Conservatives who are on 14%. The pro-remain Liberal Democrats and Change. UK parties both stand on 7%, while the Greens are at 6%, the SNP 5%, Ukip 3% and Plaid Cymru 1%.

If a second referendum were held between the options of leaving the EU on the prime minister’s deal or remaining in the EU, 46% say they would vote to remain (unchanged on a fortnight ago) while 34% would vote to leave (down 4%).

Nearly half of those polled thought Theresa May should resign either once the withdrawal agreement has been passed or sooner, with only 14% believing she should continue as prime minister and lead the second phase of the Brexit negotiations before resigning.

Fewer British holidaymakers have booked a summer holiday inside the European Union this year amid continuing Brexit uncertainty, Thomas Cook has said.

The travel firm says almost half (48%) of the holidays it sold up until the end of February were to non-EU destinations, up 10% on last year.

Despite this, the firm says Spain is still its most popular destination.

Its findings chime with separate Post Office figures showing currency sales for long-haul destinations have jumped.

Sales of the Japanese yen were up 12% so far this year compared with last, while sales of the Indonesian rupiah have increased by 9%, Post Office Travel Money said.

The figures are based on Post Office transactions between 1 January and 23 April. The Post Office accounts for about a quarter of all UK currency transactions.

It said the biggest growth in currency sales so far this year has been for the Egyptian pound, which has seen a 687% year-on-year increase.

Thomas Cook - through which 19 million people book holidays each year - said after Spain, Turkey had proved the most popular destination for its holidaymakers, accounting for a quarter of its flight-only bookings so far.
[...]
Chief executive Peter Fankhauser said it was still too early to tell the impact on bookings of the UK's exit from the European Union being delayed to the end of October.

But he said there was "little doubt that the prolonged uncertainty around the manner and timing of Britain's exit from the European Union has led many customers to press pause on their holiday plans for this summer".