Lucas says abandoning free movement is 'a scandal'
Caroline Lucas, the Green party co-leader, has said that ending free movement after Brexit would create a “very real risk” to public services. Speaking at an event in Sheffield, she criticised the government and Labour for not committing to keep free movement after Britain leaves the EU. She said:
Taking away the right to travel, to study, to work, to live and to learn, and to love in 27 other countries and for them to come here. That is a wonderful, precious gift. And the carelessness, the recklessness, the thoughtlessness with which that is being thrown away by this government, supported, tragically, by the Labour party, I think is little short of criminal, it’s a scandal.
They’ve failed to make that case that migration enriches and diversifies our communities. A culture that’s rich in diversity is exposed to new ways of thinking, new ideas, new languages, new information. It is outward thinking, rather than self-limiting.
And the economic arguments for free movement are strong as well. We would be a poorer country without the taxes that EU nationals pay, without the work they do in our hospitals, our councils, our care homes. Without free movement, there is a very real risk that our economy will not be able to generate enough tax to support current levels of investment in the NHS or other public services, levels which have already, frankly, been cut to the bone.
May says Mackinlay is 'innocent until proven guilty'
Theresa May has said the Tories continue to believe that the allegations against their candidate for South Thanet, Craig Mackinlay, are unfounded. (See 10.31am.) Asked about the CPS decision to charge him, she said:
The Conservative party continues to believe that these allegations are unfounded. Craig Mackinlay is innocent until proven guilty and he remains our candidate.
Theresa May meeting women and children during a visit to Kilham Hall community centre on the general election campaign trail near Doncaster. Photograph: Scott Heppell/PA
The Lib Dems have unveiled a defector. Azi Ahmed was a Conservative candidate in Rochdale in the 2015 general election and spoke at last year’s party conference. But today she attended a Lib Dem election event with Sir Vince Cable.
Explaining her move, Ahmed said:
I voted remain and thought there was still a place in the Conservative party for people like me, but the way they are fighting this election has made me realise I cannot support a policy which goes against the national interest. A hard Brexit is a car crash waiting to happen.
She has written about her defection in more detail in an article for the Guardian.
Nicola Sturgeon taking a selfie with staff at Bubbles Factory soft play area in Carluke while on the general election campaign trail. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA
A new Ipsos Mori poll is out. Joe Murphy has written it up for the Evening Standard and it shows the Conservative lead at just five points, down 10 from when Ipsos Mori polled in the middle of last month.
Women and middle-aged voters are punishing Theresa May following controversies over the “dementia tax” and school meals, an exclusive poll reveals today.
The Ipsos MORI research for the Evening Standard reveals significant shifts to Labour among women and the 35-54 age group — the “pinched generation” juggling caring for ageing parents and their own children ...
Before the Tory manifesto raised care costs and scrapped free meals for infants, women were dividing 49-35 for the Conservatives over Labour. Now that gap has closed to 45-44. Among people aged 35-54 there has been an even more dramatic switch.
Before the social care row they split 52-34 for the Conservatives. Now they divide 36 for the Conservatives and 46 for Labour. In other words, they have switched sides.
Among older voters, aged 55+, satisfaction with May has dropped from 70 to 57, though she is still positive on balance.
The drop in the Tory lead here is probably largely just reflecting the post-manifesto drop that we’ve seen in other polls. The forty point figure is the highest Labour have recorded since early 2014 (though of course, back then it gave them a substantial lead … now it still puts them five points behind).
Corbyn says it was 'unwise' of Tory HQ to comment on Mackinlay prosecution
Asked about the Craig Mackinlay case, Jeremy Corbyn said it was a mistake for the Conservative party to issue the statement it put out earlier (see 10.51am) defending Mackinlay when the case needed to be resolved by the courts. Corbyn said:
Nobody should be commenting on the details of an ongoing case, the police must be allowed to act independently, to investigate on the basis of any evidence they’ve got and the Crown Prosecution Service must be allowed to make its decision on whether to proceed on a case.
I think it is a very bad road when democratically elected politicians start offering a running commentary on independent judicial processes. We have to have total separation of political and judicial powers in this country.
All politicians need to be extremely careful - politicians are elected to parliament to be held to account by the public.
The judicial system and the police have to be independent of political interests and day to day political activity.
I have always opposed interference in the judicial system by politicians, there has to be that separation and therefore I think it’s very unwise to comment on a police investigation or a Crown Prosecution Service decision-making process.
Corbyn tells me he thinks it "unwise" for the conservatives to have commented on the on-going investigation into election expenses.
Nigel Farage has also been commenting on the decision to charge Craig Mackinlay, who defeated him in South Thanet in 2015. Speaking in Claction, he said:
Am I pleased that someone has been charged? Yes. I think that constituency will now be a straight fight between Ukip and the Labour party, and I will be there tomorrow afternoon at 5pm giving a speech.
Asked if the decision would have any impact on the election, Farage said:
Well once again it is bad judgment from Theresa May. Why on earth would you allow someone to go ahead as general election candidate when this cloud was clearly hanging over him. There will be questions.
Farage says May has turned into Tories' 'biggest liability'
Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader, is not standing in the election himself, but he has been campaigning for the party in Clacton this morning. He told Sky News that at the start of the campaign a lot of Eurosceptics may have accepted Theresa May’s claim that she needed a big majority to deliver Brexit.
But I think as the campaign has gone on, she has gone from being their biggest asset to being their biggest liability. It’s quite tough to believe anything she says.
Nigel Farage campaigning in Clacton. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images
In the Times today (paywall) Francis Elliott says Ben Gummer, currently a Cabinet Office minister but an influential figure in Theresa May’s inner circle, is being lined up for the post of Brexit secretary if the Tories win the election. Here’s an extract from his story.
Theresa May’s key calculation as she mulls over possible changes is whether Boris Johnson can be moved, according to senior Tories.
The option of placing Mr Gummer in charge of the Brexit department is being canvassed by No 10, Whitehall sources have confirmed. Although he is not yet a cabinet minister, the Tory candidate for Ipswich and son of Lord Deben, who as John Selwyn Gummer was environment secretary, is highly rated by the prime minister.
Ben Gummer already sits on the Brexit committee as part of his work ensuring that No 10’s priorities are being implemented across government departments. “The thinking is that Ben is the brightest she’s got and Brexit is the biggest issue, so why wouldn’t you put him in there?” a senior Tory said.
Mr Davis, who has been the target of persistent speculation that he will be moved, would be content to move to the Foreign Office, friends say. That leaves Mrs May with the difficulty of what to do with Mr Johnson. He is understood to have made clear last July that he would not accept the job of party chairman — the role for which some in No 10 think he is most suited.
The appointment would be controversial in the Conservative party because Gummer was a strong remain supporter. To boost his chances, the Guido Fawkes website has rounded up some of Gummer’s pro-remain tweets.
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