General election news – live: Corbyn defends neutral Brexit stance as ‘sign of strength’, as Tory minister admits no-deal still on table
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Jeremy Corbyn has defended his decision to stay neutral in the event of a second referendum, describing the position as a “sign of strength and maturity” as he urged: “Our country has to come together.”
After a stint outside an Amazon warehouse attacking tax cheats, the Labour leader was in Loughborough to launch the party’s youth manifesto, where he pledged to give 16-year-olds the vote and emphasised the party’s climate credentials.
Elsewhere, Chuka Umunna accused Tory minister Rishi Sunak of letting “the cat out of the bag” after he told The Telegraph that no-deal planning would resume after the general election under a Conservative government.
The leaders of the four main parties were each grilled by a Question Time audience on Friday night, with Boris Johnson refusing to apologise for homophobic and Islamophobic comments, and Nicola Sturgeon undermining Labour’s stance on Scottish independence.
It also emerged that the largest pre-deadline voter registration surge in UK political history took place on Friday, with more than 300,000 people becoming eligible to vote, two thirds of them under the age of 34.
Hello, and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the day's political happenings, with 19 days to go until the general election.
Last night's Question Time special has given plenty of food for thought.
Boris Johnson refused to apologise after an audience member accused him of contributing to “racist rhetoric”.
Jeremy Corbyn struggled when grilled on misogyny and antisemitism, and Jo Swinson came under fire for her party’s hardline anti-Brexit stance and record on austerity.
Here's a round-up of the highlights:
'I defend my right to speak out': Boris Johnson refuses to apologise for Islamophobic and homophobic comments
Here's Rob Merrick with the details of what happened when the PM was accused of fuelling racist rhetoric:
Chuka Umunna accuses Tories of no-deal Brexit plot
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today, the Lib Dem candidate said Treasury minister Rishi Sunak had "let the cat out of the bag" in comments made to The Telegraph.
"They are trying to take us out without any trade deal at the end of next year," the former Streatham MP said.
Mr Sunak, who attended the last no-deal planning meeting on 29 October, told the paper that ministers agreed meetings would be “paused”, with the “exact tempo going forward TBD”.
Despite the PM's assurances that no-deal is completely off the cards, Mr Sunak said planning for such an outcome would resume after the general election if the Tories retain power.
Last Sunday, Dominic Raab left the door open for no-deal, telling Andrew Marr that while it was "not remotely likely" the UK would leave without a deal if the EU refused to bend on certain negotiating objectives, he couldn't "break down in advance the hypothetical negotiating scenarios".
On the subject of Brexit, Mr Umunna also took aim at Jeremy Corbyn's neutrality pledge, saying: "I think it is extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary, that on the biggest issue since the Second World War, the leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn is saying he would seek to behave like some referee in a football match."
More than 300,000 people register to vote in one day in ‘largest ever pre-election surge’
The race to join the electoral roll took place on the unofficial Naitonal Voter Registration Day declared by campaigners and backed by civil society groups and trade unions with the social media hashtag #RegisterToVote, reports Andrew Woodcock.
Some 308,000 registrations were recorded in the space of 24 hours, the vast majority of them online, with more than 200,000 of them below the age of 34.
And contributing to the possibly historic surge in registration, here's The Independent's Ben Kelly on a voter drive of his own.
Corbyn attacks tax cheats and defends Brexit neutrality at Amazon depot
The Labour leader visited an Amazon depot to show support to workers and to impress upon the tech giant that every big company would have to pay taxes on all operations in the UK if his party wins power.
"I think these are just basic issues of social justice and that's why I'm here this morning," he said.
Mr Corbyn also defended his pledge to remain neutral in a second Brexit referendum.
"I think being an honest broker and listening to everyone is actually a sign of strength and a sign of maturity," he said. "Our country has to come together - we can't go on forever being divided by how people voted in 2016.
"I think this is actually a sensible way forward that actually can bring people together."
His comments echo that of key ally Laura Pidcock, who told the BBC's Today programme earlier: "The Labour Party is saying that we won't fall into this trap created by other people of these binary divisions."
"To be honest I think it's the brave position to have taken, because what we are saying is we trust the people to have the final say."
UK citizens at risk of death penalty or Guantanamo Bay under new deal with US, parliamentary inquiry warns
ICYMI last night, an exclusive from The Independent's Rob Merrick revealed UK citizens are at risk of the death penalty in the US – or of being sent to Guantanamo Bay – under a fast-track data-sharing deal struck by Priti Patel, according to a parliamentary inquiry.
Read more here:
Labour launches youth manifesto: "The Future is Ours to Make"
Mr Corbyn is set to unveil the party's youth manifesto in Loughborough where crowds are already gathered. He's expected to urge young people to register to vote. Some of the pledges include:
- Lower the voting age to 16
- Build up to 500 youth centres
- Double funding for young people's mental health services
- Cap overdraft fees and interest on loans
- Free bus travel for under-25s in areas with council-controlled buses
- Close the gender pay gap by 2030.
It's also big on Labour's pledged "Green Industrial Revolution".
You can read the full manifesto here.
…meanwhile Nigel Farage and Richard Tice are having a stroll around Hartlepool.
The Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage is in Hartlepool, where he and party chair Richard Tice visited a market and stopped for a coffee before moving onto the King John Tavern.
Attacking Jeremy Corbyn's Brexit stance as a "failure of leadership" from the confines of the Wetherspoon's pub, he told PA reporters:
"Brexit is the defining issue of our day and the leader of the Labour Party is going to abstain from that.
"I find that astonishing. It's a failure of leadership. It's also a reflection that he knows his own parliamentary party are Remainers ... so he's still trying to stay on that fence and it's not working.
"And I think, frankly, people would say just come down on one side or the other and I think my feeling is the Labour campaign is bombing and that last night made it worse."
Credit: Danny Lawson/PA Wire
Corbyn addresses crowd at launch of youth manifesto
Corbyn is onstage in Loughborough, describing what he calls “a people-powered manifesto”.
“I’ll be proud to lead a Labour government that gives votes at 16 … and properly funds our education system.
“Let’s end the post code lottery on education and give every young child a real chance.”
He attacked the "short-sightedness" of attacking the nursing bursary and university fees, and said Labour would ensure apprenticeship schemes were properly funded.
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