Tag: Chris Grayling

There were chaotic scenes as a march led by Nigel Farage left Sunderland to protest against perceived attempts to betray the will of the people over Brexit. Marchers chanted “we’re marching for our freedom” and some described Farage as a great statesman and a fantastic leader. “If you see what has been happening in parliament this week, we may well not be leaving the EU. If politicians think they can walk all over us, then we’re going to march back and tell them they can’t. The march’s website states: “It is now clear the Westminster elite are preparing to betray the will of the people over Brexit. To counter this, Leave Means Leave are undertaking a peaceful protest to demonstrate the depth and breadth of popular discontent with the way Brexit has been handled.” Marchers gathered in the rain from the early morning for the first leg, which will take them 20 miles to Hartlepool. As Farage arrived he was met by a large group of reporters and TV crews. A row soon broke out with counter-protesters who turned up carrying red love hearts with messages including “we love workers’ rights” and “we love to have a say”. One set off blue and yellow flares , the colours of the EU, as protesters chanted “exit Brexit”. Read more Barry Lockey, who arrived in Sunderland carrying a flag with the message “Get Britain out: Time to leave the EU”, said that the event was about supporting democracy.

Any delay to the UK leaving the EU could cost the government tens of millions in extra payments to keep its no-deal ferry contracts in place. Conservatives tell MEPs to consider election bid if Brexit deal fails Read more It seems unlikely the contracts will now be realised after MPs voted to instruct Theresa May to seek an extension to article 50, which would delay Brexit beyond 29 March. According to the Financial Times, the cost of the delay could reach £28m. Brittany Ferries, which has contracts worth £46.6m under the deal, said the terms “included fair and proportionate compensation in a deal scenario, taking account of the significant preparatory work and concomitant costs incurred”. It said the firm had already “incurred a series of direct costs and resource commitments”, including hiring new staff and changing more than 20,000 bookings, and “the new schedule cannot now be changed, even as an extension to article 50 seems likely”. 'I feel frustrated': the Brexit view from Edinburgh and Hastings Read more The contracts are intended to ensure imports of medicines and other vital supplies to the UK continue in the event of a no-deal Brexit causing chaos on the short Dover-Calais and Channel tunnel routes. A National Audit Office memorandum in February noted the potential problems caused by a delay to the article 50 process. “If the date of the UK’s exit from the EU changes, and there is still the possibility of a no-deal EU exit, the department will need to decide how it wishes to proceed with the contracts,” the NAO said in February. “There is no provision for the start date to be delayed, but the department may seek to negotiate this with the operators.” A Department for Transport spokesman said: “As the prime minister has made clear, the legal default in UK and EU law remains that the UK will leave the EU without a deal unless something else is agreed. “Leaving with a deal is still our priority, but as a responsible government it is only right that we push on with contingency measures, that will ensure critical goods such as medicines can continue to enter the UK.”

Police have announced that Prime Minister Theresa May is MISSING after she put Chris Grayling in charge of her travel arrangements to last-minute talks with EU officials. Theresa May was scheduled to meet with senior EU officials to hold last-minute talks in the hope she could land an improved deal ahead of a vital parliament vote. But the PM put transport secretary Chris Grayling in charge of her travel plans and now no-one knows where she is. ‘I can confirm that the prime minister is missing. However, we are doing everything in our power to locate her,’ said Chief Inspector Horse, between naps. Without Theresa May manning the helm, Conservatives fear that Britain might be run competently for a change. ‘And that would be terrible for most of our members. We make money through chaos. Don’t tell anyone I said that though,’ said Jacob Rees-Mogg. Chris Grayling is also missing after getting lost in his own house.

The transport secretary, Chris Grayling, has fought off calls for him to resign over a series of costly controversies. But was the man at the centre of them all really to blame? The Guardian’s Peter Walker looks back at a catalogue of crises that have a habit of engulfing the cabinet minister now known as ‘Failing Grayling’. Plus: Rob Evans on the blacklisting of trade unionists and the role of undercover police When reports emerged that the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, had awarded a ferry contract to a company without any ferries, he faced widespread derision. Last week, the contract was cancelled and the government reached a humiliating £33m out-of-court settlement with Eurotunnel. It was the latest in a long line of controversies that have engulfed Grayling during his political career. But despite the setbacks, he has continued to win promotions and remains in the cabinet with key responsibilities in planning for Brexit. These lists were funded by major companies, including the construction industry, and resulted in people losing work when those businesses deemed them to be troublemakers. This week, the police have finally admitted their involvement by having shared information about individuals with the blacklisters, and have compiled an internal report that has been seen by the Guardian’s reporter Rob Evans. He describes tracking down the office of the blacklist in Worcester.

The government has bowed to MPs’ pressure over the post-Brexit rights of EU citizens and reaffirmed pledges to give the Commons a veto on a no-deal departure after the latest parliamentary wrangling over Theresa May’s deadlocked plans. The concessions meant that the set of votes on the government’s latest Brexit motion, tabled in lieu of a still-elusive revised departure plan, was the first without a defeat for May. In a statement afterwards Jeremy Corbyn said Labour would back a public vote while also pushing for “other available options”, including a general election and Labour’s own Brexit plan. May to offer workers' rights pledges to gain Labour Brexit support Read more The key government climbdown was on an amendment tabled by the Conservative MP Alberto Costa, which called on ministers to secure the rights and status of EU nationals in the UK even in the event of no deal. It was adopted by the government without a vote, but only after Costa was sacked as a government aide and the home secretary, Sajid Javid, said he backed the plan before May had herself done so. Ministers unofficially accepted another amendment, from Labour’s Yvette Cooper, reiterating May’s commitment on Tuesday that she will allow MPs a vote on extending the Brexit deadline by mid-March if no departure deal has been agreed by then. Ministers also agreed to a parallel amendment by the Conservative MP Caroline Spelman on the same subject, which was passed without a vote, as was the plan tabled by Costa. The main government concession was announced in the debate’s opening speech by the cabinet office minister David Lidington, May’s de facto deputy. He said the government would back Costa’s amendment, which had been signed by 135 MPs, among them many Conservatives – a clear sign it would pass anyway. It’s about the rights of five million people “If I had to resign for that - so be it” says ??@AlbertoCostaMP? pic.twitter.com/Wz6UcyO5dM February 27, 2019 Adding to the confusion, the home secretary Sajid Javid seemed to pre-empt Lidington’s concession before the debate, using an earlier appearance before the home affairs select committee to say he had no objection to the amendment.

Theresa May faced cross-party calls to sack her transport secretary, Chris Grayling, last night, after the calamitous collapse of a no-deal Brexit ferry contract handed to a company with no ships. Senior Tories said the prime minister had turned “a blind eye” to Grayling’s decision to award the £13.8m contract to Seaborne Freight to run ferries between Ramsgate and Ostend, despite widespread derision and accusations that it had been awarded illegally. Several MPs suggested Grayling should now consider his position after his department revealed the contract had been cancelled, and Bob Kerslake, the former head of the civil service, said the saga would “just confirm the view of many that this country is in a mess”. “Chris Grayling holds a critical position in government, trying to mitigate what would be a very serious crisis for the country if we leave the European Union without a deal,” she said. The prime minister should also be considering whether there is not someone else who could do the job better.” Another senior Tory MP said Grayling was a “walking disaster zone”, adding: “A no-deal Brexit would be a major national crisis and stories like this suggest we have not got the people in place who are capable of responding to it.” Another said: “Grayling never has a grip on the detail, as the Seaborne mess shows. He has already lost the confidence of the civil service as they now require a ministerial directive for the government to spend money on ferries.” Downing Street last night said the prime minister had full confidence in Grayling. The Department for Transport said the deal was terminated after Irish company Arklow Shipping, which had backed Seaborne, stepped away from the deal. There is increasing international business concern about the prospect of a no-deal Brexit. The Japan Business Council in Europe, a body that represents the European arms of 85 Japanese companies including Fujitsu, Hitachi, Toyota, Honda and Panasonic, said its members were preparing for the “severe consequences” of leaving the EU without a deal. “A no-deal exit would bring severe consequences not only to our member companies directly, but also to our supply chains and customers,” said Lars Brückner and Graham Holman, joint heads of the council’s Brexit task force.

The transport secretary, Chris Grayling, is no longer welcome in Calais, according to the port’s chairman, who has been angered by British plans to divert some sea traffic in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Jean-Marc Puissesseau reportedly accused the UK cabinet minister of behaving in a “completely disrespectful” manner on Tuesday. “Mr Grayling came to us in November and asked us if we would be ready. He did not tell us that he wanted to reduce the activity [at Calais]. I don’t want to see him again,” Puissesseau told the Daily Telegraph. Without contingency plans, the government fears deliveries of food and medicine could be delayed. Puissesseau has previously insisted no such disruption is likely because Calais has been planning for a no-deal Brexit for a year. Jacques Gounon, the chief executive of Eurotunnel’s parent company, has said the awarding of the ferry operator contracts was “distortionary and anti-competitive” and would be a “unilateral breach not only of the concession agreement with Eurotunnel, but more widely of existing competition and state aid law”. It has been reported that the government plans to pay a law firm £800,000 for advice in anticipation of a legal action brought by the company. Reacting to Puissesseau’s comments on Tuesday, the Labour MP and supporter of the pro-EU Best for Britain campaign, Virendra Sharma, said: “Surely this is peak Chris Grayling, only this time he’s gone international.

The most likely alternative is a permanent customs union, which could get the backing of a majority of MPs. They have also discussed the Norway-plus option – with the welfare secretary, Amber Rudd, thought to be particularly interested – though this would be problematic for May’s red line on free movement. He is unlikely to survive if the prime minister falls. Clark and Gauke are thought to be prepared to consider a second referendum. Ultra-loyalists Every prime minister needs a few ministers who she can rely on whatever happens. Whichever option she goes for when MPs reject her deal as seems almost inevitable – a second attempt, renegotiating with Brussels, a second referendum or even a general election – they are likely to stand by her. Labour accuses government of defying will of Commons by not releasing full Brexit legal advice - Politics live Read more Born-again Brexiters These ministers all have their eyes on the biggest prize of all: being on the right side of the Brexit debate when May does eventually step down. The home secretary, Sajid Javid, was a natural Eurosceptic who backed remain at the behest of David Cameron but appeared to regret his decision after the vote, which lost him the trust of many Tory Brexiters. Loyal for now While they represent different factions of the Tory party, these ministers have all come out in support of the prime minister’s deal, for now. The health secretary, Matt Hancock, who was close to George Osborne, has survived, even thrived, under May and has played a relatively straight bat on Brexit.

Theresa May rejects Donald Trump's criticism of Brexit deal Read more In a damning report released on Wednesday, MPs said businesses and members of the public had not been given adequate information about what might happen. They highlighted the department’s use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) while negotiating with the transport industry as hampering the spread of information. Quick guide What happens next if May's Brexit deal is voted down? MPs knuckle under and vote it through. A new leader then tries to assemble a majority behind a tweaked deal. Labour tries to force an election The opposition tables a vote of no confidence. If May lost, the opposition (or a new Conservative leader) would have two weeks to form an alternative government that could win a second confidence vote. Transport department officials have called the £35m project Operation Brock. “The slow progress and poor communication around work to avoid this through schemes such as Project Brock concerns us,” it said. The department on Monday opened applications from hauliers for internal road haulage permits, known as ECMT permits, which will be needed for British lorries to travel across the Channel in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

It is famously said of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini that at least while he was dragging his country into a war in which over half a million of his citizens died, he was also making sure the trains ran on time. The murdering fascist wasn’t all bad: he did sort out Italy’s railways. Popular beliefs to the contrary are all just part of the fascist myth that he built up around himself to validate his governance. It’s fake news, but the widely believed claim strikes to the core of a bigger issue: politicians hijacking transport as an easy way to connect with voters. Like Mussolini before him, this is something Donald Trump has recognised. Trump was fed up that other countries “look at our infrastructure as being sad”. As someone who has tried to use Amtrak, the US domestic rail service, I’ve got to say I agree with him. On this side of the pond, we have a similar problem: Boris Johnson. Aborted suggestions include the Garden Bridge Project, which managed to waste another £46m in public money without even being built, and the Thames Estuary Airport. Unfortunately, they have nothing to do with infrastructure.