Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

As it happenedended

Brexit news: May sacks defence secretary Williamson over ‘unprecedented’ Huawei leak as MPs vote on climate change

Follow live updates from Westminster, as they happened

Lizzy Buchan
Political Correspondent
,Samuel Osborne
Wednesday 01 May 2019 20:43 BST
Comments
Countdown to Brexit: How many days left until Britain leaves the EU?

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Theresa May has endured a day of intense scrutiny over her Brexit strategy ahead of an anticipated mauling in the local elections over delays to the UK's departure from the EU.

Ms May and Jeremy Corbyn held their last prime minister's questions clash ahead of Thursday's poll, as the Labour leader accused Ms May of failing to tackle the "burning injustices" she pledged to combat during her first day in office.

Amid mounting speculation that the prime minister could cave in to opposition demands, Ms May told senior backbenchers she hopes "a deal can be done" with Labour to find a consensus which can command a majority in parliament.

To see events as they unfolded, follow our live coverage below

Wes Streeting has called on Labour MPs to refuse to defend Jeremy Corbyn for endorsing a book containing antisemitic stereotypes. 

"If he wants to defend the indefensible he should go on the airwaves and defend himself,"  the Labour MP for Ilford North tweeted. "He has a responsibility to explain himself."

Samuel Osborne1 May 2019 10:57

All of the Department for Transport's contracts for ferry services to be provided in the case of a no-deal Brexit are to be cancelled, at a cost to the department of around £50m.

Lizzy Buchan1 May 2019 11:11

The prospect of British candidates getting into the European Parliament and then leaving after Brexit could create a "messy" situation in the run-up to the vote for European Commission's president, Commission vice president Jyrki Katainen said.

"The UK has been given a deadline [to leave the EU] which is later in the autumn but the Commission president might be elected before that ... It looks very messy at the moment," he told journalists in Warsaw.

"We have to make sure all MEPs have the same rights and responsibilities because we cannot be in a situation where some MEPs have a partial mandate ... But a temporary majority may cause lots of questions and troubles [if UK MEPs leave the European Parliament after Brexit]," he added.

Lizzy Buchan1 May 2019 11:27

The High Court has rejected a legal challenge against a controversial third runway at Heathrow Airport, despite growing alarm at the climate crisis.

Judges delivered their ruling on Wednesday following separate judicial reviews of the government’s decision to approve the plans, brought by a group of councils, residents, environmental charities and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

More here:

Lizzy Buchan1 May 2019 11:39

Nearly time for PMQs and here are the MPs with questions for Theresa May.

Lizzy Buchan1 May 2019 11:48

And we're off - a little late as Speaker John Bercow let international development questions run over.

Theresa May starts by paying tribute to those who ran the London marathon, including her PPS Andrew Bowie, who had the fastest time of any MP.

She joked she wasn't chasing him.

Poor old John Lamont, the Scottish Tory, came second to Bowie and says he will have to run faster next time.

Lamont highlight the anniversary of the act of union, when Scotland joined the United Kingdom, and urges May to condemn Scottish independence.

May is only happy to oblige - and condemns Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP leader, for concentrating on constitutional matters rather than domestic issues such as education.

Irony there...

Lizzy Buchan1 May 2019 12:05

Jeremy Corbyn is up. He challenges May on her promise to tackle the burning injustices faced by ordinary people and points to the Social Mobility Commission report which criticised the government's record.

May says he forgot to praise the union of the UK - and makes a gag about how its the first time Corbyn has failed to praise a union in the Commons.

She dismisses his concerns and said Labour would saddle young people with more debt.

Lizzy Buchan1 May 2019 12:10

Corbyn says life expectancy has fallen under the Tories. What is she doing about it?

May disputes his figures and says Labour votes against every attempt by the government to improve things.

Corbyn hits back, saying food bank usage has increased to record levels under this government and presses May on what she is doing to stop it.

May say work is the best route out of poverty, and quotes the government's record on people in work. 

Lizzy Buchan1 May 2019 12:12

Corbyn says people in work are using food banks. He moves to asking about social care, which Labour has been campaigning about in recent days.

He asks if May agrees with his plan or her ally Damian Green, who recently suggested changing funding for it to a pensions-style model. Green wanted to tax the over-50s.

May says the government has put money into social care but best practice is most important.

Lizzy Buchan1 May 2019 12:17

Corbyn says May has got her 'head in the sand' and the social care system is in crisis. 

He pivots to violent crime and asks her to accept there is a violent crime epidemic that needs to be addressed with more money.

May says there should never be gaps in social care provision. On crime, she says it is down overall by a third and reminds Corbyn that he has been told off for use of stats by the watchdog.

She says she will take no lectures from Corbyn on crime as she says he voted against measures to help the police.

Lizzy Buchan1 May 2019 12:21

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in