Sunday shows: No deal Brexit, Iran, North and South

Ridge on Sunday

Hilary Benn outlined his reasons for opposing a no deal Brexit.

• • On the recent Labour-led motion being defeated: “The vote last week was a procedural motion, a business motion to, as we said, book a slot on the parliamentary agenda but the last time we voted just on the question ‘Does parliament approve or not approve a no deal Brexit?’ there was a huge defeat for a no deal Brexit.”
  • On how to block no deal: “I think there are one or two other options using the parliamentary rule book… But, look, if it comes down to it and the House of Commons votes to pass a motion to say ‘this House does not agree to the United Kingdom leaving the EU without an agreement’, is it seriously being argued by whoever becomes Prime Minister that they are going to say to MPs ‘I’m going to ignore what you have just said’? I don’t think that is a politically or indeed a constitutionally sustainable position.”
  • On the idea that the next Prime Minister could suspend parliament: “It would be scandalous to use that to try to, in effect, shut the doors of the House of Commons so that MPs can’t meet and express a view.”Ian,

The MP for Leeds Central also discussed the attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

• On Jeremy Corbyn’s reaction to the attacks, calling for credible evidence: “We need to see the evidence and therefore we need an international investigation.” So you don’t believe the Foreign Office? “I don’t know, the honest answer is I don’t know and nor do you and nor does anybody else.”
• On next steps: “Now as the evidence is gathered, then people can make their judgement and I think the United Nations is the right place to do that. The second thing I would do is, if these attacks continue, then the international community ought to take steps to protect vessels that are passing through the Straits of Hormuz… Thirdly, we have to address the cause of the tension with Iran, which was the United States decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.”

‘It would be scandalous to prorogue parliament’ – Hilary Benn says he doesn’t think the Government will be able to ‘shut the doors of the House of Commons’. #Ridge

Follow live political reaction here: https://t.co/YjBs9UGtw8 pic.twitter.com/CDpHQEsTdh

— Ridge on Sunday (@RidgeOnSunday) June 16, 2019

The Andrew Marr Show

Andy Burnham talked about “closing the North-South divide” and his record as mayor of Greater Manchester.

• On the divide: “Continued austerity means we’re still having to cut essential services. So unless the incoming prime minister makes a firm commitment to the Northern Powerhouse, it’s in danger of fizzling out.”
• On Jeremy Corbyn’s social mobility speech and Tony Blair’s video reacting to it: “I just kind of find it odd that the energy is going into constantly raking over the past when we have a Conservative government that is really damaging people’s lives here.”
• On homelessness in Manchester: “I have introduced a scheme called A Bed Every Night, where we are giving every rough sleeper here somewhere to go every night. There are 300 people in our hostels every night. That isn’t happening in any other UK city.”
• On buses: “It costs £4 here for a single bus journey, capped at £1.50 in London. How can that possibly be fair? […] We need the same level of subsidy.”
• On climate change: “I have prioritised cycling and walking. I’ve proposed a ban on fracking across Greater Manchester. We are moving forward with a Greater Manchester-wide clean air zone.”

“I find it odd that the energy is going into constantly raking over the past”

Mayor of Greater Manchester and former cabinet minister Andy Burnham talks about the row between Tony Blair and Jeremy Corbyn on the last Labour government’s record#Marr https://t.co/swqy1AVYzQ pic.twitter.com/EmsNROpYwk

— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) June 16, 2019

Pienaar’s Politics

There were no Labour Party representatives on the BBC’s Pienaar’s Politics this week. But comments from Amber Rudd will likely make opposition members more optimistic about the chances of an early general election.

Speaking to Katy Balls, Amber Rudd confirmed it would be “a step too far” for her to help bring down a government in favour of no deal.

However, she said: “There are a number of colleagues who have gone public saying that they would consider doing that, and there are a number I know of privately who say that.”

Asked by John Pienaar whether she believed the numbers were there to bring down the government, the current Work and Pensions Secretary replied: “I believe they are, yes.”