Tory bid to celebrate Brexit anniversary marred by spat between Badenoch and Patel over party’s migration record – UK politics live

Tory bid to celebrate Brexit anniversary marred by spat between Badenoch and Patel over party’s migration record

Good morning. It is five years to the day since the UK left the European Union. Despite complaints from some of the pro-Brexit papers, Keir Starmer and the government are not planning anything today to mark the occasion – which is not surprising because polling suggests only 11% of the population believe that it has been a success, and most people now think that, when voters followed the advice of Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Nigel Farage, they made a mistake.

Still, in some parts of British politics Brexit has long ceased being a policy option, and become more of a cult, and some supporters of Brexit have been marking the anniversary with statements defending the policy. But, in the Conservative party, that has all gone a bit haywire.

Yesterday afternoon the Conservative party released an embargoed press release from Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, saying Tories were celebrating the fifth anniversary. She said:

Five years ago today, the Conservatives honoured the democratic will of the British people and Got Brexit Done.

Since then, our country has reaped the benefits—securing new trade deals with dynamic, fast-growing markets across the world and reclaiming sovereignty from Brussels. This has allowed us to reform or revoke 2,500 EU laws, ensuring Britain’s future is shaped by our own parliament.

But Patel was also recording an interview with Harry Cole, political editor of the Sun, for his Never Mind the Ballots TV show, and she got into trouble when asked by Cole why immigration had soared since the UK left the EU. Cole confronted her with this graph and said that, while the Tories had ended free movement for Europeans, they “threw the borders open for the rest of the world”. He said net migration was going up to 1.2m a year, and claimed the new arrivals were going to “take jobs that you promised were going to go to Sun readers and people who voted for Brexit”.

Graph showing migration figures Photograph: The Sun

Patel said at one point she was “not fine” with those figures. But, generally, she defended the rise in net migration, saying that Brexit was always about having a new immigration policy and that, with a points-based system, the UK was now able to take in “the brightest and the best”.

To compound her error (in CCHQ terms), when asked if she would apologise to Brexit voters “for the fact that you misled them [about what would happen to migration numbers]”, Patel refused, saying the question was “totally disortionary”.

Here is the key exchange.

"Totally distortionary!"

Watch the moment Priti Patel earns herself a telling off from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, after denying the previous government had “thrown open our borders” to the rest of the world.

📺WATCH: https://t.co/Io5NfLjlZB@MrHarryCole | @TheSun

— Talk (@TalkTV) January 30, 2025

Patel was home secretary for three years during this period and was concerned to defend her record. She was right to say that, while some people were voting for Brexit in 2016 for lower immigration, others were less concerned about numbers and more interested in just having a migration system over which the UK government had full control. But her line was at odds with what Kemi Badenoch has been saying about the Tories’ immigration policy, and she was quickly rebuked by her leader. As Kevin Schofield reports for HuffPost UK, Badenoch’s spokesperson issued a statement saying in effect that Patel was wrong.

As Kemi said when she committed to a hard cap on visas in November, under her leadership the Conservative party will tell the truth about the mistakes we made.

While the last Conservative government may have tried to control numbers, we did not deliver.

Patel also ended up issuing a clarification statement on social media that was almost as embarrassing as Peter Mandelson’s recent kowtow.

So, it’s not a happy Brexit day so far in Toryland.

The Commons is not sitting this morning, and the political diary is relatively empty. There is more comment about Brexit to report. Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, is on a visit this morning, and Steve Reed, the environment secretary, is also doing a press event this morning to promote a policy on land use.

If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.

If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.

I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.

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Farage accepts people 'disappointed' by Brexit - but claims Reform UK could 'finish the job'

Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has admitted that people are “disappointed” by Brexit. He has marked the fifth anniversary by recording a video message for Daily Express readers saying that the proper Brexit they wanted has not been delivered because they were let down by the Tories. He says:

[Brexit has] not been delivered and if I sat here five years ago I’d have said to you in five years’ time I’d be retired, I’d be out, I’d have done my bit, my 27 years of campaigning finally paid off.

But I’m back and I’m back because we now need people in charge to deliver the Brexit we voted for who actually believe in it …

We know Labour were opposed, [Keir] Starmer wanted a second referendum, Liberal Democrats the same.

But I frankly look now at Boris Johnson, Kemi Badenoch, all of these people, I don’t think they ever really believed in it.

I think they used it as a vehicle to win a general election, which I helped them do. They never really believed in it.

They always kind of saw it I think a bit more as damage limitation rather than an opportunity.

I’m here to say I’m disappointed, you watching this will be disappointed, we can do so much better and we’re the guys to do it.

He is also urging voters to let his party “finish the job”.

And tonight he is holding a rally in Badenoch’s North West Essex constituency to try to show that his party has more support than hers.

Brexit shows why Welsh voters should not trust Farage's Reform UK in next Senedd elections, says Plaid Cymru

The SNP are using the fifth anniversary of Brexit to restate their call for the UK to “at the very least” rejoin the customs union and the single market. This is from Stephen Gethins, the SNP’s Europe spokesperson.

But the party also says the only way Scotland can rejoin the EU is through independence.

And in Wales Plaid Cymru says Brexit shows why voters should not back Reform UK (which could overtake the Tories in the Senedd elections in 2026, according to some projections). The Plaid leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said:

The decision to exit the EU implemented five years ago has had a devastating impact on the Welsh economy.

The lies at the heart of the Leave campaign have left our communities millions worse off. Wales should send [Nigel] Farage the bill for Brexit.

The irony of the millionaire city trader railing against the so-called European elite will not be lost on people. Reform have absolutely nothing to offer Wales at the next election. Farage told us that he was against membership of the EU but he never told us it would make Wales poorer.

This is a cautionary tale ahead of the Senedd elections next year where Mr. Farage will sell us a pipe dream that, like Brexit, will turn out to be an economic nightmare.

Green party says rejoining EU ultimately 'best option' for UK, and says citizens' assemblies could help chart way forward

The Green party is also calling for the UK to rejoin the customs union. And rejoining would be “the best option” when there is political support for that, it says. But, in a statement issued to mark the fifth anniversary, the party also says the referendum showed the problem with “binary choices” and it calls for the use of citizens’ assemblies to chart a way forward.

Ellie Chowns MP said:

The Green party is very clear that people and planet would benefit from much closer relationships between our country and the European Union.

We will continue to press the Labour government to be braver and bolder in overcoming the negative impacts of Brexit.

Full membership of the EU remains the best option for the UK, and we are in favour of pursuing a policy to rejoin as soon as the political will is present.

Of course, that means building the widespread public support we need before a decision to rejoin is made …

We should also rejoin the customs union to begin to overcome the obstacles that small businesses have faced in trading with our closest partners since Brexit.

While joining the single market would provide benefits in terms of free movement of people, goods, services and capital, membership of the Single Market without membership of the EU would not be an ideal long-term solution because the UK would not be a full partner in decision making processes.

We’ve learned from the divisiveness of Brexit that binary choices push people apart rather than bring people together.

So, we are proposing the use of citizens’ assemblies to support the wider public to make well-informed decisions about complicated political issues such as our future membership of the EU.

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey restates call for UK to rejoin customs union

Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, has used the fifth anniversary of Brexit to restate his party’s call for the UK to rejoin the EU customs unions. In an overnight statement he said:

We must repair the trading relationship with our neighbours that was so badly ruined under the Conservatives. Their deal has been an utter disaster for our country - for farmers, fishers and small businesses - caught up in red tape.

So far the Labour government has failed to show the urgency and ambition needed to fix our relationship with Europe. Ministers must be in a parallel universe if they think we can grow the economy without boosting trade with our nearest neighbours.

A new UK-EU customs union deal will unlock growth, demonstrate British leadership and give us the best possible hand to play against President Trump.

Tory bid to celebrate Brexit anniversary marred by spat between Badenoch and Patel over party’s migration record

Good morning. It is five years to the day since the UK left the European Union. Despite complaints from some of the pro-Brexit papers, Keir Starmer and the government are not planning anything today to mark the occasion – which is not surprising because polling suggests only 11% of the population believe that it has been a success, and most people now think that, when voters followed the advice of Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Nigel Farage, they made a mistake.

Still, in some parts of British politics Brexit has long ceased being a policy option, and become more of a cult, and some supporters of Brexit have been marking the anniversary with statements defending the policy. But, in the Conservative party, that has all gone a bit haywire.

Yesterday afternoon the Conservative party released an embargoed press release from Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, saying Tories were celebrating the fifth anniversary. She said:

Five years ago today, the Conservatives honoured the democratic will of the British people and Got Brexit Done.

Since then, our country has reaped the benefits—securing new trade deals with dynamic, fast-growing markets across the world and reclaiming sovereignty from Brussels. This has allowed us to reform or revoke 2,500 EU laws, ensuring Britain’s future is shaped by our own parliament.

But Patel was also recording an interview with Harry Cole, political editor of the Sun, for his Never Mind the Ballots TV show, and she got into trouble when asked by Cole why immigration had soared since the UK left the EU. Cole confronted her with this graph and said that, while the Tories had ended free movement for Europeans, they “threw the borders open for the rest of the world”. He said net migration was going up to 1.2m a year, and claimed the new arrivals were going to “take jobs that you promised were going to go to Sun readers and people who voted for Brexit”.

Graph showing migration figures Photograph: The Sun

Patel said at one point she was “not fine” with those figures. But, generally, she defended the rise in net migration, saying that Brexit was always about having a new immigration policy and that, with a points-based system, the UK was now able to take in “the brightest and the best”.

To compound her error (in CCHQ terms), when asked if she would apologise to Brexit voters “for the fact that you misled them [about what would happen to migration numbers]”, Patel refused, saying the question was “totally disortionary”.

Here is the key exchange.

Patel was home secretary for three years during this period and was concerned to defend her record. She was right to say that, while some people were voting for Brexit in 2016 for lower immigration, others were less concerned about numbers and more interested in just having a migration system over which the UK government had full control. But her line was at odds with what Kemi Badenoch has been saying about the Tories’ immigration policy, and she was quickly rebuked by her leader. As Kevin Schofield reports for HuffPost UK, Badenoch’s spokesperson issued a statement saying in effect that Patel was wrong.

As Kemi said when she committed to a hard cap on visas in November, under her leadership the Conservative party will tell the truth about the mistakes we made.

While the last Conservative government may have tried to control numbers, we did not deliver.

Patel also ended up issuing a clarification statement on social media that was almost as embarrassing as Peter Mandelson’s recent kowtow.

So, it’s not a happy Brexit day so far in Toryland.

The Commons is not sitting this morning, and the political diary is relatively empty. There is more comment about Brexit to report. Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, is on a visit this morning, and Steve Reed, the environment secretary, is also doing a press event this morning to promote a policy on land use.

If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.

If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.

I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.

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