Yahoo News Andrew Sparrow's election briefing: Trump visit ends without jeopardy for Johnson
Trump’s UK visit ends without damaging Johnson’s election hopes
Donald Trump has concluded a two-day visit to the UK without doing anything likely to jeopardise the chances of his close ally Boris Johnson winning the general election. Given Trump’s toxic reputation in the UK, Tory strategists had been concerned that any form of endorsement might be counter-productive. But Tuesday’s Trump comments about the NHS and a trade deal were not unhelpful to the Conservatives and on Wednesday the proceedings at the Nato summit were largely overshadowed by a puerile row about whether Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, and Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, were laughing at Trump behind his back at a reception. Johnson denied this (implausibly) and said it was nonsense to suggest that he did not take Trump seriously. But, at a news conference at the end of the summit, he was careful to distance himself from the man who once dubbed him “Britain[’s] Trump”. Johnson sidestepped an invitation to say anything positive about Trump personally, and even avoided mentioning him by name. This might look like the start of a cooling in the relationship, but Trump understands perfectly well how elections work and, elsewhere in the press conference, there was a hint that behind the scenes the alliance is as strong as ever. That came when Johnson suggested that he might end up siding with US demands to exclude the Chinese firm Huawei from building Britain’s 5G networks. When Theresa May was prime minister she was reportedly planning a less Washington-friendly approach; according to a leak from the national security council, she was planning to give Huawei access to non-contentious parts of the 5G network.
Trump calls Trudeau ‘two-faced’ after Nato event footage
The US president denounced Trudeau and left the summit venue earlier than expected, cancelling a planned press conference, after apparently being riled by the news that fellow leaders were having a joke at his expense. His abrupt departure dominated the headlines, overshadowing the otherwise modest achievements of a low-key meeting held to mark Nato’s 70th anniversary. At the meeting, Turkey dropped its opposition to a plan to bolster the defences of Baltic states and Poland against Russia.
Meanwhile
John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, has said he does not accept Trump’s claim that the NHS would not be on the table in trade talks, saying the US president has a “passing relationship with reality and truth”.
John Longworth, a Brexit party MEP, has had the party whip removed after a row with the leadership over election strategy.
The former Labour MP Ivan Lewis, who resigned from the party last year when he was suspended over sexual harassment allegations, has urged people in his Bury South constituency to vote Tory to keep Jeremy Corbyn out of Downing Street.
Black and ethnic minority voters are backing Corbyn in far higher numbers than the overall electorate as the two main political parties vie for their votes in crucial swing seats.
MPs would be banned from holding second jobs under reforms of the rules governing political donations and lobbying that have been proposed by the Labour party.
Jo Swinson, the Lib Dem leader, is being interviewed by Andrew Neil on BBC One at 7.30pm. And Johnson is being interviewed on ITV by Peston. (The programme goes out at 11.15pm, but the interview is broadcast on Twitter at 8pm.)
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