With the first phase of the Brexit deal squared off and Donald Trump making a controversial intervention in the Middle East, it has been another busy week in politics.
So, we will cut to the chase and bring you HuffPost UK’s Sunday shows round-up.
The Andrew Marr Show
First up on the flagship BBC show was the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford who wasted no time in calling for Labour to give its full support to staying in the single market and customs union.
Marr pointed out that voters were warned during the referendum campaign that leaving the EU meant leaving the single market.
Blackford said there were “other untruths” told during the campaign, referencing the £350m-a-week for the NHS bus claim, and added: ”I think the fundamental point is that nobody voted in that referendum to become poorer.”
SNP want Labour to get behind them and argue to remain in the single market and customs union – @IanBlackfordMP tells #marr pic.twitter.com/sG3EoOBqRi — The Andrew Marr Show (@MarrShow) December 10, 2017
Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer was next up.
He said Brexit does not automatically herald the end of free movement of people, agreeing his party prefers “easy movement”.
He has said his party would continue some payments into the EU and would stay close to single market regulations – referred to as a Norway-style deal – before adding: “We do not want to deregulate.”
“I think that’s the right thing” – shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer says UK must stay close to EU’s single market after #Brexit https://t.co/0zXDanafSC #marr pic.twitter.com/bVx94nTaBU — BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) December 10, 2017
Asked about how a new migration deal would work on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Starmer said: “The end of free movement does not mean no movement. Of course we would want people from the EU to come and work here.
“We would want people who are here to go and work in the EU. The basis of that would have to be negotiated.”
Seeking clarification, Marr asked if this meant “easy movement if not free”, and Starmer replied: “Yes, of course.”
He went on to answer “yes” when Marr asked if his position was that the UK should match future EU rules and regulations even if Brexit meant the country did not get a vote.
Shadow Brexit Secretary @Keir_Starmer says Labour have been clear that it wants to retain ‘benefits’ of being inside the single market #marr pic.twitter.com/TVYXx8T3Yf — The Andrew Marr Show (@MarrShow) December 10, 2017
“We do have a choice, do we want to stay aligned so we can trade successfully or do we want to tear apart,” said Starmer. “And I say we should stay aligned.
“We are talking about what sort of Britain we want to be and what the next 40 or 50 years might look like, and I don’t think anybody voted to make it harder to trade with the EU.”
Marr pointed out to Starmer that Labour’s position – continuing with “easy” movement of people and aligning all regulation – meant the party had opted to make Britain a “vassal state” of Europe, a phrase used by Shadow International Trade Secretary Barry Gardiner.
Starmer replied: “We did a lot of work over the summer developing our policy,” adding “how we negotiate that agreement with the EU is up for negotiation, it doesn’t mean cut and paste”.
Next up was Brexit Secretary David Davis, who said that the deal struck by Theresa May was not legally binding and the Government could still come out of the EU without a deal.
That could mean, he told Marr, that the UK could still choose not to pay its 39bn divorce bill.
“Canada plus, plus, plus” – Brexit secretary David Davis outlines his vision of the deal he wants with the EU https://t.co/0zXDanafSC #marr #Brexit pic.twitter.com/5TAKDOmuN6 — BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) December 10, 2017
When asked about the type of deal the UK would now seek with the EU, as it moves on to trade talks, Davis said he would be seeking a “Canada plus plus” model.
He said he wanted to see an “over-arching trade deal” based on Canada’s trade treaty with the European Union but including services.
It would set out “individual arrangements for aviation, nuclear and for data”, as well, he said, describing it as “Canada plus plus plus”.
He also dodged a question on the ‘missing’ Brexit impact assessments, saying “imprecise language” was to blame. He said “impact” had a different meaning in the civil service.
Sunday With Niall Paterson
Sky News’ Niall Paterson’s first guest was Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire.
Paterson asked Brokenshire if the UK could in future support a closer relationship with Europe, to which he answered: ”No government can bind a future government, that is the simple point of our democracy.”
He added that after settling the first-hurdle deal, the UK was now “moving forward” with a “bold and ambitious” trade agreement with Europe.
“One government cannot bind a future government” says @JBrokenshire on the subject of diverging from #Brexit agreement #Paterson pic.twitter.com/z9an7XJw8S — Sunday with Paterson (@RidgeOnSunday) December 10, 2017
Next up was Mark Regev, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, to discuss US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Israel’s capital as Jerusalem by moving the country’s embassy there.
He said the news has been welcomed by Israelis and was regarded as a “just decision and it helps makes peace more likely”.
Regev added: “It says to the extremists on the other side that your dangerous fantasies that somehow that the Jews will be thrown out of Jerusalem or that the Jews have no national rights in Jerusalem, have no right to a capital, it puts to bed those fantasies that make peace impossible.”
.@realDonaldTrump’s Jerusalem decision is a “just decision” that “helps make peace more likely” says Israel’s Ambassador to the UK @MarkRegev #Paterson pic.twitter.com/SC9bKmFgW8 — Sunday with Paterson (@RidgeOnSunday) December 10, 2017
Regev went on to say there were “countless examples” of where countries had changed their capitals, citing Germany and China.
He refused to interpret what the US decision meant for East Jerusalem. The Palestinians claim this part of the city – occupied by Israel in the 1967 war – as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
And when challenged over the fact there is no international consensus on the Israeli’s laying claim to Jerusalem as their capital – the UK favours a two-state solution – Regev said: ”What we know is that Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for 3,000 years.”
He added Jewish people’s culture was intertwined with Jerusalem, before adding: “Those who want to divorce Israel from the Jewish people are making a mistake.”
There are “countless examples of where countries have changed their capital” says Israel’s Ambassador to the UK @MarkRegev #Paterson pic.twitter.com/k2CV1FQ44y — Sunday with Paterson (@RidgeOnSunday) December 10, 2017
Arch Brexiteer Peter Bone was also interviewed by Paterson, telling the programme he did not believe there would be a deal with the EU and that the £39bn divorce bill would instead be spent on the NHS and social care.
Tory Brexiteer Peter Bone says he expects there will be no proper trade deal and the UK should be ready to say “we’re going to come out… we’re not going to give you that £39bn and we’re going to spend it on the NHS and social care” #Brexit #Paterson pic.twitter.com/NLFTPsdm9Q
December 10, 2017
Shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti told Paterson she was “disappointed” by Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, who said in an interview with the Daily Mail that anyone who fought with the so-called Islamic State should be killed.
She said criminals should be brought to justice rather than be part of a Government “kill list”.
“I was very disappointed” with Defence Secretary comments about “killing Jihadis” says Shami Chakrabarti #Paterson pic.twitter.com/H7LoWq8ND3
Addressing the decision by Trump to shift the US Israeli embassy, Chakrabati said the President had “lit the matches in a tinderbox” in the Middle East.
She said Jerusalem was “loved and cherished by Christians and Muslims” as well as Jews.
“And for the Palestinians, there will be no Palestinian state without East Jerusalem,” she said.
She called Trump’s decision “a wonderful, symbolic but hostile act”.
.@realDonaldTrump has “lit the matches in a tinderbox” with his #Jerusalem decision, says Shami Chakrabarti #Paterson pic.twitter.com/6Na7DnYXqR — Sunday with Paterson (@RidgeOnSunday) December 10, 2017
Sarah Smith also had an interview with Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire, who said the first-stage deal Theresa May had struck this week “shows the framework” of how the border with Ireland would work, but allowed the Government to move into trade talks.
“We were never going to solve this in the first phase,” he said, before adding that securing a free trade deal with the EU was also in Ireland’s interest.
“We were never going to solve this in the first phase” – admits Northern Ireland Secretary @JBrokenshire on avoiding a hard border if Britain has a free trade deal #bbcsp pic.twitter.com/llSG4knNCd — BBC Daily Politics and Sunday Politics (@daily_politics) December 10, 2017
“We have to leave the EU” but “we don’t have to go a long way” @BBCsarahsmith questions @EmilyThornberry on Labour’s Brexit position #bbcsp pic.twitter.com/bMEeeFHWJp — BBC Daily Politics and Sunday Politics (@daily_politics) December 10, 2017
Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry told Sarah Smith that while the UK has to leave the EU, “we don’t have to go a long way.”
She said: “It would not be respecting the referendum and the sentiment that was expressed during the referendum if we didn’t move, after leaving the EU, to a system where we had fair rules and managed migration.”