News Daily: Hunt's no-deal Brexit warning, and EU election fallout

  • 2019-05-29 00:11:20
Hunt warns against no-deal Brexit 'suicide'Contenders to be the UK's next prime minister are making their pitches to fellow Conservative members, a day after waking up to news of a disastrous European election performance. And after some candidates said the option of leaving the European Union without a deal must be retained, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt suggests his party would be committing "political suicide" by actively pursuing this alternative through a general election. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Hunt says the strategy would have Labour's Jeremy Corbyn in No 10 by Christmas. Environment Secretary Michael Gove has a different focus, pledging to allow EU nationals living in the UK at the time of the referendum to apply free of charge for citizenship. International Development Secretary Rory Stewart tells the BBC he would make space for a national conversation on Brexit, while Housing Minister Kit Malthouse declares his intention to run via the Sun, describing himself as "the new face, with fresh new ideas". Watson: Labour Brexit stance cost votesLabour deputy leader Tom Watson says confusion over the extent of his party's commitment to a referendum on any Brexit deal cost it "many hundreds of thousands" of potential votes in an EU election which saw Nigel Farage's Brexit Party sweep to prominence. As our graphs and charts show, the Liberal Democrats and Green Party - which have consistently backed a further referendum under any circumstances - gained support among Remain voters. If you're wondering where the results leave the country, our deputy political editor John Pienaar suggests things are just as uncertain as before. Given the Brexit Party won the largest vote share despite having no manifesto and few detailed policies, other than leaving the EU as soon as possible, Reality Check's Chris Morris examines how the party's version of Brexit might look. Of course, polling went on in another 27 nations. See our country-by-country round-up for the headlines from each, and our graphic explainer for a sense of the bigger picture. Meanwhile, our Europe editor Katya Adler puts it all into context.  

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