Brexit fallout as it happened: Michael Gove launches Tory leadership campaign as Labour crisis continues

Well that concludes today's live coverage from the IBTimes UK on what has been a less hectic day than we've been used to recently.

The main news to come out was Michael Gove formally announcing he will run for the Tory leadership by promising no general election until 2020, taking £100m (not £350m) from the EU to pump it into the NHS and introducing an Australian-style point system on immigration.

The expected Labour leadership challenge form Angela Eagle did not occur, so hopefully we'll have more Labour in crisis coverage for you next week.

For the latest in UK politics, visit IBTimes UK.

Thousands of people are expected to descend upon west London tomorrow to protest against the Brexit during the March for Europe event.

More than 16,000 people have said they are attending on the event's Facebook page, with a further 35,000 expressing an interest in taking part.

The description of the march reads:

One huge story from before that got lost amid the Gove coverage was George Osborne announcing he has scrapped his target to put government finances in the black by 2020.

Osborne said: "The government must provide fiscal credibility, so we will continue to be tough on the deficit but we must be realistic about achieving a surplus by the end of this decade."

The full story can be read here.

Unfortunately, it looks like Michael Gove failed to register the website domain name Gove2016.co.uk – the same name as his Twitter handle. Luckily, someone else appears to have done it for him....

At his leadership campaign launch, Michael Gove said he would follow through on Brexit, introduce an Australian-style points system to control immigration and only withdrew support for Boris Johnson to become prime minister when he realised he couldn't actually lead. See what else the justice secretary had to say here.

Tune in right now for our Facebook Live chat about everything Brexit with our politics reporter Ian Silvera, here's the URL:

http://bit.ly/29g1sMI

It will probably be the best thing your eyes see today.

#Govesongs is still trending on Twitter.... here are some of our favourites:

Just like May, Gove promises no General Election until 2020. Also does not believe Article 50 will be triggered in this calendar year as extensive talks still needed and does not think there will be second EU Referendum.

After pledging to take £100m sent to EU and put it back into the NHS – not £350m as heavily suggested by the Leave campaign during the EU Ref - Gove describes the £350m as the "gross amount", adding he now hopes to "take that money back and control it ourselves."

Asked whether he will recover from "assassination" of Johnson, Gove said people shouldn't be leader if they cannot cope with personal attacks. Adds Theresa May was not a Leave campaigner, so not the best person to help Britain exit the EU.

Some key pledges from Gove:

End freedom of movement and introduce Australian-style system for immigration if elected to "bring numbers down".

Promises to spend EU money "principally in the NHS".

Michael Gove is speaking at a press conference to announce his leadership. Some key extracts from Gove's speech.

He says he wants to run for the Conservative leadership for "one reason alone...I want this country I love...to embrace this opportunity for chance with optimism and conviction".

Admits he "never thought he'd be in this position" and did "almost everything not to be a candidate". Says he "knows his limitations" as to why he did not want to stand as he lacks "charisma" and "glamour".

"But, at every step in my political life, I've asked myself one question: What is the right thing to do? What does your heart tell you?". That's two question's Gove, but never mind.

Culture secretary John Whittingdale has announced he will be backing Michael Gove, describing him as an "man of principle and conviction".

The endorsement arrived just as Gove is set to make his speech outlining his intentions to run in the Tory leadership, as well as just as he joined the world of Twitter.

Andrea Leadsom has had the first boost in her Tory leadership campaign as it emerged she has the backing of the Leave.EU group.

The group said they have decided to endorse the MP for South Northampton as internal polling pointed to the energy minister as clear favourite among its Conservative-leaning supporters.

Leave.EU co-chairman Arron Banks said:

If you're all thinking 'what is Cher's view on this post-Brexit fallout of the UK?' wonder no more, as IBTimes UK has helpfully embedded some of her tweets on the issue.

Elsewhere on IBTimes UK, our reporter Lewis Dean visited Swansea in the wake of the referendum result to ask why a city "lavished with EU funds" voted to Leave.

From the article:

The EU does not just build for Swansea. Approximately 50,000 members of Swansea's workforce were trained by apprenticeships and traineeships paid for by the EU and some of the city's most innovative companies – ones like Lumishore that makes LED lighting for boats – export almost half of their products to Europe. Research projects into potentially game-changing technology like wave power and a study into climate change have been launched with EU funding.

With low unemployment and high investment and ambition in the city, Swansea appeared to be on the up – then it voted to leave the EU."

The full piece can be read here.

Veteran Conservative MP Ken Clarke has been doing the media rounds to speak out against Gove's leadership campaign. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the former Tory chancellor said Gove should "do us all a favour" and stand down.

He said the decision of Gove to announce his intention to run just hours before the deadline, and crucially before Johnson was able to announce, was a mistake as one of the first priorities for party leader and a prime minister is to "have the trust of your colleagues".

He added: "I was one of those who personally was appalled by the idea of Boris Johnson being prime minister but I've not fallen out with him personally.
It's not encouraging that he stood alongside Boris throughout the campaign as his right-hand man, he was publicly declared to be his manager.

"We don't want to add to tragedy too much of an air of farce and for him to emerge now as a prime minister saying 'I'm now going to reunite the party, I now have a clear vision of what I'm going to do', is, I think, unlikely."

John McDonnell, Labour's shadow chancellor and key Corbyn backer, said around 60,000 people have joined Labour over the past week while the pressure continued to mount on Corbyn and a "vast majority because they want to keep Jeremy as leader".

If true, the rise in members would be a huge boost to Corbyn, who is pretty much only remaining as Labour leader because he believes he has a duty to the supporters who voted him in last year. He previously announced he will only stand down if he loses a democratic election.

Angela eagle reportedly delayed her announcement to challenge Corbyn as Labour leader to give him more time to "do the right thing" and quit.

More good news for May as the Daily Mail has opted to back her in the Tory leadership campaign.

In a lengthy editorial piece, the Mail says:

Forget Labour. It deserves its ignominy. No, it's the Conservative Party we are worried about, as we are about the wider public. Both are crying out for a steadying influence to calm the fever and heal the divisions of post-referendum Britain.
That is why the Daily Mail believes it has to be Theresa May for the Tory leadership.

She is not a believer in gimmicks, focus groups or conjuring policies out of the air, twisting and turning to feed the 24-hour news cycle. And if she can introduce a new, more serious, more truthful politics, she will be thanked by millions of Britons who are utterly disenchanted with the political process.

What makes her different from so many of her colleagues is that she has her heart in bringing the numbers down. She gets it — as she gets the public's utter distaste for the cynical, career-obsessed, Blairite school of politics by deception and spin. Indeed, in announcing her leadership bid, she struck precisely the right note — a note silent in the Tory Party for far too long.

There's more bad news for Corbyn as he is still being condemned for his comments at the Chakrabarti Inquiry press conference in which he appeared to compare Israel to Isis.

He previously was urged to resign by Labour MP Ruth Smeeth for not contacting her after she received anti-Semitic abuse at the conference by an apparent Corbyn supporter, describing it as a "catastrophic failure of leadership".

Now the Campaign Against Antisemitism group have also criticised Corbyn for this comments at the inquiry launch.

Jonathan Sacerdoti, Director of Communications at Campaign Against Antisemitism said:

On the Labour side, the pressure on Jeremy Corbyn somehow continues to rise, as polls suggest he is losing support of his members and further talks for him to stand down in the wake of his Israel comments at the launch if the anti-Semitism inquiry.

According to a YouGov poll for the Times, 50% of members said they would vote for Corbyn in a general election, down from 64% in May.

When asked whether Corbyn is dong whether as Labour leader, 51% said he was doing a good job and 48% said badly. This is a huge swing form the 72%/27% split who thought he was doing a good job in May.

Elsewhere, 44% of Labour members think Corbyn should step down now but 60% said he should lead the party into the next general election (whenever that may be). According to the survey, 66% of labour party members think it is unlikely that Corbyn will become PM, before 50% of members also don't believe Labour will win the next election even if they replace him.

The YouGov poll indicated that Corbyn would beat his expected challenger Angela Eagle by 50% to 40% if they went head to head.

Theresa May's leadership campaign has already got off to a good start. Having already been named as the bookie's favourite, she now has the backing of some of the most senior members in the cabinet.

The home secretary has been endorsed by defence secretary Michael Fallon and transport secretary Patrick Mcloughlin, with Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock telling BBC's Newsnight May is best person to lead the party as it needs somebody with a "steady hand on the tiller who has got proven leadership credentials".

See May's announcement speech below.

Good morning and welcome to what is sure to be another topsy-turvy day in the world of post-Brexit politics as both Tory and Labour have their leadership battles.

One of the main stories to expect later will be justice secretary Michael Gove formally announcing he is running in the Tory leadership campaign.

The speech at Westminster will arrive after Gove threw a spanner in fellow Leave campaigner Boris Johnson's own ambition by declaring the former Mayor of London is not up to the job.

The shock announcement from Gove three hours before nominations closed arrived after years and years of him making enthusiastically declaring he has no intention and is "not equipped" to be prime minister.