Lars Karlsson: CapacityNow

All the latest updates as the bid to broker an agreement both main parties could vote for falls apart.

Crisis talks to broker a Brexit deal between the government and Labour have collapsed.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the negotiations had “gone as far as they can” because “we have been unable to bridge important policy gaps between us”.

He complained that as a leadership race kicks off in the Conservative Party, the “position of the government has become ever more unstable and its authority eroded”.

But Prime Minister Theresa May blamed the collapse in talks on “the fact that there is no common position in Labour about whether they want to deliver Brexit or hold a second referendum which could reverse it.”

Mr Corbyn insisted the talks so far had been “detailed” and “constructive”, adding that Labour would consider any new proposals made to break the Brexit deadlock.

Downing Street confirmed there were no more talks planned with Labour after Mr Corbyn’s statement.

The prime minister’s spokesman said she still believed MPs had a duty to find a way to deliver Brexit and added the government is considering its next steps.

A new set of binding “indicative votes” are now likely, having been promised by the prime minister.

But they would need to be scheduled speedily as parliament is due to wind down next Thursday for nearly two weeks.

When they return, MPs will vote on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill – the legislation that would convert the Brexit deal into a legally-binding treaty.

The compromise talks were convened six weeks ago, when Mrs May lost the third vote in parliament on her EU withdrawal agreement.

She called for a “national unity” approach to deliver Brexit after being forced to delay Britain’s departure date twice.

Reacting to news of the breakdown in talks, Tory MP Simon Clarke said: “Thank God. They ought never to have happened.”

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said: “Jeremy Corbyn was never going to come to an agreement on this. Why would he help the Tory Party?”

Former international development secretary Priti Patel tweeted: “Many of us did question the judgment of the cabinet when they approved those talks.”

The CBI said MPs should cancel their end of May holiday plans to resolve the Brexit deadlock.

CBI director-general Carolyn Fairbairn said: “Another day of failed politics, another dispiriting day for British business.

“Six wasted weeks while uncertainty paralyses our economy.”

It was also at its lowest point versus the euro since February at just over €1.14.

To read the article, click here: Brexit crisis talks collapse

Source: SkyNews

Today it is the 17 May, the Norwegian Constitution Day is the national day of Norway and is an official public holiday observed on May 17 each year.

Among Norwegians, the day is referred simply as syttende mai (seventeenth May), Nasjonaldagen (The National Day) or Grunnlovsdagen (The Constitution Day), although the latter is less frequent.

Congratulations Norway! I wish all Norwegian friends and colleagues a wonderful day.

Brexit talks between the Conservatives and Labour are about to close without an agreement, the BBC has learned.

Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn will now move to a second phase, aimed at agreeing on a process for Parliamentary votes designed to find a consensus.

It comes after Mrs May promised to set a timetable for leaving Downing Street following the next Brexit vote in June.

Ex-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said he will stand in the Conservative leadership election that will follow.

The UK was due to leave the EU on 29 March but the deadline was pushed back to 31 October after MPs rejected Mrs May’s proposed deal – the withdrawal agreement that was negotiated with the EU – three times.

That prompted attempts to find a way to end the impasse through cross-party talks between Labour and the Conservatives.

At the shadow cabinet meeting on Tuesday, some Labour frontbenchers called for an immediate halt to the talks, raising questions over whether Mr Corbyn could win approval from his party for any deal.

Labour negotiators have been seeking a permanent and comprehensive customs union with the EU after Brexit, meaning that there will be no internal tariffs (taxes) on goods sold between the UK and the rest of the bloc.

But many Brexit-supporting Tory MPs want the UK to negotiate its own trade deals on goods with other countries around the world, which would be impossible with a customs union in place.

The prospect of compromising on issues such as this in the prime minister’s talks with Labour has provoked anger in the Conservative parliamentary party.

Mrs May has come under increasing pressure to leave Downing Street this summer, with Brexit deadlocked and poor results for the Conservatives in the recent local elections in England.

She will try once again to gain the support of MPs in the week beginning 3 June, when the Commons votes for the first time on the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill – legislation needed to implement her deal.

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said if the bill was defeated Mrs May was expected to announce that she would be stepping down.

Brexiteer Mr Johnson said he would stand in the leadership contest after Mrs May departs, telling a business conference in Manchester on Wednesday: “Of course I am going to go for it.”

Source: BBC News