May 1) Civil Service ordered to ’embrace’ Brexit
“Theresa May has ordered Europhile civil servants to embrace Brexit after a former top mandarin sparked fury by saying leaving the EU was not inevitable. Gus O’Donnell, the former Cabinet Secretary, said that despite the clear referendum result the country could end up remaining in a ‘broader, more loosely aligned’ European Union.” – Daily Mail
- Prime Minister tells pro-EU bureaucrats to get on with the job – Daily Telegraph
- MPs call for government workers caught ‘holding up’ Brexit to be fired – The Sun
- Pro-Brexit Conservatives accused of ‘paranoia’ by head of civil service union – FT
More Brexit:
- May calls meeting amidst reports of single market split – The Guardian
- Single market access could be maintained on a ‘sector by sector’ basis – Daily Mail
- Hammond tries to ‘slam the breaks’ on Brexit strategy – Daily Express
- Treasury slammed over Brexit ‘power grab’ – Daily Mail
- Chancellor enters Brexit turf war over City’s fate – The Times (£)
- Pro-Remain ex-ministers admit to being wrong about migration at ‘Open Britain’ launch – Daily Express
More EU:
- Good deal for UK could ‘kill off’ EU, warns German Vice-Chancellor… – Daily Mail
- …as he says US-EU trade talks have ‘failed’ – The Times (£)
- Merkel ‘faces ruin’ as support for fourth term falls – Daily Express
- Sarkozy calls for Calais jungle to move to British shores – Daily Mail
- Be nice… Campbell gives Hollande election advice – The Times (£)
Wolfgang Münchau: Remainers picking the wrong battles will harden Brexit
“Those who campaigned for the UK to stay in the EU are shaping up to be two-time losers. They lost the referendum vote on June 23; now they are losing the battle to keep the UK inside the single market… After the referendum, they should have conceded defeat, and moved on to argue the case for the closest possible relationship between the UK and the EU. That would at least have kept open the possibility of a return to the EU in the future. Instead, they are calling for a second referendum.” – FT
- Legal chancers and arrogant mandarins won’t stop Brexit – Dominic Lawson, Daily Mail
- Politicians must stop scheming and deliver Brexit – Leo McKinstry, Daily Express
- After Brexit, Hammond has a strong case for a stimulus – Larry Elliott, The Guardian
>Yesterday:
- Sunder Katwala in Comment: You get what you pay for with immigration control. Voters want more – which means higher spending
- Tim Jenkins in Comment: Brexit will mean that Britain will need to deploy even more soft power
May 2) Downing Street threatens to ‘unravel’ Hinkley Point deal
“Theresa May is set to fly into a damaging row with her Chinese hosts at next week’s G20 summit after British officials threatened to unravel a deal on the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant. Downing Street wants to resolve the dispute over the £18 billion plant as soon as possible after the prime minister announced a surprise review last month. The power station would be built in Somerset by the French state company EDF and part-funded by China.” – The Times (£)
- Supporters of nuclear scheme mount last-ditch bid for approval – FT
- Unions urge May to back Heathrow runway – The Times (£)
- Ministers begin talks over microbead ban – Daily Mail
More Tories:
- Tory leader reveals pet hates to local magazine – The Times (£)
- Johnson family attack McLoughlin over bullying inquiry – The Guardian
>Today: Local Government: Enterprise Zones have proved a quiet success story – let’s have more of them
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: An opportunity for McLoughlin to welcome 50,000 new Party members
Tim Montgomerie: Now the Prime Minister must choose her priorities
“Governing has always been about choosing, so Mrs May really must start selecting what is realistically do-able. As tax credits, IT projects and Chilcot have shown, Whitehall is not the Rolls-Royce machine it once purported to be. It can’t cope with too much. Then there are vested interests such as party donors who’ll fight boardroom reforms; there are shire councils who’ll oppose northern cities getting funds they themselves are denied. Unless she triggers and wins an early election her Commons majority is smaller than the number of people she has already sacked.” – The Times (£)
- Time for creative thinking on immigration for a greater Britain – Jeremy Warner, Daily Telegraph
- May’s inequality audit seems clever, but will backfire – Zoe Williams, The Guardian
>Today: Harry Fairhead in Comment: Why the average household’s lifetime tax bill will be over £800,000
Balls spills the beans on Labour’s dysfunctional 2015 campaign
“Ed Balls has lifted the lid on Ed Miliband’s “astonishingly dysfunctional” election campaign and the bitter battles behind the scenes with his former friend and colleague. Labour’s former leader froze him out of critical decisions and ignored his advice on how to tackle voters’ distrust over the EU, immigration and the deficit, Mr Balls claims. The former shadow chancellor even says Mr Miliband didn’t want him at his side during prime minister’s questions and that he set out to needle David Cameron to compensate for his leader’s failures to make a mark.” – The Times (£)
- Boundary review could affect up to 200 Labour seats – The Guardian
- Opposition will be hardest hit by seat changes – The Times (£)
Comment:
- Balls reminds us that Labour once mattered – Matthew d’Ancona, The Guardian
Corbyn aide investigated over possible breach of electoral law
“Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign chief is facing questions over whether he lives in Brighton while serving as a Labour councillor in East London, which could breach electoral law. Sam Tarry, a senior figure in Mr Corbyn’s Momentum campaign group, is a councillor in Barking and Dagenham and owns a three-bedroom flat in the borough. The 34-year-old – who defended the Labour leader last week after it was revealed Mr Corbyn walked past empty seats on a train before filming a video complaining it was full – has received £20,000 in allowances from the council in the past three years, it was reported.” – Daily Mail
- Former standards chief says police should investigate – Daily Telegraph
- Adviser denies fraud claims – The Guardian
More Left:
- Corbyn accuses Labour officials of suspending members without explanation – The Guardian
- McDonnell demands that Sir Richard Branson lose his knighthood – The Times (£)
- Veteran socialist MP left £5.2 million in his will – The Times (£)
- Communists lose last elected politician in Britain – The Times (£)
Comment:
- Lay off Lord Sainsbury, at least he really tried to stop Brexit – Alan Johnson, The Guardian
Editorial:
- Time is running out for Labour to shake off its malaise – The Times (£)
UKIP leadership favourite’s ‘skeletons in the closet’
“Euro MP Diane James is favourite to become the new leader of Ukip after launching her campaign boasting: ‘There are no flaws, there are no skeletons in the cupboard and no bad news stories.’ Yet far from being free of skeletons, her cupboard seems positively bulging with them. The Daily Mail can reveal the 56-year-old politician has been involved in the break-up of two marriages. An affair with a married adviser to a defence secretary at the time even led to inquiries by Military Police.” – Daily Mail
- A grievance in search of a leader – The Guardian
News in Brief:
- Four revellers stabbed at Notting Hill Carnival – Daily Mail
- Royal Navy to lead force against ISIS – The Times (£)
- Church of England faces split as parishes prepare to break away – Daily Telegraph
- Central bankers fear threat of low-growth rut – FT
- Bomb explodes outside top crime lab in Brussels – Daily Express
- Sir Philip offers to help plug BHS pensions black hole if investigation dropped – Daily Mail