Brexit 1) May to take unilateral “moral high ground” in case of “no deal”, by giving EU migrants “right to stay”
“Europeans will be granted the right to stay in the UK if there is a no-deal Brexit under a unilateral act by the government. Theresa May will take the “moral high ground” and allow EU migrants to continue to access the NHS and claim benefits because the rest of her government’s contingency plans for an acrimonious departure from the bloc rely “on the availability of existing labour”. The offer would apply regardless of whether British migrants in European countries are granted the same rights by the EU, according to The Telegraph. It will be contained in the first tranche of more than 80 papers detailing contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit in different sectors, which the government will publish on Thursday.” – The Times
- But part of reason is “fear of labour shortages” – Daily Telegraph
- The proposal will be in first tranche of “no deal” papers – Daily Express
- They “will be able to bring dependents” too – Daily Mail
- Rees-Mogg welcomes idea. Jones doesn’t – The Times
Comment:
- This isn’t enough. We need to make key EU workers feel valued – Jullien Gaer, Daily Telegraph
Brexit 2) Gibb says “country hasn’t changed its mind”, in response to calls for repeat referendum
“Britain is more committed to Brexit than it was at the time of the referendum, Downing Street has said after the founder of clothing firm Superdry donated £1million towards a second vote on leaving the EU. Julian Dunkerton, the co-founder of Superdry, said that he was making the donation to the “People’s Vote” campaign because he saw a “genuine chance to turn this around”. However Downing Street highlighted a poll in The Sun on Sunday which found that 15 per cent of Remainers have changed their minds, compared to 11 per cent on leavers. Robbie Gibb, the Prime Minister’s Director of Communications, said: “1.9million Leave voters say they would now vote to Remain. But 2.4million Remain voters would now vote to Leave. The country hasn’t changed its mind.”” – Daily Telegraph
- Downing Street: “We completely rule out any second referendum” – Daily Express
Comment:
- Farage could make a second vote “more likely” – Matthew d’Ancona, Guardian
- “People’s vote” campaigners don’t see the irony in their anti-democratic approach – Leo McKinstry, Daily Express
Brexit 3) Raab to meet Barnier ahead of release of “no deal” plans
“Dominic Raab will kick start negotiations with Brussels tomorrow in a Brexit pincer movement – as a fresh bout of public Tory infighting erupted. The exit boss will stare down Michel Barnier just hours before Ministers unveil a wave of No Deal scenario plans to show the EU and public they are prepared for talks to collapse. Mr Raab will travel to Brussels after a three week summer truce with just eight weeks left to hammer out an EU deal before the crucial autumn deadline. Then on Thursday Whitehall will begin publishing a slew of contingency plans on how they plan to keep the economy afloat next March if Britain crashes out of the bloc without a new trade deal in place.” – The Sun
Brexit 4) Elwood: European security should be “unconditional” not “tit-for-tat”
“Tuesday’s terror incident is a stark reminder of how we remain in the cross hairs of a diverse spectrum of threats by those who challenge our values and wish us harm. We must remain resilient, unified and prepared to respond. … The world is changing, and fast. However, none of these challenges is insurmountable and we can be in the driving seat. They require understanding, international leadership and teamwork. It is therefore disconcerting that Britain’s military, intelligence and policing contribution to European security could be drawn into the never-ending vortex of Brexit tit-for-tat. Let the Brexit talks continue – but European security should be unconditional.” – Daily Telegraph
- Meanwhile, Williamson “livid” after French bill UK for Africa help – Daily Express
Brexit 5) Soubry and Lee claim “entryism” by Leave.EU poses “risk” to Conservative Party
The Conservative Party risks being taken over by hard Brexit campaigners, two of its own MPs have said. Anna Soubry and Phillip Lee, pro-EU backbenchers, sounded the alarm after Leave.EU urged its supporters to join the Conservatives in order to replace Theresa May with Boris Johnson or Jacob Rees-Mogg. Grassroots members have demanded a change in leadership rules which would make Mr Johnson the more likely candidate. … Last week Leave.EU, which was founded by Arron Banks, a businessman and former Ukip donor, called on its supporters to “flood” the Conservative Party. … Dr Lee, who quit as a junior minister in June to oppose the government on Brexit, called Leave.EU’s efforts “entryism”. He said: “An organisation funded by Ukip’s former backer wants its members to join the Conservatives just to get a new leader. Time to wake up and act against a hard right Momentum. If you’ve ever voted Conservative please join to stop this”.” – The Times
- Meanwhile, Rees-Mogg says Eurosceptics would “make the legislation extraordinarily difficult if it is based on Chequers” – Daily Express
Comment:
- Here’s another call for another “people’s vote” – Sarah Wollaston, The Times
More Brexit
- MPs call for more expenses to deal with Brexit work – The Sun
- Varoufakis tells Greece to return to drachma – Daily Express
- How Corbyn can fix the EU – Hilary Wainwright, Guardian
Government carries out emergency takeover of privately-run Birmingham prison
“England’s worst prison will be taken over by the Government after a damning inspection found that violent inmates have effectively seized control of the jail. HMP Birmingham is becoming the first privately-run prison to be taken over by the Government on Monday after it emerged that “fearful” staff have taken to locking themselves in their own offices after being targeted by inmates. The Victorian prison, which was being run by G4S, will be run by the Government for up to 12 months with a new Governor and management team installed. Ministers said that G4S, rather than the taxpayer, will foot the bill. However it will lead to questions about the future of the 14 privately-run prisons in England and Wales, amid increasing concerns that they are overcrowded and struggling to cope.” – Daily Telegraph
- There was “terrifying anarchy” – Daily Mail
- The MoJ “seized control” – Guardian
- G4S had been in charge – FT
- Gauke had called for urgent inquiry – The Times
>Today: ToryDiary: Stewart’s resignation offer. An example for other Ministers to follow – or shun?
Mordaunt pledges more funding for British “drug squad” in Africa
“Britian’s Foreign Aid chief Penny Mordaunt joined Britain’s specialist heroin-busting squad in Africa as she pledged new cash to help authorities lock-up drug lords. She took to the helm of a police boat off the coast of Tanzania to see first-hand how British expertise has caught 100kgs of heroin in the East-African country bound for Europe. The amount of Afhgan heroin smuggled through ports on the Swahili coast has rocketed since the Taliban seized control in the early 2000s. Now an estimated 40 per cent of all heroin transported across the West Indian Ocean is destined for Tanzania. Most ends up being sold in Europe.” – The Sun
- Meanwhile, Foreign Office scraps “much criticised” support programme for northwest Syria – The Times
Kavanagh: The contenders for May’s job
“The dreamy, steamy days of summer are drawing to an end – but the real silly season is yet to begin. While Theresa May tours the capitals of Europe looking for peace on Brexit, war has broken out between diehard Remainers and fervent Brexiteers. Ex-Ukip leader Nigel Farage has stormed back into the fray with Vote Leave II, a remake of his 2016 referendum triumph. In the pro-Brussels corner, Superdry fashion tycoon Julian Dunkerton is forking out £1million for what must surely be a futile, last-ditch bid to keep Britain in the EU. And just to make things extra interesting for the party conference season, the stampede for Mrs May’s Tory crown is already unstoppable.” – The Sun
More Conservatives
- O’Brien mocks Butler for criticising Jamie Oliver for “cultural appropriation” – The Times
- Wright to appear at party conference… as a hologram – The Times
- Onward joins forces with NEF and others to call for councils to pay less for agricultural land – The Times
- Ghani speaks of stalking terror – The Sun
Comment:
- We need to focus on the animal kingdom – Boris Johnson, Daily Telegraph
>Today:
- Syed Kamall in Comment: The electoral disaster that will engulf our Party if we don’t boost our ethnic minority support
- Chloe Westley’s column: Bashing Corbyn is not enough. The Conservatives need to offer more homes, lower taxes – and a clean Brexit
- Local Government: State land banking: Network Rail owns 128,000 acres
>Yesterday: George Freeman in Comment: It’s time to choose between a Conservative Brexit or a UKIP one
Mark Smith: A joke’s a joke — Thomson shouldn’t apologise
“… Ross Thomson is another example of the different kind of Tory that has emerged in recent years – he’s young, gay, and from an ordinary background; Conservatives like Mr Thomson are also much more likely to be extremely liberal on a whole range of issues and so are much harder to define by the old rules that Tories are a certain way and socialists another. And yet in Scotland we still seem to be behaving like nothing’s changed. I think the SNP in particular wish it hadn’t. Perhaps the answer for the future is that we all attempt a new era of open-mindedness and liberalism and try to control the urge to condemn and get angry. We should also get to grips with some basic rules for modern public life. Don’t define people solely by their political beliefs. A joke’s a joke. And the Scottish Tories are not what they used to be. Or in the words of another joke once made by a Conservative: calm down dears.” – Herald
- Meanwhile, civil rights defender calls for Stormont to be “bulldozed” – Belfast News Letter
Corbyn’s four-day Scottish tour to attempt to up party’s popularity
“Jeremy Corbyn will spend four days campaigning in Scotland this week in an attempt to revitalise Scottish Labour’s fortunes after another slump in polling. Labour sources admit the party has failed to capitalise on a surge in support during last year’s general election, when Labour defied expectations by winning back six Westminster seats from the Scottish National party. Corbyn’s tour will include a speech in Glasgow on Monday, an event at Edinburgh international book festival and visits to target seats in Lanarkshire, which Labour would have to regain from the SNP if it were to win another snap election. There are concerns that the failure to consolidate last year’s gains will threaten the party’s wider strategy. Of the 64 target seats across the UK it must win to regain power at Westminster, 18 are Scottish constituencies held by the SNP.” – Guardian
More Labour
- Corbyn hosted panel discussion at conference attended by senior Hamas officials – Daily Telegraph
- His aide and a party official are accused of bullying – The Times
- Williamson chastised by whip over complaints about antisemitism “belittling” – The Times
Comment:
- Corbyn’s support for Iran is most worrying – Stephen Pollard, The Times
- The complaints we’re getting about Corbyn coverage – Guardian
News in Brief
- Hodge’s hyperbole – Matthew Norman, Independent
- The transgender stickers row – James Kirkup, Spectator
- Macron the Gaullist – Anne-Elisabeth Moutet, CapX
- In memory of Annan – New Statesman
- What Franklin meant to me in the Soviet Union – Mikhail Kossel, New Yorker