Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Brexit talks enter last day before tomorrow’s crunch EU summit EU and UK officials will resume Brexit talks this morning in the hopes of reaching a deal that can be agreed by leaders at a key summit on Thursday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to update the cabinet on the progress of the negotiations, which continued through the night. On Tuesday there were reports a deal was imminent, amid claims the UK had made concessions over the Irish border. But Downing Street said there was “more work still to do”. After talks ended on Tuesday, No 10 said the discussions had been “constructive” and progress was being made. The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, will update the bloc on the state of the negotiations later when he briefs EU commissioners and ambassadors. On Tuesday evening, Mr Johnson held a series of talks with backbench MPs and leaders of the DUP. After a 90-minute meeting with the prime minister, the DUP said “it would be fair to indicate gaps remain and further work is required”. – BBC News UK and EU remain locked in race to broker Brexit deal – FT(£) Northern Ireland’s DUP faces hard choices on trust and Brexit – FT(£) Boris Johnson increasingly optimistic a Brexit deal can be agreed this week… Boris Johnson is increasingly optimistic that a Brexit deal could be agreed before the end of the week as negotiators began work on a draft text in Brussels. EU leaders are primed to discuss a new deal on Wednesday when they meet for a three-day summit during which the Prime Minister hopes they will sign off the wording of an agreement. Hardline Brexiteers emerged from an 80-minute briefing in Downing Street suggesting they would be prepared to vote for a deal, raising hopes that Parliament could back it in a vote on Saturday. The Prime Minister has insisted for months that Britain will leave the EU on Oct 31 “no ifs or buts” and his aides scoffed at reports that a short extension beyond the deadline will be needed to thrash out all the details of a deal. The FTSE 250 closed at its highest level in a year and the pound surged to its best level against the dollar and the euro since May, gaining 1.5 per cent in value, as reports of an impending deal circulated in Brussels. Sterling has now increased by 5 per cent over the past week, with predictions that it will rise further still if a deal is agreed. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said “things are getting better” regarding a deal, adding “now there’s movement”. However Downing Street officials urged caution against “over-optimism”, saying there was “still a lot to do and people to be won over”. The French government is understood to have some reservations over the proposals. – Telegraph (£) …although speculation persists that Brexit could be delayed until 2020… Boris Johnson is fighting attempts by the EU to delay Brexit until next year as negotiators worked through the night to secure a deal. Brussels raised hopes of a breakthrough before the European summit tomorrow, with officials scrambling to prepare a draft treaty text. However, the prospect of a deal came with a warning, echoed in Berlin and Paris, that the technical details might take until January 1 to finalise. Mr Johnson’s allies insisted that EU nations were split over the desirability of further delay. One said there was “strong desire among powerful forces to get this sorted”. The DUP, meanwhile, warned Mr Johnson not to make further concessions that would keep Northern Ireland tied to EU rules and customs or on how its people give consent to arrangements. The developments come before a potential vote on a deal this weekend under plans for parliament to sit on a Saturday for the first time in 37 years. However, Mr Johnson faces being pushed into a delay even if the outline of a deal is done. A senior German official said that political agreement on a deal would not be enough “to resolve technical issues” that would require Brexit to be postponed for a third time for “some two months”. A senior EU diplomatic source said: “Without a deal this week, Britain will need an extension. With a deal this week, Britain will need an extension.” – The Times (£) …and leaked Conservative Party election leaflets suggest a Brexit delay… Conservative Party leaflets obtained by the BBC suggest the party is preparing for a delay to Brexit. The leaked leaflets, made available to agents and activists last week, also reveal some of the arguments the party may use against their opponents in a general election. One says voting for The Brexit Party would mean “more delay” because Nigel Farage’s party “can’t deliver Brexit”. Another leaflet is aimed at people who voted Leave in 2016 who are now tempted to vote for the Liberal Democrats. This leaflet says “without a strong majority government Brexit won’t get delivered”, again suggesting the party intends on sending this leaflet out after the UK’s departure has been delayed. Boris Johnson has insisted the UK will leave the EU at the end of October. – BBC News …but Jacob Rees-Mogg is ‘absolutely certain’ of Brexit on 31st October The Leader of the House of Commons told Nick Ferrari that he is sure Brexit will happen at the end of the month and he thinks the voters are now there to get a deal through. Nick Ferrari asked: “Will Britain Brexit on October 31st?” Rees-Mogg replied: “Yes. I’m absolutely certain.” Ferrari then asked: “How so?” Rees-Mogg replied: “The government is working extraordinarily hard. If a deal is agreed with the European Union, it will get through, in my view, the House of Commons because everyone is desperate to finish this. “Even LBC’s listeners and callers have probably had enough of talking about Brexit and they want to talk about all the other things that we may do when we discuss the Queen’s Speech that are important to how their lives run. “We’ve been doing this for three and a half years. It can’t go on forever. We are near a conclusion. Parliament, once it has agreed on something, can legislate very quickly. So, if the meaningful vote goes through, then the legislation will merely be the ratification in domestic law of the treaty and that I think is a relatively easy bill to pass if there is a deal.” – LBC Scottish Secretary speculates that a Brexit extension could be vetoed if no deal is struck… Boris Johnson could be hoping European leaders will “sympathise” with him and veto any Brexit deal deadline extension so the UK leaves the EU by October 31, a Cabinet minister has claimed. The Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack said that if the Prime Minister was facing a choice between breaking his promise to leave by Halloween and breaking the law over asking for an extension, EU leaders could decide “enough is enough” and refuse to extend Article 50. Explaining that it has been made “very clear” to Mr Johnson that the law states he must write a letter requesting an extension if he fails to get a deal, Mr Jack suggested that he may get sympathy from European countries who may “feel that it’s unfair” to prevent the Prime Minister having a no-deal Brexit. Asked about Mr Johnson’s comments that leaving the EU by October 31 was “do or die”, Mr Jack said: “He can make it very clear that he doesn’t want to ask for that extension, that he’s being forced to ask for that extension and some European leaders may sympathise with him on that and feel that it’s unfair that he should have to do something he doesn’t want to do. If one of our European partners decides – and it could well be the French president – to use his veto and decides enough is enough, in that situation we would be leaving.” – Belfast Telegraph …as some suggest President Macron could be the one to pave the way for No Deal Laura Kuenssberg has claimed French President Emmanuel Macron could block a further Brexit extension. Boris Johnson spoke to Emmanuel Macron on the phone Tuesday morning as he pushes for a Brexit deal. The BBC’s political editor tweeted: “PM has just spoken to Macron – hear the 2 men both acknowledged there was positive momentum towards getting a deal done and avoiding delays but lots of hurdles to overcome still. Like last time, sounds like France less keen on extending the process again compared to some other member states – in theory, that might be helpful to UK, altho last time round, Macron agreed with the others to extend again.” It comes after French minister Amelie de Montchalin warned a Brexit extension cannot be justified unless there is a “significant political change”. – Express Johnson prepares to offer expelled Tory rebels a ‘ladder to redemption’ if they back any deal he secures… Expelled Tory rebels could be allowed back in the party if they vote for Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, senior sources have said. The Prime Minister needs the support of many of the 21 MPs kicked out of the party last month if he is to get a deal through. And as speculation mounts over a possible deal being reached this week, the Mail understands those anti-No Deal rebels have been told there is a ‘ladder to redemption’. The 21 rebels were booted out after voting – with Labour and other Opposition parties – for the so-called Benn Act, which forces the Prime Minister to agree a three-month delay in the absence of a deal. At the time they were told they would not be allowed to stand as Tories at the next election if they voted against the Government. Among the rebels were former chancellors Philip Hammond and Ken Clarke, David Gauke, Sir Oliver Letwin and Churchill’s grandson Sir Nicholas Soames. One senior Tory source said: ‘The appeals process is under way. Votes on a deal and subsequent legislation are key.’ Another said: ‘If anyone was serious about coming back they would be voting with the Government. There’s a pathway to a deal, but it doesn’t confirm there’s a deal.’ Chief whip Mark Spencer is understood to have told the rebels there is a ‘ladder of redemption’ but that ‘it is a long one and anyone hoping to climb it would have to be with us every rung of the way.’ Senior No10 figures have also discussed kicking out any Eurosceptic Tory rebels who refuse to back a deal. – Daily Mail …although ex-Cabinet ministers hint at rejecting his new plan over alleged ‘hit to manufacturing’… Senior former Conservative cabinet ministers have hinted they will reject the UK’s new Brexit plan in a fresh headache for Boris Johnson, one warning it will “hit manufacturing”. The proposals – even if they are turned into a deal with the EU – are unlikely to pass in the Commons without the backing of Tories who backed Theresa May’s doomed deal. But David Gauke, the former justice secretary, attacked the drift to a harder Brexit, with Mr Johnson now aiming for a Canada-style trade agreement instead of aligning with EU rules. “Parliament will need to be reassured that it is not being asked to nod through a Brexit that comes at an unnecessarily high economic price,” he said. And Amber Rudd, the former home secretary, went further, saying the new blueprint failed to “support the economy and business” to the extent of Ms May’s rejected agreement. “My concern with the proposal – let’s not call it a deal yet – the proposal that we have at the moment, is that there is no sign of a level playing field, of regulatory alignment for rest of the country outside of Northern Ireland,” she said. “That will hit manufacturing, so I’m concerned about that element of it.” Ms Rudd said she would wait to see the details of the ‘political declaration’ – the non-binding aims for a future trade deal with the EU that will sit alongside any exit agreement – adding: “I’m not giving unconditional support.” – Independent …and Tory Brexit rebel Antoinette Sandbach loses confidence of her local party An MP who was sacked by Boris Johnson for rebelling on Brexit has lost a vote of confidence among members of her local Conservative party association. Antoinette Sandbach is appealing the withdrawal of the Tory whip, following the prime minister’s decision to remove it after she voted with opposition MPs to take control of the Commons order paper last month. But Tory party members in her Eddisbury constituency in Cheshire passed a vote of no confidence in her on Tuesday. The ballot was symbolic but opens the door to formal deselection. Sandbach complained of “entryism” and said she was granted only six minutes to set out her defence. “This is obviously deeply disappointing, but I won’t allow an unrepresentative handful of people decide who gets to be the MP for tens of thousands of Eddisbury voters,” she said. – Guardian Johnson’s fledgling Brexit deal causes split among Tory hardliners… A major split tonight opened up among Tory Eurosceptics over whether to back Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal. While some senior members of the hardline European Research Groupdeclared they were ready to back the PM’s new customs partnership plan for Northern Ireland, others began speaking out to blast it. Former Cabinet minister Owen Paterson became the first senior MP to denounce the fledgling deal in public. In a blow for No10, the ex-Northern Ireland Secretary dubbed it “absurd” and “unacceptable” in an interview with The Sun. Mr Johnson is facing a knife edge vote in the Commons to pass any deal he agrees in Brussels, and must slash the number of Tory rebels to single figures. But while calling Boris’s talks with Ireland boss Leo Varadkar as “encouraging”, Mr Paterson said: “Concerns remain that the EU will seek to trap Northern Ireland permanently in the EU Customs Union by trying to reheat the failed ideas of customs partnerships or single customs territories that proved so disastrous for Theresa May. We await the full details of the new deal to see exactly how they address the objections to the dead Theresa May deal, but dual-tariff systems like this would be, as Priti Patel has said, unacceptable.” Former Tory leader Iain Duncan-Smith was also said by other MPs to also be unhappy, and is reported to have “exploded” at senior No10 officials over how the PM has kept almost everyone in the dark over the negotiation – The Sun Downing Street turns on charm to win over hardline Brexiteers – The Times (£) …as David Davis warns Tory Brexiteers: ‘Remember the Spartans lost!’ Former Brexit secretary David Davis has predicted a majority of MPs will support a Boris Johnson-negotiated EU exit deal as they know “this is the last play”. The ex-cabinet minister forecast that Conservative MPs who refused to support Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement will back a deal secured by her successor. Mr Davis quit Mrs May’s government due to his opposition to her Brexit strategy. But, unlike 28 of his Tory Brexiteer colleagues, he did not hold out against her withdrawal agreement and ended up supporting the former prime minister’s deal during a third House of Commons vote. Mr Davis, who has repeatedly said an agreement would be struck at the last minute, said he thinks Mr Johnson will be able to secure a deal ahead of a European Council summit on Thursday and Friday. “The likelihood is that we will get there,” the former Brexit secretary told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby. “It will be nip and tuck. It will be scary but it was always going to be scary.” And, in a message to the so-called Tory Brexit “Spartans” who held out against Mrs May’s deal, he called on them to support a withdrawal agreement this time round. – Sky News Commons sitting pencilled in for Saturday still not formally confirmed MPs have been kept guessing over whether they will be called to the Commons on Saturday, with some complaining about having to be in Westminster for 9.30 on a weekend morning. The fate of what would be the first Saturday sitting of parliament since the Falklands conflict was in doubt last night after ministers said it would only go ahead if this week’s European Council meeting produced a clear outcome. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, dismissed complaints from opposition MPs about the uncertainty, saying that “to meet twice or three times on a Saturday in 70 years is not too inconvenient even for those with the most pressing diary concerns”. A Saturday sitting is widely expected in Westminster and ministers hope to be able to ask MPs to approve a deal agreed in Brussels the previous day. If no deal is reached, a law known as the Benn act requires the prime minister to write a letter on Saturday requesting a Brexit extension. Labour whips are expecting the Commons to sit between 9.30am and 2.30pm, although some are braced for John Bercow, the Speaker, to let proceedings run longer. MPs from all parties have expressed frustration that the government has not officially confirmed its plans. – The Times (£) Entrepreneurs tell Boris Johnson that ‘uncertainty is crippling British business’ Hundreds of entrepreneurs have urged Boris Johnson to make sure that Brexit is not delayed further because “this rank uncertainty is crippling British business and it cannot continue”. Nearly 300 business leaders write in a letter to The Telegraph “with one simple message for the Prime Minister on Brexit: no more delay”. They add that “the UK is the centre of world finance and a leader in the industries of the future. We are an immense global power. It’s time to start acting like one.” The letter, organised by the Alliance of British Entrepreneurs, has been signed by 290 senior business figures including Robert Hiscox, the founder of Hiscox insurance, and Sir David Ord, managing director of the Bristol Port Company. It says that “the UK must leave the EU on 31 October 2019; no ifs, no buts”. It adds: “An extension will see the final breakdown of trust in our political system. The Conservative brand will be tarnished forever and a resurgent Brexit Party will fight for every seat in the country. The result will be a hung Parliament with more delay and more damaging uncertainty. The UK has repeatedly compromised for over two years. If the EU rejects the Prime Minister’s latest proposal, he must call off negotiations immediately and walk away.” – Telegraph (£) Lib Dems make renewed push for a second Brexit referendum… The Liberal Democrats will try to push MPs to a fresh vote on a second Brexit referendum next week. The party has tabled an amendment to the Queen’s speech requesting that any deal brought back from Brussels by the prime minister is put to another public vote. The Lib Dem leader, Jo Swinson, said: “The Liberal Democrats are the strongest party of remain and have been the leading voice in the People’s Vote campaign. Boris Johnson is determined to have a general election, but the best way to resolve the Brexit chaos is to have a people’s vote and give the British people the final say about their future. The best deal we have is as members of the European Union and we want to give the people the chance to choose to stop Brexit.” – Guardian …as 37 British MEPs tell the EU President to delay Brexit and claim ‘a majority of Brits want to Remain’ A group of 37 British MEPs have sent a letter to the European Council boss, Donald Tusk. urging him to grant a Brexit delay at the upcoming European Council summit. Nearly all of the 37 who signed the letter are not members of the Brexit or Conservative party. The Brexit pary is currently the largest party in the European Parliament. The letter sent to the EU boss states: “Ahead of the European Council meeting that will unavoidably have to consider the question of extending the Brexit deadline, we, elected representatives from the progressive opposition parties, representing the majority of the British people who not want to remain in the EU, urge you to bear the following in mind: Boris Johnson does not represent the views of the entire nation now leads a minority government. Every single opposition party now wants the UK to hold a second referendum on Brexit and that polls indicate that a majority of the UK public is likely to vote to remain in a referendum. We, therefore, ask the European Council to extend the Brexit deadline to allow sufficient time for the British democratic process to play out. We are confident that, ultimately, we will be able to move forward together in European to rebuild our relationships of truth and cooperation. And at home we can reinforce our democracy and rebuild an economy and society that works in the interest of all our citizens.” – Political UK Resolving no-deal risks at UK borders may be ‘out of government’s control’, watchdog says Ministers have run out of time to prepare the UK border for a no-deal Brexit as resolving risks of organised crime and disruption may now be “out of the government’s control”, the spending watchdog has warned. With only two weeks until the Brexit deadline, the National Audit Office(NAO) found the “most significant risks” remain unresolved, despite concerted efforts to prepare for a chaotic departure. The critical report said the government had admitted the border would be “less than optimal” for a period of time, with potential disruption to the flow of goods and concerns that rogue operators could dodge tax and regulatory checks. The Whitehall spending watchdog also hammered home that organised criminals “would quickly exploit any perceived weaknesses, gaps or inconsistencies in the enforcement regime”. The report said: “The most significant risks to the operation of the border remain, namely business readiness, EU member states imposing controls, and arrangements for the Northern Ireland and Ireland land border. – Independent Owen Paterson: Enough is enough. We must leave the EU by October 31 – and not a day later I am today signing the “Brexit Pledge”, calling for the UK to leave the EU the EU on time, with or without a deal, on October 31st. Boris Johnson has made the EU a very generous offer, with a view to negotiating, as quickly as possible, a mutually-beneficial Free Trade Agreement. This is – and should always have been – the right tack for the negotiations to take. It is encouraging that the Prime Minister’s talks last week with Leo Varadkar appeared positive. But concerns remain that the EU will seek to trap Northern Ireland permanently in the EU Customs Union by trying to reheat the failed ideas of “customs partnerships” or “single customs territories” that proved so disastrous for Theresa May. As the Prime Minister has said repeatedly, the May Withdrawal Agreement is dead. It was defeated in Parliament three times and the Conservatives, the only Party supporting it in the European elections, got just 8.8 per cent of the vote and came fifth. We await the full details of the new deal to see exactly how they address the objections to the dead Theresa May “deal” but dual-tariff systems like this would be, as Priti Patel has said, “unacceptable.” – Owen Paterson MP for ConservativeHome Shanker Singham: We are closing in on a deal that would enable the UK to reap the full benefits of Brexit Only a very small circle of people know exactly what is being proposed by the UK in the Brexit negotiations – or, for that matter, what the EU has deemed acceptable – but some clear patterns are emerging. The discipline of both sides has been much better than in the past, with a minimum of briefing and counter-briefing. This is a good sign. More briefing means less of a chance of a deal. As the two sides close in on what we hope will be a deal acceptable to a majority in the Parliament, there are some key points that need to be borne in mind by the various protagonists. First, on the revised Northern Ireland Protocol, as long as Northern Ireland remains legally in the UK’s customs territory, it can fully benefit from the UK’s trade policy. Having Northern Ireland in a common regulatory area with the EU for industrial goods and agrifood will not damage UK trade policy. Nor will it prevent the province from benefiting from the improvements and concessions the UK is able to secure from other countries through trade agreements, provided Great Britain is sovereign, free and unencumbered. None of our trading partners take the view that they will not give the UK a concession on services because they cannot have regulatory flexibility in Northern Ireland. The consent mechanism, meanwhile, would appear to be satisfactorily resolvable for all sides; the concept seems broadly accepted now. It seems we have come down to the very technical question of the difference between a customs check and a customs declaration, and how the look and feel of these processes can be made as little different for Northern Ireland traders as they experience now. With the world’s economy so fragile, such a technical point should not stop an EU-UK deal. Let us hope the statesmen prevail. – Shaker Singham for the Telegraph (£) John Walsh: Like Boris Johnson, Leo Varadkar needs Brexit done by October 31st so he can win an election he Irish government will go to every length to ensure that a Brexit deal is agreed this week or at least as soon as possible. Boris Johnson isn’t the only person looking to ‘get Brexit done’. Despite accusations from some Brexiteers that Dublin is intent on sabotaging the UK’s exit from the EU, the reality is quite the opposite. That is not to say that the Irish government doesn’t regret Britain’s decision to depart the bloc. It does for a number of reasons, not least that the two countries shared a similar outlook to European integration and London acted as a very effective bulwark against federalist impulses among some member states.The Irish government’s main priority since the immediate aftermath of the 2016 referendum is protecting the all-Ireland economy and ensuring there is no hardening of the border. If the legal and technical obstacles to reaching an agreement can be overcome, then Dublin will push other member states to accept the deal. Brexit has become a national obsession in Ireland. It has replaced the weather as the staple of everyday conversation. If there is a Brexit deal that protects the government’s red lines, then it provides the best possible platform to go to the electorate. – John Walsh for the Telegraph (£) Pieter Cleppe: Just how ready is the EU for a no-deal Brexit? Boris Johnson and Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s apparently successful meeting has sparked renewed hopes for a deal between Britain and the EU that would ensure an orderly exit. The EU seems to have accepted that Northern Ireland could remain in the UK’s customs union legally, enabling the Northern Irish to reap the benefits of UK trade deals, but with customs checks taking place inside the UK, to avoid them at the border with the Irish Republic. Both sides, however, are still searching for agreement on how to secure democratic “consent” for Northern Ireland. EU officials been extremely wary of anything that looks too much like a veto for the DUP, and they remain concerned that the Prime Minister could still find a legal way to leave the EU unilaterally, despite the Benn act ordering him to request an extension, absent agreement by 19 October. Though a deal remains far from certain, Boris Johnson has reiterated his pledge to leave by the end of the month. The Government’s No Deal preparations have received much scrutiny – and recommendations of further action – from organisations like mine, Open Europe. Yet the action, or inaction, of EU member states so far suggests that many would be unprepared for No Deal. – Pieter Cleppe for the Telegraph (£) Asa Bennett: Brexiteers want Boris to take a delay and fight on for a better deal, not palm them off now with a fudge Of the many alternative branches of history Dominic Cummings has envisaged, he undoubtedly had a better scenario in mind for the Government than the one we’re currently living in. If Boris Johnson had succeeded in his first attempt to hold an election, today would be polling day. By now, he could be happily waiting for the exit poll and looking forward to being returned with a healthy majority, ready to proceed full steam ahead with getting Brexit done. Instead, the Prime Minister has to live with opposition MPs keeping an election just out of his reach, in the same way the water and fruit in the underworld of Greek mythology are forever out of Tantalus’ grasp. They will only allow him to have what he wants once he submits to the Benn Act and delays Brexit, an act he is legally obliged to execute from Saturday. But the prospect of there being, at best, “progress” towards a deal this week, rather than a fully-fledged agreement ready for Parliament to endorse, suggests that a legal workaround will not be ready. Of course, it is still possible over the coming days that a deal could be done. Mr Johnson and his allies have long argued that the pressure of the ticking clock should drive the EU to abandon its red lines in a rush to agree a timely deal. But there is every risk that the time pressure could weigh more greatly on the UK side. In order to get around the Benn Act and thereby escape the obligation to delay Brexit, the Prime Minister might be tempted to give enough ground to agree a deal swiftly in the hope he can put it to Parliament. But EU stubbornness will mean that a lot of concessions would be required for Mr Johnson to emerge from the next few days with an agreement. Agreeing a deal does not mean it is guaranteed to meet with acclaim back at home, as Theresa May should hopefully have taught him. – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) Ryan Bourne: Beware the push by Hammond and others to make Britain an EU rule-taker Perhaps torture works. The collective waterboarding that is the impending Brexit deadline is forcing confessions, anyway. Philip Hammond was in a government whose stated policy was a desire for new post-Brexit trade deals once it could exit the Northern Irish “backstop” of a single UK-EU customs territory. Now, with Boris Johnson tunneling for just that, the former Chancellor’s official position has shifted. Economic sense, he says, actually means Britain should stay in the Single Market for goods anyway, abide by “level playing field” commitments with the EU, and junk dreams of an independent free trade agenda. Buccaneering Britain, Hammond thinks, is an illusion. Brexiteers who foresaw May’s backstop as an excuse by her to bounce us into Brussels’ permanent trade and regulatory orbit have seemingly been vindicated. But the danger has not passed. Alongside The UK in a Changing Europe’s new report, Hammond’s intervention pressures wavering Labour MPs and former Conservatives to reject Boris’s proposed “Canada Plus” destination as “too hard a Brexit” for Great Britain. At stake here is whether Britain ultimately repatriates meaningful economy policy, or becomes a rule-taker that’s only ever one small step away from EU re-entry. – Ryan Bourne for ConservativeHome Brexit in Brief Six radical ideas to boost the economy after Brexit – Tim Wallace for the Telegraph (£) Why Nicola still hopes Brussels says No to Boris – Alan Cochrane for the Telegraph (£) Backing for Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal has a whiff of sexism, says Amber Rudd – The Times (£)