Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Boris Johnson slams Jeremy Corbyn’s plan to let two million EU migrants vote in a second Brexit referendum Boris Johnson last night demanded Jeremy Corbyn scrap his underhand plan to allow two million EU migrants vote in a second Brexit referendum as the pair prepare for their final TV clash. New analysis by the Tories shows Labour’s plan to extend the franchise to “all UK residents” would mean allowing two million EU nationals to vote in a second referendum and General Elections for the first time. Currently they are only allowed to vote in local government and regional assemblies. In a letter to Mr Corbyn last night the PM urged him to reconsider the plan – claiming it would be “profoundly undemocratic” and would “rig” the result of a second referendum in favour of Remain. – The Sun Boris Johnson accuses Labour of trying to ‘fiddle’ Final Say referendum – Independent > WATCH: Boris Johnson’s speech in Derbyshire Sajid Javid refuses to rule out the possibility of a no-deal Brexit… Sajid Javid has refused to rule out a no-deal Brexit as he reiterated the Conservatives’ plans to bring the UK out of the EU in March 2020. The chancellor was repeatedly asked on Thursday whether there was a possibility the UK could leave with no deal at the end of 2020. He said the chances of that were “extremely remote” but dodged several opportunities to rule it out. He claimed the outline of a free trade agreement had already been worked out, saying: “By the end of 2020, we will have agreed and finalised the trade deal, a very ambitious, deep, comprehensive free trade agreement. And we will get that done also by the end of 2020. In the time that we’ve been negotiating over the last 100 days or so, it wasn’t just the exit agreement … we have also negotiated and worked and agreed the outline of the ambitious free trade agreement.” – Guardian > LISTEN: Chancellor Sajid Javid on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme …as business leaders urge the next government to take time to strike a beneficial deal Business believes it is more important for the government to get the UK’s post-Brexit trade relationship with the EU right than to get a deal done quickly, according to a new survey. The findings emerged as the Institute of Directors issued a plea to whichever party wins next week’s general election for clarity on its negotiating objectives for what the group said would be “choppy trade waters” in the period after the planned Brexit date of 31 January. Crucially, the group said the incoming administration should review the new Digital Services Tax due to be imposed on tech firms from April, in the wake of US threats of retaliatory tariffs in response to a similar levy in France. – Independent Four Brexit Party MEPs confirm they have ditched Nigel Farage to back the Conservatives… The Brexit Party was plunged into chaos when four of its MEPs resigned to back the Conservative Party in the general election. The rebels, led by Yorkshire and the Humber MEP John Longworth, condemned Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage over his electoral strategy at a press conference in Westminster on Thursday, and called on him to stand candidates down in scores of Conservative target seats ahead of the December 12 ballot. In a letter to Farage, the MEPs said: “We believe the Brexit Party has taken a wrong turn and is itself putting Brexit in jeopardy. We believe the current Brexit Party strategy risks the UK remaining in the European Union and that is not something we feel able to support.” – Politico > On BrexitCentral: Four Brexit Party MEPs quit the party to endorse the Conservatives at the election > WATCH: Lance Forman MEP on why he’s resigned from the Brexit Party to back the Tories and their Brexit deal …as they explain their fears about splitting the Leave vote… Four Brexit Party MEPs including Jacob Rees-Mogg’s sister, dramatically quit the party on Thursday and urged people to vote Tory, warning that Nigel Farage’s party was splitting the Leave vote. Annunziata Rees-Mogg said the Brexit Party was “now the very party risking Brexit” and eating into Tory vote share in 274 seats, some of which the Tories have to win to secure a majority. Ms Rees-Mogg, entrepreneur Lance Forman and campaigner Lucy Harris, all resigned the whip to back Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s push to “get Brexit done”. They were joined at a press conference in Westminster by Brexit MEP John Longworth, who was sacked by the party on Wednesday for reportedly having “repeatedly undermined” Mr Farage’s election strategy. – Telegraph (£) > WATCH: Annunziata Rees-Mogg MEP on why she’s quit the Brexit Party and is backing the Tories’ Brexit deal …but Farage lashes out at Annunziata Rees-Mogg and the other Brexit Party quitters… Four senior Brexit Party politicians quit yesterday and urged Eurosceptics to vote Conservative as Nigel Farage’s general election campaign descended into acrimony. In developments that could improve Boris Johnson’s chances of securing the keys to No 10, the MEPs called on their former leader to swallow his pride and pull out of the campaign. Mr Farage hit back, accusing the group of plotting against him since Mr Johnson replaced Theresa May as Conservative leader in the summer. He told The Times: “Never underestimate human greed and stupidity. They rode off my back. They’ve been planning this ever since Boris Johnson was elected.” He accused the MEPs, who include the sister of Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Commons leader, of being motivated by their personal links to the Tories and sources in his party suggested they had been offered inducements to quit. – The Times (£) …although Farage says there is ‘no question’ Boris Johnson will win a majority next week Nigel Farage says he would prefer Boris Johnson to be prime minister over Jeremy Corbyn – and that the Tory leader “will have a majority” after the election. In an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Neil, the Brexit Party leader was asked who he would prefer to be in Downing Street – Conservative leader Boris Johnson or Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn. He said: “Not Jeremy Corbyn, obviously. It is going to be Boris Johnson. I would prefer that to Jeremy Corbyn.” The 55-year-old added: “He will have a majority, there is no question about that.” The MEP faced the fearsome interviewer on the same day as turmoil broke in his ranks, with four MEPs dramatically leaving the party on Thursday to campaign for Mr Johnson’s Brexit deal. But Mr Farage said Annunziata Rees-Mogg, sister to Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg and one of those to walk out, was “wrong” to suggest the Brexit Party could put Britain’s exit from the European Union “at risk” by contesting Labour-held seats. – Telegraph (£) > WATCH: Brexit Party Leader Nigel Farage’s interview with Andrew Neil John Major to join anti-Brexit election rally aimed at blocking a Tory majority A former Tory Prime Minister is set to join an election rally aimed at preventing Boris Johnson from winning a Commons majority. Sir John Major is expected to be joined by Tony Blair, his Labour successor in Number 10, at the event in London on Friday.vThe high-profile pair, who both support a second EU referendum, will urge people to vote tactically for the pro-Remain candidate most likely to defeat Conservatives in their seat. Michael Heseltine, who was Sir John’s deputy when he was Prime Minister, will also speak at the event, which has been organised by the ‘Vote for a Final Say’ and ‘For our Future’s Sake’ campaign groups. Others expected to speak at the rally include former Tory Cabinet minister David Gauke – who was kicked out of the party for opposing Mr Johnson’s Brexit plans – and Alastair Campbell, Mr Blair’s top spin doctor when he was Prime Minister. Sir John has been a long-standing critic of Mr Johnson’s Brexit plans, and earlier this year joined the legal attempt to prevent the PM shutting down Parliament for five weeks as MPs fought to stop a no-deal departure. – PoliticsHome Boris Johnson must up his social housing offer to win over traditional Labour Leave voters, new poll reveals The Prime Minister must up his social housing offer if he is to win over traditional Labour Leave voters, says a new poll. Undecided electors and “Labour Leavers” said housing was the second most important local issue after the NHS. The poll by the National Housing Federation shows that voters in Labour heartlands say housing matters more than crime. Crucially 65 per cent of the Labour Leavers would support the next government if it invested billions in social housing. Boris Johnson said he would try to change Treasury rules so public bodies get bigger benefits if they release unused land for homes. He said: “One of the things you’ll remember when I was Mayor [of London] was the frustration of having all these pockets of land everywhere, whether owned by Network Rail, the NHS, the MOD. They are not allowed to make as good use of them as they might by the Treasury rules.” – The Sun Brexit is one of most spectacular mistakes in EU history, says Donald Tusk Brexit has been “one of the most spectacular mistakes” in the history of the EU and followed a campaign marked by “an unprecedented readiness to lie”, Donald Tusk has said. In his first interview since standing down as European council president last week, Tusk said Brexit was “the most painful and saddest experience” of his five years in office, a tumultuous period marked by the Greek eurozone crisis, bitter rows over migration and the election of Donald Trump. He also criticised the French president, Emmanuel Macron, for branding Nato “brain-dead” and refusing to open EU membership talks with North Macedonia and Albania. “If we want to treat Macron as a future leader for the whole of Europe, in a political sense, then for this we need a politician who feels more responsible for the EU as a whole and not only for France,” Tusk said. – Guardian John Longworth: Boris’s deal is the only game in town. It is vital my fellow Brexiteers vote Conservative Today I was about to resign from the Brexit Party whip, along with three of my MEP colleagues, in order that I should be entirely free to speak out in favour of delivering Brexit, as I see fit. However, the Brexit Party chose to withdraw the whip yesterday, it appears because I had the effrontery not to reveal the result of a secret ballot in the EU Parliament. When I put myself forward as a candidate to be elected as MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire (The Humber), I had one objective in mind and that was to deliver the democratic mandate of the British people, as expressed in the referendum, to leave the European Union. This means regaining national sovereignty and thus control of our borders, our money and our laws. – John Longworth MEP for the Telegraph (£) Lucy Harris: I’m sad to leave the Brexit Party, but we need to back Boris and the only party that can deliver Today I am sad to leave many good Brexit Party people behind and resign the Brexit Party whip. Many of them are worthy candidates and incredibly accomplished people – their PPCs have shown some of the best of British through their instinct for perseverance and initiative, which will be much needed in the future. I can’t say I haven’t had a furious internal battle over not being able to help them more, and to support their bravery in standing as candidates. But this election is unlike any other, a turning point in history – and with antisemitic Marxists at our doorsteps (quite literally), we have to channel our bravery in a very different direction. – Lucy Harris MEP for the Telegraph (£) John Redwood: Trade deals – again Labour, Lib Dems and Greens continue with their mantra – EU trade deal good, US trade deal bad. It is so silly. We trade successfully with the USA, China and others today without the benefit of a specific Free Trade deal. Were we to be able to negotiate a Free Trade Deal with countries like them we would be able to improve a bit on the current strong trade flows by cutting tariffs and removing some other barriers. There would be no need to sign a deal with any third country that did damage to the UK. We trade perfectly well now, so we should only sign a deal which improved on current trading. It is absurd to say we would have to privatise the NHS to have a FTA with the USA. No UK government or Parliament would accept such a proposition, and the President of the USA has already said he understands that. – John Redwood’s Diary Asa Bennett: These Brexit Party leavers are joining a formidable pro-Boris coalition The cold fury from Nigel Farage and his allies shows how hurt Brexit Party chiefs are by some of their best known MEPs breaking away to declare support for Boris Johnson. The Brexit Party leader is eager to dismiss John Longworth, Lucy Harris, Annunziata Rees-Mogg and Lance Forman, pointedly bringing up their Tory links in conversation with Andrew Neil in a bid to dismiss them as sell-outs. But that smacks of sour grapes, as these Brexiteers have been the darlings of past Brexit Party rallies. Indeed, Ms Rees-Mogg was unveiled as the first star signing at the launch of the party’s European Election campaign back in April, with chairman Richard Tice lavishing praise on her “incredibly brave, strong and emotional” decision to come over from the Tories. “That should absolutely be celebrated”. – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) Richard Tice: Arrogant Brexit Party defectors need to get out of London more Earlier this year, the Brexit Party came from nowhere to win a national election. Our victory in the European elections last May stunned the establishment and terrified the Tory party. The Brexit Party slogan, Change Politics for Good, resonated with millions of voters who could not believe the machinations of Remain supporting parliamentarians determined to overturn the referendum result. That election result illustrated the scale of public anger. Our party was just six weeks old when we returned 29 MEPs to Brussels, all with a mission to make themselves redundant. We put together a coalition of Brexiteer democrats both from the left and right-wing of British politics. They were united by one overriding objective: to stand up for the pro-Leave majority in our country. Many predicted that the party would splinter the minute we arrived in Brussels. Instead, we held together. – Richard Tice MEP for the Telegraph (£) Brexit in Brief Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party is tearing itself apart… and it’s pure Monty Python – Michael Deacon for the Telegraph (£) Why I feel sorry for Jo Swinson’s Lib Dems – Robert Peston for the Spectator (£) Labour’s fake figures persuade expats to use proxy voters – The Times (£) Inside David Gauke’s bid to stop Brexit and Boris Johnson – PoliticsHome