Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Guardian claims British officials drop ‘cake and eat it’ approach to Brexit negotiations… British officials have quietly abandoned hope of securing the government’s promised “cake and eat it” Brexit deal, increasingly accepting the inevitability of a painful trade-off between market access and political control when the UK leaves the EU. Government insiders report a dramatic change of mood at the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) since the general election, with growing Treasury influence helping force ministers to choose between prioritising economic interests or sovereignty… Civil servants are now said to be presenting ministers with a more binary choice: accept political compromises similar to aspects of the European Economic Area (EEA), or settle for a much more limited trade deal such as the recent EU-Canada free trade agreement (Ceta). – Guardian > David Campbell Bannerman MEP on BreixtCentral: CETA – the EU’s trade deal with Canada – provides an ideal template for a post-Brexit UK-EU deal …but David Davis’ department denies any change of approach to Brexit talks Brexit Secretary David Davis’s Whitehall department has played down suggestions that officials have quietly downgraded ambitions for a “cake and eat it” deal when Britain leaves the European Union… The suggestions were rejected by a spokesman for Mr Davis, who denied there had been any change of mood since the election. The spokesman said the approach outlined in the Lancaster House speech remained the official strategy. Asked to respond to reports of ministers now being forced to consider a trade-off, he said they “did not recognise the language”. – Yorkshire Post ‘No appetite’ for second Brexit referendum, says shadow health secretary Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth has said there is “no appetite” for a second referendum on Brexit. The shadow cabinet minister added that there was no consensus on a course of action he and other Labour frontbenchers have mooted in the past. Mr Ashworth also backed comments from Labour deputy leader Tom Watson that Jeremy Corbyn was completely secure in his position and would not face fresh challenges to his leadership. – NWMail > Richard Burgon on the Brexit split within Labour – BrexitCentral’s YouTube ‘Young voters were fooled’: Marr skewers Labour frontbencher over Corbyn’s Brexit stance Marr took aim at Jon Ashworth and said youngsters had been duped into backing what they thought was a pro-European Union party. But the shadow health secretary tried to defend the party leader and shadow chancellor John McDonnell’s views on the Brussels bloc as he said it was “patronising” to say young people did not know what they voted for. Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show on the BBC, Marr said: “You’ve got a leader and a shadow chancellor who are staunchly against the whole idea of the EU, they see it as bankers’ ramp, they see it as capitalist conspiracy. – Express UK considers potential shortcut on trade deals post-Brexit… The UK is examining a potential shortcut to securing a raft of critical free trade deals, giving it potential breathing space to negotiate its own agreements after it leaves the EU. The proposal, involving an associate membership of the European Free Trade Association, could allow ministers to sign up to Efta’s existing free trade deals outside the EU, rather than negotiate them from scratch or fall back on bare WTO terms. – Guardian …as analysts say customs union with EU after Brexit is still an option Signing Britain up to a customs union with the European Union need not prevent it from striking important trade deals elsewhere, according to influential new thinking in Whitehall. Officials and business leaders are anxious to puncture what they see as myths about a customs union that have deterred ministers from considering it as a much-needed economic option after Brexit. – Guardian Businesses return to London IPO market after Brexit ‘state of shock’ London has fought off some of the Brexit jitters that saw businesses abandon their flotation plans last year, with £6.2bn raised in the first half pointing to a return to faith after a hiatus of activity. Allied Irish Banks and Film Finances were among the 43 companies choosing to list in London between January and June 30, data from the London Stock Exchange shows, beating last year’s first half when 39 firms raised £2.8bn in the run-up to the June referendum. – Telegraph City delegation to press Brussels for free-trade deal… A City of London delegation will head to Brussels this week with a secret blueprint for a post-Brexit free-trade deal on financial services, as concern mounts about the damage facing employers if they are forced to move operations to the continent. The initiative, led by Mark Hoban, the former City minister, is independent of government but has the unofficial support of senior figures in Whitehall, according to three people close to the project. – FT (£) …while business leaders have a date with David Davis at Chevening on Friday… British business leaders will make the case for greater clarity on EU citizens’ rights and a post-Brexit transition deal at a meeting with Brexit secretary David Davis on Friday. Mr Davis is due to host business leaders at Chevening House in Kent as part of a concerted effort by ministers to overcome the distrust between firms and politicians that characterised UK prime minister Theresa May’s first year in office. – FT (£) …and others are dining with Philip Hammond tonight… Chancellor Philip Hammond will attempt to soothe City concerns about the government’s Brexit strategy today, after reports of a possible walk-out in future negotiations with the EU raised alarm across the business community. At a private dinner organised by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) this evening, Hammond will seek to reassure a select gathering of the UK’s chief executives that he is listening to their needs, and will reiterate his commitment to delivering a Brexit deal that prioritises the economy. – City A.M. …as some of their number lobby for fewer visa restrictions post-Brexit British businesses are lobbying for a visa system that allows unrestricted entry for talented overseas entrepreneurs and tech experts post-Brexit. Proposals from London First, the business group, acknowledge that employers must do more to help train local workers to meet skills gaps. But the group is calling for a long “transition phase” of up to six years after the UK leaves the EU to allow a sufficient number of overseas workers to fill jobs in industries with skills shortages, such as engineering. – FT (£) Europe’s SMEs risk becoming big losers of ‘hard Brexit’ Europe’s small and mid-sized companies will be among the biggest losers if banks are hit by tens of billions of restructuring costs and extra capital requirements in a “hard Brexit” scenario, warns a study to be published on Monday. Six in 10 European small businesses only use a single bank and most are yet to start preparing for the financial upheaval of Brexit, according to the report by Boston Consulting Group and Clifford Chance for the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME). – FT (£) Frankfurt hopes to attract international banks seeking new base in Europe Frankfurt is offering “risk takers” an exemption from aspects of its labour laws in its latest bid to lure international banks seeking an EU base after Brexit. German labour laws, which require big payouts for redundancies and make it difficult to fire people, have caused consternation at international banks considering Frankfurt as a hub for business after Britain leaves the EU. – FT (£) Gove explains how UK will take back control of UK fishing waters after Brexit Michael Gove says the UK will be ‘taking back control’ of its waters and will ‘decide the terms of access’ for foreign fishing after leaving the EU. Speaking on BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show, the environment secretary announces foreign fishing will be banned upon the withdrawal from the London fisheries convention, an arrangement that allows other countries to fish in British waters. – BrexitCentral’s YouTube Gove’s bid to grab back fishing rights is small fry for EU – Times (£) UK fisheries move unhelpful, says Irish marine minister – Belfast Telegraph ‘Ireland could grow outside the EU’ Ireland should give serious consideration to following Britain out of the European Union, a right-leaning UK think tank has said. The Republic could opt to remain with the UK in a customs and free trade area, while negotiating as favourable as possible trade and investment terms with the remaining 26 member states, Policy Exchange said. Enda Kenny rejected any suggestion that Ireland should leave the EU, saying the foundation of Ireland’s prosperity and the bedrock of its modern society was its membership of the EU. – Times (£) Britain remains a positive global influence post-Brexit, poll shows Post-Brexit Britain is still seen as a positive influence globally in the eyes of other nations – although European countries are less likely to think so – according to new data. Some 57 per cent of the global public think Britain’s influence on world affairs is positive, according to polling in 25 countries by Ipsos MORI. – Telegraph Charles Orton-Jones: The EU is taking over Europe’s taxation and forming an army. Thank God Britain is leaving ummer is here, and Brits getting ready for a holiday in the Med are thinking of what to pack. Along with flip-flops and Ambre Solaire, the well-prepared traveller will make sure they’ve got their Brexit patter in slick working order, because it’s dead certain that after three bottles of Mythos lager with a friendly family from Denmark in a taverna the dread question will arrive from Birgit and Sven: “Why are you guys Leaving us?” – Charles Orton-Jones for the Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/02/eu-taking-europes-taxation-forming-army-thank-god-britain-leaving/ Roger Bootle: We need a new vision to fight the religion of European integration My attempt last week to shoot down ten canards about Brexit left a major question unanswered. Why do so many intelligent and well-meaning people wish to stay in the EU? Some do so because they believe one or more of the fallacious arguments that I attacked last week. I hope my duck shoot gave them food for thought. And there are a few more canards flapping across the landscape. One of the juiciest is the idea that the improvement in the UK economy that has taken place since we joined the EU in 1973 has happened because of our membership. Accordingly, some people associate Brexit with a return to the conditions that existed prior to our entry, including dreadful coffee and ubiquitous all-day breakfasts. – Roger Bootle for the Telegraph Wolfgang Munchau: How to calm the nerves of all EU citizens in Britain EU citizens should, however, be careful not to allow themselves to be caught in the continuing tug of war in the UK over Brexit. There is a lot of wishful thinking around. There are still politicians and newspaper columnists who claim that the EU would in a blink give in on freedom of movement if only the UK decided to reverse Brexit. This is not going to happen. Many of those in Britain who portray themselves as pro-European are deeply ignorant of the EU and its procedures. – Wolfgang Munchau for the FT (£) Andrew Parmley: London is the gateway to the world for EU business I write this article having just returned from a four day sprint through Europe, visiting the Czech Republic, Poland, and Romania. A City business delegation joined me and showcased the best of the UK’s offer to the world, with companies such as the LSE, Smart Pension, Accenture and Comply Advantage. – Andrew Parmley for City A.M. Brian Monteith: Where does Sturgeon go, now Corbyn says Brexit means Brexit? Corbyn’s past shows him as a man who voted as regularly against the empowerment of the EU to the cost of the UK’s sovereignty as any Tory Eurosceptic rebel. His reasoning was different, however, believing that the development of an EU superstate would enshrine open-season capitalism behind a high customs union wall that would diminish trade with the poor of the world. The trade unions would be emasculated and British workers would be impoverished as millions who could not find work in the African states denied tariff-free access to the single market would instead supply a steady flow of cheaper immigrant labour. – Brian Monteith for the Scotsman Brexit in brief It’s time to say what you really think about Europe, Mr Corbyn – Guardian Saying ‘Brexit means Brexit’ was the easy part – Thom Brooks for the Times (£) ‘Hard Brexit’ threatens strawberry shortage at Wimbledon, claims Vince Cable – PoliticsHome ‘She has options’: UK-India business chief insists May has upper hand in Brexit talks – Express EU tries to ease migrant toll on Italy – Times (£)