Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team EU trade boss tells Boris Johnson that next year he will get a ‘bare bones’ Brexit trade deal or none at all The EU’s trade chief has controversially declared Boris Johnson will either get a “bare bones” trade deal from Brussels next year or none at all. Sabine Weyand told business bosses last week that talks will start as soon as possible if Britain leaves on January 31 as planned. But she insisted the PM’s vow to seal a new arrangement with the EU by December 31, 2020, doesn’t leave enough time to strike a comprehensive deal. That leaves two likely options, the EU’s Director General for Trade Ms Weyand said; a thin “bare bones” deal or a hard exit from the transition period without any deal, “for which our No Deal planning is very useful”, she added. – The Sun Johnson promises to deliver Brexit to take the country forward at CBI conference… Mr Johnson also told the conference, in Greenwich, south east London, that if the Tories secure a majority at the election “we can and will” get Brexit resolved in a “matter of weeks”. He said: “We have to get Brexit done because it is the best thing for our national mood, and the best thing to take our country forward. And by the way it’s the best thing for the economy because the worst thing now is the continuing economic uncertainty: people waiting to take on new staff, or invest in property, or just to invest in this country.” Mr Johnson also faced criticism over his new Australian-points immigration system. In a panel discussion later in the day, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby joked that the system was so strict that “Jesus certainly wouldn’t have got a visa unless there was a shortage of carpenters”. – The Sun > WATCH: Boris Johnson speaking about Brexit at the CBI Conference …where Jeremy Corbyn attempted to woo business by saying they would be better off staying more closely aligned to Brussels… Mr Corbyn said the Prime Minister’s deal will lead to ‘damaging uncertainty’ and ‘it won’t get Brexit done’. He added: ‘It will subject us to years of drawn-out, bogged-down negotiations. ‘Three years, maybe more’ is how long Michel Barnier said a trade deal on the Prime Minister’s terms would take. ‘And the toxic deal with Donald Trump would take even longer. Our plan, on the other hand, will get Brexit sorted quickly and immediately end the uncertainty for business and our communities because we won’t be ripping up our main trading relationship because major British industries like steel will struggle to survive in a deal with the USA promoted by President Trump.’ – Daily Mail > WATCH: Jeremy Corbyn’s Brexit extract at the CBI conference …and Jo Swinson got the best reception for her ‘stop Brexit’ stance… Jo Swinson was the most warmly received of the party leaders to appear on stage at the CBI’s annual conference, as the Liberal Democrat leader’s unwavering commitment to remaining in the EU proved popular with business delegates. As leaders did their best to promote their policies to the business community prior to the general election on 12 December, the audience’s reaction to both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn was lukewarm at best. – Guardian > WATCH: Liberal Democrat Leader Jo Swinson speaking at the CBI Conference …although some audience members questioned her ‘going against the majority’ that voted for Brexit Jo Swinson felt the heat at the CBI’s annual business conference when audience members demanded to know why the Liberal Democrats were “going against the majority that voted to leave” by trying to stop Brexit. Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson spoke at the Confederation of British Industry’s annual conference to an audience of high profile business people. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn also made speeches pledging to support British businesses in order to gain support in the upcoming general election. Ms Swinson made the case for the Lib Dems as the “natural party of business”, but continued to reaffirm their anti-Brexit stance. – Express Boris Johnson will demand Jeremy Corbyn answer four key Brexit questions during their first TV clash tonight… Boris Johnson has demanded Jeremy Corbyn answer four big questions on Brexit during their first TV clash tonight. The PM and the Opposition Leader go head to head for the first time in the election campaign in an hour long debate on ITV from 8pm. In a bid to set the terms of their crucial joust, the Tory boss last night despatched an appeal for clarity in a letter to the Labour chief. Insisting the public have “a right to know” where Mr Corbyn stands on the major issues which he says his rival for No10 has “ducked, Boris called on him to say; whether Mr Corbyn he will urge voters to back Remain or Leave in the second EU referendum that he proposes, if he will extend or end free movement from the EU, and if immigration will therefore he higher or lower, how much the Labour leader is prepared to keep on paying into the EU’s budget after Brexit in exchange for market access, and how many of Mr Corbyn’s Labour candidates are behind his Brexit policy to renegotiate a new deal and then put it back to the people. – The Sun Boris Johnson throws down four-question challenge to Jeremy Corbyn – Telegraph (£) …after Lib Dems and SNP fail in legal bid to halt the ITV leaders’ debate that excludes them ITV’s election debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn will go ahead on Tuesday evening as scheduled after the Liberal Democrats and Scottish National party failed to convince the high court in London that their party leaders – Jo Swinson and Nicola Sturgeon – should be included. After hearing legal arguments all day, two senior judges, Lord Justice Davis and Mr Justice Warby, ruled that because the broadcasting company was not exercising “a public function” it was not liable to judicial review challenge in the courts. The only remedy for the Liberal Democrats and the SNP, the judges said, was to complain to the broadcasting watchdog, Ofcom. The court had earlier heard that Ofcom cannot deal with complaints about programmes until after they have been aired. – Guardian Ross Clark: Brexit isn’t going to destroy British business – the only thing to do that will be Jeremy Corbyn Is it really so silly to expect a rise in foreign investment in the UK should the Conservatives win a majority in the general election? There is a received wisdom among Remainers that Brexit will destroy Britain’s reputation as a place to do business – something to which they attribute the 14 percent fall in foreign direct investment over the past 12 months, as measured by the Department for International Trade. It sounds damning, when quoted in isolation, yet it is really just part of a picture of declining overseas investment worldwide, which has more to do with a statistical quirk than with Brexit. According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Investment (UNCTAD), the main reason for the apparent fall in overseas investment is the repatriation of earnings by US companies as a result of tax changes in the US. – Ross Clark for the Telegraph (£) Nick Timothy: As Boris redraws the political map, he’s changing what it means to be a Tory If the polls are to be believed, Boris Johnson is redrawing the electoral map. If he succeeds, he will redefine the Conservative Party and change British politics for decades to come. The Prime Minister has already converted the Tories into a resolutely pro-Brexit party. Every Conservative candidate in this election supports his plan for getting Britain out of the European Union. The rebels he expelled from the party have either accepted his deal and returned to the fold, or been forced into permanent exile. The likes of Dominic Grieve – now an independent candidate – will discover the true extent of their “personal vote” when they lose to their Conservative opponents. – Nick Timothy for the Telegraph (£) Brexit in Brief Why Remainers are the imperialist nostalgics – Mark Harrington for Unherd Remainer Tory peer campaigning for Lib Dem Chuka Umunna in Westminster – Evening Standard