Tony Blair calls on remainers to ‘rise up in defence of our beliefs’ Tony Blair will declare his mission to persuade the UK to stay in the EU today, calling for remain supporters to “rise up in defence of what we believe”. The former prime minister will make the statement at his first big speech since the EU referendum, arguing that people were misinformed when they voted for Brexit. “The people voted without knowledge of the true terms of Brexit. As these terms become clear, it is their right to change their mind,” he is expected to say. “Our mission is to persuade them to do so… Our challenge is to expose relentlessly the actual cost, to show how this decision was based on imperfect knowledge which will now become informed knowledge, to calculate in ‘easy to understand’ ways how proceeding will cause real damage to the country and its citizens, and to build support for finding a way out from the present rush over the cliff’s edge” – The Guardian A government spokesman said the British people had expressed their view very clearly on 23 June, adding: “There will be no second referendum.” Iain Duncan Smith, who was a prominent Leave campaigner, said Mr Blair’s comments were arrogant, utterly undemocratic and showed that the political elite was completely out of touch with the British people. – BBC Open Britain wheels out Blair to patronise voters – Guido Fawkes Labour MP Ben Bradshaw: There’s still a chance Brexit won’t happen – Business Insider UK Tony Blair is right – pro-Europeans must unite and fight May’s ‘at any cost’ Brexit – Roland Rudd, Open Britain Chairman for the Huffington Post In a democracy, no decision should ever be irreversible – Lib Dem Peer Dick Taverne for The Times (£) Theresa May says Britain won’t “cherry-pick” as she prepares to welcome the French Prime Minister… Theresa May is attempting to woo the French government with a pledge that Britain will not seek to “cherry-pick” parts of EU membership after Brexit. The Prime Minister is hosting French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve for talks at Downing Street and will promise to respect the EU’s desire to keep freedom of movement… But in an article for the French newspaper Le Figaro ahead of her meeting with her French counterpart, Mrs May struck a conciliatory tone on the Brexit negotiations and responded to the “cherry picking” charge. “As we leave the EU, we will seek the greatest possible access to the European single market through a new, comprehensive, bold, ambitious free trade agreement,” she wrote. “This cannot, however, mean retaining membership of the single market… Britain understands that EU leaders want to continue with the process of integration… We do not, to borrow the phrase, seek to cherry-pick which bits of membership we desire.” – Sky News …as French senate calls for Britain to be “punished” A major report by France’s senate on Thursday said that Britain must not be allowed to leave the EU in a better-off position than it is now. The cross-party report, which was led by the former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, suggested that Britain should be allowed to leave the European Union without a deal being done with Brussels. It also rules out any sectoral agreements with Britain that would give industries such as financial services privileged access to the EU’s single market… The French senate report described Mrs May’s recent Brexit speech in which she set out her plan for the negotiations as a “mixture of veiled threats and pledges of goodwill”. Mr Raffarin said: “From a European point of view … the new agreements cannot be better than the old ones – which might be difficult for the United Kingdom side to accept – while at the same time protecting the EU’s joint interests, notably on security and defence.” – Daily Telegraph Cross the Channel to keep “EU funding”, France tells scientists – The Times (£) Economists for Free Trade call to scrap UK import tariffs to give the UK a 4% boost in GDP A cabal of Brexit-supporting academics argue that the end of all import tariffs would cut prices in the UK and improve both productivity and competition in the UK. The newly re-branded Economists for Free Trade, led by Cardiff Business School professor Patrick Minford, argue the UK should drop charges on goods, regardless of negotiations with the EU. Minford said: “Any strategy that involves the UK putting up tariffs against the EU will cause significant self-harm, which is entirely avoidable. Our analysis shows that embracing global free trade, even if the EU does not reciprocate, will mean the UK is far better off compared to the status quo.” Chancellor Philip Hammond has already voiced disapproval for the unilateral approach… despite conceding the hypothetical appeal of such an approach… Responding yesterday, Capital Economics founder Roger Bootle said: “I wouldn’t give up on Philip Hammond. I think we can convince him.” – City A.M. Free trade ‘promises cheap food and goods’ after Brexit, says expert – Daily Express Food price fall could save families £305 a year once we’re free from single market says former Environment Secretary Owen Paterson – The Sun Juncker raises doubts about completing Brexit talks in two years… It will take longer than two years to “clear up all the arrangements” for Brexit, the president of the European Commission has claimed. Jean-Claude Juncker said he did not believe it would be possible for negotiations for Britain’s departure from the EU to be completed within the two year time period stipulated after Article 50 is triggered. “I do not think .. we will succeed within 24 months to clear up the arrangements for Britain’s exit from the EU and to (forge) the whole relationship between Britain and the European continent,” he said in a speech on the sidelines of the international Munich Security Conference. – Daily Telegraph UK will be ‘weaker’ after leaving ‘beautiful’ EU, claims European Commission President – The Independent EU’s Moscovici calls for deeper integration ahead of Brexit – Irish News Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt told EU superstate demand could bring down bloc – Daily Express …as he calls for Europe to defy the USA’s spending demands on NATO European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday that Europe must not cave in to U.S demands to raise military spending, arguing that development and humanitarian aid could also count as security… “I don’t like our American friends narrowing down this concept of security to the military,” he said, arguing it would be sensible to look at a “modern stability policy” made up of several components. “If you look at what Europe is doing in defense, plus development aid, plus humanitarian aid, the comparison with the United States looks rather different. Modern politics cannot just be about raising defense spending,” he said. – Reuters Europe must spend more to support Nato – the alliance is as vital as ever – Daily Telegraph editorial Europol boss claims Brexit could make Britain more at risk of terrorism if Brussels refuses to grant the UK access to EU police force Brexit could heighten the risk of terror threats in Britain, the UK director of the EU’s police force warned today. Rob Wainwright said Theresa May must find a way of continuing to secure access to Europol’s intelligence-sharing after the UK formally cuts ties with Brussels. He stressed the importance of continuing to cooperate in schemes such as the European Arrest Warrant, which has helped catch criminals across the continent but Eurosceptics believe is overused. – Daily Mail Citigroup chief declares ‘London is our primary place of business’ James Cowles, Citi’s Chief Executive in Europe has thrown his support behind the UK and London in particular as a major financial hub. He told Financial News (FN) that London is “still going to be the financial hub that we have for EMEA, it’s still going to be the primary place of business”… It has not ruled out “setting up a new entity in Europe and transferring investment banking roles there”, FN reports. However, Mr Cowles was quick to point out that any staff losses from the UK will not be significant, according to FN. He made clear that he does not view Brexit with the trepidation that some in the financial and banking world have. – Daily Express Allister Heath: General Motors’ decision to quit Europe can’t be blamed on Brexit GM’s European business has been sick for years: it shed its UK truck and van operations ages ago, as well as Saab and Lotus… Given that Vauxhall’s remaining operations and staff in the UK are a small fraction of GM Europe’s overall presence – it employs 38,000 people in Germany alone, Brexit has had no meaningful impact on the decision to sell. Vauxhall’s car manufacturing is an afterthought, a minor part of the deal… It is astonishing that some Remainers are now attacking the Leave campaign, claiming that they lied because GM is now selling its European operations. On what planet do these people live? Do they not see that not every business decision is caused by Brexit? And why assume, automatically, that Vauxhall’s plants will be closed, and not those elsewhere in Europe? … The last thing Vauxhall workers now need is another outburst of hysteria by political activists masquerading as supporters of the UK car industry. – Allister Heath for the Daily Telegraph (£) Vauxhall: Business Secretary Greg Clark ‘reassured’ by General Motors over 4,500 UK jobs – The Independent Business Secretary heads to Paris for crisis talks over future of Vauxhall UK jobs – Daily Telegraph Michael Gove: Judges need to show some self-restraint We may have voted to free ourselves from the jurisdiction of the EU’s five presidents, but there’s one other president, who none of us elected, whose power over us is greater than ever… The president I’m referring to is the one who will shortly be appointed to preside over our Supreme Court… As a classical liberal, I’m grateful that judicial review can act as a check on the growth of state power. I am, however, less happy about judges laying themselves open to the charge that they are deciding that the will of parliament, as expressed in legislation, or indeed the absence of legislation, should be over-ridden or second-guessed… [T]he more assertive the judiciary is generally, the greater the chance that it will generate controversy. Which raises difficult questions for all those of us attached to the rule of law. – Michael Gove for The Times (£) Politicians ‘not quick enough’ to defend judges after Brexit case, says Supreme Court President – Daily Telegraph Daniel Hannan: A Singapore-style economy isn’t a threat, it’s a growth strategy Commentators tell us that ministers are holding the Singapore model up their sleeves as something to menace the rest of the EU with if they don’t get a decent deal. But Singaporean levels of taxation are not a menace; they are a sensible growth strategy… So it’s worth repeating, for the thousandth time, that Brexit will not make us “like” Switzerland or “like” Singapore. We’re not going to plant ski chalets in the Pennines or swap the beauty of our seasons for an unchanging equatorial haze. The point is simply that cutting taxes and regulations does not lead to squalor, but to higher living standards. – Daniel Hannan MEP for ConservativeHome Brexit comment in brief Fishermen deserve Brexit deal that works for them – Daily Express editorial High stakes in Stoke: UKIP vs Labour Brexit battle royale – Charlie Cooper for Politico The era of political shocks is proof that democracy is working, not that it is in crisis – Fraser Nelson for the Daily Telegraph (£) The known unknowns of Brexit: what Theresa May still won’t say – Tim Ross for Bloomberg Is Jeremy Corbyn losing his supporters after voting for Brexit? – Anoosh Chakelian for the New Statesman Inside the British Asian Brexit vote – and why it contains a few surprises – Rakib Ehsan for The Conversation Priorities for Brexit negotiations reflect depth of single market – Dr Maria Garcia for The UK in a Changing Europe How I am a good European – John Redwood’s Diary Idea that Churchill would have voted Remain is absurd – Leo McKinstry for the Daily Express Dutch election: EU’s most unpredictable vote – Peter Teffer for EUObserver Brexit’s opportunities for New Zealand – Shanker Singham for the New Zealand Herald Brexit news in brief Number 10 considering Article 50 migrant cut off date – Guido Fawkes Essex Police say there is ‘no link’ between Brexit and a 41 per cent rise in hate crime – Brentwood Live First ‘openly Brexit’ Welsh think tank launches – ITV News Now Microsoft blames Brexit for price rises of more than 15% that could add £400 to cost of a laptop – Daily Mail Brexit may benefit venture capital trust schemes – FT Adviser