Brexit News for Monday 10th October

Brexit News for Monday 10th October

Labour is open to restricting EU freedom of movement, says new shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer…

Keir Starmer, a former Director of Public Prosecutions, said he believed immigration was too high and that people were “understandably” concerned about its effects…Mr Starmer however warned that the Conservatives had struck “the wrong tone” when it came to immigration, and that migrants themselves were not to blame for anxieties about the issue. – The Independent

  • Diane Abbott repeatedly refuses to back Sir Keir Starmer’s claim that net migration into the UK must come down. – PoliticsHome
  • Labour MP Rebecca Long Bailey calls on Remainers to ‘respect’ Brexit vote – Daily Express

…as the Government abandons plan to force firms to reveal foreign staff numbers

The government has abandoned plans to force businesses to reveal how many foreign staff they employ, following widespread condemnation and accusations that the policy was akin to tattooing workers “with numbers on their forearms”. – The Guardian

Though public opinion polls suggest widespread support for the anti-immigrant measure, the move attracted widespread criticism from all corners of the political spectrum for its apparently authoritarian approach. Ukip MEP Roger Helmer on Saturday said the proposals were a “step too far” and would be branded “fascist” had they been announced by his party; Labour’s Andy Burnham said he was “not having this”, while Scottish First Minister said the policy was an “appalling, regressive, and hugely troubling development”. – The Independent

  • Tories’ U-turn on foreign workers ‘shows they don’t have a plan for Brexit,’ says Labour – The Independent

Senior Tory MEP: Some EU countries do have migration controls within the single market

Vicky Ford, a Conservative MEP who chairs the European parliament’s committee on the internal market, said in one case a country had even set an “upper break” on migrant numbers without losing economic ties….“If you look at a country like Liechtenstein, in the EEA, they have access to free movement of goods within the single market [but they] have an absolute cap on the number of people given residency a year – and it is only 90 people,” she said. – The Guardian

Theresa May rules out Commons vote on single market exit

Theresa May has dismissed cross-party demands from pro-EU MPs for parliament to be given a vote on any moves to exit the single market. The prime minister authorised a statement on Sunday saying that such a move would be an attempt to “thwart the will of the British people”, after it emerged that former Labour leader Ed Miliband has held talks with some Tory MPs about a possible alliance over Brexit plans. – The Guardian

  • Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg demand Parliamentary vote on Brexit – Daily Telegraph
  • Keir Starmer: Commons must be granted vote on Brexit terms – PoliticsHome
  • Nicky Morgan: Tories cannot ignore manifesto commitment to single market – PoliticsHome
  • Theresa May must not be blown off course by the EU Remain cheerleaders – The Sun says
  • MPs gear up for fight with Theresa May over Single Market access – City A.M.
  • Michael Fallon tells Britain to prepare for life outside the EU – Daily Express

Roger Bootle: The UK’s economic interests are not the same as those of self-interested business leaders

It is amusing to observe the repeated postponement of forecast pain. Before the referendum, it was alleged that uncertainty about the outcome would undermine confidence and spending. In the event, in Q2 of this year, the economy grew by 0.7%. After the vote, it was suggested that Q3 would be depressed….There are already signs from business surveys of a major pick-up in British exports. If this materialises, it will boost prospects for investment, thereby helping to offset any adverse effects on investment by businesses worried about leaving the EU. – Roger Bootle in the Daily Telegraph

Matt Ridley: No wonder scientists are spooked by these ‘lies’

After the vote there was a vogue for research laboratories to take group photographs of their members with flags denoting their country of origin, to show how international they were. This backfired because so many of the flags were Asian, South or North American, African or Australasian — exactly the point we Leavers had been making, that science is a global, not a regional, activity. – Matt Ridley in The Times (£)

Wolfgang Münchau: The shock that will shift a nation’s business model

The British prime minister is right to balance a hard Brexit with a shift in the direction of the UK economy away from transactional capitalism towards a more inclusive version of a free-market economy. This makes sense. One way to think about this is the theory by Mancur Olson, a 20th century US political economist, who tried to explain why Germany and Japan did so well after the second world war. In his 1982 book The Rise and Decline of Nations, he notes that powerful lobby groups can hold a country to ransom up to the point when a shock destroys the economic system. – Wolfgang Münchau in the FT (£)

Ylva Elvis Nilsson: Theresa May, here’s why other EU countries will not give you an easy deal

Allowing one country today to dictate its own conditions while being part of this market would probably lead to the unravelling of the whole package of hard-won compromises. And that is not going to happen….This has nothing to do with punishing the British. It’s about jobs and national interest. May, studying her counterparts more closely, might discover that no other European nation shares the British belief that a country will do better on its own. Therefore defending the single market becomes a national interest. – Ylva Elvis Nilsson for The Guardian

Brexit comment in brief

  • Brexit must mean the return of our border controls – Leo McKinstry in the Daily Express
  • Immigration was part of the Brexit vote – whether ‘Liberal’ Leave voters like it or not – Ian Birrell in the i newspaper
  • MPs should squish hard, xenophobic Brexit – Hugo Dixon for InFacts
  • How to tweak the political strategy for Brexit – Andrew Hill in the FT (£)
  • Brexit chaos coming down the road will put Scotland on the path to Independence – Gordon Guthrie in the Daily Record
  • Brexit mess will herald new Britain that makes independence redundant as nations pursue their own priorities – Professor Jim Gallagher in the Daily Record
  • After Brexit we will still share the bio-geographical area with Europe – Stanley Johnson for The Times (£) Red Box

Brexit News in Brief

  • Brexit boosts demand for flexible office space in London – FT (£)
  • Deutsche Post committed to Britain despite Brexit vote – Reuters
  • Britain to push post-Brexit UK immigration controls back to Irish border – The Guardian
  • CBI boss: Brexit risks closing door on economy – The Times (£)