Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team EU wants to ‘punish’ Britain for having ‘audacity’ to vote for Brexit, Liam Fox suggests The European Union wants to “punish” Britain for having the “audacity” to vote for Brexit, Liam Fox has suggested as he insisted that leaving without a deal will not be a “nightmare scenario”. The EU last week significantly softened its stance on Brexit and pointed to a breakthrough in negotiations in December amid fears that Theresa May’s Government is at risk. – Telegraph (£) >On BrexitCentral’s YouTube: Liam Fox: No Brexit bill until we know what the future EU deals looks like UK’s divorce bill figure will come in final Brexit deal – Liam Fox – Reuters …and he says Emmanuel Macron ‘completely wrong’ to call ‘no deal’ a bluff… A senior government minister has slammed the French President for suggesting Britain is “bluffing” about a “no deal” Brexit. International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said Emmanuel Macron was “completely wrong” that the cliff-edge divorce threat was simply a negotiating ploy. He said the UK was pushing for a “full, open, comprehensive agreement with Europe” but would “prepare for the UK’s national interest being defended if we can’t get one”. – Sky News 5 reasons why no deal could mean no Brexit – Politico How no Brexit deal really can work – John Redwood for The Commentator …as Labour’s Emily Thornberry predicts no deal with the EU Brexit negotiations with the EU are heading for a “no deal” scenario, Labour’s Emily Thornberry has warned. Shadow foreign secretary Ms Thornberry said the PM’s failure to control her party was causing “intransigence” on the UK side, which was a “serious threat to Britain” and its interests. But International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said a failure to agree a deal was “not exactly a nightmare scenario”. The UK was preparing “mitigation” measures for such an outcome, he said. – BBC News > On BrexitCentral’s YouTube: Emily Thornberry: I think we are heading for no deal Theresa May delays crunch Cabinet debate over EU trade deal until next year over fears it could spark resignations… Theresa May has delayed a crunch Cabinet debate over an EU trade deal until next year over fears it will spark major resignations. The PM will not ask her top table to agree what conditions Britain is prepared to accept from Brussels in exchange for it until the EU has first laid out its own terms. In a breakthrough for Mrs May, Europe’s 27 leaders ordered their own preparations for trade talks to start by Christmas after her summit appeal for help on Friday. – The Sun …as German report suggests Theresa May ‘begged’ Jean-Claude Juncker for Brexit help The head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker reportedly claimed that Theresa May had “rings under her eyes” and “begged” for help during Brexit dinner talks between the pair earlier in October. The unflattering epithets used to describe the British prime minister during those negotiations were “tormented”, “despondent” and “discouraged”, the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). He apparently said that the British PM looks like she does not sleep and like someone who used to laugh but is now continually trying not to lose her temper. Following the talks, the pair issued a joint statement outlining an intent to accelerate negotiations. – IBTimes Now talk nice – EU script to help May settle Brexit bill – Reuters May’s disastrous dinner with Juncker: Episode II – Katy Balls for The Spectator Britons living in Spain ‘allowed to stay’ despite ‘no-deal’ Brexit, country’s foreign minister vows More than 300,000 expats living in Spain will be allowed to stay despite a “no deal” Brexit, the country’s foreign minister has said. Alfonso Dastis claimed his government would ensure that the lives of ordinary Britons in the country are “not disrupted” in the event of a “no deal” Brexit. Spain is host to the largest number of British citizens living in the EU (308,805) and just over a third (101,045) are aged 65 and over, according to the Office for National Statistics. – Evening Standard Communities Secretary Sajid Javid insists London’s success as ‘global financial capital’ will continue post-Brexit Cabinet minister Sajid Javid has slapped down a bank boss to insist the City will flourish after Brexit because we’re “lucky to be British”. The Communities Secretary was hitting back at Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein’s taunt that he will soon order an exodus to Frankfurt. As a former banker himself, Mr Javid dubbed London as the world’s financial capital and insisted he was “very confident” it would remain it. He added: “Sometimes I think it’s worth reminding people how lucky we are to be British with everything we have in our favour – whether it’s our language, our business acumen, our creative industries, our universities. “We have so much and let’s talk more about that and be very confident about the future.” – The Sun Rebound in consumer confidence ‘testifies to the resilience of the UK consumer’ Consumer confidence in the UK has risen for the first time this year, buoyed by positive sentiments around employment. Consumer confidence was up three points to a negative reading of seven, according to a survey released today by accountants Deloitte. This marked the first rise since the same quarter in 2016. “The rebound in consumer confidence testifies to the resilience of the UK consumer in the face of surging inflation, Brexit uncertainties and the prospect of a higher interest rate,” said Deloitte’s chief economist Ian Stewart. – City A.M. UK business chiefs unite to demand urgent Brexit transition deal UK business leaders have united to urge David Davis to quickly establish a Brexit transition deal that mirrors existing arrangements or risk losing British jobs and investment. In a letter to the Brexit secretary seen by the Guardian, five of the UK’s biggest business lobby groups said time was running out for the government to strike a transition deal before firms start to rein in spending plans as they finalise budgets for 2018 and prepare to implement contingency plans for Britain’s departure from the EU. – Guardian ‘First big win of Brexit’ as Common Travel Area to be retained, says Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney Ireland will retain the common travel area (CTA) with the UK in the first landmark agreement to be hammered out under the Brexit talks. The impending CTA agreement, being hailed as a major victory for Ireland in the Brexit negotiations, will not include Border issues but will resolve a huge number of the Anglo-Irish concerns first raised by Brexit. Business groups have hailed the agreement as a huge boost to trade between the two countries and something that will, at a stroke, eliminate many of the Brexit fears over Anglo-Irish trade, travel and social issues. – Irish Independent UK plan to register EU citizens would be illegal, claim MEPs The home secretary, Amber Rudd, has been warned by a cross-party group of MEPs that her plans to force EU nationals to add their names to a register in the transition period immediately after Brexit would be illegal and unacceptable to the European parliament. The MEPs from across Europe have written to Rudd following her suggestions to the home affairs committee that she would expect EU nationals to have to register with the authorities in the period immediately after Britain left the EU. Brussels is planning to insist that a transition period after the UK leaves in March 2019 would involve Britain remaining under EU law and all its institutions, without exception. – Guardian European Medicines Agency staff could live in London and commute to France after Brexit EU scientists could be allowed to live with their families in London and commute to the continent under proposals to relocate the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to northern France. Lille, the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, is one of 19 European cities hoping to become the new host of the EMA, which will move to a mainland European city after Brexit. – Telegraph (£) Liam Fox seeks to narrow focus for post-Brexit US trade deal UK trade secretary Liam Fox wants a post-Brexit trade deal with the US to focus on the services sector, amid growing cabinet and business concern in Britain to an accord covering goods and agriculture. Mr Fox’s allies say that a deal on services with the US is the big prize, acknowledging that an ambitious agreement in other areas could lead to bitter disputes with Washington over food imports, such as chicken dipped in chlorinated water. – FT (£) The Times: Labour is still confused, divided, and vague on its own EU policy Sir Keir Starmer brings a lawyer’s armoury of logical tests and technical quibbles to the parliamentary tangle over Brexit. Yesterday Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary set out six “red lines” for the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, which will repeal the European Communities Act and freeze EU law on the statute book. The government’s first attempt at this was a mess, and Sir Keir has dutifully scored the goals the Conservatives left open. Beneath the tough talk, however, is befuddlement. Labour has become expert at sounding like it has a single position on Brexit, without having one at all. As long as this goes on, Labour cannot claim to be a credible opposition, let alone a credible government. – The Times (£) Trevor Kavanagh: Brexit is a dangerous game – Theresa May must play that ace and walk to trump EU Greece’s ex-finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has published a scathing blow-by-blow account of the punishment beating dished out to bankrupt Greece for daring to stand up to Brussels. Adults In The Room should be compulsory reading for ALL Cabinet ministers. It bleakly warns against any hope of compromise from Germany and France. “They must realise you are prepared to walk out of the negotiations, whatever their threats,” says Varoufakis, “for if you are not, there is no point in entering the negotiating room in the first place.” Having ignored his crucial advice in 2015, Greece today is condemned to spend eternity in what he describes as “debtors’ prison”. – Trevor Kavanagh for The Sun Juliet Samuel: Even if we quit the EU without a deal we will still need goodwill to avoid a major economic shock Before a ship sets off on a difficult and dangerous voyage, it’s a good idea for everyone on board to agree on the destination. That, unfortunately, was not what our Government did before it triggered Article 50. We are now under sail, alas, with a crew that disagrees on where we’re meant to be going. So the passengers are anxiously casting about, listening out for any siren song floating across the water. One is being sung by former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, the motorbike-riding economist who took his country to the brink of euro exit by playing (and losing) a match of game theory with the EU. – Juliet Samuel for the Telegraph (£) Joan Hoey: Talk is cheap, but money is still the issue for Brexit negotiators The mood music around the EU summit last week was kinder on Theresa May’s ears than most of the political noise she has been hearing lately – both Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and France’s President Emmanuel Macron went out of their way to seem sympathetic. Tone means something, but the substance has not changed. As soon as the summit was over, Merkel and Macron insisted that the UK must increase its divorce payment before talks on trade and transition can begin. – Joan Hoey for City A.M. Brexit in brief The politics of identity shakes the European continent – John Redwood’s Diary Frank Field: Labour should work with the government to ‘get the best Brexit deal possible’ – Channel 4 News Aldi and Lidl press on with expansion – Telegraph Europeans support the EU’s hard line in the Brexit negotiations – LSE London tech startups head on Brexit trade mission to France with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan – City A.M. Pay squeeze ‘has peaked’ as wages show signs of life – Telegraph