May says MPs must ‘hold their nerve’ as the Brexit talks approach endgame… Theresa May faced down Conservative critics of her Brexit negotiating strategy in a critical Commons debate in which she pleaded to be given time to “deliver the Brexit that the British people voted for”. The prime minister told her jittery MPs it was time “we hold our nerve” as the Brexit talks approach their endgame during nearly two hours of exchanges, which were not attended by leadership rivals Boris Johnson and David Davis. May told MPs if sticking to her position in the Brexit negotiations “means I get difficult days in Brussels, then so be it. The Brexit talks are not about my interests. They are about the national interest – and the interests of the whole of our United Kingdom.” She walked into a packed Commons a day after anonymous critics from her own party told Sunday newspapers she had entered “the killing zone” and would need to “bring her own noose” if she went to the party’s backbench 1992 committee. – Guardian ‘Hold our nerve’ on Brexit, under-pressure Theresa May tells party – Sky News Theresa May says Government must hold its nerve – Evening Standard > Yesterday on BrexitCentral: Read: Full text of Theresa May’s update to MPs on last week’s European Council Watch: Theresa May’s statement to Parliament …as she snubs Brussels over its Irish border backstop demands… Theresa May dismissed Brussels’ demands yesterday for a backstop that would divide Northern Ireland from the rest of Britain, relieving pressure from Tory Brexiteers but increasing the chance of a no-deal exit. The prime minister secured a partial reprieve from her internal opponents with a categorical rejection of the EU’s insistence that the province remain subject to its customs and regulations until a final trade deal is struck. Downing Street sources said that she would not countenance such a backstop being contained in the withdrawal agreement that she is negotiating. Mrs May’s concession to the hard Brexiteers came as they faced widespread disgust at lurid, anonymous weekend briefings against her using violent imagery. Boris Johnson maintained the pressure, however, denouncing her efforts to find a compromise Brexit deal as “a cheat and a fraud on those who voted to leave”. – The Times (£) > Roger Kendrick on BrexitCentral today: The EU’s backstop is not an insurance policy but a trap …but May is accused of surrender as she seeks to quell Tory rebellion with a four-point Brexit plan… Theresa May has attempted to quell a mounting Tory rebellion over Brexit by unveiling a new four-point plan to break the deadlock with Brussels. The Prime Minister was on Monday accused by Eurosceptic Tory MPs of “surrender” as they suggested in the Commons that she does not have a Brexit plan and “know where we’re going”. Tory MPs said that they and their constituents were increasingly “frustrated” as the Prime Minister insisted the UK will leave before the next election in May 2022 – six years after the Brexit vote. Mrs May will on Tuesday discuss Brexit negotiations with her Cabinet, where ministers are expected to warn that there must be a time-limit on any customs backstop amid concerns it could leave Britain indefinitely tied to the EU. – Telegraph (£) Tory Brexiteers accuse May of surrendering to the EU – The Times (£) Theresa May fends off a Tory revolt and vows Brexit will be ‘done by general election’ – The Sun …and backbenchers warn the PM to back down on Brexit or face a revolt Theresa May is facing a rebellion by more than 40 of her MPs if she does not bow to fresh demands from Brexiteers in the next 48 hours. Downing Street has commissioned urgent legal advice to determine whether the prime minister must face down new demands by the European Research Group that could scupper a key part of the Brexit negotiations. Steve Baker, a leading officer for the group, has put down amendments to government legislation that would stop Northern Ireland being placed in a different regulatory and customs territory from the rest of Britain without a vote in the Stormont assembly. The Democratic Unionist Party would be unlikely to vote for this, even if the parliament were not suspended, which it is at present. Sources in the research group said that the move was a conscious attempt to see off the backstop, the insurance policy demanded by the EU to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. It will be pushed to a vote on Wednesday unless Mrs May gives way — allowing the Brexiteers to show their strength in the Commons. – The Times (£) Theresa May rules out a so-called ‘People’s Vote’ on Brexit… Theresa May today ruled out a second referendum on Brexit – warning that it would destroy the public’s trust in politics. After 700,000 activists marched through London calling for a so-called “people’s vote”, the PM insisted she will respect the result of the Leave vote from 2016. And she said a second referendum would actually be a “politicians’ vote” which would show the public their views are not respected. In a Commons statement this evening, Mrs May also called on Brits to “hold our nerve” in order to win the “prize” of a deal with Brussels – as she unveiled her four-point Brexit plan. The PM faced demands from pro-Remain MPs for a second referendum in the wake of Saturday’s demonstration. Mrs May hit back at Tory colleague Sarah Wollaston, saying: “We gave the people a vote on this issue, there was a people’s vote and people voted in larger numbers than they had done before and they voted to leave the European Union.” – The Sun …as Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley says Leave would trounce Remain if there were a second referendum… Leave would smash Remain by an even bigger margin in another Brexit referendum, a key ally of Theresa May has warned. Rejecting calls for a so called “People’s Vote”, Karen Bradley said: “there would be a bigger vote for Leave.” Addressing a meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly in London, she said the people had already spoken, adding “We had a people’s vote.” Ms Bradley, who voted Remain in 2016, insisted another would undermine the democratic process after 700,000 marched in Central London to demand a so called fresh running on the vote. She said: “I personally think, from my knocking on doors, there would be a bigger vote for Leave.” – The Sun More would opt for Brexit in a people’s vote, claims Karen Bradley – The Times (£) There’s no point in a People’s Vote – Leave would just win again, says minister – i News …and reiterates that the UK will not allow a hard Irish border post-Brexit The British government will not allow a border to be put in place on the island of Ireland “in any situation” Northern Secretary Karen Bradley has told British and Irish parliamentarians. Ms Bradley said Theresa May’s government stands by its commitment to a backstop to guarantee that there would be no hard border after Brexit. Ms Bradley told the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly in London that the British government was considering a proposal to extend the post-Brexit transition period which is due to end in December 2020. “A suggestion has been put forward last week at the European Council regarding an extension of the implementation period as a way to deal with the Border,” she said. “Now, we are looking at that. It is early days. It is a suggestion that has been put forward by the EU. And I want to be clear that we are committed to everything that we have agreed to in the joint report and we will ensure that there is no border on the island of Ireland.” – The Irish Times UK will not renege on Irish border backstop deal, says Bradley – Guardian Dublin warns that Britain won’t be trusted as a world player if they follow Boris Johnson’s calls to axe the Brexit backstop plan… Britain will never be trusted as a world player again if it caves into Boris Johnson’s demands to rip up the Brexit backstop agreement, Dublin has warned. Irish senator Frank Feighan from ruling Fine Gael took aim at Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley warning his government are “very concerned about the mood in the last few days.” He pointed to suggestions that the UK was trying to wriggle out of commitments made in Brussels last December to avoid a hard border through the backstop insurance option. Both sides agreed to have a “backstop” position that would avoid a hard border even if a wider trade deal failed to be struck. But negotiators are at loggerheads on how this pledge will be translated into a legally binding commitment. – The Sun ..although the EU is reportedly ready to break the Brexit impasse with a tweak to the backstop Brussels is offering to remove the most contentious phrase from its Brexit plans for Northern Ireland in a bid to break the deadlock in negotiations with London. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, is prepared to delete references to Northern Ireland staying within the bloc’s “customs territory”, a term that has raised hackles in London. The move was part of a package worked up in intense UK-EU negotiations ahead of a summit this month, which ultimately stalled over the Irish border. While the softer language on customs may have made a deal easier to sell, it would not have changed the legal effect of the withdrawal treaty in Northern Ireland, according to several EU diplomats briefed on the issue. – FT (£) Tory eurosceptics slam ministers for having no idea how much extra Britain could pay the EU during an extended transition Ministers have refused to say how much extra the UK could pay to the EU if we extended Brexit, it was revealed today. Brexiteer John Redwood let rip, saying it could cost Britain an extra £15billion a year or more if we stayed in the EU for longer, under plans to extend the transition arrangement if needed. That’s money which could be spent elsewhere – on public services and giving hard-working Brits a tax break, he stormed. Treasury minister John Glen told the House of Commons today that “the length and cost of any extension to the implementation period is subject to negotiations.” But Mr Redwood told MPs: “It could be £15billion or more for a year, and we would probably be having to accept liabilities that might extend for several years. “We are desperately in need of more money for our schools, for our hospitals, for Universal Credit, and for our defence… so we can honour our tax cutting pledges which we made in our 2017 manifesto.” – The Sun Scottish Tories ‘disappointed’ by May’s failure to confirm end date for Common Fisheries Policy Theresa May failed to quell a threatened rebellion by her Scottish MPs when she repeatedly refused to confirm that Britain will be out of the Common Fisheries Policy by the end of 2020. The Prime Minister was asked three times to give an assurance that any extension to the country’s transition out of EU will have no affect on the timing of its departure from the hated CFP. But on each occasion she failed to make that commitment, saying only that the interests of fishermen across the UK were at the forefront of her thinking. Her comments leave her facing a rebellion from her 13 Scottish Tory MPs, who have signalled they are ready to vote down a Brexit deal if Scottish fishermen remain at the mercy of EU fishing quotas after the agreed date. – Telegraph (£) Senior Tory Brexiteers make direct pitch to Michel Barnier Top Brexiteers were last night accused of negotiating over Theresa May’s head after making a direct pitch to Michel Barnier on how to solve the Irish border. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and ex Cabinet minister Owen Paterson were blasted for trashing the PM’s customs plan at a meeting with the Frenchman in Brussels. The pair presented Mr Barnier with a report, authored by the hardline ERG group, which argues in favour of a “Max Fac” arrangement instead. It is understood that during the meeting, which was also attended by Brexit-backing peer Lord Trimble, the trio described the Chequers customs plan as “unworkable”. And they said it was only eurocrats’ intransigence standing in the way of “near frictionless trade” between the UK and EU after Brexit. Mr Duncan Smith, who was ousted as Tory leader following a no confidence vote, was forced to deny plotting a similar fate for Mrs May. – The Sun > Watch on BrexitCentral’s YouTube channel: Owen Paterson and Iain Duncan Smith speak to the media following their meeting with Michel Barnier Whitehall prepares to issue direct orders on no-deal Brexit… The government will next month start issuing direct instructions to UK-based companies on the action they need to take in the event of a no-deal Brexit, irrespective of how withdrawal negotiations with the EU progress in Brussels. Until now, Whitehall’s engagement with business on no-deal planning has largely focused on the publication of more than 100 technical notices which warn companies of the potential impact across myriad sectors. However, Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, told cabinet colleagues that Whitehall departments needed to step up their effort next month and move “from warning businesses to telling them to act”. At a cabinet meeting this month, Mr Raab said it was unlikely to be until well into December before an EU withdrawal treaty would be agreed in Brussels and approved at Westminster. – FT (£) …as it is suggested it will be ‘impossible’ for Parliament to pass Brexit laws in time Of the more than 800 changes to legislation needed before Brexit only 71 have been put before parliament, a report has found. The government has said that between 800 and 1,000 statutory instruments (SIs) are required to ensure that British law is functional before Britain leaves the EU on March 29. But even though almost half the time available has passed, 9 per cent of the necessary SIs have been put before parliament, leading to fears that the Commons faces an impossible task in scrutinising them in time. Ministers use SIs, also known as secondary legislation, to change laws without going through the full legislative procedure. The government used the EU (Withdrawal) Act, which passed in June, to copy EU law on to the British statute book but now needs to use SIs to adapt and remove some of those laws so that they make sense after Brexit. – The Times (£) Labour will be forced to oppose May’s Brexit deal, Sadiq Khan warns EU Sadiq Khan has sent a message to the EU that he believes Labour will be forced to oppose the “bad” Brexit deal that is emerging from their negotiations with Theresa May. The mayor of London’s comments come ahead of his meeting this week with the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, in which Khan will emphasise the need for far closer economic ties. He will also point to Saturday’s People’s Vote march as evidence of a shift in public opinion in favour of a vote on any agreement reached in Brussels. Khan, who joined calls for a second referendum at the weekend’s demonstration, when almost 700,000 people marched through central London, is to meet Barnier on Friday. While Khan predicts that Labour will oppose May’s final Brexit deal, Tory whips hope that enough Labour MPs can be persuade to back it in order to outnumber hardline Tory rebels. According to sources in Brussels, Barnier is said to have advised Jeremy Corbyn at a recent meeting that backing the deal would not tie a future government’s hands. – Guardian Nigel Farage: Theresa May must reject the EU’s attempts to hold Britain back after Brexit A few days ago staff from a relatively unknown European Parliament committee called TAX3 met with the European Commission’s Brexit Task Force (BTF), led by the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier. According to the minutes which I’ve been shown, the purpose of this meeting was to discuss the EU’s alleged “mandate” to create a “level playing field” when it comes to future relations with Britain in four main areas, one of which is tax. The minutes show that the BTF rubbished Theresa May’s Chequers plan over tax. Indeed, noting that the Chequers proposal omits even to mention tax, the BTF described it arrogantly as a “wishful thinking” document and said it is “not feasible that [it] will not include taxation provisions.” – Nigel Farage MEP for the Telegraph (£) Greg Hands: Staying in a customs union would be dire for British trade. Here’s why I campaigned for remain in 2016 and served as trade minister two years, and I believe we can still get a good, compromise deal with the EU on Brexit. At such a critical juncture in the negotiations, it is normal to search for compromises. However, many of those being discussed are poor choices. That is why it is such a dangerous time. We must remember that the arrangements we set in place now may last for generations and it may be difficult to change them once this window closes. Let us look at the issue of a customs union, which is being much discussed at the moment. It recently became the official Labour party position. Its attractiveness is in seeming to offer a solution for the issue of just-in-time supply chains and the Irish border. But the customs union has many downsides that have not attracted much media coverage. While the loss of independent trade and regulatory policy have been discussed – and these are important – I will focus on some areas that have been less in the public domain. – Greg Hands MP for the Guardian John Redwood: Accepting EU ways brings down Conservative leaders Yesterday Mrs May received plenty of friendly Conservative advice to be firmer in her negotiations with the EU. Conservative leaders who love the EU more than their party have in the past lost their jobs. John Major, David Cameron and to some extent Edward Heath all lost their jobs by being too enthusiastic about the EEC/EU. The overwhelming majority of Conservative members today expect their Leader to stand up to the EU and to get on with leaving the EU as we have agreed to do. Mrs May seems to understand where her party is and acknowledges that we want to take back control of our money, our borders and our laws. She has made a clear red line over a border in the Irish Sea, but needs to dig in behind other red lines as well. She is in danger of being dragged into potential concessions that compromise such a result. – John Redwood’s Diary Norman Tebbit: We must foil this EU mafia plot to shackle Britain’s tax system after Brexit Amidst all the debate, shouting, yelling and confusions over the Brexit debate I have been simply looking forward to the 29th March next year when one way or another the United Kingdom should once again be a free self-governing nation again. It seems that I was far too optimistic. Certainly I realised that the Euro Mafia in Brussels would try to give the United Kingdom a punishment beating to discourage any of the other 27 member states from thinking about making their own escape bid, but the front page of The Telegraph of Saturday 20th October brought truly shocking news under the headline “EU aims to tie Britain on tax after Brexit”. In essence it seems that the objective is to ensure that the United Kingdom should not gain a competitive advantage by becoming a Singapore style low-tax economy. The leaked internal EU document also expresses concerns about the low-tax policies of other Member states such as Ireland. Until now, as a Member State the United Kingdom has had a veto over tax policy changes, but if Brussels has its way it would be Brussels that would have a veto over our tax policies even after Brexit. – Lord Tebbit for the Telegraph (£) James Blitz: Theresa May’s Brexit strategy is running out of road Theresa May has begun many weeks as prime minister with the media declaring it to be her most dangerous week yet. But this time Mrs May’s Brexit strategy, and her premiership, really are running out of road. Fury at the PM is rising inside cabinet and on the Conservative backbenches, following last week’s EU summit in Brussels. At the summit, Mrs May said the UK could consider extending the 21 month post-Brexit transition to give Britain and the EU more time to reach a trade deal. That incensed Tory MPs who do not want the UK staying any longer in the EU than it needs to. Conservative MPs also fear that Mrs May is ready to make unacceptable concessions to try to maintain an invisible border across Ireland. – James Blitz for the FT (£) Robert Peston: May must mind the gap in her Cabinet over Ireland and Brexit The most mind-boggling paradox about the impasse over the Northern Ireland backstop is that if it leads to a no-deal Brexit there would be nerve-wracking uncertainty about whether the 300-mile border between NI and the Republic would and could be kept open – which is precisely what the backstop is designed to prevent. If that led to anxiety about a resurgence of gangsterism and terrorism along the border, everyone would lose. But playing the cynical game of political calculation, which all leaders do however much they protest their high moral standards, who would lose most? This is a desperately difficult judgement. What is clear to me is that the PM and her Cabinet are split on this. – Robert Peston for ITV News The Sun says: Theresa May must never give in on an endless transition period – it’s a trap The PM must never give in on an endless transition period. It is a trap, designed to keep us locked in to the EU racket. There’s nothing unreasonable about what Mrs May demanded yesterday — a backstop with a definite end date. Tusk, Barnier and Juncker will no doubt tell us it’s impossible. They will say “non” to any proposal we come up with, until the final seconds tick on the Brexit clock. The PM must hold her nerve. Because when it suits them, it’s amazing how many times the EU has shown a sudden flexibility. They are more than happy to break their sacred rules when it’s politically useful. They should be fining Italy for their illegal budget — but won’t, because it would stir a hornet’s nest of anti-EU feeling in a founder member. – The Sun says Tim Stanley: This is Theresa May’s Brexit – and she’s squeezed all the vision out of it Never forget: we are living through Theresa May’s Brexit. She defined what the referendum was about, she set the red lines, she decided what kind of deal Britain should pursue. So when she told the House on Monday that she’s within 5 per cent of doing a deal, beware. It’s not what the country needs, it’s what she thinks she can get – and what we’ll end up with is a Brexit shaped by both this woman’s remarkable strength of will and her catastrophic lack of political vision. Don’t let her tell you there was no alternative. My preference was for the Norway option: tell the EU we’re leaving, apply to join the European Economic Area, buy Britain time to negotiate a free trade deal in the future. Alternatively, we could have offered the EU a free trade deal asap – take it or leave it – and while they thought it over, prepare for a no-deal by putting in place the necessary infrastructure and lining up some juicy tax breaks. The money we’d save on the divorce bill – £39 billion – could help launch a lot of new businesses back home. – Tim Stanley for the Telegraph (£) Brexit in Brief A People’s Vote on Brexit will be impossible without cross-party consensus – Chuka Umunna MP for the Independent A Budget for Brexit – Andrew Lilico for ConservativeHome The Single Market is harmful to the UK – and Chequers only compounds the damage – Briain Monteith for Reaction Leaving the EU gives us an unprecedented chance to boost trade with the US – Antony Phillipson for City A.M. Theresa May’s Brexit by numbers – Tom Harris for CapX Varadkar’s dig at Britain leaves him looking silly – Guido Fawkes Sadiq Khan savages EU exit vote in plea to France – Express Nobel scientists make Brexit plea for free movement and funding – Telegraph (£) The UK extends its lead as Europe’s established tech unicorn capital – City A.M. EU must accept some responsibility for Brexit, says Polish foreign minister – Telegraph (£) Farage’s shock warning to Brexiteers: ‘Do not underestimate’ scale of Remain campaign – Express Survivor, starring Theresa May – Politico Parliament will reject no-deal Brexit – Amber Rudd makes incendiary claim on BBC Newsnight – Express