Manufacturing rebounds after Brexit as more cars get built in Britain and the weak pound boosts exports The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said manufacturing output rose 0.2 per cent in August, after a sharp month-on-month contraction in July when activity fell by 0.9 per cent. The figures will be seen as another signal the economy is standing up to turbulence triggered by the Brexit vote in the EU referendum despite the Remain camp’s doom-laden forecasts before polling day. – Daily Mail ‘Millions of EU nationals can stay in the UK after Brexit’ The Home Office has calculated that five in six of such migrants would be unable to be deported because they will have gained the right to stay permanently by the time negotiations are likely to be finalised in 2019/2020. – ITV News …As expats to get vote for life in UK general elections Britons who have settled overseas permanently are to be given a “vote for life” in British general elections, the government has announced. The current 15-year limit will be scrapped as part of a bid to strengthen ties with expats abroad following the decision to leave the EU. – The Guardian …Whilst the Government was blasted for ‘ban’ on foreign academics’ Brexit advice Nick Clegg, former Lib Dem leader and now its European Union spokesman, said: “It is utterly baffling the government is turning down expert, independent advice on Brexit simply because someone is from another country.” – ITV News UK will be first for trade deal – Donald Trump adviser Mr DiMicco, Donald Trump’s trade adviser, said that with the present Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) proposals “on hold”, Britain would be at the front of the queue for any future trade deal once the UK has left the EU. – BBC News ‘You can’t have one foot in and one foot out’: Juncker says EU must be firm over UK’s Brexit manoeuvring The European Union must be “intransigent” in denying British firms free access to the single market if the UK does not accept the free movement of people, Jean-Claude Juncker warned – Daily Telegraph As Germany now seeks to block EU citizens’ ‘welfare tourism’ The German government wants to stop citizens of other EU countries, particularly from eastern Europe, from moving to Germany just for its benefits. Government sources told DPA that the German cabinet was in agreement about approving a proposed law to prevent EU citizens from countries outside Germany from claiming welfare benefits during their first five years in the country. – TheLocal.de Chancellor Philip Hammond warns of more Brexit ‘ups and downs’ During trading in Asian markets, the UK currency dropped from around $1.26 against the dollar to as low as $1.14 in the space of a few seconds. Although it has bounced back, it nonetheless remains well below its levels of yesterday, at $1.24 against the dollar in late trading. Mr Hammond struck back at suggestions from French finance minister Michel Sapin that Britain would have to give up euro clearing, saying: “The City of London hasn’t become a financial centre by accident”. – Sky News Hammond even kept open the option of Britain staying in the EU customs union, which would prevent the country striking new trade agreements with non-EU countries after Brexit. – FT (£) Theresa May needs to give a clearer economic message It is rare that a Prime Minister has such good luck. She must make the most of it. Yes, she must reform immigration but she must also implement policies that reassure business and allow them to start spending again. – Daily Telegraph Editorial Brendan Donnelly: Theresa May has opted to join the radical Tory Eurosceptics rather than appease them Mrs. May’s speech to the Conservative Party conference sets the scene for the final act in the party’s European psychodrama of the past 25 years. The ultimate victory of its radical Eurosceptics will be the hardest of hard Brexits. No doubt there are some members of her cabinet who sincerely advocated continuing British membership of the EU and are now hoping that negotiations with the EU-27 will lead to a reasonable compromise that minimizes the economic and political fallout from Brexit. Such a view would have been an optimistic one even immediately after 23rd June. Now it is frankly implausible – Brendan Donnelly, Director of the Federal Trust We voted Brexit to get greater freedom, not to have yet more government Why did we vote to leave the EU? Surely the most powerful reason was that we wanted to be a free country. If any other message emanates from us, the world will believe that we are turning our backs on it. – Charles Moore for the Daily Telegraph Mikkel Barslund: EU should scrap ‘no negotiation without notification’ rhetoric EU institutions and member states should now abandon their ‘no-negotiation-before-Article-50-trigger’ rhetoric. This might have served the purpose of avoiding endless probes into the possible limits on the kind of restrictions the EU would be willing to accept on free movements, while allowing Britain to retain access to the single market. It is also conceivable that the ‘no-negotiation’ stance served the purpose of holding the EU27 bloc together. With this first bit of uncertainty now resolved, all efforts must now be devoted to negotiating a good outcome – for both sides. – Mikkel Barslund of the Centre for European Policy Studies on EurActiv.com Brexit comment in brief The May government is making a big mistake on EU immigration – Andrew Lilico for Reaction There’s no need to panic about the pound – yet – Andrew Lilico for CapX Scotland Needs to Consider All Brexit Options, Sturgeon Says – Bloomberg Can the UK take over existing EU trade agreements? – BBC News Brexit news in brief Brexit court case: government to dismiss claim that parliament must vote on article 50 – The Guardian Forget EU trade deals… Britain needs to crack WTO post-Brexit, say experts – Daily Express What consequences would a post-Brexit China-UK trade deal have for the EU? – Bruegel Design industry remains optimistic despite Brexit vote – Design Week