Theresa May admits Brexit is keeping her awake at night Theresa May admits Brexit is keeping her awake at night, offering a glimpse of the enormous challenge the new Prime Minister is grappling with in the wake of the referendum vote. In a frank and personal interview with The Sunday Times, Mrs May says she is very conscious that she needs to get on with delivering a deal. “I want to make sure that everything we do ensures Britain is a country that works for everyone. And that we really get out there and forge a new role in the world post-Brexit. We can make a success of it, we will make a success of it. But these are really complex issues.” – Sky News The full Interview with Theresa May – Sunday Times Magazine May must rely on chill Phil as her rabble stirs – Adam Boulton in the Sunday Times (£) Brexit backlash against John McDonnell gathers pace as shadow Chancellor adopts ‘Ukip nationalist’ position Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell is facing a furious backlash over a speech, which urged Labour to “embrace the enormous opportunities” of withdrawal – instead of fighting to prevent its most damaging consequences. Mr McDonnell also horrified many high-profile backbenchers by accusing pro-Europe MPs of siding with “corporate elites” – a charge normally levelled by Ukip. – The Independent > Patrick O’Flynn MEP on BrexitCentral last week: John McDonnell realises Brexit will allow politicians to think freely again; when will others catch up? Mark Carney plots to stay in single market till 2021 Mark Carney is working on a secret plan to keep British businesses in the single market for at least two years after the country leaves the EU. The governor of the Bank of England has held a number of private meetings and dinners in the past two weeks at which he has appealed to business leaders to set aside their differences over Brexit and focus on a common goal. Whether or not Britain remains in the single market over the longer term, business will need time to adapt to the new arrangements, Carney has argued. He is calling for bosses to demand a period of “continuity” after the Brexit negotiations conclude, in order to prepare for the terms of whatever deal the government can strike with Brussels. Carney’s proposal — nicknamed the “Brexit buffer” in the City — could be an elegant solution to a political stalemate that has caused mounting tensions between business and the government. – Sunday Times (£) Britain won’t withdraw from the world after Brexit and Trump win, insists Boris Mr Johnson is on an official visit to Kabul to discuss issues of mutual interest and regional security with Pakistani leadership. ‘None of those will be affected by our relations with the treaties of the European Union, as you would expect,’ he said… ‘If the question is do I think that the western world is going to start withdrawing or turning in on itself, then the answer is emphatically no, I don’t think so,’ Johnson told reporters. ‘That certainly won’t be the situation with the United Kingdom. We intend to be more engaged with the world, more outward-looking than ever before,’ he said. – Mail on Sunday Boris is fed up with being the butt of the government’s jokes – James Forsyth for The Spectator’s Coffee House blog UK ‘should join other world trade blocs’ say economists – Sunday Telegraph Paul Ryan backs free trade deal with Britain to show America’s ‘solidarity with our indispensable ally’ Paul Ryan, speaker of the US House of Representatives, thinks such an agreement would show the UK that America remains an “indispensable ally”. Mr Ryan wants US officials to start working on an agreement right away to show “solidarity” even though no deal can be signed until Britain has left the European Union… Aides to Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, are planning to fly out to America to meet Mr Trump’s team for talks within the next fortnight, with Mr Johnson himself hoping to visit before Christmas. There is hope the two countries can sign a “statement of intent” early next year to lower trade barriers – though a full-blown deal will have to wait until Britain is outside the EU, expected in mid-2019. – Sunday Telegraph London house builders to defy Brexit uncertainty Two of London’s biggest house builders are set to post bumper profits, confounding concerns that the capital’s property boom has slowed dramatically. Luxury house builder Berkeley forecast a near 50pc jump in half-year pre-tax profits on Friday, rocketing from £237.6m to £352m, while profits at Countryside, a specialist in urban regeneration, are expected to treble to £98.5m. – Sunday Telegraph Sturgeon to rally European allies against Brexit Nicola Sturgeon is to rally European allies against Brexit when she delivers a keynote speech at a flagship summit of progressives from across the continent hosted by the pro-independence Scottish Greens this week. –Sunday Herald Nicola Sturgeon to visit Dublin to boost Ireland-Scotland business links – ITV News Patrick Minford: The OBR and the Chancellor got it wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong. Brexit will raise, not lower growth The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement took its cue from the Office for Budget Responsibility’s downward-biased forecasts for Britain’s Brexit economy. It and he failed to take account of the optimal policies for carrying Brexit through. These are free trade with lower consumer prices and more competition, better (home-based) regulation and intelligent control of immigration to limit costly unskilled immigration. – Professor Patrick Minford in the Sunday Telegraph I voted Leave in the certain knowledge that there would be some economic pain and some uncertainties in doing so – Mark Littlewood in the Mail on Sunday Of course the forecasts are bad: no one has a plan for Brexit – William Keegan for The Observer Mystic (Rees-)Mogg and the art of economic prediction – Simon Goodley for The Observer > Patrick Minford also recently wrote for BrexitCentral: The Treasury’s economic modelling of Brexit has been proven wrong – yet it has failed to abandon its unjustified pessimism Henry Hill: How the Government can back Shapps’ Great Repeal Bill sunset clause Five years is not enough time for Parliament to sift through the great mass of European legislation and take a considered approach to what we keep, not with everything else it has to deal with. Thus passing Shapps’ amendment would create just the sort of cliff-edge the Government is trying to avoid. But that doesn’t mean the Government should simply reject the sunset clause. Instead they and Shapps’ supporters should unite around a longer clause – perhaps ten years. – Henry Hill for ConservativeHome Simon Heffer: ‘Liberals’ who shun Brexit must learn the lesson of freedom Our strongest hand is our £70 billion trade deficit with the EU. Perhaps when the hysterical “liberals” calm down there can be a rational discussion. Brexit may be the end of the world for a few of them, but for millions of others it remains a new beginning.- Simon Heffer in the Sunday Telegraph (£) Andrew Rawnsley: Blair and Major don’t deserve this venom for joining Brexit debate You may or may not agree with what they have to say, but they can’t be denied the courtesy of a hearing. Two men who have more than 17 years of combined experience of leading Britain just might know what they are talking about. – Andrew Rawnsley for The Observer Iain Duncan Smith raps Blair over his selective memory for trying to halt Brexit – The Sun on Sunday Lamont Tells Major: No second Referendum – LBC > Nick de Bois on BrexitCentral: Sir John Major denied the public a referendum on Maastricht – how ironic he should want a second one on Brexit Brexit comment in brief Theresa May must fight the hard Brexiters or Britain will be ruined – Will Hutton for The Observer How fast should we leave? – Sebastian Mallaby and Peter Lilley for the Sunday Times (£) For some Brexit voters, leaving the EU is worth paying for – Jonathan Walker for the Birmingham Mail The Maldives don’t need the Commonwealth to work with Britain – Ahmed Shiaan for ConservativeHome Do events in Lithuania signal the end for freedom of movement? – Stuart Gardner for ConservativeHome Nigel Farage could be a Trump card for Theresa May – in an unofficial go-between role – Carole Malone for the Sunday Mirror Brexit news in brief Nigel Farage receives death threats and cannot leave home without security following Brexit and US election – Sun on Sunday Give Ukip 20 peerages, says Paul Nuttall on eve of his expected election as party leader – Sunday Telegraph Don’t underestimate EU warnings on membership talks, Juncker tells Turkey – Reuters Wales’ senior lawyer says Article 50 and Brexit cannot be triggered without Act of Parliament – Evening Post Brexit demands put strains on Bank of England staff – Sunday Telegraph Rural property market ‘exceeding expectations’ after Brexit – Farmers’ Guardian Britain’s curry houses could disappear if Brexit migrant policy doesn’t change – Daily Express Price hikes for luxury goods ‘Brexcessive’ – Sunday Times (£)