Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Tory donors tell May: no deal is better than a bad Brexit Senior Tory donors have warned that Theresa May should walk away from Brexit talks rather than accept an “unsatisfactory and unfavourable deal” that would poison relations with Europe for another generation. In a sign of growing frustration among pro-Brexit Tories over the lack of progress made in talks with Brussels, one donor said he feared some pro-Remain cabinet ministers were suffering from “Stockholm syndrome” – when hostages develop a bond with their captors. – Observer Britain may save £90 billion in trade tariffs by leaving the EU, study claims Britain stands to save £90 billion in trade tariffs when we leave the EU, a study revealed yesterday. That was the huge cost of foreign levies imposed on UK exports outside Europe during the past ten years. They are slapped on by countries which have failed to negotiate a free trade deal with Brussels – and as an EU member we have to pay them. But although these countries must also pay tariffs on their own goods exported to Britain, the vast majority of this cash is taken by the EU as its “own resource”. But when Britain leaves the EU’s Customs Union and takes back control, we could gain an average of £2.7billion a year in tariff savings, it is claimed. – Sun on Sunday Ministers fear Eurosceptic attempt to hijack legally binding Commons vote Ministers are holding back from offering pro-European rebels a legally binding vote on the future Brexit deal amid fears it could be hijacked by hardline Brexiteers seeking a “clean break” from Brussels. David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, is to offer MPs a “deal or no deal” vote giving them the option of accepting the outcome of negotiations or sending the UK out of the EU without any trade deal in place. – Sunday Telegraph (£) Liam Fox ridiculed as ‘man of solitude’ over claims his department lacks seasoned trade negotiators Liam Fox has been ridiculed for being a “man of solitude” over claims his International Trade Department has an alarming lack of seasoned trade negotiators. Casting doubt on the International Trade Secretary’s repeated assertion that securing a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union should be the “easiest in human history”, the Department for International Trade (DIT) only managed to list one impressive resume when asked how many experienced trade professionals the 15-month old department employs. – Independent ‘You will irk the examiner’: Students claim they feel pressured to pander to anti-Brexit bias in essays University students have claimed they feel pressured into writing essays which pander to the “anti-Brexit bias” of lecturers amid fears they will otherwise be marked down, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal. Students from across the country have alleged that free debate on Brexit is being “shut down” by pro-Remain lecturers at some of Britain’s top universities. – Sunday Telegraph (£) My fellow dons tolerated us leavers, until we won – Chris Bickerton for the Sunday Times (£) EY Item Club says business spending ‘will slump without quick transition deal’ The government must move swiftly to seal a Brexit transition deal to avoid a collapse in business investment, according to a new report by an influential economic forecaster. The EY Item Club, which uses the Treasury’s own forecasting model, expects investment to grow by 1.5% next year, down from 2.1% this year — but only if transitional arrangements are in place. It expects business investment growth to rebound to 2.7% in 2019. – Sunday Times (£) Euro officials finally face the music for years of abuse The European parliament will hire external investigators in response to Sunday Times revelations of the longstanding and widespread sexual harassment of female staff. MEPs last week voted on emergency measures including changing the rules and setting up a taskforce of independent experts to tackle a “culture of silence” after allegations of abuse of female aides by male senior officials and parliamentarians. – Sunday Times (£) EU’s full menu of non-Brexit offerings may ease UK departure The European Parliament, which has veto power over any Brexit agreement, is gearing up for elections in mid-2019 as a slew of other big-ticket items starts to fill the EU agenda. These initiatives, meant to show the bloc’s vigor, will give lawmakers campaign talking points, shift the spotlight from the U.K.’s withdrawal and make it politically easier for the assembly to approve any deal on the terms of Brexit. – Bloomberg James Forsyth: Conservatives must tell us what Brexit really means — as voters are becoming wary of their values and fed up with austerity So, what should the Tories do? Well, firstly stop arguing among themselves. The Cabinet was repeatedly reminded that the less united it is, the less the public will think of them as a competent Government. The next thing they need is a positive vision, to show the public what they are for. They must show voters how they want the country to be different after Brexit. But the problem is, as one influential Cabinet minister puts it: “You’ve got to feel it to communicate it.” – James Forsyth for the Sun on Sunday John Rentoul: This may seem ridiculous, but leaving the EU might not trigger the apocalypse. What then for UK politics? After a week in which journalists have speculated that she wants to give up, I think it more likely that she and Philip, her husband and adviser, hope to turn things round. If she quit now, she would be remembered as the prime minister who lost her majority in a needless election and who gave up in the face of a challenging task. She must want to be remembered as the prime minister who took us out of the EU, as was the mandate of the people. – John Rentoul for the Independent Dia Chakravarty: Calm down, calm down. Brexit may be a revolution, but it’s a mild one What would it have been like to live through the Industrial Revolution? It was a period of rapid economic growth, innovation and great technological advancement. Yet it was also a period of great uncertainty in people’s lives and livelihoods. Mark Carney, the Bank of England governor, even went so far as to describe the 1860s – when the transition from agrarian to manufacturing economy appeared to stall – as “a lost decade”. It’s true that those who lived through those years will have had a mixed story to tell. – Dia Chakravarty for the Sunday Telegraph (£) Grant Shapps: Brexit battle is vital – but Theresa May must win the fight with Labour at home too In 1944, as bombs rained on Britain, Parliament passed one of the 20th century’s most radical pieces of legislation. Despite the immediate danger, Rab Butler’s Education Act signalled the biggest shake-up of schools in a generation. The government demonstrated a capacity to address more than one big issue at a time, even when one of those challenges was the world at war. Today, the UK faces the most demanding set of negotiations. At stake, our future relationship with Europe and, at home, our prosperity. – Grant Shapps for the Sun on Sunday Lady Barbara Judge: Brexit confusion is exhausting for business, so the Government must untangle its contradictory statements Given the political crossroads we have reached in the UK, good communication from government could not be more essential. Brexit is undoubtedly full of opportunities for the country, and I know that many business leaders have already been seeking new markets around the world. Having spoken to directors up and down the country, however, I realise that many cannot yet think that far ahead. The short-term uncertainty over the manner of our exit from the European Union is only exacerbated when the messages coming from the top of government vary day-to-day and week-on-week. – Lady Barbara Judge for the Sunday Telegraph (£) Telegraph view: The Catalonia crisis shows Brexit was the right choice Ever since the EU referendum, opponents of Brexit have called it reckless, even suicidal. But the events in Catalonia prove how rational Brexit actually is. We are leaving behind a chaotic EU that is blind to its problems and incapable of fixing them, and while Brexit is undoubtedly a monumental decision that has to be handled extremely carefully, the crises on the continent are far greater by comparison. – Sunday Telegraph view (£) Brexit in brief The terrible Brexit prophecy of Ivan Rogers is coming true. We should have listened – Christopher Booker for the Sunday Telegraph (£) No need for gunpowder or treason, but MPs must set off some Brexit rockets – Adam Boulton for the Sunday Times (£) Brexit or not, university education has no borders – Sunday Times (£)