‘Hard’ Brexit could help secure trade deals worth double EU agreements, reports Change Britain… Change Britain, a group co-founded by Michael Gove and endorsed by Boris Johnson, has discovered that 14 countries have publicly expressed interest in an agreement after Brexit. The nations have economies that total around £17 trillion – twice the size of those countries who already have a trade deal with the EU. However, the UK can only capitalise on that potential if they decide to opt out of the customs union, the group warns. – Sunday Telegraph …while Leave Means Leave show Brexit ‘will save us £12 billion’ as quitting EU slashes red tape London’s position as the finance capital of Europe will be strengthened once Britain leaves the EU, according to a study by top economist Gerard Lyons. The huge savings will safeguard the jobs of up to 300,000 people, while the EU fights to tackle the banking crisis and prop up the ailing euro… Escaping the “straitjacket” of expensive EU rules will re-inforce London’s global pre-eminence. Mr Lyons, who drew up the report for campaign group Leave Means Leave, said the Britain would make potential savings of two to three per cent once it regains legal power to regulate financial services. – Sun on Sunday Chancellor Philip Hammond warned not to spread ‘panic’ with ‘gloom and doom’ budget ahead of EU exit talks A fresh Cabinet split has emerged up as the Chancellor prepares a raft of measures to survive the shock waves of quitting the EU. But angry colleagues fear it will only spread gloom and doom in the run-up to key Brexit talks. They have told him not to turn next month’s autumn statement into the “revenge Budget” threatened by his predecessor George Osborne. The revolt against too much stimulus is being led by International Trade Secretary and leading Brexiteer Liam Fox. – Sun on Sunday ‘Disillusioned’ Bank governor to quit earlier than anticipated, bruised by criticism of his involvement in Project Fear Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, is poised to announce his departure before the end of the year amid mounting tensions with the new government. Two senior figures who have worked closely with Carney since he moved to Britain in 2013 believe he will resign in 2018 at the end of his five-year term, rather than serve an extra three years. They said he has grown disillusioned with the populist thrust of Theresa May’s plans and has been bruised by Eurosceptic criticism of his “Project Fear” warnings during the European Union referendum campaign. – Sunday Times (£) Interest rates set to stay at 0.25% after post-referendum economic growth contradicts Bank’s own forecast – Mail on Sunday US drugs giant backs post-Brexit Britain with move of global headquarters near Heathrow Airport American drugs giant Mallinckrodt has delivered a vote of confidence on post-Brexit Britain by moving its global headquarters from the US to a location close to Heathrow Airport. In addition, the company switched its tax domicile from Ireland to the UK in the last year. [Chief executive Mark Trudeau] cited the UK’s stable tax environment and the strategic links – including the airport – as key reasons for the choice. – Mail on Sunday UK FinTech investment ‘unaffected’ by Brexit – FS Tech Brexit has been ‘good for business’ in Blackpool – Sky News UK exporters seek assurances over post-Brexit future – FT (£) John McDonnell demands Government offers Nissan assurances to entire manufacturing sector John McDonnell, the shadow Chancellor, has demanded the Government extend assurances provided to Nissan to the entire manufacturing sector. Mr McDonnell said he welcomed the decision by Nissan to back the “hard work and dedication” of the workforce at the Sunderland plant. “But there are other plants in the car industry whose workers will be holding their breath hoping that their jobs are also safe following the Tories’ shambolic handling of Brexit.” – The Independent No 10 must have made Nissan big promise, say ex-business minister Anna Soubry – The Observer May takes a massive gamble on winning tariff-free trade – Jeremy Warner in the Sunday Telegraph Nissan doesn’t need a bribe while it’s got our world-beating workers – Dominic Lawson for the Sunday Times (£) If others believe that favours are being handed out, it could start a stampede to No 10 – Sunday Times (£) If Nissan can get its own soft Brexit deal, so can Scotland – Scotland on Sunday Labour MP Chuka Umunna demands answers about Nissan deal – Sky News Labour attack on Nissan deal ‘is anti-worker’ – Sunday Express Finally, Belgium officially signs CETA agreement Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders on Saturday signed the CETA agreement at a ceremony in Brussels, his spokesman Didier Vanderhasselt told POLITICO. The formal approval of Belgium’s federal government will allow EU leaders and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to sign the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement at an EU-Canada summit on Sunday. – Politico Lib Dems turn fight for Richmond into ‘Brexit referendum’ with dire warnings over economy The Liberal Democrats have been accused of attempting to “scaremonger” voters over the impact of Brexit as they target Zac Goldsmith’s Euroscepticism to unseat him in a crucial by-election. The party has issued tens of thousands of fake newspapers warning voters in Richmond Park that leaving the European Union will do “grievous damage” to the economy. – Sunday Telegraph How an independent Scotland could supposedly remain in EU after Brexit Professor John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, said Scotland could swap places with Britain in the EU if there was a vote for independence in a second referendum. He said it was “difficult to deny” that the EU would have the “option” of handing Scotland the UK’s seat in the EU after Brexit under those circumstances. Curtice also suggested that Nicola Sturgeon might be tempted to run a Yes campaign “predicated on that assessment” of Scotland staying in the EU. – Sunday Herald Louis Rouanet: Britain should embrace unilateral free trade right now Contrary to what is often assumed, unilateralism is not simply a utopian libertarian ideal which cannot be reached in today’s world. Unilateral free trade is genuine free-trade. It is also the most pragmatic and efficient strategy to foster commerce and peace. Theresa May seems ready to conduct an interventionist industrial and economic policy which oddly resembles French planning as it existed in the 50s and 60s. But, the free-market policy paradigm is more likely to transform post-Brexit Britain into a flourishing economy. – Louis Rouanet for the Mises Institute Stephen Pollard: The week Brexit Britain showed it means business The weeks since the vote have seen a string of positive figures – employment up, consumer confidence up, the FTSE up, GDP up, to take just the most obvious. But all have been dismissed by the Remoaners as mere overhangs of the pre-referendum economy. Once the full impact of the vote was absorbed, we’ve been told repeatedly, the dire consequences would soon be felt. Except the good news still keeps coming. And this week, the first key economic tests of post-referendum Britain were passed with flying colours. – Stephen Pollard in the Sunday Telegraph Liam Halligan: Invoke Article 50 quickly and make a clean break The best way to minimise inevitable Brexit-related business uncertainty is to invoke Article 50 relatively quickly, as the Prime Minister has said, do a “grand repeal” of all EU law relating to the UK onto British statute and, after the two-year Article 50 window, revert to WTO rules. Not “hard-Brexit”, but “clean-Brexit”. Fast, clear – and, above all, democratic. – Liam Halligan for the Sunday Telegraph John Mills: With the right policies a weak pound can help the UK pay its way Just before the EU referendum, the exchange rate between the dollar and sterling was $1.45 to £1.00. At the end of October it stands at $1.22 – a fall of 16pc. Who are the winners, who are the losers and how can we expect it all to pan out? The clear winners are those involved in manufacturing and exporting from the UK. While the pound is low, they will benefit both from better profit margins and increased sales – as early figures show. – John Mills for the Sunday Telegraph UK hospitality sector set to overtake manufacturing – The Independent David Smith: Hard or soft Brexit? The UK needs to find a middle way Britain is already in the single market, so any negotiation starts from that position rather than a blank sheet of paper. But one potential advantage — the timing of the start of the notionally two-year article 50 process — has been lost. [The LSE’s Thomas Sampson] says Britain should neutralise this by seeking an agreement on transitional trading arrangements with the EU, in which things would continue as now until a new and comprehensive deal was concluded, which could take many years. – David Smith in the Sunday Times (£) Brexit comment in brief Democratic oversight of Brexit is not an attempt to frustrate the will of the British people – Independent editorial Mrs Merkel wants a sensible Brexit. Here’s one to help us all – Johan Eliasch for the Sunday Times (£) Morrissey is right – Brexit really is magnificent – Brendan O’Neill for The Spectator’s Coffee House blog Stand by for the rebirth of the remainers – Adam Boulton for the Sunday Times (£) Brexit news in brief Germany should use Brexit to renegotiate terms of ‘overbearing’ EU, top economist urges – Sunday Express Tax breaks and talent fuel UK’s creative industry boom – The Observer Typhoo Tea battles fall in sterling – Sunday Mirror And finally… The lessons the Tory Europhile awkward squad should learn from their Eurosceptic colleagues First, that means sticking together. For decades the hardline Eurosceptics have worked in unison, co-ordinating their campaigns and voting as a bloc to encourage party leaders to seek their favour. Second, the soft Brexiteers must build up an institutional network… Third, the soft Brexiteers need a limited list of incrementalist goals. The bastards [as John Major infamousl called them] rarely talked publicly about leaving the EU, but little by little edged the country towards that outcome… Fourth and finally: they should reach out. The right always nurtured both sympathetic frontbenchers and the party’s base. – Bagehot in The Economist