Australia paves the way for landmark trade deal as officials fly in for post-Brexit talks Australian officials are ready to begin work on a free-trade deal with the UK, and have recently flown in to begin hammering out the details of a landmark pact, the country’s top official in Britain has revealed. A senior negotiator from Canberra has already arrived in Britain, while top civil servants from Australia have briefed their counterparts in London on the ins and outs of trade deals. – Sunday Telegraph ‘Free trade means free trade, to borrow a phrase’ – Australian High Commissioner Alexander Downer interviewed for the Sunday Telegraph Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Manzoor joins Tories over refusal to accept Brexit “Leaving the Lib Dems – where I’ve been a member for 3 years in the House of Lords, was tough, but it was the right thing to do. I could not support the leadership of a party that calls itself democratic and then refuses to acknowledge the will of the people in a referendum….As Britain embarks on a new journey. Outside the EU but reaching out to trade with the world. And as we really begin addressing the problems of social mobility at home. I look forward to helping play my part as a Conservative.” – Baroness Manzoor quoted in the Sunday Telegraph Remoaning MPs spoiling for a Commons vote on leaving the single market Tory MPs joined forces with former leaders of Labour and the Liberal Democrats, the SNP and Greens to insist that parliament have a say and a vote, pointing out that, while the British people had backed leaving the EU, they had not chosen to leave the biggest trading market in the western world. Former Labour leader Ed Miliband held discussions with pro-EU Tory MPs on Saturday, and was said to be considering tabling an urgent question in the Commons… The SNP and pro-EU Tory MPs Nicky Morgan and Anna Soubry were also considering tabling questions. – The Observer PM should let public vote on Brexit terms, says author of Article 50 – The Observer Hammond at the centre of Cabinet splits over handling of Brexit… Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, has been blamed for talking down Britain’s hopes of getting a good deal and attacked for his “relentless pessimism”… However friends of Mr Hammond are furious with the “nonsense and garbage” that Eurosceptics have said about the strength of Britain’s hand in talks. – Sunday Telegraph …as he recruits adviser from HSBC ahead of Brexit talks Philip Hammond has recruited Karen Ward, chief European economist at HSBC, as his key economic adviser, Sky News has learned. Ms Ward, a former Bank of England economist, has been appointed as Special Economic Adviser to the Chancellor – adding economic ballast to Mr Hammond’s team, most of whom came over from the Foreign Office. – Sky News Brussels ‘slams the door’ on UK companies Britain’s biggest companies are being frozen out of crucial discussions in Brussels, sparking fears their international operations could face swift “policy punishment” over the decision by voters to leave the EU. – Daily Telegraph Thirty countries issue warning to Brussels over threats they may be banned from doing business with Britain – The Sun on Sunday Jeremy Warner: The world finally realises that yes, Brexit means Brexit I have been out in Washington for much of the past week for the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund, and I can report a distinct change in mood. This may sound hard to believe to a UK audience, but it is only just dawning on international policymakers and bankers that Britain is deadly serious about leaving the European Union. – Jeremy Warner in the Sunday Telegraph The PM risks freeing us from the EU, only to slam the door on the world Here, the real choice on Brexit is not hard versus soft, but “open” versus “closed”. Open Brexit is the argument that I made during the referendum campaign. It was the message conveyed by pro-Brexit Conservatives such as Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Dan Hannan. – Steve Hilton for The Sunday Times (£) Jonathan Walker: Brexit is happening and remainers like me have to get over it Nothing about our relationship with the EU has officially changed so far. Next year, it all becomes real. And perhaps it’s time that all of us – even people like me who voted to remain and felt strongly that we should stay in – just learnt to accept it. – Jonathan Walker in the Sunday Mercury Sunday Times: We need to work for an ‘open’ Brexit The Brexit vote is an opportunity for Britain to become more open and outward-looking, a magnet for the skilled and talented, not just from the rest of Europe but from the wider world. It is an opportunity to rediscover the entrepreneurial and creative spark, not stifle it with an overactive state and bureaucratic intervention. It is a chance to demonstrate that those who would want to do Britain down, including France’s President Hollande and the European Commission’s Jean-Claude Juncker, can be proved decisively wrong. – Sunday Times (£) editorial Daniel Hannan: A compromise on immigration will profit Brexit Britain Don’t get me wrong: there is plainly a demand for more regulation of immigration. People want to feel that we are ultimately in charge of who enters Britain and in what numbers. But almost no one expects or wants to screw the tap completely shut. Again, we can swap anecdotes or we can look at hard evidence: 88 per cent of British people, according to a survey by British Future, want highly skilled EU workers to continue to come here, and 84 per cent want EU nationals already here, skilled or unskilled, to stay. – Daniel Hannan for the FT (£) Liam Halligan: Hard Brexit shouldn’t carry the can for sterling’s woes Britain is sporting a huge current account deficit. Our import-export imbalance amounts to 5.9pc of GDP – among the biggest in our peacetime history. A weaker pound helps, as we’ve seen since the June referendum, by making exports more competitive… The danger now is that alarming currency swings and related garish headlines, even at this early stage, derail the UK’s strategy for leaving the EU. For while “hard Brexit” is demonised by many – portrayed as “stupid”, “fatuous” or “Right-wing” – it actually makes a lot of sense. – Liam Halligan in the Sunday Telegraph The City traders betting against the pound are ignorant teenagers without the foggiest idea what Brexit means – Simon Heffer in the Sunday Telegraph As May talks tough, EU hits back with threat of hard landing It is almost inevitable that May will have to compromise at the Brexit negotiation table. That explains the political calculation behind her two speeches. Surveying the scene as her most senior aides showed themselves at a raucous conference party, a Tory MP said: “If Theresa can put Labour out of business for a decade, she will be able to do what she wants on Brexit.” – Tim Shipman and Bojan Pancevski for the Sunday Times (£) Hannes Wessels: How Boris and Britain can help Africa to thrive again Britain is awash with such skilled people who could contribute and prosper in Africa given the chance and they hold a key to economic growth. Boris has to break this invisible barrier and find a formula to make access easier for these people, give them the protection they need to have a decent chance of success and security regarding the rewards of their labours. Small business opportunities abound, all is needed is the people to drive them. – Hannes Wessels for the Spectator’s Coffee House blog Brexit comment in brief What Theresa May did and very carefully did not say about Brexit – Christopher Booker in the Sunday Telegraph A good Brexit is a hard Brexit – James Delingpole for the Spectator’s Coffee House blog We’re marching towards extreme Brexit. Someone must speak for the 48% – Jonathan Freedland for The Observer Theresa May has no mandate for her Little Britain. There are far greater issues at stake – Observer editorial Scaremongering and threats over Brexit is a load of hot air – Sun on Sunday editorial Prepare for a bitter battle with Brussels over City goldmine – The Sunday Times (£) Brexit News in Brief Business leaders urge Theresa May to avoid hard Brexit – The Observer Anti-Brexit protests held at Irish border – ITV News French producer Newen opens English office – Sunday Telegraph This handy table explains the options for the UK’s exit from the EU – Mail on Sunday Will Brexit take the sweetness out of the sherry trade? – BBC Duchess of Cambridge will be ‘potent force’ in Brexit bridge-building with EU countries – Sunday Telegraph Hard Brexit to cost 2,000 Goldman jobs – The Sunday Times (£)