Michael Gove and other senior Leave campaigners elected to sit on powerful new Brexit committee Three senior Leave campaigners who were sacked by Theresa May have been elected to sit on a powerful new Brexit select committee. Michael Gove, the former Justice Secretary, John Whittingdale, the former Culture Secretary, and Dominic Raab, a former justice minister, were all elected to the committee, which will scrutinise the Government as it negotiates Brexit. David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, will be regularly questioned by the committee. – Daily Telegraph All five Labour MPs elected to the committee – including the chair Hilary Benn – are passionate supporters of Britain’s EU membership and will be joined by two Tory Remainers and a further five EU backers from the SNP, Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru and SDLP. It means there will be 12 pro-Remain MPs and nine Brexiteers. One MP from the DUP will join the eight Tory Eurosceptics. – Daily Mail Anna Soubry has been one of the most vocal critics of the government’s approach to Brexit, accusing Liam Fox, the trade minister, of being delusional and describing the appointment of David Davis as Brexit secretary as “really worrying”. The outspoken comments appear to have counted against her after fellow Tory MPs voted not to elect her as one of ten Conservative representatives on the new Brexit select committee. – The Times (£) Theresa May must show confidence in her Brexiteers – Prospect Magazine GDP figures to show impact of Brexit vote Third quarter GDP figures due out [at 9:30am] are expected to show the UK has managed to avoid a major economic slowdown following the Brexit vote. Experts are predicting growth of 0.3% and possibly 0.4% for the three months from July to September. That compares to 0.7% for the second quarter of the year but is higher than the 0.2% forecast last month by the Bank of England (BoE). – Sky News Chancellor and Bank on watch for new growth figures – FT (£) Rise in earnings at highest since 2008 crash – PoliticsHome John McDonnell to warn against ‘bankers’ Brexit’ Shadow chancellor John McDonnell will say ministers want to turn the UK into the “Singapore of the North Atlantic”, offering “low taxes for the few”.He will also raise concerns that “hard-won” employment rights are at risk. Describing government preparations for negotiations as “shambolic”, he will say: “Already, Tory cabinet ministers are looking to cook up special deals for their friends in the City of London, while Tory backbenchers want to attack hard-won workplace rights. They’ll cut a deal for finance, but ignore our small businesses and manufacturers.” – BBC Labour sets out plans for post-Brexit economy – Politico Either Theresa May faked it for the bankers, or she’s faking now – Gaby Hinsliff for The Guardian Brexit unlikely to disrupt UK trade, says WTO director-general In an interview with Sky News, the WTO boss said he was not of the opinion that the Brexit vote was “anti-trade” and added that the UK would not suffer trade setbacks during or after its negotiations with the EU. “I will be working hard, I will work very intensely to ensure that this transition is fast and is smooth. The less turbulence the better. The global economy today is not in the best shape for us to be introducing turbulence,” Azevedo said.- International Business Times The Project Fear backtracking isn’t over yet – Ross Clark for The Spectator’s Coffee House blog It is “very likely” the UK will get a free trade deal with the EU says Hilary Benn – City A.M. Liam Fox seeks quick EU deal to avoid ‘Wallonian problem’ – Politico EU’s tough post-Brexit stance puts ‘politics over prosperity’ says Liam Fox – The Guardian Belgian textile industry tells the EU not to punish Britain with trade barriers as it will destroy their firms – Daily Mail Britain cannot have it all in Brexit deal, says French agriculture minister – Reuters Of course Britain can sign non-EU trade deals – Andrew Lilico for Reaction > WATCH: Our video of key quotes from the WTO director-general’s interview WTO boss: Brexit will not cause UK trade 'disruption' pic.twitter.com/5wDidx9APH — BrexitCentral (@BrexitCentral) October 26, 2016 Lib Dem ‘Brexit referendum’ candidate for Richmond Park says people must ‘accept’ referendum vote Sarah Olney called for Remainers and Leavers to “come together” and make a “success of Brexit”, in a blog post seen by the Telegraph. Her position is at odds with the Lib Dems, who have called for a second referendum. Ms Olney deleted her website this afternoon. – Daily Telegraph Zac Goldsmith is that rare creature in contemporary politics, a man of principle – Toby Young for The Spectator Nicola Sturgeon to publish ‘flexible Brexit’ plans in weeks Speaking at the opening of the National Economic Forum in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon said it was right that different Brexit deals were prepared for places such as Northern Ireland and Gibraltar, arguing that Scotland should be no different. – The i Scottish independence threat causing more economic damage than Brexit – Daily Telegraph EU diplomats praise Scotland as ‘haven’ in wake of Brexit – The Times (£) Trade minister indicates banks are unlikely to retain passporting rights with Brexit Global banks will probably lose their current legal rights to provide services in the European Union after Brexit, the U.K.’s trade minister said in the most detailed outline yet of the government’s thinking. Passporting, which allows London-based lenders and insurance companies to sell their services anywhere in the single market, is unlikely to continue after the U.K. leaves the 28-nation bloc, Mark Garnier said in an interview. He added that an alternative system that’s been floated, known as equivalence was probably not going to be “good enough” for banks. – Bloomberg Sadiq Khan is to blast the government for “shrugging off” the City’s Brexit fears – City A.M. Bank of England says no let up in bank regulation due to Brexit – Reuters City of London’s tallest building to be built despite Brexit vote A 62-storey skyscraper – on the site of a previously planned building known as the Pinnacle or “Helter Skelter” – is to grace London’s skyline despite the uncertainty caused in the commercial property market by the vote for Brexit. Now known as 22 Bishopsgate – its address near Liverpool Street station – the building will be the tallest in London’s financial district and is being developed by AXA Investment Managers Real Assets. – The Guardian Brexit tourist spending surge to boost high street sales Total tax free sales surged by a massive 45 per cent in the three months to October, data from the shopping firm showed. The spending boom is predicted to continue into next year. It’s predicted there will be a huge influx of visitors travelling to Britain from China and India amid Diwali and Chinese Golden Wee, with tourists from the two countries expected to grow by around a third in October and November. – Daily Express Economy hit by ignoring tourism – Ian King for Sky News Bill Gates: Brexit will not affect science and research The science and research industry in the UK will not be negatively affected by Brexit, Bill Gates has predicted. Speaking during a plenary on leadership in science and innovation at the Grand Challenge Annual Meeting – a conference attended by more than 1,000 scientists – the Microsoft founder added he believed there was already a stronger research relationship between the UK and the US, than between the UK and other European Union countries. – ITV News With the right strategies, becoming the leading country for scholarship and science is within the UK’s grasp – Jamie Martin for The Times Higher Education Could the European Court stop Brexit? As my colleagues have reported, the government is already fighting a challenge in the courts, an effort to make ministers accept that Parliament, not the prime minister, must decide when to trigger Article 50…Both the government and the claimants have assumed that the Article 50 process can’t be stopped once it has started. But not all lawyers agree, with some even arguing that Article 50 could legally be stopped in its tracks. Although that question is not a bone of contention in this particular case, it is possible that the Supreme Court judges think that it ought to be part of the arguments. If they do? Well, that question is a point of European, not British, law. – Laura Kuenssberg for the BBC Could the Article 50 litigation result in a reference to the European Court of Justice? – Monckton Chambers blog The Article 50 court case is a sham – John Redwood MP for Comment Central Dublin Brexit talks delayed by infighting Negotiations on the relationship between Britain and Ireland after Brexit are being delayed because the DUP and Sinn Fein cannot agree a position on key areas. The administrations in Dublin, London and Belfast are supposed to reach an agreement on the movement of people, goods and services, which will then be presented to the European Commission for approval as part of the Brexit negotiations, a senior government source has told The Times. – The Times (£) Tony Abbott: Brexit will give global free trade a boost Because Australia and Britain are like-minded countries with similar systems and comparable standards of living, there should be no need for tortuous negotiation and labyrinthine detail. Because Britain and Australia have comparable attitudes to job qualifications and to product and service standards, mutual recognition should be unproblematic. British and Australian workers have comparable expectations so there should be few problems with free movement provided it’s movement to work and not to go on social security. – Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott in Standpoint Daniel Hannan MEP: Brexit must open our economy to the world – not lock it away behind protectionist barriers Britain and the EU will start from a position of zero tariffs, and moving away from the status quo is more tiresome than retaining it. None of the EU’s national leaders seriously wants a trade war with the state that, on departure, will be their biggest customer. British openness to the rest of the world will directly benefit its EU allies; and perhaps, in time, encourage them to follow. An open, internationalist Brexit is not just in our interest; it is the greatest gift we can give our neighbours. – Daniel Hannan for the Daily Telegraph Tom Harris: Remainers seem to think it’s a scandal that Theresa May listened to the British people over the EU The real frustration of Remainers, the real threat to their ambitions to preserve something of the European Project, is that May represents a significant proportion of Remain voters. She believed Brexit would be damaging and was unnecessary. She voted accordingly. She found she was on the losing side and, like many, many voters, shrugged away her disappointment and decided to make the best of it… She seems to be getting on with it. If she looks and sounds like she’s enjoying herself a bit too much when she talks about Brexit and Article 50 and the end of freedom of movement, maybe it’s because she understands that a job, if it’s to be done, must be done well or not at all. – Tom Harris for the Daily Telegraph Is The Guardian’s leaked tape of Theresa May really so shocking? – Tom Goodenough for The Spectator’s Coffee House blog Simon Jenkins: The lesson from tiny Wallonia – there is a way to prevent hard Brexit The Wallonian saga shows only the power of provincial lobbyists in ruling the terms of trade, both within and outside the EU. No one can seriously applaud the licence granted to the Walloons to shut out the Canadians. Even in Brexit Britain, leavers and remainers alike favoured free trade. Their chief argument was over “trade in what, and with whom?”….As Brexit stumbles forward, May should read the lessons of Wallonia. She should appease the Scots and others by granting them status in her impending negotiations. She is a remainer at heart. She may welcome a Wallonian card in her hand. – The Guardian Could Scotland ‘do a Wallonia’? – Brian Taylor for the BBC What lessons can the UK draw from the EU-Canada trade deal debacle? – Aarti Shankar for Open Europe Gerald Warner: Stop faffing around. Get on with proper Brexit Since we have embarked on the road to Article 50 we must now tell the rump EU what is happening, on our terms as a sovereign state, and ask if it wants to trade with us, while explaining what conditions are acceptable. We hold the stronger hand and face the more promising future. We should no longer succumb to psychological propaganda, nor defer to the confederacy of busted flushes in Brussels. It’s not hard or soft Brexit – just Brexit. – Gerald Warner for Reaction Ayesha Vardag: Last week’s preposterous EU summit reminded me exactly why I voted Leave in the first place So yes, of course I’m worried about the pound dropping below what can be seen as a useful readjustment helpful to our manufacturing industries. Of course I am worried about European talent leaving Britain, and about bankers bailing on us, and about credit flowing out. I’m worried that the Commission is too egotistical and too stubborn to give us any sort of free trade deal. I am worried sick about all of these things. But God, this week, through all the worrying, I remembered that I voted Leave because I felt strongly that it was our one chance to get out from under an increasingly powerful yet perennially ridiculous superstate marching us forward to a decaying hegemony of paper-pushers armed with tanks and tax control and more competing agendas than a series of Celebrity Big Brother. – Ayesha Vardag for the Daily Telegraph Brexit comment in brief Businesses are rightly frustrated with Theresa May’s Brexit handling – Graham Ruddick for The Guardian Scandinavia’s borders set an example for Ireland – David Charter for The Times (£) PMQs review: Theresa May shows again that Brexit means hard Brexit – George Eaton for the New Statesman What would make Leave voters change their mind about Brexit? – Matthew Smith for The Times (£) There won’t be anyone using Heathrow’s extra runway if Brexiteers have their way on immigration – Andrew Grice for The Independent We shouldn’t ditch the Single Market wholesale – we must work out which bits we want to keep – Vicky Ford MEP for ConservativeHome Brexit news in brief Tory MP calls for ‘Independence Day’ Brexit bank holiday – Daily Telegraph GlaxoSmithKline lays plans to secure post-Brexit supply chain – FT (£) This Christmas more locally grown trees could be sold due to the falling value of the pound – Politico For Martin Schulz, it’s Brussels, Berlin or bust – Politico Early tranche UK university applications from EU down by 9%, says Ucas – The Guardian