Britons could save £3 billion a year after Brexit as explosion in EU tariffs is revealed A stinging expose has lifted the lid on the sordid network of 12,000 EU import tariffs on everything from unicycles to tomato ketchup, which are doing serious damage to the UK economy… As the beleaguered eurozone economy has staggered from crisis to crisis, insular EU leaders have decided to pull up the drawbridge to the rest of the world in the vain hope of protecting European producers. Whilst some of the tariffs are daft – such as those covering unicycles and sabres – others have seriously hit British consumers in the pocket whilst not even protecting European jobs. Amongst them is a bewildering seven different taxes on coffee, which is entirely imported from outside the EU, which affect not only caffeine lovers here but also struggling farmers in developing countries. – Daily Express > On BrexitCentral: Dan Lewis – Unveiling the cost and extent of the 12,651 EU import tariffs – and why we should repeal them A new report shows how Brexit will halt rises in food prices… Britain can jettison hundreds of costly agricultural regulations which have pushed up food prices, offsetting the extra costs of European Union tariffs, according to a report the Institute of Economic Affairs. The report argues that Brussels has fallen victim to intense lobbying by pressure groups which benefit from tighter rules on food standards, animal welfare and the environment.These rules often have little benefit for consumer health or reduce risks, but “create deadweight costs”, it said. – The Guardian The IEA study by former NFU chief economist and Government adviser Sean Rickard described the Common Agricultural policy as the EU’s most expensive at £360billion between 2015 and 2020. He cited the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as saying that 53 per cent of its regulations come from the EU or international bodies. – Daily Express …as Nick Clegg is slammed for claiming Brexit will hike the cost of food As a new report reveals the creeping cost of the EU customs union and inflation figures due this morning are set to show price rises running at their highest level in two years, one economist accused the former deputy prime minister of “scaremongering of the worst kind”. Conservative MP John Redwood added Clegg “has been wrong about all his forecasts” and hadn’t properly “thought through” his claim that food prices would be hit “with a triple whammy of punishing tariffs, customs checks and workforce shortages” after Brexit. – City A.M. Being outside the CAP will make food cheaper – Tim Worstall for CapX Removing the CAP will free Britain’s farms – The Times (£) No, Nick Clegg: A true liberal knows Brexit should slash UK food prices – Ryan Bourne for City A.M. Remaining in the EU customs union would have profound implications for UK sovereignty, say Lawyers for Britain It is being argued in certain quarters that the UK should remain inside the European Union’s customs union after the UK exits from the EU. It appears that this question is viewed by some as primarily an economic and technical issue. In fact, it is nothing of the sort. Remaining in the EU customs union would have profound implications for the ability of the UK to govern itself as an independent nation and deprive it of the ability to decide its own laws over very wide fields of domestic policy extending far beyond customs controls themselves, prevent the UK from exercising an independent trade policy or concluding its own trade agreements with states outside the EU, and inevitably result in the UK being subject to the continuing jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over the interpretation and application of the common rules which regulate the customs union. – Lawyers for Britain Tory Cabinet battles over Brexit Eurosceptic ministers have launched a concerted effort to “isolate” Philip Hammond for raising awkward questions about the economic cost of a clean break with the EU, according to friends of the chancellor… Downing Street was furious with the reports which reinforced the impression of a divided cabinet; supporters of both Theresa May and Mr Hammond believe they originate from Brexiters in the cabinet, with the aim of discrediting the chancellor. – F.T (£) Philip Hammond must back Theresa May over Brexit or quit Cabinet, Eurosceptic MPs warn – Daily Telegraph ‘Spreadsheet Phil’ is power behind the throne – Rachel Sylvester in The Times (£) Theresa May has ‘full confidence’ in Philip Hammond – The Sun The Conservative ‘row’ over Philip Hammond is based on a false assumption about Brexit – Daniel Hannan MEP for the International Business Times Government’s Brexit dance is maiming the pound – City A.M. Reports of cabinet split over Brexit strategy have sent gilt yields to their highest level since June, and kept the pound below $1.22 – The Guardian MPs’ consent ‘not needed for Article 50 to trigger Brexit’ hears court Consent from Parliament is “not required” for Theresa May to go ahead with getting Brexit under way, the High Court has heard. Attorney General Jeremy Wright said it was a “proper and well established” principle that governments use the royal prerogative in such cases… Arguing the government’s case, Mr Wright said Article 50 was available to “to give effect to the will of the people”, as expressed in June’s referendum, in which a majority of voters backed Brexit. The use of the royal prerogative – powers historically held by the Crown but these days passed on to ministers – was “wholly within the expectation of Parliament”, he said. Parliament had also passed an act allowing the referendum to take place, he added. – BBC MPs try to railroad Brexit in debate about second referendum petitions During the debate on the petitions to have a second referendum, MP Geraint Davies said that the British public should be given the right to vote again on the actual Brexit package the country will get… Davies claimed Article 50 should not be triggered until the EU informs Mrs May of what exit package it will hand Britain. The Swansea West MP suggested at that point, a second EU referendum should then be held because the deal could be “very different from what people reasonably understood when they made their vote on June 23”. – Daily Express Brexit bounce continues, as UK consumer confidence hits five-year high Another day, another piece of embarrassing data for those who predicted that the Brexit vote would trigger an immediate recession. Their foundation was based on the belief that confidence would plunge. As things turn out the Deloitte Consumer tracker has hit an all-time high. It has only been running for five years, so the real story could be even more impressive. – Steerpike on The Spectator’s Coffee House blog New UK-New Zealand trade policy dialogue established The Secretary of State for International Trade, Rt Hon Liam Fox, and the New Zealand Minister of Trade, Hon Todd McClay, agreed to establish a bilateral trade policy dialogue. The dialogue will complement the existing UK-New Zealand strategic dialogue on foreign policy. – Department for International Trade Outgoing IoD boss being lined up for role at Department for International Trade – The Times (£) US representative says Britain needs to ‘sort out’ its relationship with EU before it considers trade deal – The Independent Brexit deal will most closely resemble Ceta agreement with Canada says Spain – The Independent As May parrots meaningless mantras, Labour looks to Norway for what Brexit might mean – Emma Reynolds MP for LabourList Bank of England deputy says plunging pound is a ‘shock absorber’ for the economy With the pound now almost a fifth less valuable compared to the dollar since the vote on June 23, the Bank’s deputy governor Ben Broadbent said the decline was helping soothe some of the effects of having trade relationships thrown into question. “Having a flexible currency is an extremely important thing, especially in an environment when your economy faces shocks that are different from your trading partners,” Mr Broadbent told BBC Radio 5. – Daily Telegraph As Mark Carney warns of troubles ahead, should the Bank of England tolerate rising inflation? – City A.M. More activist fiscal policy is on the way – George Magnus for Prospect Magazine “Rational cost-benefit analysis” behind Brexit vote, says Prof David Miles CBE Addressing a full audience of Harvard, Princeton and Imperial alumni, Professor Miles disagreed with the view that some economists have in the UK: that ‘no’ voters completely ignored the potential economic costs or were totally ignorant of them and voted out of a combination of ignorance and prejudice. Rather, he said, “there was a fairly rational cost-benefit analysis that may have gone through the minds of many people who voted to leave”. – Imperial College London News Paul Mason: How the left should respond to Brexit Labour needs to lead – intellectually, morally and practically – the fight for a coherent, pro-globalist form of Brexit. In order for this to embody the spirit of the referendum, it would have to include some repatriation of sovereignty, as well as a significant, temporary retreat from freedom of movement. That means – and my colleagues on the left need to accept this – that the British people, in effect, will have changed Labour’s position on immigration from below, by plebiscite – Paul Mason for the New Statesman Ruth Davidson MSP: Brexit is no reason for Scotland to go it alone Like most Scots, I voted Remain in the EU referendum. Indeed, I shared a platform with Ms Sturgeon on the campaign trail. But I and thousands like me did not cast our vote that way in order for it to be co-opted for the cause of independence. What is more, Ms Sturgeon appears to dismiss the fact that the largest group of Leavers in Scotland were SNP supporters: 400,000 of them in total.- Ruth Davidson MSP in the FT (£) John Healey MP: How to make post-Brexit trade negotiations work If ministers repeat the mistakes of the past, in particular those made during negotiations between the EU and the United States on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), then Brexit will fail and the new trade deals that Britain needs will simply not work for businesses, workers or consumers. – John Healey MP for The Times Red Box Christopher Howarth: Why we have to leave the Single Market and the Customs Union If the UK wishes to have its own trade policy and be free from EU laws it cannot remain within the EU’s Customs Union. Likewise, if the UK wishes to regain control over its economy it cannot stay in the Internal Market, encompassing as it does the majority of EU policy areas, laws and case law. It is difficult to imagine the EU redefining its core project in an agreement with a departing member, and even if it did it is unclear the benefits of membership of a partially formed market would be worth the regulatory and democratic burden of EU laws and ECJ jurisdiction. – Christopher Howarth for ConservativeHome Brexit comment in brief Unstoppable march of Theresa May could foil the bitter Remoaners’ Commons plot to ambush the Government over Brexit – Trevor Kavanagh in The Sun The PM will need every molecule of steel to deal with the difficulties ahead – Bruce Anderson for Reaction The free-market case for ‘Hard Brexit’ – Ryan Bourne on the IEA blog The 3 ways Scotland could block hard Brexit – Julia Rampen for the NewStatesman Staggers blog Northern Ireland: the land that Brexit broke – Stephen Bush for the NewStatesman The ability to enforce mandatory migrant quotas is slipping out of the EU’s grasp – Igor Merheim-Eyre for CapX Referendums settle one question, but raise a dozen others – Alex Massie on CapX Parliament fights to regain sovereignty – Walter Ellison on Reaction In UKIP I was a conservative – now I can join the Conservative Party – Chris Wood on ConservativeHome Brexit news in brief MEP Steven Woolfe quits ‘death spiral’ UKIP – BBC Ukip is ungovernable. I hoped to be leader, today I quit the party – Steven Woolfe MEP in the Daily Telegraph MPs and peers unveil plan to avoid post-Brexit modern languages crisis in UK – International Business Times Brexit prompts Iceland’s governing Progressive Party to reconsider its EEA membership – Iceland Monitor EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier wants a €3-4 billion EU defence budget – EurActiv The pound falls below €1.10 for the first time since March 2010 – Sky News Nicola Sturgeon blasted for ‘making demands that cannot be delivered’ in Brexit talks – Daily Express Brexit could save Scottish taxpayers £93m in free tuition for EU students – The Courrier John McDonnell warns Labour not to give ‘bankers’ special protection from Brexit – Huffington Post French business district courts London-based firms – Politico The Brexit result was tight but so have other referendums – Political Betting And finally… Tory Councillor suspended after launching petition to make supporting UK membership of EU a treasonable act Christian Holliday’s petition attracted more than 1,250 signatures in four days, before he was suspended yesterday afternoon by his local party… This petition called for the Treason Felony Act to be amended to make it a crime to support EU membership or to conspire with foreign powers to make the UK or any part of it become a member of the 28-nation bloc. But it was denounced as “medieval” by the Lib Dems and dismissed as “completely mad” by the Conservative leader of Guildford Borough Council in Surrey, Paul Spooner, who suspended him until a meeting in November. – The Sun