Theresa May declares Heathrow expansion a sign that the UK can be successful after Brexit… The British government’s decision to approve a new runway at Heathrow Airport shows Britain can be an open, global, successful country after it leaves the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday. The government announced it was giving Heathrow Airport the green light to build a new $22 billion runway, ending 25 years of indecision with the most ambitious option available. May told London’s Evening Standard newspaper the move showed the government was willing to “take the big decisions… This decision demonstrates that as we leave the EU we can make a success of Brexit and Britain can be that open, global, successful country we all want it to be.” – Reuters …but Boris Johnson says the runway is “undeliverable”…. The Foreign Secretary has accused Theresa May of promising the “undeliverable” as the political fallout begins from the decision to give Heathrow a third runway. Boris Johnson said expansion at the West London airport would “very likely” be stopped and “the day when the bulldozers appear is a long way off, if indeed they ever materialise”. – Sky News …and prominent Leaver Zac Goldsmith quits to run in a by-election as an Independent (though the Tories won’t oppose him)… Zac Goldsmith, the party’s unsuccessful London mayoral candidate, claimed that the Heathrow expansion will be a “millstone around this Government’s neck for many years” as he quit as the Conservative MP for Richmond, a constituency close to the airport. He will stand as an independent candidate and the Conservatives last night announced they would not contest the seat. – Daily Telegraph …with the Lib Dems hoping to turn the by-election into a referendum on Brexit Goldsmith says he is asking his constituents to give him a mandate to continue his fight against Heathrow and that he wants the by-election to be a referendum on a third runway. But the Liberal Democrats will try and turn it into a vote on Brexit. Lib Dems can point out that they too oppose the third runway and that—unlike Goldsmith—they were against leaving the EU. Given that Richmond voted very heavily to Remain (the result for Richmond Borough was 69/31) they will hope that this message resonates. Last year, Goldsmith won the seat with a 23,000 majority. But his failed London Mayoral campaign and support for Brexit will have taken some of the gloss off him locally. Not to mention the faff of holding another election. – James Forsyth for The Spectator‘s Coffee House blog Goldsmith in Richmond. A stupendous majority, a vulnerable position – Paul Goodman on ConservativeHome Can Zac Goldsmith win Richmond Park by-election? – International Business Times If Zac Goldsmith is standing again, what is the point of his resignation? – Fraser Nelson for The Spectator’s Coffee House blog Britain is the most business-friendly major economy, World Bank forced to admit Britain is the most business-friendly major economy on the planet, the World Bank has said – casting fresh doubt on predictions of economic collapse after Brexit. The UK came top of the G7 group of industrialised countries in an annual index on ease of doing business, one place ahead of the US and significantly higher than any nation in the Eurozone. Supporters of Brexit said the study scotched claims that Britain would cease to be attractive to investors after leaving the EU. – Daily Mail Advertising spend forecasts up despite Brexit uncertainty – City A.M. Brexit fails to dent demand for cars – Daily Telegraph Minister pledges fintech sector support post-Brexit – FT Advisor (£) The Guardian publishes leaked recording of Remain-backing Theresa May repeating Remain campaign arguments during the referendum Theresa May privately warned that companies would leave the UK if the country voted for Brexit during a secret audience with investment bankers a month before the EU referendum. A recording of her remarks to Goldman Sachs, leaked to the Guardian, reveals she had numerous concerns about Britain leaving the EU. It contrasts with her nuanced public speeches, which dismayed remain campaigners before the vote in June. – The Guardian Brits say control of borders post-Brexit is more important than staying in the EU’s single market More than half of Brits believe controlling immigration is more important than staying in the EU’s single market, a new poll shows. A survey found 56 per cent put controlling Britain’s borders first with only 44 per cent prioritising membership of the single market. – The Sun Hammond says highly skilled will not face EU immigration controls – The Guardian Mark Carney gives pound a boost as he says market gloom surrounding Brexit ‘may be mistaken’ Mark Carney said that while the pound was “going to move around” throughout the Brexit process, the market may misinterpret Britain’s economic prospects as it disentangles itself from the EU. He said that the slide in the pound over the past few weeks has largely been driven by “market perception of fundamental factors” and “what the potential relationship will be between the UK and Europe”. Mr Carney said: “The initial market perception of where the supply potential of this economy will be in the immediate aftermath (of Brexit), that perception may well be mistaken.” The BoE Governor was speaking during his appearance in front of the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee. – Daily Express Pound swoons before Mark Carney testimony and then recovers – FT (£) Weak pound hits German exports – The Times (£) EU could push politically motivated Brexit deal, warns Philip Hammond Eurosceptics have long claimed that the EU will treaty Britain favourably in exit talks because refusing to give the UK single market access would cause them economic damage. However Mr Hammond said that “economics alone” would be unlikely to dictate the outcome of negotiations. – The Independent Post-Brexit UK will broker Swiss-style deal with EU, investors say Once the United Kingdom has left the EU, it will most likely implement a bilateral ‘Swiss model’, according to a survey of institutional investors, which also showed financial passporting rights are of greater concern to them than restrictions on immigration. FTI Consulting surveyed 154 global institutional investors, which control more than $10 trillion in assets between them. Over three-quarters of respondents said that there will indeed be a Brexit and the UK will leave the EU. More than half (58%) said that the outgoing member state would broker a bilateral agreement with the EU, in the same vein as Switzerland’s. – EurActiv Treasury could face £80bn black hole following Brexit vote The Resolution Foundation thinktank warned the chancellor that lower tax receipts and higher spending following the Brexit vote would leave the Treasury with a shortfall in every year until 2020-21….Matt Whittaker, the foundation’s chief economist, said a strong consensus among economists that post-referendum uncertainty would lead to deterioration in the public finances, meant the chancellor needed to “set a new economic course for the remainder of the parliament”. – The Guardian Ireland is ‘ideal home’ for European banking regulator after Brexit Michael Noonan, the Republic’s finance minister, announced that Dublin wanted to be considered an alternative location for the European Banking Authority (EBA), which oversees banks across the EU. He said Ireland was an “ideal new home” for the EBA, which employs about 160 banking experts in its headquarters in Canary Wharf, London. The regulator moved into its new building in 2014 and its lease runs until 2020. – The Guardian Ireland to make bid for European Banking Authority and European Medicines Agency post-Brexit – EU Reporter Brexit throws EU budget off course At least in the short-term, the U.K. remains a member of the EU and will have to continue making contributions to the budget….But the U.K.’s future status within the bloc raises a number of questions, including how the EU will make up for the shortfall caused by the slump in the value of the pound; how the end of the U.K.’s controversial rebate will affect future EU budgets, and how much the U.K. will owe the EU after the divorce is finalized? – Politico Asa Bennett: Brexit could pull the pin out of the EU grenade. That’s why the Eurocrats are terrified Mr Tusk and his fellow Eurocrats are itching to ostracise Britain after its vote to leave the European Union, but their desperate rush to tar it as a pariah is a sign of something more: panic. The EU’s leaders know that Britain’s exit could inspire many European citizens who have little but scorn for the bloc, so are rushing to put them off getting any ideas. The EU is in a parlous state as it is, so Britain’s exit will unsettle it even further. If the bloc was a grenade, Brexit could be the pin. That’s why the Eurocrats are terrified about it. – Asa Bennett in the Daily Telegraph James Millar: A hard Brexit is the best way to keep Scotland in the UK The reason Nicola Sturgeon is hell bent on keeping Scotland’s access to the single market is because a hard Brexit is bad news for the independence cause. For if there is to be a hard Brexit, Sturgeon would have to sell the prospect of Scotland leaving the UK, joining the EU and being confronted with not just border posts for anyone wanting to travel south but tariffs for anyone wanting to trade with England. She’d have her work cut out. – James Millar for the New Statesman’s Staggers blog Tim Newark: Nicola Sturgeon should embrace Brexit as Scotland’s best chance to re-engage with the global economy It is becoming clear that Sturgeon’s weakening grip on power in the Scottish Parliament is the real reason behind her increasingly desperate noises about a further independence referendum. In reality her bluster is directed more at her own supporters than the majority of Scots. Theresa May is quite right to give her short shrift when it comes to the EU. Scotland has much to gain from a successful Brexit and Sturgeon should curb her own prejudices and do the best for her country and not her party.- Tim Newark in the Daily Express May orders Sturgeon not to ‘undermine’ Britain’s Brexit deal by putting Scotland first – Daily Mail Matt Ridley: Brexit can unleash the GM crops revolution There is little point in leaving the European Union if we do not take the opportunity to escape some of its worst prohibitions. Top of the list is its opposition to genetically modified crops, as the farming minister George Eustice hinted to parliament yesterday. – Matt Ridley in The Times (£) It’s facile to blame Brexit for everything, such as changes in TV ad revenues It matters not which sector you work in, if something has gone wrong since June, chances are it was the fault of Brexit. Just try it, it’s easy: “_______ happened, due to Britain voting to leave the European Union”. Feels good, doesn’t it? As sinecures go, doomsayers have only just stopped short of blaming Brexit on Brexit. But time and time again the links are tenuous, unsubstantial, and above all, facile. Just last week a Guardian reporter, gazing through a crystal ball of unnamed sources, predicted “the worst year for TV advertising since the recession” due to post-referendum uncertainty. – Elliott Haworth for City A.M. Brexit comment in brief Parliament has the right to scrutinise the Brexit process, but not to block it – Mark Harper MP for ConservativeHome Britain must deploy its vast soft power reserves to prove to the world it remains globally engaged – Lloyd Dorfman for City A.M. The politics behind the Brexit squall over speaking French – Michael Skapinker for the FT (£) May is so slippery she rewrites the interview rulebook – Matt Chorley for The Times (£) Red Box Why everyone called Brexit wrong: Analysts have become too close to the elites they’re meant to analyse – John Hulsman for City A.M. Others shouldn’t be blamed for Cameron’s renegotiation failure on immigration – Andrew Green on ConservativeHome Brexit news in brief UK must guarantee EU citizens can stay immediately, former Tory leader Michael Howard demands – The Independent Ex-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern stifles suggestion that Brexit will spark disorder in Northern Ireland – News Letter Jean-Claude Juncker unveils 10-point plot to save struggling Union – Daily Express French Nobel economics laureate Jean Tirole: ‘I hope Europe and the UK can prevent Brexit’ – EurActiv Leading French presidential candidate Alain Juppé indicates he’d change tax policy to lure London firms worried about Brexit – Daily Mail President Hollande’s approval rating drops to just 4% – Bloomberg German breeders in pre-Brexit deal to import Welsh Black cattle – Daily Post And finally… Labour MP gets the giggles raising the impact of Brexit on mating birds Brexit poses no end of challenges for policy-makers and politicians, but who will think of the impact on our randy birds? Well, Labour MP Helen Goodman stuck up for the voiceless fowls with a surprising question yesterday on how Brexit would adversely affect their ability to have sex. – Huffington Post