‘Theresa May claimed last night that plans for a trade deal with America had put Brexit back on track as critics warned she faced a “legislative war” to pass the Repeal Bill severing ties with Brussels. Anti-Brexit MPs and peers said they would try to derail the bill, to be published this Thursday, the first anniversary of May becoming prime minister…In a coded swipe at her mutinous ministers, May said China, Japan and India also wanted to do deals. “I held a number of meetings with other world leaders at this summit and have been struck by their strong desire to forge ambitious, new bilateral trading relationships with the UK after Brexit,” she said. “This is a powerful vote of confidence in British goods, British services, Britain’s economy and for British people.” A senior government source said: “The president made clear that he believed the UK would thrive outside the EU.”’ – Sunday Times (£)
>Yesterday: Henry Newman on Comment: If the EU can strike a free trade, customs-friendly deal with Japan, why not with Britain too?
‘As part of the process to trigger article 50, the UK has announced its intention to quit Euratom at the same time as it leaves the EU, in March 2019. This news, with all its profound implications, was announced out of the blue in the Article 50 Bill earlier this year. This has caused concern among our EU allies – and those countries that have associate membership of Euratom, such as Switzerland and Ukraine. The consequences for the UK are beginning to sink in…We believe there is an opportunity for a rethink.’ – Ed Vaizey, Sunday Telegraph
>Yesterday: Syed Kamall’s column: The European Conservatives and Reformists should thrive post-Brexit
‘Pressure on Theresa May to quit as Prime Minister grew last night after it emerged that former Tory Cabinet Minister Andrew Mitchell said she had lost all authority and should go. Mr Mitchell, a close personal and political ally of Brexit Secretary David Davis – the favourite to succeed Mrs May – told a secret Commons dinner that the party needed a new leader. A Conservative MP present at the gathering on June 26 said: ‘Mr Mitchell effectively said she was dead in the water. He said she was weak, had lost her authority, couldn’t go on and we needed a new leader. Some of us were very surprised and disagreed with him.’’ – Mail on Sunday
>Today:
‘As we exit the EU and reassert ourselves as a great global trading nation, we have a unique opportunity to redefine our relationship with Africa. There are relatively few consumers in Africa for UK products. But with the right growth, it could be a much bigger market. We need to make globalisation work better for Africa by buying African products and laying the foundations for strong future trading partnerships. That is why the Government has confirmed to the world’s poorest countries, including 34 in Africa, that when we leave the EU we will secure their existing duty-free access to UK markets. This is a clear example of this Government using a range of policies – not just aid – to support development. There are no quick fixes to the problems Africa faces, but if we want to stop the appalling scenes we are seeing in the Mediterranean right now, we need a new long-term approach.’ – Priti Patel, Sunday Telegraph
‘Tory election candidates were physically assaulted, sent death threats and forced to request police protection during the campaign, a Telegraph investigation today reveals. One MP had to call the police after being told he would be “strung up” in a chilling online message that left staff fearing an attack. Another was shoved and verbally abused at a social event after an election hustings, with bystanders having to intervene. A third female candidate running for the first time was given a police hotline to call and assigned an officer after repeated threats. Three Tory candidates – Johnny Mercer, Nigel Evans and Byron Davies – went public today with their accounts of abuse, while a fourth speaks on the condition of anonymity.’ – Sunday Telegraph
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: It’s now past time the Conservatives built a new youth wing
‘Theresa May’s flagship policies to tackle boardroom greed have been shelved for two years and may never be adopted, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal. Promises to give shareholders a vote on executive pay and make companies publish pay ratios have effectively been dropped, according to ministers. Similarly a pledge to increase employee representation by forcing big companies by law to have a director for the workforce has been sidelined. A Government source at the relevant department said the manifesto promises had not been discussed once in the month since the election.’ – Sunday Telegraph
‘Moderate Labour MPs, angered by plans by Jeremy Corbyn’s allies to deselect them, are poised to stand down, triggering a string of potentially damaging by-elections. A party insider said MPs were prepared to quit after Corbyn’s allies signalled that they wanted to purge critics of the leader and change party rules to strengthen their position. The news comes just days after the MP for Liverpool Wavertree, Luciana Berger, was threatened with deselection by hard-left activists unless she apologised for criticising Corbyn. The insider said: “Any attempt by the hard left to increase their stranglehold over the party will backfire. There are a number of older MPs who are serving their last term and were planning to stand down before the snap general election who would be prepared to go, triggering by-elections. In marginal seats, that could be particularly damaging to the leadership.”’ – Sunday Times (£)
‘The polar opposite to Lammy’s incoherent bullying was also provided on the BBC when Lord Judge, the former lord chief justice, responded to a Radio 4 interviewer who put it to him that “questions have been raised about [Moore-Bick’s] ability to emote”. I half expected Judge to explode: “Why is the BBC even asking me if the inquiry chairman can emote?” Instead he replied, with admirable lucidity on behalf of the process: “He can’t come and make an emotional finding. He’s got to look at the facts. Who is to blame and how much to blame. That does not mean he is unaware of the emotional impact . . . but a judge can’t make emotional decisions.” This is the heart of it. Emotion and its fashionable colleague empathy are truly dangerous guides to action — and not just for those wearing judge’s robes.’ – Dominic Lawson, Sunday Times (£)