“David Davis will provoke a huge row with Brussels next week by calling a halt to negotiations on the Brexit divorce bill unless the EU provides a legal basis for its hefty demands. The European Commission’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has warned that Britain must be ready to set out what it is willing to pay when the next round of talks begin on Monday in Brussels. But Brexit Secretary Mr Davis will snub his request and refuse further discussions on the demand, thought to be for around £74billion, until the EU shows the legal justification for it.” – Daily Mail
More:
Comment:
>Yesterday:
The work and pensions secretary has signalled that the government will press ahead with controversial welfare changes, insisting the system of universal credit is “making work pay and transforming lives”. Responding to a letter signed by 30 Labour MPs and the Green co-leader Caroline Lucas, expressing concerns about UC and calling for its implementation to be paused, David Gauke underlined his commitment to the policy. “Getting UC right is a priority for me,” he said.” – The Guardian
“Boris Johnson has risked a new row with Downing Street over immigration data after refusing to support the Prime Minister’s long-standing position on overseas students. The Foreign Secretary was repeatedly asked in an interview if he agreed with Theresa May that the number of overseas students should be counted in net migration data, but failed to back her. The interview followed the revelation that ministers may have based their policies on data that vastly overestimated the number of foreign students staying in the UK after studies.” – The Independent
More:
Comment:
>Today: ToryDiary: Johnson is right to question our rush to democracy after overseas interventions
“A Conservative MP has apologised for saying his priority as prime minister would be to bring in ‘’tougher enforcement against gypsy travellers’’. Douglas Ross made the comments in an online interview when asked what he would do if he was prime minister for the day. He was criticised by opposition parties and human rights groups but said it was an issue within his Moray constituency, where land owners have faced court action and clean-up costs from camp sites.” – The Scotsman
>Today: Rebecca Pow MP in Comment: Managed decline isn’t enough – we must leave the environment in a better state than we found it
“A “creeping sense of hostility to business” has taken hold in the Conservative party which is also “flirting with anti-capitalism”, the former head of the No 10 policy unit has warned ahead of a crackdown on executive pay. George Freeman, a Tory MP, criticised the party’s “woeful” failure to champion business during the snap general election campaign and warned ministers must now back “insurgent capitalism” and convince a new generation of its benefits. His comments came ahead of a Government announcement planned for next week which will see nearly 1,000 listed companies forced to disclose how much their chief executive is paid compared to the average worker and justify the difference.” – Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Ministers should make a show of ensuring driverless vehicles are safe
“The Conservative Party faced a new police investigation of ‘scale and significance’ into its election tactics today. South Wales Police has confirmed it is probing the use of a call centre in Wales to see if electoral law was broken. The new investigation – which comes just weeks after one MP was charged and scores of others were investigated – was triggered by secret footage revealed by Channel 4 News. The film suggests the Tories may have broken data protection and election laws by using Blue Telecoms to directly contact voters in marginal seats.” – Daily Mail
“Large numbers of voters don’t respect politicians or big business or the output of the advertising industry in the way they once did. When so many people no longer even read a newspaper, the recommendation of a fellow student at university, or of a teacher at a child’s school, or what someone from your church tells you about politics – these are the new political weapons. And they are weapons that money cannot buy. Can Theresa May do what other Tory leaders have failed to do and build a Blue Army to win this battle of people-to-people politics?” – The Sun
“Labour’s stance on whether it would scrap the benefits freeze was plunged into deeper confusion when Jeremy Corbyn failed to announce a pledge that the party had briefed he would make. The party’s position on the issue was murky during the general election campaign as senior party figures set out conflicting views. Labour returned to the subject yesterday, briefing reporters that the party leader would tell a rally in Coatbridge, near Glasgow, that he would increase spending on benefits. But he did not make the expected comments, or mention the freeze.” – The Times
Comment:
Editorial:
“A Labour councillor has been sacked by the party just a week after she spoke out to support sexually abused children. Amina Lone, a councillor in Manchester, defended Sarah Champion after the MP wrote an article for The Sun pointing the finger at gangs of Asian-origin rapists in northern towns… She also slammed fundamentalist Muslims who want to impose the headscarf on young children. Now Labour have told her she cannot stand for re-election – saying they are worried that she does not attend enough meetings.” – The Sun
Editorial:
News in Brief: