“Jeremy Corbyn has signalled a major shift in Labour’s Brexit policy as he said his party would guarantee the UK “unimpeded” access to the European Single Market. Mr Corbyn used his keynote speech at the party’s annual conference in Brighton to claim that his Labour was “now the political mainstream” as he urged Theresa May to call another general election. He admitted that Labour had fallen short of victory on June 8 but stressed that the party was “on the threshold of power” and its election campaign machine remained “primed and ready to roll”. The Labour leader launched a savage attack on Mrs May’s negotiations with Brussels as he accused the Tories of “self-interested Brexit bungling” and set out his own pitch to be prime minister.” – Daily Telegraph
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Comment:
>Today: Daniel Hannan MEP’s column: There’s far more agreement on the terms of Brexit than the pundits suggest
>Yesterday:
“Business voiced alarm at Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘fantasy economics’ today after he vowed to turn Britain into a socialist utopia. In a triumphalist keynote speech at Labour’s annual conference, Mr Corbyn said he was determined to sweep away the ‘failed dogma’ of 1980s Thatcherism and make the rich ‘pay their fair share’. Hailing a shift to the Left among voters, he said a ‘modern socialism’ of nationalisation, state regulation and increased union influence was now the political centre ground and his team was a ‘government in waiting’. Accusing ministers of ‘self-interested Brexit bungling’, Mr Corbyn also dramatically softened Labour’s position to appease restive pro-EU MPs.” – Daily Mail
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>Yesterday:
“But Corbyn’s words also matter now – because the leader is taking sides against his own municipal leaders. His remarks are almost certainly miles from the estate-renewal scheme Sadiq Khan (who this week claimed “I love Jeremy Corbyn. We all love Jeremy Corbyn”) is drawing up in London’s City Hall. In Haringey, the Labour leadership is pushing ahead with a plan to shunt housing estates, school buildings, libraries and other public property into a £2bn private fund – despite the opposition of local Labour MPs, the local trade unions, constituency parties and even many Labour councillors.The plan has sent the local Labour movement into a bitter civil war. Corbyn has effectively taken sides in that war – and it is against council leader Claire Kober.” – The Guardian
Sketches:
Editorial:
>Yesterday:
“Theresa May will today set out a staunch defence of capitalism and the free market. At a speech to the Bank of England, the Prime Minister will describe the free market economy as the ‘greatest agent of collective human progress ever created’. In sharp contrast to Jeremy Corbyn’s socialist rhetoric at the Labour conference yesterday, she will say an open market has helped raise the living standards of everyone in Britain. And she will warn against sharp increases in public spending, saying Labour’s prescription of higher borrowing and higher taxes will harm the economy.” – Daily Mail
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“Theresa May has threatened a trade war with the US after it slapped punitive tariffs on British-built aircraft, casting doubt on a key plank of her Brexit strategy. The US Department of Commerce decided Bombardier aircraft, built in Northern Ireland, should be subject to 219 per cent import duty after the American aviation giant Boeing complained that Bombardier had been given unfair state aid. The Government responded by warning that Boeing’s behaviour “could jeopardise” future Ministry of Defence contracts for its aircraft such as Apache helicopters. The Prime Minister has appealed directly to President Donald Trump to intervene in the dispute, which has dented her hopes of signing a post-Brexit free trade deal with the US.” – Daily Telegraph
Comment:
Editorial:
>Today: Michael Fallon MP in Comment: Three years into our campaign against Daesh, the black flags are being torn down
“Boris Johnson last night sent a shot across the bows of Chancellor Philip Hammond as he argued Britain must as soon as possible begin agreeing its own free trade deals. The Foreign Secretary said the transition period after we leave the EU – during which we cannot sign new trade deals with non-EU countries – should be ‘not too long’. He made his comments as he marked the launch of a new Free Trade Institute by hailing Britain’s past as a world trading power. In her Florence speech last week Theresa May said the transition period after 2019 – when we have left the bloc but will continue to follow many EU rules – would be ‘about’ two years.Mr Hammond and other Cabinet ministers who backed Remain have enraged Eurosceptics by arguing for a longer transition.” – Daily Mail
Comment:
>Today: ToryDiary: Coming soon to a party near you: the Institute for Protection
“Brexit Secretary David Davis is looking at plans to set up a new International Treaties Court staffed by British judges to solve the legal mess created by our divorce from Europe, The Sun can reveal. The proposed panel of judges would liaise with the European Court of Justice and crucially respect future rulings relating to EU citizens living in the UK – currently a testy Brexit negotiations sticking point. The plans for a new UK court would protecting British sovereignty but are unlikely to satisfy the EU that their people will still be protected. They are the brainchild of Martin Howe QC and barristers Francis Hoar and Dr Gunnar Beck. Last night the Department for Exiting the EU confirmed they had received their report from the pro-Brexit Lawyers for Britain group.” – The Sun
“Thousands of headteachers are writing to parents to complain that Government efforts to end a ‘postcode lottery’ in school funding have failed. A letter from more than 4,000 heads across England will tell families the new national funding formula will do little to solve the cash problems suffered by many state schools. Schools in 17 counties intend to distribute the letter to parents this week, detailing the budget cuts that many schools still face. But last night critics said it was inappropriate for headteachers to be ‘meddling in politics’. The intervention comes despite a pledge by Education Secretary Justine Greening to secure an extra £1.3billion of funding over the next two years.” – Daily Mail
“A former minister gave misleading information to the watchdog which polices the so-called Whitehall revolving door, it emerged yesterday. Mark Hoban, the former financial secretary to the Treasury, told officials he had had no contact with accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers when he was in post. This led the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments to give him the green light to take up a job as adviser at PWC in 2015. In its letter to Mr Hoban approving the position, he said it ‘took into account that you had no contact with PWC whilst you were Treasury minister’.” – Daily Mail
“Scottish Labour’s civil war has spectacularly broken out into the open after a secretly-recorded tape emerged of the party’s interim leader admitting Left wingers had discussed replacing Kezia Dugdale with one of their own. Alex Rowley was recorded stating that the Left of the party had conducted “private discussions” over Ms Dugdale’s position but had not expected her to stand down before the 2021 Holyrood election. Although he had publicly vowed to stay neutral in the contest to succeed her, he said he favoured Left-wing trade unionist Richard Leonard over Anas Sarwar, whom he said would “last maybe four years or whatever” if he won. Mr Leonard’s campaign denied any wrongdoing but Mr Sarwar’s allies said he must come clean about whether he knew of a plot against Ms Dugdale. Both he and Mr Rowley are enthusiastic supporters of Jeremy Corbyn.” – Daily Telegraph
More Scotland:
Editorial:
>Yesterday: Henry Hill’s Red, White, and Blue column: Scottish Labour leadership challengers urge party to vote down Brexit deal.
“The Labour MP who criticised Prince Harry’s military record and said the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were “ridiculous” has refused to apologise and insisted it was her democratic right to “poke fun” at the royal family. Other Labour MPs distanced themselves from Emma Dent Coad, the MP for Kensington, after she made the remarks at a republican fringe event at the party conference in Brighton. She said that Prince Harry “can’t actually fly a helicopter… he tried to pass the helicopter exam about four times and he couldn’t get through it at all… so he just sits there going ‘vroom vroom’.” The prince attained the rank of captain in a decade of army service and was twice deployed to Afghanistan. He was a qualified Apache helicopter pilot and served as the gunner.” – The Times
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