“Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has threatened to sweep Theresa May from power in a bitter Cabinet row over military cuts. Furious Mr Williamson warned the Prime Minister that if she did not commit an extra £20 billion to the Ministry of Defence then Tory MPs would vote down the next Budget – effectively passing a motion of no confidence in her. ‘I made her – and I can break her,’ Mr Williamson is said to have boasted to service chiefs. The furore, described by one Williamson ally as a ‘dogfight at the heart of Government’, erupted after Mrs May announced a £20 billion-a-year boost to NHS spending last week. Chancellor Philip Hammond then declared there was no money left for similar boosts to defence, housing or schools spending.” – Mail on Sunday
>Today: ToryDiary: “I can break her” – Williamson’s war for defence spending intensifies, and targets the Prime Minister
“Ministers and officials must invoke Britain’s effort to build Spitfires during the Second World War to help construct the homes the country needs, one of the Government’s key housing advisers says today. Sir Oliver Letwin, who is carrying out a major review for Theresa May, says infrastructure must be organised like wartime aircraft production to solve the housing crisis. He warns that the slow provision of new power lines and transport links is holding up the construction of thousands of homes by “years and years”. In an interview with The Telegraph, he calls for a new cross-government task force to co-ordinate the installation of utilities on large sites, warning that those involved in the process must “get their act together”.” – Sunday Telegraph
>Yesterday: Shaun Spiers on Comment: The answer to the housing shortage is more planning, not less
“On the second anniversary of Britain voting to leave the EU, the Prime Minister has been urged to get tough on Brussels and threaten to withdraw our divorce bill money without a decent trade deal. A punchy open letter by an influential group of 60 top politicians, economists and business leaders calls on Theresa May to tell the EU: “No trade deal, no money.” Urging her to take an “assertive” approach at this week’s EU Council meeting, high-profile figures including former chancellor Nigel Lawson, hotelier Sir Rocco Forte and a host of MPs and peers, say the UK must reserve the right to walk away without a trade deal – and take our £39 billion with us. They also advise Mrs May to step up preparations for a “no deal” in order to give Britain “real leverage in the Brexit endgame”.” – Sunday Express
Comment
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Three laws for Leavers: Be thankful, be watchful, and above all be happy
“Tens of thousands of people have marched in central London to demand a final vote on any UK exit deal, on the second anniversary of the Brexit vote. Organisers of the People’s Vote march say Brexit is “not a done deal” and people must “make their voices heard”. Meanwhile, hundreds attended a pro-Brexit counter-protest. It came as senior Cabinet ministers, including Liam Fox and David Davis, insisted the UK is prepared to walk away from talks without an agreement. The protest is part of a “summer of action” by campaign groups designed to increase pressure on Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn. The organisers have said that at least 100,000 people attended the march.” – BBC
“Rebel Tory MPs called off a threat to inflict a crushing Brexit defeat on Theresa May after they were warned they could be kicked out of the party, it was claimed last night. In a series of bruising secret meetings, Chief Whip Julian Smith said there would be ‘severe consequences’ if they humiliated the Prime Minister. According to one source, his comment was seen as a clear threat that the rebels, led by ex Ministers Dominic Grieve, Nicky Morgan and Anna Soubry, could be deselected as MPs.” – Mail on Sunday
“Theresa May has been urged to walk out of next week’s Brexit talks if the EU refuses to discuss future trade links. Senior allies want the PM to seize control of negotiations now the flagship departure bill is set to become law. And if EU officials rebuff her demands, she should hand over her business card and say: “Call me if you change your minds. I’m out of here.” Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith has told Mrs May to turn the tables on “bullying” Eurocrats when she returns to Brussels this week.” – The Sun on Sunday
“Business leaders have launched an unprecedented joint attack on the government’s handling of Brexit, warning that “time is running out” to save thousands of jobs. In a sign that bosses are fast losing patience with the slow pace of negotiations, the five top business lobby groups said large companies were queuing up to shift work out of the UK. In a blunt letter to Theresa May, Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, said a lack of clarity on Brexit “could cost the UK economy billions of pounds, thousands of jobs and leave many families without a main income”. The letter, sent on yesterday’s second anniversary of the vote to leave the EU, follows on the heels of Airbus’s threat to quit the UK in the event of a hard Brexit. The CBI, the Institute of Directors, the British Chambers of Commerce, the manufacturing organisation the EEF, and the Federation of Small Business told The Sunday Times in an interview last week that they were demanding a greater input over the Brexit deal.” – Sunday Times
“British schoolkids are now fatter than American youngsters, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt revealed yesterday. They are piling on the pounds so fast that obesity is in danger of becoming the norm. If the trend continues, three-quarters of men and two-thirds of women will be overweight by 2030. These stark statistics were the “alarm call” which convinced Mr Hunt it was time to tackle the crisis head-on. He told The Sun on Sunday: “We have childhood obesity rates that are the third worst in Europe and our 11-year-olds have just overtaken America in terms of obesity rates. At primary school, one in ten children arrive obese – one in five children leave obese.” – The Sun on Sunday
“Labour MPs who disagree with Jeremy Corbyn’s opposition to the expansion of Heathrow airport have been working closely with government ministers and Tory whips to ensure the plans win parliamentary approval on Monday, in an extraordinary show of defiance against their party leader. The extent of behind-the-scenes cooperation with the government on such an important policy issue is believed to be unprecedented and all but guarantees that the third runway plan will be passed, despite Corbyn, his shadow chancellor John McDonnell and the Labour front bench opposing the move.” – The Observer
>Today: Justine Greening and Zac Goldsmith on Comment: Wrong scheme, wrong place – Heathrow’s third runway should never take off
“Jeremy Corbyn’s plan to nationalise water companies will cost every family £500, a report reveals. His cut-price takeover will hit millions of workers whose pension pots are invested in the firms. The Labour leader has vowed to take the utilities back into public ownership in a move he says will cut water bills. But a new analysis shows it could prove to be a ticking timebomb for millions of hard-working families he wants to help. Every household in the UK will lose an average of £510 in pensions and savings, according to a report by global economic consultants Nera. Hardest hit will be the seven out of ten water company workers who are part of the employee share scheme.” – The Sun on Sunday
“Thousands of elderly patients may have died prematurely because of cheap, faulty syringe pumps in a scandal described as “one of the biggest cover-ups” in NHS history, The Sunday Times reveals today. A whistleblower on the government inquiry into hundreds of deaths at Gosport War Memorial Hospital, Hampshire, said decision makers on the panel had “ignored” evidence of fatalities caused by the devices because they feared a national scandal. The pumps, or drivers, used in the NHS for at least 30 years, led to the rapid infusion of dangerous doses of drugs into the bloodstream and made the behaviour of Dr Jane Barton — in charge of prescribing medicine on the Gosport wards — even more dangerous than had been thought. She was found responsible last week for the deaths of up to 650 people and a culture in which powerful opiates were routinely and recklessly prescribed.” – Sunday Times
“Up to 10,000 police officers will be drafted in to protect Donald Trump from mass protests and the threat of a terror attack when he visits Britain next month. Hundreds of riot vans full of frontline PCs will take to the streets to stop planned rallies and marches turning violent – particularly when they clash with supporters of the controversial US president. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that elite armed officers and the counter-terror ‘robocops’ who train alongside the SAS will also be on alert in case of a terrorist atrocity, while a staggering 40 police cars and motorbike outriders have been demanded whenever Mr Trump travels by road, to shield him from assassination attempts.” – Mail on Sunday
“Turkish voters are set to decide whether to grant President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a second five-year term in the most fiercely-fought elections the country has seen in years. Polls open at 08:00 (05:00 GMT) in presidential and parliamentary votes. If Mr Erdogan wins, he will adopt major new powers that critics say will weaken democratic rule. But he faces a major challenge from centre-left candidate Muharrem Ince of the Republican People’s Party (CHP). Turkey remains under a state of emergency imposed in the aftermath of a failed coup in July 2016.” – BBC
“Urban professionals tend to have high incomes which you think might attract them to a party committed to low taxes. So why don’t they vote Conservative? Theirs is an environment which lacks the cultural underpinnings which supported the Conservative Party of a generation ago. Social life is conducted not at private dinner parties but in bars and restaurants. They look out not on empty private gardens but on crowded public squares. They are as likely to rent as to own. They get about more by public transport, walking or cycling. They are, in short, being guided towards communitarianism by the necessity of sharing spaces.” – Ross Clark, Sunday Telegraph