“Boris Johnson will on Wednesday unveil a radical new ‘two borders for four years’ Brexit plan which will leave Northern Ireland in a special relationship with Europe until 2025, The Telegraph can reveal. The plan, which was briefed to major EU capitals on Tuesday, will accept the need for both a regulatory border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the Irish Sea for four years – and customs checks between the North and the Republic of Ireland. The UK’s proposed replacement for the existing Irish backstop is expected to face fierce opposition from EU leaders who will be asked to grant the UK sweeping exemptions from EU customs rules to facilitate a Northern Irish customs border. The plan effectively means that Northern Ireland will remain in large parts of the EU single market until at least 2025 – but will leave the EU customs union alongside the rest of the UK. After four years, the Northern Irish Assembly will be free to choose whether to remain aligned to the EU in the future or return to following British rules, which by this time are expected to have diverged from Brussels.” – Daily Mail
>Today:
“A senior MP has been kicked out of the Conservative party conference after an altercation. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown was asked to leave the event after he clashed with staff as he tried to enter a room with a guest without the relevant pass. The incident led to a lockdown of part of the Manchester Central Convention Centre for about 20 minutes. The MP apologised “unreservedly”. A Conservative spokesman said: “The incident was totally unacceptable. Geoffrey has been asked to leave Conference and we are establishing all of the facts to see if further action is necessary,” he added. “We will always adopt a zero tolerance approach to any inappropriate behaviour towards our hardworking staff.” The Cotswolds MP said in a statement: “This was a minor verbal misunderstanding.” – BBC
>Yesterday: MPsETC: Clifton-Brown: “This was a minor verbal misunderstanding…I am mortified”
“Sajid Javid has hinted he could cut inheritance tax…appearing at a Conservative conference fringe event organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Taxpayers’ Alliance, Mr Javid was asked if he would scrap inheritance tax. He replied that “sensible reforms” had already been made adding: “I shouldn’t say too much now but I understand the arguments against that tax. You pay taxes already through work or through investments and your capital gains in other taxes, there is a real issue with then asking them to, on that income, to pay taxes all over again.”…Mr Javid also said there would be a Budget before the end of the year.” – BBC
“Boris Johnson told hard-up Brits to expect tax cuts in the upcoming Budget as he also lifted the lid on his approach to win an 11th hour Brexit deal….In an exclusive interview with The Sun on the eve of his first speech to the Tory party conference as leader today in Manchester, Boris said: “We want a high wage, low tax economy.” Questioned on whether that meant the income tax cuts that were a central pledge of his Tory leadership campaign were imminent, the PM — pictured preparing his speech — added: “We’ve got a Budget to deliver, you should wait and see. “Saj is a great radical and he’ll want to do something for reducing the burden of taxation and stimulating growth. That’s what we want to see. That’s where we’re going.” In a strong hint that fuel duty would be frozen again or cut, Boris also insisted that he understands the concerns of struggling motorists as he told them: “I hear you loud and clear.” – The Sun
“And if he resigns? This is, after all, a real option which one senior cabinet minister told me he was sure Mr Johnson would prefer to seeking an extension himself. It could be seen as principled and courageous, showing integrity and resolve. But equally it could land as chaotic defeat, allowing Mr Corbyn office and prestige. It could seem like Mr Johnson had lost control because, of course, he would have done.All of No 10’s efforts so far have gone into looking enigmatic, teasing the rest of us that we may lack the perception to have worked out the clever ruse they plan. But today, at his conference, Mr Johnson would do better to be more open and let us know more of his plan, so that when events force him to take his next step it looks as though he always knew what he was doing.” – Daniel Finkelstein, The Times
“Downing Street is planning to suspend Parliament again next week – but only for three days. Boris Johnson is now expected to ask Her Majesty for a normal prorogation a week today so he can carry out a new Queen’s Speech as planned on Monday October 14. It comes just days after the PM was humiliated when the Supreme Court ruled he misled the Queen by asking for a five-week suspension last month. A routine meeting of the Privy Council attended by the Queen is in the diary for next Tuesday.” – The Sun
“Priti Patel vowed to end ‘end the free movement of people once and for all’ as she outlined a hardline immigration policy. The Home Secretary said the UK would introduce an Australian-style points based system as she hit the stage at the Conservative Party conference. It came after she used the event to warn criminals ‘we are coming after you’ amid multi-million pound plans designed to make the Tories the party of law and order again. She unveiled a £10 million ring-fenced fund to equip up to 60 per cent of police officers with Tasers. She also announced a £20 million investment to aid in identifying and dismantling county lines drugs gangs which exploit children and other vulnerable people. In a blunt, no nonsense speech in Manchester Ms Patel said: ‘As Home Secretary at this defining moment in our country’s history, I have a particular responsibility when it comes to taking back control. It is to end the free movement of people once and for all. Instead we will introduce an Australian style points-based immigration system…This daughter of immigrants, needs no lectures from the North London metropolitan liberal elite.” – Daily Mail
>Yesterday:
“Diane Abbott is to stand in for Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday. The shadow home secretary will be the first black MP to represent her party at the weekly Commons clash. She will face Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is standing in for Boris Johnson for the first time. The PM is missing PMQs to deliver his keynote address to the Conservative conference in Manchester.” – BBC
“Some of the Tory rebels, including Ken Clarke, Justine Greening and Oliver Letwin, say they plan to stand down, and several others — Sam Gyimah, Philip Lee and Sarah Wollaston — have joined the Liberal Democrats. But David Gauke, the former justice secretary, said on Tuesday that he is considering an independent run, as are Rory Stewart and maybe even Philip Hammond, who served as chancellor under the former prime minister, Theresa May. Over the past 45 years, fewer than half a dozen people have run as independents and won. Among them are BBC journalist Martin Bell, was given a clear run when Labour and the Liberal Democrats withdrew their candidates to let him take on Tory Neil Hamilton on an anti-corruption ticket in Tatton in 1997. In 2001, a doctor, Richard Taylor fought and won Wyre Forest to save his local hospital and was re-elected in 2005. That same year, Peter Law left the Labour party over its decision to introduce an all-women shortlist in Blaenau Gwent and won the seat. There’s a reason for that. Our electoral system, and the laws that underpin it, has been fashioned by political parties for political parties. Without their support then, baby, it’s cold outside.” – Tim Bale, Financial Times
“The number of homeless people who died while sleeping on the streets or in night shelters rose to a record level last year, leading to claims that the government’s plan to reduce rough sleeping is failing. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that 726 homeless people died in England and Wales last year, more than a fifth higher than the previous year — the highest rise since records began. Most of those who died were men, with an average age of 45, and the most common cause of death was a drug overdose. Analysis of death registrations showed that 294 deaths were caused by drug poisoning, up by 55 per cent on 2017.” – The Times