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Top stories
Today is the day that was not supposed to happen. The Brexit party and the Liberal Democrats are expected to make a big splash when their MEPs take up their seats in the new European parliament.
At the weekend Nigel Farage pre-empted that reminder of support for Brexit in England by unveiling 100 candidates for the next general election.
Pressure from the Brexit party seems to be having an impact on the Conservative party leadership contest, with the two candidates battling to out-Brexit each other. Jeremy Hunt was criticised heavily for suggesting he would be happy to sacrifice some businesses to the long-term national interest. Make UK, which represents the manufacturing sector, said this was “the height of irresponsibility”.
Outlining a 10-point plan for no deal, Hunt said he would cancel August leave for civil servants and make a decision by 30 September on whether a deal was possible.
But it was the candidates’ spending plans, including a reduction in income tax and stamp duty, a pay increase for public sector workers and an emergency fund for vulnerable businesses, that drew the most stinging criticism. The chancellor, Philip Hammond, said the government’s £26.6bn Brexit allocation would not be available to either of them if the UK crashed out without a transition period.
The “fiscal firepower” we have built up in case of a No-Deal Brexit will only be available for extra spending if we leave with an orderly transition. If not, it will all be needed to plug the hole a No Deal Brexit will make in the public finances.
— Philip Hammond (@PhilipHammondUK) July 1, 2019
The former Treasury minister Lord Young said he viewed the “increasingly generous” pledges by the two candidates “with alarm” as they were being made out of fiscal headroom that was only designed to last for the first year after a negotiated Brexit.
What next?
Both leadership candidates have been building their Brexit negotiating and transition teams. According to the Sunday Times (paywall), Johnson’s plans are being drawn up by Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general, Steve Barclay, the Brexit secretary, and Jacob Rees-Mogg.
The Times also reported that Hunt would replace Olly Robbins, who is leaving the civil service, with Craig Falconer, who as chief trade negotiator in the Department for International Trade is possibly the most underused official in Whitehall.
Insiders say the Johnson team has been looking at whether to mothball the Brexit department and merge it with the DIT. Last week the Brexit department suffered a blow when the official in charge of no deal, Tom Shinner, 33, quit to join the private sector.
And over in Europe?
Frans Timmermans, a self-confessed Anglophile who is fluent in seven languages, had appeared to be in pole position to take over from Jean-Claude Juncker as European commission president. But EU leaders were scheduled to meet again on Tuesday after a council summit ended without agreement.
Angela Merkel said the EU had to take into account the views of the smaller countries who did not support Timmermans. “It should not lead to tensions that will determine years and years to come. Brexit is looming on the horizon. Other important issues are on the table. I think we need to treat each other with care,” she said on Monday.
Best of the rest
Theresa May makes veiled attack on Boris Johnson.
No-deal Brexit could trigger a flurry of profit warnings in November.
Alternative arrangements report shows the “bedlam” that Brexit will cause in Northern Ireland.
Tory Brexit rebel Sarah Wollaston “prepared to step down” to help a remain alliance.
Johnson vows push on Australia-style immigration system. Many note that he and Jeremy Hunt both say they will break with May’s rigid target to get immigration under 100,000.
Rift (again) in Labour party over backing for second referendum.
Johnson would set up a “union” unit to deliver Brexit in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and add “minister for the union” to the job title of PM.
Top comment
Gordon Brown has said the United Kingdom is under threat from “divisive nationalisms”.
Scottish nationalism plus English nationalism plus Welsh nationalism plus Ulster nationalism does not add up to a United Kingdom. Four nations united only by nationalism will not sustain the United Kingdom. It means a house divided that cannot stand for long. So the issues before us are economic, but they are also cultural and constitutional – and go to the heart of the debate about the future of our country. It is time to draw a line in the sand: to call on the tolerant, fair-minded, decent, patriotic majority of British people, who include millions of leave voters as well as remain voters, to speak up against the hijacking of our patriotism.
Top tweet
It seems that Boris Johnson is not the only one casual with the facts:
Hmm. Not sure where that figure comes from. £1 trillion is £1000bn. I think we spent £65bn bailing out RBS and Lloyds. Where did the other £935bn come from? https://t.co/ndf7GKIgfA
— George Parker (@GeorgeWParker) July 1, 2019
