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Today’s political headlines include Brexiteers warnings that the UK must not stay in EU customs arrangements after 2022, the Government is attempting to bring Labour MPs on side to back Brexit, McDonnell calls for an end to Universal Credit and pension tax relief to be cut to fund NHS spending boost. 

Brexiteers warn that the UK must not stay in EU customs arrangements after 2022
The Times claims that Brexiteers, including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, are now warning Theresa May that, while they are prepared to give her room for manoeuvre in the Brexit talks, she must not keep the UK in the EU’s customs arrangements beyond the next election in 2022. However the EU has insisted that the proposals cannot be time-limited. Some Leavers have suggested that they will use the budget to put pressure on May.

Government tries to get Labour MPs to back Brexit deal
According to The Daily Telegraph, Government whips have held talks with up to 25 Labour MPs in a bid to persuade them to vote through the Government’s Brexit deal, nullifying opposition from Eurosceptic backbenchers. However, this has infuriated the Conservative Eurosceptics, some of whom are now threatening to vote against parts of the budget, with the European Research Group meeting tomorrow to set out plans for a ‘guerrilla campaign’.

McDonnell calls for end to Universal Credit
As the BBC reports, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell used various interviews over the weekend to claim that Universal Credit ‘will have to go’ as it is not ‘providing the safety net that people expect when they need support’ and is ‘just not sustainable’. He also said that Labour was considering reducing the length of the working week.

Pension tax relief to be cut to fund NHS spending boost
The Daily Telegraph says that it expects Philip Hammond to use the budget to cut pension tax relief in order to pay for the NHS’s £20bn funding boost. Steve Webb, the former Lib Dem pensions minister who now works for Royal London, warned that the move is ‘no way to run pensions’ as the ‘people who will be affected are being prudent, making their own provision for retirement – which the Government repeatedly tells us they want us to do’.

Japan would welcome UK to Trans-Pacific Partnership
Interviewed by the Financial Times, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said that his country would welcome the UK to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal ‘with open arms’. He warned against a ‘disorderly Brexit’ and said that while the UK would no longer be a gateway to Europe after Brexit, it was still ‘equipped with global strength’.

Hammond considers reward for landlords who sell to tenants
The Guardian claims that Philip Hammond is considering using the budget to bring in a so-called ‘good landlord’ tax break. This would reward those who sell properties to existing tenants. The plan has been thought up by the thinktank Onward, which proposes that landlords should not pay capital gains tax if a property is sold to tenants who have occupied the property for three years or longer, funded by curtailing other buy-to-let tax benefits.

Field claims Government always knew impact of Universal Credit
The Sun says that Frank Field, Chair of the Commons Work and Pensions Committee, has claimed that the Government always knew that the rollout of Universal Credit would leave some families up to £200 a month worse off. He told the paper that ‘The frailest shoulders have borne most of the budget deficit reduction strategy “successes”’.

Haldane appointed to chair new Industrial Strategy Council
The Financial Times reports that Andy Haldane, the Bank of England’s Chief Economist, is to be appointed as the chair of the new Industrial Strategy Council. The body will hold the Government to account and improve the implementation of the policy, which aims to improve the UK’s poor productivity.

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Today’s political headlines include Hunt’s warning of further sanctions against Russia, Varadkar’s call for new border plans, the EASA has turned down the CAA’s request for an aviation plan and Food bank usage up 52% in Universal Credit areas. 

Hunt warns of further sanctions against Russia as new plot is revealed
The Times reports that Western countries joined forces yesterday to expose a Russian GRU unit which tried to hack the Office for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons a month after the Salisbury attack. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned that the ‘hard evidence’ would lead to further sanctions against the country.

Varadkar calls for new border plans to be published quickly
The Guardian reports remarks made by the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Brussels yesterday, in which he called on the UK to publish the revised plan for the border ‘as soon as possible’ so that a deal could be reached by November. European Council President Donald Tusk criticised Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s ‘unwise and insulting’ comparison of the EU and the USSR, and claimed that the EU was willing to offer a ‘Canada-plus-plus-plus deal’.

European agency turned down UK’s request for joint no-deal aviation plan
Correspondence seen by the BBC shows that the Civil Aviation Authority tried to reach a joint no-deal transition plan with the European Aviation Safety Agency but was turned down in July. EASA told the BBC that ‘discussion about technical details would not be useful since the framework for which we need to prepare is not known.’

Food bank usage up 52% in areas where Universal Credit rolled out
The Financial Times warns that research by the Trussell Trust shows that use of food bank increases by 52% over twelve months in areas where Universal Credit has been rolled out, compared to 13% in areas where it hasn’t. The benefit is due to be rolled out to 2.1m further families between 2019 and 2023.

Ending austerity could cost £20bn
The Times says that the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that the cost of ending austerity, as promised by Theresa May in her conference speech, will be £20bn if it includes an increase in public sector wages. Downing Street and the Treasury have not explained what the Prime Minister meant in her speech.

Wealthy move assets out of UK owing to Corbyn fears
According to the Financial Times, which has spoken to a number of wealth managers, many of the UK’s ‘super-rich’ are moving assets out of the country or even planning to emigrate, because of the prospect of a Government led by Jeremy Corbyn. One wealth manager told the paper that ‘most people are much more worried about Corbyn than Brexit.

No-deal Brexit leaves a million workers exposed to pay cuts and job losses
The Sun carries details of new research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which warns that a no-deal Brexit would leave almost a million blue collar workers in industries such as car-manufacturing and chemicals ‘highly exposed’ to job losses and pay cuts, with the biggest pain felt in the Midlands and Northern Ireland.

McDonnell joins McStrike
The Daily Mail reports that Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell joined striking workers from firms including McDonald’s, TGI Fridays, Wetherspoons, Uber and Deliveroo at a protest in Leicester Square yesterday. The workers are calling for a minimum wage of £10 an hour and the end of ‘precarious’ contracts.

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Today’s political headlines include the Dancing Queen promising to end austerity, UK accuses Russia of cyber attacks, the Brexit deal push and Ireland backs British backstop proposals. 

‘Dancing Queen’ promises end to austerity
The Times reports that Theresa May used her conference speech to announce the end of austerity, promising to increase public spending post-Brexit. Appearing on stage dancing to ABBA’s Dancing Queen, the Prime Minister also announced a cap on council borrowing to build new homes, promised quicker diagnoses for cancer patients (citing the story of her goddaughter who died of cancer last year) and, in a victory for The Sun, confirmed that fuel duty would be frozen.

UK accuses Russia of cyber attacks
The Guardian reports that Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has accused Russia’s intelligence services of a number of ‘reckless and indiscriminate cyber-attacks’ which were ‘in flagrant violation of international law’, including the 2016 hacking of the Democratic National Committee headquarters.

May starts Brexit deal push
According to The Sun, Theresa May will today start a ten-day push to get EU leaders to agree a Brexit deal, aiming to get a deal agreed at a summit on 16-17 October, which will be translated into legal text while a framework on future trade is negotiated, before both are formally agreed at a further summit in November.

Ireland backs British backstop proposals
The Financial Times says that Ireland has given its backing to a proposal from Theresa May to break the impasse over the Irish border backstop in the Brexit negotiations. Under the plan, if no other solution is found to the border problem, the whole of the UK would remain in a customs union with the EU (which has already been rejected by chief negotiator Michel Barnier) and agree that Northern Ireland would remain subject to single market regulations.

France would prefer no-deal Brexit to compromise
The Daily Telegraph reports that France’s Europe minister, Natalie Loiseau, has warned that it would prefer the UK to leave the EU without a deal than accept a compromise which undermines the EU’s integrity. The paper adds that it believes that a new British proposal will leave the UK in a de-facto customs union with the EU, with Northern Ireland aligned with single market rules.

Tory mayoral candidate under fire for remarks about multiculturalism
The Guardian reports that the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London Shaun Bailey used a pamphlet that he wrote for the Centre for Policy Studies a decade ago to claim that accommodating Muslims and Hindus ‘robs Britain of its community’ and risked turning it into a ‘crime-riddled cesspool’.

Johnson paid £275,000 for Telegraph column
The Sun reports that Boris Johnson is being paid £275,000 for his column in The Daily Telegraph, which is double the salary he received while he was Foreign Secretary and ten times the average salary. According to the Register of Interests, he spends ten hours a month on the column, giving him an hourly rate of £2,300.

RBS and Nissan warn of Brexit consequences
Ross McEwan, the Chief Executive of RBS, has told the BBC that a ‘bad Brexit’ could lead to a recession and that as a result the bank was becoming more cautious about lending to certain sectors, especially retail and construction. The Guardian reports that Nissan has warned that an end to ‘frictionless trade’ with the EU would have ‘serious implications’.

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Today’s Conservative Party Conference headlines include Philip Hammond’s remarks that Boris is unfit to be PM, May’s Chequers compromise, the Conservatives have lost their way and Hunt’s opinion that the EU is a prison.  

Boris is unfit to be PM
The Daily Mail reports on remarks made by the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, in which he said that Boris Johnson is unfit to be Prime Minister. Hammond has also said that Johnson’s greatest achievement is his Boris bikes. Hammond criticised the lack of detail Johnson provides in his suggestions and said he does not know how his own proposals work.

May to compromise on Chequers
The Sun reports that Theresa May could be willing to compromise on her Chequers plan. At a national convention meeting it is rumoured that May has admitted she may not be able to keep all aspects of her plan. This comes after the PM has faced stiff opposition to her proposals from those in her party.

Conservatives have lost their way
The BBC report on remarks made by Conservative donor, Michael Spencer, who is concerned about the party losing its way. In an interview Spencer did not endorse Theresa May saying that her future depends on her ability to deliver Brexit.

Hunt compares EU to ‘prison’ of Soviet Union
Sky report on a speech made by Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt to the conference where he compared the EU to the Soviet Union. He said the EU was set up to promote and protect the values of freedom and not prevent people from leaving. Hunt also called on the party to unite so it can appeal to the entire country.

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