1) The Government Is Eating Itself
Just this morning the Chancellor all but admitted the Cabinet is deeply divided over negotiations.
Hammond has been hit by a series of press reports claiming the he told the Cabinet that public sector workers were “overpaid” and that driving a train was now so easy that “even” a woman could do it.
Appearing on BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show, he blamed colleagues opposed to the agenda he had been setting out for extended transitional arrangements when Britain leaves the EU in 2019 so business was not faced with a “cliff edge” break.
He said: “If you want may opinion, some of the noise is generated by people who are not happy with the agenda which I, over the last few weeks, have tried to advance of ensuring that we achieve a Brexit which is focused on protecting our economy, protecting our jobs, and making sure that we have continued rising living standards in the future.”
2) We’re Going To Be Less Safe Unless The PM Budges
A soon-to-be-released House of Lords report will warn that if European Court of Justice (ECJ) oversight on intelligence sharing is not conceded, vital national security information could “fall between the cracks”.
Currently, ECJ oversight has been ruled out by the PM.
A source who has seen the report in advance, told the Independent: “The committee will say a transitional arrangement is crucial if the Government is not going to put national security at risk.
“It will say it has little confidence that a new deal can be struck in time – so the status quo makes sense, which involves oversight by the European Court of Justice.”
“The committee was taken aback by ministers’ inability to give any clear direction as to how they intend to deal with this enormously complex issue.”
3) The DUP
May’s disastrous General Election result means a party made up of anti-abortion, anti-LBGQT+ Creationists who believe the Earth is less than 10,000-years-old now has a decisive say in Brexit affairs.
That wasn’t how things were supposed to pan out...
4) France Is Ready To Swoop On The City
Former Home Office minister Jeremy Browne, who acts as the City of London’s envoy on Brexit, has revealed the French are being completely open in their aim to exploit Brexit and weaken the UK’s financial heart.
He said: “They are crystal clear about their underlying objective: the weakening of Britain, the ongoing degradation of the City of London.”
5) Germany Says We’re ‘Making It Up As We Go Along’
Irish senators briefed by the German parliament’s finance committee revealed some incredibly harsh words for the UK’s Brexit negotiating team.
One, Ray Butler, said: “They said they met the finance committee in London and they were shocked by the way they handled themselves.
“They said they were making it up as the went along and were very poorly prepared for Brexit.
“It was actually farcical is what they said. They came out of the meeting very bemused and annoyed.”
6) We Won’t Be Ready In Time
Former head of the Civil Service, Lord O’Donnell, has warned Britain is in for a “rough ride” because of Cabinet infighting, unrealistic expectations and an overburdened administration.
Writing in The Observer, he said: “The EU has clear negotiating guidelines, while it appears that cabinet members haven’t yet finished negotiating with each other, never mind the EU.
“There is no chance all the details will be hammered out in 20 months.
“We will need a long transition phase and the time needed does not diminish by pretending that this phase is just about ‘implementing’ agreed policies as they will not all be agreed.”
7) Even The Vote Leave Campaign Chief Says May’s Brexit Plan Is ‘Unacceptable Bullshit’
Dominic Cummings, the man behind the EU referendum ‘Leave’ campaign, last week slammed May’s approach to Brexit as “unacceptable bullshit”.
In a series of tweets posted on Monday, Cummings criticised the prime minister’s decision to withdraw the UK from the Euratom agency that overseas the safe movement of nuclear materials in Europe.
8) The Era Of Cheap Flights Is At Risk
The London-based budget airline easyJet says it is opening a base in Vienna, Austria, to prepare for the potential effects of Brexit.
EasyJet said Friday it will open a European Union base in Austria’s capital “regardless of the outcome of talks on a future U.K.-EU aviation agreement.”
EasyJet said the new base will protect their flying rights in Europe, but that they’ll continue to fight for a Brexit deal that at least allows flights between Britain and the EU.
9) Liam Fox Still Doesn’t Have A Job
A big part of Fox’s job as Secretary of State for International Trade is signing trade deals.
Well, it should be but he can’t agree with his Tory colleagues about when he should start.
Last week he said he would be happy to accept a transitional period when Britain leaves the European Union but that it must be within a time limit and give Britain the freedom to negotiate its own trade deals.
But earlier the same day Hammond had said senior Government ministers were becoming convinced of the need for transitional arrangements to reduce disruption as Britain leaves the EU.