WTO rules

Express
BRITAIN could still leave the EU without a deal if the Tories win next month’s general election, according to a party manifesto claim hiding in plain sight. Boris Johnson has confirmed he will follow through his promise to take the UK out on 1 January 2021 – deal or no deal. In his party’s manifesto, he pledged to negotiate a new trade deal with the EU next year but refused to extend the implementation period beyond December 2020. The manifesto states: “We will negotiate a trade agreement next year – one that will strengthen our union – and we will not extend the implementation period beyond December 2020.”

Express
TONY BLAIR has warned a no deal Brexit is “not off the table” and said it is the “probable outcome” if the Conservative Party retains power following next month’s general election. The former Prime Minister issued a number of warnings during a speech this morning, lashing out at the state of British politics and raging the country is in a “mess”. Tony Blair, who is an opponent of Brexit, has argued for a second referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union and said it saying it would need to be followed by another general election.

Fisheries

Telegraph
Brussels plans to hit Britain with a demand for access to UK fishing waters the day after Brexit, it has emerged. Sources said the plan was to make EU access to British waters a condition for any trade deal and to make the demand public on, or as close as possible, to February 1, if Boris Johnson wins a majority in the general election. “That will be the day that reality hits home,” one EU diplomat told The Telegraph. The European Commission began work on Monday on drawing up internal mandates for the trade negotiations that will begin once Britain leaves the EU on January 31, 2020.

Yahoo News
Brussels plans to hit Britain with a demand for access to UK fishing waters the day after Brexit, it has emerged.  Sources said the plan was to make EU access to British waters a condition for any trade deal and to make the demand public on, or as close as possible, to February 1, if Boris Johnson wins a majority in the general election.  “That will be the day that reality hits home,” one EU diplomat told The Telegraph. The European Commission began work on Monday on drawing up internal mandates for the trade negotiations that will begin once Britain leaves the EU on January 31, 2020.

Conservative Party

Guido
Michael Crick was following around the Tory’s candidate in Ashfield last week, who Guido readers will be familiar with for supporting a blunt crackdown on anti-social freeloaders. It’s a hyper marginal seat, and Guido reckons the comments will only help him… During the filming, Lee Anderson met a supporter on the doorstep who proceeded not only to back the Tories, but said he thought Anderson hadn’t been harsh enough in his comments on dealing with anti-social behaviour. Catch the full encounter on MailPlus… Unfortunately for the Tories, not only had Lee set up the meeting to begin with, but had been caught on microphone calling the homeowner and setting up the meeting.

Times
More than two dozen marginal constituencies are served by hospital accident and emergency departments that are among the worst performing in the country, analysis by The Times shows. At hospitals serving key Conservative targets and seats that Boris Johnson must hold to win a majority, one in three patients is waiting more than four hours for emergency treatment. In an election that both parties are attempting to fight on the NHS, hospitals used by voters in battleground seats across the Midlands and northwest are struggling badly.

iNews
The Conservatives face a £70bn black hole in their spending plans after making a string of manifesto promises without explaining how to pay for them. Boris Johnson has pledged to build dozens of hospitals, create a new rail network and set up a hi-tech “gigafactory” to make electric cars. He is also promising National Insurance cuts, a new system of social care and relief for indebted students. None of the policies is costed in the party manifesto revealed on Sunday. They add up to £52.2bn in added capital investment, and an extra £20.6bn on the annual bill for day-to-day Government spending according to figures calculated by i.

Sun
JUST over 30,000 voters in 50 key constituencies will decide our next PM — and the fate of Brexit. If Boris Johnson is to triumph he needs 25 marginal Labour and Lib Dem seats to swing his way. But he also has to cling on to a further 25 constituencies the Tories hold with slim majorities. The magic number of voters Boris needs to back him in the 50 key constituencies is 32,195. On December 12 voters across the UK go to the polls to elect 650 MPs to the  House of Commons.

Independent
Boris Johnson is planning an extraordinary attack on the courts if he wins the general election, prompting accusations he is determined to prevent a repeat of judges thwarting Conservative Brexit plans. The alarm has been raised over proposals in the Tory manifesto to curb the power of people to mount legal challenges – after historic defeats over the triggering of Article 50 and the unlawful shutdown of parliament. A little-noticed section also hints at expanding the use of the royal prerogative to allow, it is claimed, the next government to ram through plans for the future relationship with the EU without proper scrutiny by MPs.

Telegraph
MPs will vote on Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal before Christmas if the Conservatives win a majority at the general election. The Prime Minister wants to give the country an early Christmas present by asking Parliament to approve his deal on the last weekend before the festive break. It would mean Britain would be all but guaranteed to leave the EU by Jan 31, giving Mr Johnson 11 months to agree a trade deal with Brussels. The Conservatives are so keen to get on with holding a vote that if they win a majority they will bring forward a fast-tracked Queen’s Speech on Dec 19, less than a week before Christmas.

Independent
The Queen’s Speech will be fast-tracked and held before Christmas if Boris Johnson wins the general election, as he seeks to ram through his Brexit deal within weeks.  Downing Street said a session of the new parliament will be held on Tuesday 17 December if there is no change in government, allowing time for the traditional swearing-in of new MPs. Two days later, the government will then hold a Queen’s Speech – setting out the prime minister’s policy agenda and marking the start of a new parliamentary year.

Evening Standard
A fast-tracked Queen’s Speech will be held on December 19 if Boris Johnson remains prime minister after the general election, No10 has confirmed. In the event of a Conservative victory, a session of the new parliament will be held on December 17, allowing time for the traditional swearing in of new MPs. The government will then hold a Queen’s Speech two days later to mark the start of the new parliamentary year and set out the PM’s fresh policy agenda.

Labour Party

Times
In a hung parliament Labour would hold talks with the Liberal Democrats and the SNP on Jeremy Corbyn’s future and a second Scottish independence referendum, a senior party adviser said yesterday. The Labour leader has said he would not make deals with Jo Swinson or Nicola Sturgeon and that he fully expects to form a majority government on December 13. He has also said that he will not hold a second referendum in Scotland in the “early years” of a new government. However, Lord Kerslake, a former head of the civil service who is advising Mr Corbyn on his potential transition to power, admitted in an interview that to form a minority government Labour would have to make concessions.

Guardian
Jeremy Corbyn has defended his multibillion pound general election spending pledge on public services, arguing it would bring the UK into line with other industrial countries, including France and Germany. After the launch of the Conservative manifesto on Sunday it emerged that for every one pound Boris Johnson has committed to spending, Jeremy Corbyn would spend £28. “At the end of all of our proposals – every single one carried out – we will still be spending less on public services than France or Germany.

Independent
Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to put bad landlords out of business with a new charter of renters’ rights and a national “property MOT”. Labour’s scheme would introduce a legal requirement for landlords to submit properties to an independent annual inspection, with tough fines and forced repayment of rent to tenants if they break the rules. The party released research which found that one in four private rented homes are classed as ‘non-decent’, meaning they are damp, cold, in disrepair or unsafe to live in.

Mirror
Labour has pledged to put bad landlords “out of business” as it launched a charter of renters’ rights. The plans would offer more security to millions of tenants in Britain by introducing a legal requirement for landlords to complete an “property MOT” every year to ensure a home is up to scratch.  Research by Labour claims that over 1.1 million households collectively pay over £10bn a year in rent to landlords letting out sub-standard homes. The party said that nationally one in four private rented homes are classed as “non-decent”, meaning they are damp, cold, in disrepair or unsafe to live in.

Morning Star
RENATIONALISING transport, utilities, mail and parts of the NHS could plough nearly £13 billion back into public services every year, according to campaign group We Own It. About 72,000 nurses and 20,000 doctors could be employed with the £4.5bn saved by ending the internal market in the NHS, the anti-privatisation group said. We Own It used research from the University of Greenwich, as well as studies from Transport for Quality of Life and the Centre for Health and the Public Interest, to estimate the public benefit of ending privatisation.

Express
OVER 20 percent of Brexit-backing Labour voters are considering whether to abandon Jeremy Corbyn at next month’s general election, a poll has revealed. Jeremy Corbyn has been repeatedly criticised over his position on Brexit in the lead up to the crucial December 12 general election. The Labour Party has said if they win the election, they will renegotiate a new deal with the European Union, before putting the deal back to the British people in the form of a second referendum.

Telegraph
Children will be taught about the ills of the British Empire as part of the national curriculum under a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn. Launching a “race and faith” manifesto in north London, the Labour leader today sets out plans to teach “historical injustice” and “colonialism”. As part of a wider review into the UK’s “colonial legacy”, Labour plans an inquiry to determine the extent of the country’s contribution to “violence and insecurity” in its former colonies. The party has already promised to formally apologise and review Britain’s role in the Amritsar massacre in 1919, when 400 civilians in the Punjab were killed by British Indian Army troops.

Independent
Schools will be required to teach children about colonialism and the legacy of the British empire if Labour secure victory at the polls, Jeremy Corbyn will announce. The Labour leader is to reveal plans on Tuesday to embed teaching of British imperialism in the national curriculum and diversify the teaching workforce, which is made up of more than 86 per cent of white British teachers. As part of its race and faith manifesto, Labour will also establish a unit in the Treasury to cost the impact of major spending pledges on black and minority ethnic groups.

Times
Children should be taught about colonialism and the role of the British Empire as part of the national curriculum, Labour’s race and faith manifesto will say today. Businesses would be compelled to report on the pay gap faced by their black, Asian and ethnic minority employees and a race equality unit would be established in the Treasury. However, the launch faces being overshadowed by more rows about antisemitism after the Chief Rabbi wrote a stinging rebuke of the party’s handling of the issue, and Priti Patel, the home secretary, said it was “staggering” that Labour “see fit to lecture people about race and faith”.

Sun
TONY Blair last night stunned Labour by telling voters not to vote for ­Jeremy Corbyn. The former Labour PM — once hailed by The Sun as the most dangerous man in Britain — had an outbreak of common sense when he sensationally revealed he does not want the party to win the election. Mr Blair said he would still vote Labour — but said others might want to switch to the Lib Dems or Tories. And he refused to say if Mr Corbyn was fit to lead Britain.

LibDems

Mail
The Liberal Democrats appeared to have abandoned their policy of revoking Article 50 yesterday after conceding that they will not win the General Election. Foreign affairs spokesman Chuka Umunna gave a speech in which he failed to even mention the word ‘revoke’, despite the fact it is the flagship policy in their manifesto. In the wake of falling poll ratings, the party appears to have changed tack to focus on a second referendum. Yesterday’s ICM survey showed the Lib Dems stuck on 13 per cent.

Scotland

Times
Nicola Sturgeon claimed last night that an independent Scotland would quickly rejoin the European Union despite having the biggest budget deficit of all member states. In a combative interview with the BBC’s Andrew Neil, the SNP leader dismissed the idea that her plan to peg a separate currency to the pound before moving to a new currency would hold up the process of joining the bloc. EU members’ budget deficits must not exceed 3 per cent of GDP.

Guardian
Nicola Sturgeon will press Jeremy Corbyn to scrap the UK’s nuclear deterrent in any talks on Scottish National party support for a minority Labour government. The SNP leader said abandoning Trident would a key issue in any post-election talks with Labour, alongside supporting a second independence referendum, abolishing the universal credit benefits system and devolving immigration policy to Holyrood. In an article for the Guardian Sturgeon attacked Corbyn for abandoning his longstanding opposition to nuclear weapons in favour of supporting Trident and its replacement by a new system.

BBC News
An independent Scotland could rejoin the EU on a “relatively quick” timescale, Nicola Sturgeon has said. The Scottish first minister and SNP leader wants a new referendum on independence to be held in 2020, and is also opposed to the UK leaving the EU. She told the BBC that Scotland would be “seeking a way back in” to the EU if Brexit happened. The Conservatives have claimed that a Labour government backed by SNP votes would lead to two referendums in 2020.

EU

Guardian
Boris Johnson is sowing the seeds of “the biggest crisis of Brexit to date”, Britain’s former envoy to the EU Sir Ivan Rogers has said in a scathing verdict on the government’s “diplomatic amateurism”. Less than three weeks before polling day, the man who resigned as the UK’s EU ambassador in January 2017 said Johnson was repeating Theresa May’s “strategy errors” and would soon find himself “unwisely” boxed in by his campaign promises. When he launched the Conservative party manifesto on Sunday, Johnson repeated his promise not to extend an 11-month transition period that kicks in if the UK leaves the EU with the withdrawal agreement on 31 January 2020.

Breitbart
The French trade minister has said that the European Union is ready to offer a “unique” trade deal, but only if the United Kingdom abides by Brussels’ environmental regulations, state aid policies, and labour market laws. Speaking to the Financial Times,  Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said that the deal to be struck by the end of the transition period would not “resemble any other bilateral agreement, any other trade agreement” that the EU has signed. However, Mr Lemoyne stressed that the EU will be expecting the UK to negotiate in the spirit of “fair play” and that the restrictive, so-called ‘level playing field’ of regulatory standards Britain would have hoped to escape with Brexit “will be at the heart of our demands for the future relationship”.

Remainers

Mail
Incredulous Remain activists have been left seething after they were pulled over by the police and forced to peel off their ‘b***ocks to Brexit‘ car sticker.  Peter Cook, was riding in the campaign group’s bright yellow Mini on Sunday when the driver was ordered to park on the hard shoulder of the M25 in Brentwood, Essex, by an officer.  He claims that a ‘very aggressive’ constable demanded they expunge the sweary slogans plastering the vehicle. The B***ocks To Brexit organisation of pro-EU campaigners is criss-crossing the country in both a bus and a Mini to urge the electorate to vote tactically for Remain-backing parties on December 12.

Emissions

Times
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached a new record after another year in which there was little sign of a reduction in global emissions, according to the World Meteorological Organisation. The WMO, a UN body, said in its annual report that concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere last year hit 407.8 parts per million, only three years after passing a symbolic barrier at 400ppm. The increase last year was similar to that of the year before and, despite efforts to combat emissions, above the average over the decade. This means that there is now more CO2 in the atmosphere than at any time since three million years ago, when sea levels were between 10m and 20m higher and the temperature was 2-3C higher.

Health

Times
Nothing in its evolution would have prepared the dengue virus for meeting a five-pointed star made out of DNA. When it came across this strange construction in the bloodstream, it met its nemesis. The DNA latched on and would not let go. This DNA “trap”, revealed yesterday, had been designed and engineered by scientists working at the nanoscale, in an advance that they hope could lead to a completely new way of tackling a wide range of infections and even cancers. Viruses and bacteria all have different molecules, such as proteins, on the outside that mark out different strains.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email