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Today’s political headlines include the publication of the Immigration White Paper, dropping manifesto promises to free up resources for no-deal Brexit and Gauke comparing a managed no-deal Brexit to a unicorn that needs to be slaughtered. 

Immigration White Paper to be published
As the BBC reports, the Government is today publishing its Immigration White Paper, setting out a skills-based immigration system to be phased in from 2021. Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, says that the policy will deliver ‘control over our borders’ but, following concern from cabinet members over its impact, there will be further consultation on plans to extend the £30,000 minimum salary threshold to all skilled migrants.

Manifesto pledges dropped to free up resources for no-deal Brexit
The Times says that Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington is identifying manifesto promises that can be dropped in order to free up resources for a no-deal Brexit, with social care reforms likely to be targeted. Businesses are being instructed to begin their own contingency plans, with households to be given their own instructions in the weeks to come. A further £2bn for no-deal preparations has been awarded by the Chancellor Philip Hammond.

Gauke compares ‘managed’ no-deal Brexit to a unicorn
The Daily Telegraph has details of yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, at which Justice Secretary David Gauke told his fellow ministers that the idea of a ‘managed’ no-deal Brexit was a ‘unicorn that needs to be slaughtered’ and was ‘not a viable option’. However, the paper claims that Gauke was in a minority of Cabinet members, and a consensus was reached that no-deal Brexit plans will now be implemented ‘in full’.

Business groups warn of no-deal impact
The Guardian reports that five leading business organisations have joined forces to warn of the dangers of a no-deal Brexit. They warned that ‘the responsibility to find a way forward now rests directly with 650 MPs and that ‘everyone must remember that businesses and communities need time to adapt to future changes’.

3,500 troops put on standby for no-deal Brexit
The Financial Times reports that the Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson is putting 3,500 military personnel on standby in case of a no-deal Brexit. They will include engineers, mechanics and drivers, and will be available ‘to support any government department on any contingencies they need’.

Labour MPs call for special party conference on Brexit
The Guardian says that anti-Brexit Labour MPs and campaigners are calling on Jeremy Corbyn to call a special party conference on Brexit, which would consult members on the party’s strategy and adopt a policy supporting a second referendum. Labour MP Dr Paul Williams warned that ‘time is running out’.

Brexiteers to give May a ‘period of tranquillity’
In an exclusive, The Sun claims that Brexiteer Conservative MPs are to give Theresa May a ‘period of tranquility’ and offer her public support because they believe that the UK is now bound for what they call a ‘clean Brexit’. Iain Duncan Smith told the paper that he believed that the Prime Minister was ‘moving in the right direction’.

UK to become seventh biggest economy after Brexit
The Daily Mail carries details of new analysis by PwC which warns that the UK may go from being the world’s fifth-largest economy to the world’s seventh-largest next year after Brexit, even assuming that a no-deal scenario is avoided. The change will be driven by slower growth in the UK than in France and India.

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Today’s political headlines include May’s thoughts on a second referendum, the Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox, telling Cabinet that May will be removed next year, the biggest package of employment reforms for a generation and Blair’s criticisms of May’s Brexit tactics. 

Another referendum would ‘break faith with British people’
The BBC reports on remarks Prime Minister Theresa May is set to make on a new referendum on Brexit. May will say that a second vote would do ‘irreparable damage’ to British politics and she does not think it would solve any problems. These remarks come after two former Prime Ministers, Tony Blair and John Major, called for a second vote if MPs cannot agree the course of action to take from here.

Attorney General told Cabinet May will be removed next year
The Telegraph reports on allegations that the Attorney General told members of the Cabinet that Theresa May must be removed from her office after Brexit. Geoffrey Cox has reportedly told others to ‘swallow’ the deal for now and renegotiate when May is gone.  It is rumoured that Cox said that May should be removed by April of next year so others can take over the process, it is also reported that this is not the first time that Cox has made such comments.

Biggest package of employment reforms for a generation
The Sun gives details of reforms around workers’ rights. These reforms could see companies that mistreat their staff fines up to £20,000. The changes that will be revealed today by Business Secretary Greg Clark, he will also reveal the companies that have shown ‘malice, spite or gross oversight’ to employees. Further reforms include closing a loophole that allowed agency workers to be employed on cheaper rates than permanent staff. This reform come after the Taylor review into modern working practices.

Blair criticises May’s Brexit tactics
The Metro reports on criticism Theresa May is facing from Tony Blair for the way in which she is attempting to get her Brexit deal through Parliament. Blair called the PM ‘irresponsible’ for the way in which she is attempting to ‘steamroller’ her deal through Parliament. This follows the former PM campaigning for a second referendum, he has also defended his own interventions saying he is within his rights to offer advice to the country.

Review into overseas patients use of the NHS kept secret
The Independent has revealed that a review that says that overseas patients are being wrongly denied NHS treatment after being told to pay up front is being kept out of the public. The review states that care is not being safety withheld when payment is not provided. Shadow Health Secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, has asked why the findings are being kept hidden.

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Today’s political headlines include May left humiliated after meeting with EU leaders, Tory factions clash in aftermath of vote, Labour to throw the parliamentary kitchen sink at May and Brexit vote to be held on 14 January. 

May left ‘humiliated’ after meeting with EU leaders
According to The Daily Telegraph, Theresa May was left ‘humiliated’ after last night’s European Council meeting. EU leaders rejected her attempts to win concessions on the Northern Ireland backstop, with European Commission President Jean Claude-Juncker saying it was time for the UK ‘to say what they want instead of asking us to say what we want’. The statement issued at the end of the meeting was much worse for May than a draft version drawn up before the leaders met.

Tory factions clash in aftermath of vote
The Times claims that senior Tories believe that the Conservatives are ‘facing an irrevocable split over Brexit’ with factions clashing in the aftermath of the failed vote of no confidence in Theresa May. Apparently some MPs in the European Research Group are threatening to go ‘on strike’ and not vote on some legislation, while rival cabinet members are pressing for different strategies. Some want Parliament to vote on all options, including another referendum, while others want a no-deal Brexit to become the main planning assumption.

Labour to ‘throw the parliamentary kitchen sink’ at May
The Guardian reports that Jeremy Corbyn is to increase pressure on Theresa May in Parliament by using urgent questions and emergency debates, with a source claiming that the party may ‘throw the parliamentary kitchen sink’ at the Government. It adds that Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer has been calling for a motion of no confidence in the Government to be tabled by the party before Christmas.

Brexit vote to be held on January 14
In an exclusive, The Sun says the Government is planning to hold the rescheduled vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal on January 14, with the process restarting and allowing five further days of debate. Number 10 said the vote will be held ‘as soon as possible’ in January.

£970m boost to police funding
The Daily Telegraph says that Home Secretary Sajid Javid has announced a £970m increase in police funding, to be paid for by increased council tax. He said that the funding would allow forces to ‘recruit more detectives’, which would ‘ensure they are better placed to respond to the increasingly complex crimes they face’. He cautioned that the funding boost ‘must be matched by improvements in policing led by the police themselves’.

Labour would break up accounting firms
The Financial Times reports that Labour would force the big four accounting firms to break up their UK businesses, splitting audit from other services, and to cap their share of the audit market at 50% of the country’s largest listed companies. The plans are contained in a report commissioned by Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.

Army recruitment contract won’t deliver promised savings
The Times says that a report by the National Audit Office has found that the army’s recruitment contract with Capita, which has missed its targets each year and left the army undermanned, will not achieve the predicted savings of £270m and has ‘significant problems’, with changes made not yet allowing targets to be met.

Councils to be allowed to raise council tax by 3%
The Sun reports that that Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary James Brokenshire has announced that councils will be allowed to raise council tax by up to 3% next year, with some able to add a further 2% in order to cover the cost of providing social care. The Local Government Association has warned that this is not enough.

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Today’s political headlines include May winning the vote of no confidence, the row after MPs have whip reinstated prior to the vote, May seeking backstop assurances from the EU and Javid as Conservative councillors’ favourite to be next leader.  

May wins vote of no confidence, but promises she’ll stand down before election
As The Times reports, Theresa May won the vote of confidence in her leadership by 200 votes to 117. The paper suggests that her margin of victory was less than had been hoped, with May calling for the party to now ‘come together in the national interest’. However, Jacob Rees-Mogg said that the result was ‘terrible’ and May should ‘go and see the Queen urgently and resign’. Ahead of the vote, May promised MPs that she would not lead at the next election, while Philip Hammond claimed that it would ‘flush out the extremists’.

Row after MPs have whip reinstated prior to vote
The Daily Telegraph claims that a row has broken out after the reinstatement of the Conservative whip to two MPs before the vote of no confidence. The votes of Andrew Griffiths and Charlie Elphicke, each suspended following sex claims against them, are believed to have cancelled each other out, with Griffiths voting for May and Elphicke against. Sam Smethers of the Fawcett Society said the decision was ‘an insult to all women’.

May seeks backstop assurances from EU
The Financial Times reports that Theresa May is now heading to Brussels for a meeting of the European Council, at which she hopes to obtain legal assurances about the Northern Ireland backstop. Draft summit conclusions suggest that the EU will say that the arrangement ‘does not represent a desirable outcome’ and would last only for ‘as long as is strictly necessary’ but officials have resisted calls for the statement to have full legal force.

Javid is Conservative councillors’ favourite to be next leader
The Daily Mail carries the results of a poll by Survation which finds that Sajid Javid is the first choice of Conservative councillors to be the next party leader, followed by Jeremy Hunt and Dominic Raab. By contrast, Boris Johnson only came seventh in the survey, which also found that 67% of councillors thought that it was wrong to call the confidence vote.

Corbyn accuses May of being ‘contemptuous’
The Guardian reports that Jeremy Corbyn used Prime Minister’s Questions to demand that Theresa May’s Brexit deal be put to the vote before Christmas, though he largely avoided the subject of the vote of no confidence. May replied only that the date would be ‘announced in the normal way’, which Corbyn claimed was ‘totally and utterly unacceptable’ and ‘contemptuous of parliament’.

Cabinet could block deal before it reaches Parliament, Fox suggests
The Daily Telegraph reports that International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has claimed that cabinet ministers could prevent Parliament from voting on Theresa May’s Brexit deal unless ‘changes to the backstop’ are agreed. He also suggested that a no-deal Brexit would be more likely unless progress was made on this.

Government increases no-deal recruitment
According to the Financial Times, the Government is increasing its recruitment for a no-deal Brexit, adding 50 new staff to the Cabinet Office’s civil contingency secretariat, which manages major events and responds to civil emergencies, and is playing a leading role in cross-Government planning, which goes by the name of ‘Operation Yellowhammer’.

Universities could be fined if they don’t recruit more white working class students
The Daily Mail reports that Education Secretary Damian Hinds has accused universities of not doing enough to admit disadvantaged groups, especially from provincial white backgrounds, and of not doing enough to support black students, who are more likely to drop out in their first year. Universities who don’t take action could be fined.

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Today’s political headlines include millions of patients waiting for more than three weeks for a GP appointment, gambling firms agree whistle-to-whistle ad ban, ITV pulls out of hosting the Brexit debate, and no-deal could mean gridlock for Kent. 

Millions of patients waiting more than three weeks for a GP appointment
The Times reports that five million patients a month are waiting more than three weeks for a GP appointment, according to data released by the NHS for the first time. The figures will pile further pressure on health chiefs to deal with the chronic shortage of GPs. Simon Stevens, head of NHS England, has acknowledged that if the GP system fails the whole NHS will fail as hospitals are pushed beyond capacity.

Gambling firms agree ‘whistle-to-whistle’ television advertising ban
The BBC reports that the Remote Gambling Association (RGA), which includes Bet365, Ladbrokes and Paddy Power, has struck a deal to stop adverts during live sports broadcasts. The ban will include any game that starts prior to the 9pm watershed but ends after that time. Tom Watson MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said he was ‘delighted’ by the move as the number of adverts during live sports had ‘clearly reached crisis levels’.

ITV pull out of hosting TV debate between May and Corbyn
Sky reports that ITV has withdrawn its proposal to hold a Brexit debate between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn. This comes after disagreement between the Conservatives and the Labour Party disagreeing on whether to take up the offer of a debate. The debate proposed by ITV was favoured by Labour, whereas the option put forward by the BBC was favoured by the Conservatives. It is rumoured that the Prime Minister did not want to miss Strictly Come Dancing hence why she was against the ITV proposal. It is also alleged that Jeremy Corbyn was worried about the debate clashing with I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!

No-deal Brexit could mean gridlock for Kent
The Guardian gives details of a report by Kent County Council. The report says that a no-deal Brexit would cause chaos across Kent, with gridlock on the roads, no rubbish collected, and children unable to take exams.  It is expected Kent would face some of the harshest consequences of a no-deal due to the Dover-Calais trade route. The council has also said that if this was the outcome then all who would be impacted would be informed.

Rail review could recommend nationalisation
The BBC report on remarks made by Keith Williams, the man conducting a review into the UK railways where he has said that nationalisation is a possible recommendation. Williams said he is independent, so he will consider all options and his job is to come up with the best recommendations. The review will be published in a white paper in the autumn of 2019 and reform will begin in 2020. Williams said what he sees in the “rail system is a loss of public confidence”.

Leave campaigners preparing for second referendum
The Financial Times are reporting that key figures in the Leave campaign are making preparations for a second Brexit vote. In an exclusive, the paper claims Eurosceptic MPs are working with Australian political strategist Lynton Crosby to plan their approach, reflecting the belief that a parliamentary deadlock could lead to a second referendum.

Corbyn calls for support over Brexit
In an article for The Guardian, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has urged MPs to reject Theresa May’s Brexit deal in the Commons vote next week, and get behind Labour’s alternative plan. Corbyn again suggested a second referendum may be a possibility, saying that “all options must be on the table” if a general election cannot be forced.

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