The EU’s Donald Tusk has told Theresa May that Jeremy Corbyn’s Brexit plan offers a “promising way out” of the current Brexit stalemate, according to Sky sources.
It comes after the Labour leader set out his five demands for backing the government in a letter to the prime minister, including establishing a customs union with the EU and alignment with the bloc’s single market.
In offering a positive plan, Labour can defend itself against accusations of obstruction and drive a stake through Tory unity.
Lewis Goodall, political correspondent for Sky writes “Corbyn’s new proposals could all, in theory, be met – they wouldn’t require reopening the PM’s withdrawal agreement, they would amount to a soft Brexit and they would tempt many Tories who have long wished to obtain one.
And whatever the lofty ambitions Mr Corbyn expresses about bringing the country together, make no mistake that that is the aim of these proposals: to divide and rule.”
The Independent reports : “As the Brexit negotiations stagger on, a large swathe of Labour voters will be bitterly disappointed this week by the party leadership. In particular, younger voters who flocked to the party in 2017 in the expectation that the party would fight this Tory disaster will feel they have been sold down the river. Worse still, many think Labour is complicit.”
The Guardian reports that “The Brexit negotiations are being pushed to the brink by Theresa May and the EU, with any last-minute offer by Brussels on the Irish backstop expected to be put to MPs just days before the UK is due to leave.
In strained talks on Thursday, during which Donald Tusk suggested that Jeremy Corbyn’s plan could help resolve the Brexit crisis, Theresa May and the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, agreed to hold the next face-to-face talks by the end of February.”
In other Brexit news we read:
“Britain will cut taxes and slash tariffs under secret plans drawn up by officials to kick-start the economy in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
Sir Mark Sedwill, the Cabinet Secretary, has led a cross-departmental team examining the “economic levers” that can be used to make Britain more competitive.
The plans, which have been drawn up under the codename “Project After”, include a series of aggressive policies to help the UK “steal a march” on the European Union.
The most significant measures include cuts to corporation tax and VAT along with further tax relief to encourage more business investment.” – The Telegraph
British exporters sending goods to far-flung destinations in the coming days risk being locked out of harbours around the world as a no-deal Brexit looms, business leaders have warned.
Independent trade experts and the UK’s biggest business groups said exporters could be dispatching goods from UK ports imminently that would not arrive until after the 29 March deadline. This raised the prospect of goods being stuck in ports or facing hefty additional costs in the event of a disorderly Brexit. – The Guardian
US lawmakers have warned that the UK must ensure a “soft” Irish border if London wants to secure a trade deal with Washington, further clouding Theresa May’s hope of boosting British trade after Brexit.
At a Washington reception for the Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney on Wednesday, prominent congressmen from both the Democratic and Republican parties said the UK had to honour the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which underpinned the peace settlement in Northern Ireland, as it negotiates its departure from the EU.
US politicians with affiliations to Ireland wield great influence over US trade policy. Richard Neal, an Irish-American member of the House of Representatives is the Democratic chairman of both the Congressional Friends of Ireland caucus and the House ways and means committee, which holds the power to approve or block any US-UK trade deal. – FT
The Bank of England has warned the economy is on course for its weakest year since the global financial crisis, as evidence suggests Brexit jitters are spreading from companies to consumers.
In its latest quarterly health check, the Bank cut its growth forecast for 2019 from 1.7% to 1.2%, blaming a slowing global economy as well as Brexit uncertainty for the sharp downward revision, and said there was a 25% chance of a recession this year.
Threadneedle Street said its gloomier forecast assumed the UK’s departure from the EU in seven weeks goes smoothly. If the prediction comes true, it would be the slowest growth since the economy contracted by 4.2% in 2009, during the financial crisis. – The Guardian
A secret group at the heart of the UK government is drawing up plans to kick-start the British economy in the event of a no-deal Brexit through options that range from cutting taxes and boosting investment to slashing tariffs.
The plan, dubbed “Project After” by some ministers, is being marshalled by Mark Sedwill, who as cabinet secretary is head of the civil service. It has brought together senior figures from the Cabinet Office, the Treasury, the business department and the international trade department, in close contact with the Bank of England.
Although the project has been mentioned at cabinet meetings in recent weeks its existence has not been made public. “It’s basically a Doomsday list of economic levers we could pull if the economy is about to tank,” said one Whitehall figure. “Sedwill has been working on it since the summer.” – FT
