Brexit news: EU chief ‘vows to ignore Boris Johnson’s deadline’, pushing talks beyond Brussels summit

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Brexit briefing: How long until the end of the transition period?

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier holds “intensified” Brexit talks with UK counterpart David Frost in London today. Mr Barnier has reportedly told EU leaders to ignore Boris Johnson’s mid-October deadline for an agreement before the European Council summit.

Elsewhere, chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a new, local furlough scheme today which will subsidise the wages of workers in pubs and restaurants forced to close under coronavirus restrictions.

With pubs and restaurants in northern England expected to be closed next week, it will cover two-thirds of affected workers’ wages. It comes as figures show the economy grew by only 2.1 per cent in August – far below what was expected and a dramatic slow down in the recovery.

Key Points

• Treasury will cover two-thirds of workers’ wages in new local furlough
• Barnier ‘tells officials talks must carry on until end of October’
• Conservatives regain poll lead over Labour

[9 October 2020 08:13 · Adam Forrest]

Rishi Sunak to announce local furlough scheme

We are expecting the chancellor announcement of local support measures for workers in pub and restaurants forced to close under fresh coronavirus restrictions expected to come in next week.

The new scheme will see workers paid two-thirds of their wages until businesses are allowed to reopen, according to The Times.

That will not quite be enough to satisfy union demands that the treasury match the 80 per cent rate of the original furlough scheme – but does go further than Sunak’s wage support measures announced at the end of September.

[9 October 2020 08:26 · Adam Forrest]

One-third of infections spreading through pubs, says minister

Almost one-third of all coronavirus infections are spreading through pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues, business minister Nadhim Zahawi has said.

Evidence presented to MPs showed some 30 per cent of all Covid-19 cases are being contracted through visits to venues such as pubs and restaurants, Mr Zahawi told the BBC on Friday morning.

[9 October 2020 08:33 · Adam Forrest]

EU chief negotiator in London for ‘intensified’ Brexit talks  

The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier is in London today for talks with UK counterpart Lord Frost – with less than a week before Boris Johnson’s self-imposed deadline to reach a trade agreement.

The PM’s official spokesman said that following the conclusion of talks on Friday they would resume in Brussels “early next week”.

Despite the urgency in trying to reach some form of breakthrough before the EU Council summit, there are no plans for the negotiators to continue discussions over the weekend.

The No 10 spokesman said: “We have been perfectly clear about the need to work towards the 15 October European Council. The EU has agreed to intensified talks, those have been taking place this week and you will see more of them next week.”

No 10’s negotiator David Frost and EU counterpart Michel Barnier (REUTERS)

[9 October 2020 08:47 · Adam Forrest]

UK’s economic recovery slows down dramatically

The UK economy grew by only 2.1 per cent in August as the recovery from lockdown slowed – despite Rishi Sunak’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme, official figures show.

The latest monthly GDP estimate, which came in well below 4.6 per cent growth forecast by analysts, will cause great concern for the chancellor.

It came after a 6.6 per cent increase in output in July. The slowdown means the economy remains 9.2 per cent below its peak reached before the pandemic, the Office for National Statistics reported.

[9 October 2020 08:59 · Adam Forrest]

Media leaks on Covid curbs becoming ‘corrosive’, says minister

Business minister Nadhim Zahawi has been trying to put a brave face on those new figures on GDP showed a struggling economy.  

“This is a really tough year economically,” he told BBC’s Breakfast. “Undoubtedly 2020 is going to be a difficult year. The direction of travel is still positive, it’s still over 2% growth.”

The minister refused to confirm government plans for new restrictions expected to come in next week – widely briefed to the media – and said “leaks” to newspapers were becoming “corrosive”.

Zahawi told Sky News: “This is really bad that people are leaking this stuff and I hope that whoever’s doing this will stop because actually it’s counterproductive, it’s confusing and it’s corrosive.”

Asked about a £3,000 pay rise for MPs, Zahawi said he would consider donating it to a charity in his constituency.

[9 October 2020 09:13 · Adam Forrest]

Manchester mayor wants existing furlough scheme to be extended

Will Rishi Sunak’s scheme go far enough for leaders in the north? The chancellor’s new scheme, set to be announced today, will see workers paid two-thirds of their wages until businesses are allowed to reopen, according to The Times.

But Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has warned “the damage to the economy of the month will be deep and lasting” if the government does not extend the furlough scheme in full.

Reacting to the news that 465 jobs are set to be lost at Manchester Airport, he tweeted: “The government’s line is that these jobs are ‘not viable’. I say that they are.”

[9 October 2020 09:24 · Adam Forrest]

Government ‘striking red pen’ through northern economy, says Labour

Labour’s shadow business minister Lucy Powell has spoken of “fury” in the north over coronavirus curbs set to come in next week – and the lack of clarity about how, why and when they will be imposed.

“There’s a huge amount of frustration, and frankly fury, up here in the north at the way we are being treated by this government,” she told BBC’s Breakfast. “They seem to be sitting in offices in Whitehall, striking a red pen through large swathes of our economy and our society.”

Powell also told Sky News she fears new local furlough payments “won’t be sufficient” to help affected workers, and called on the government to resume giving cash grants for businesses “as a matter of urgency”.

Large parts of the north of England are expected to be placed in the highest tier when the government’s new, three-tier traffic light system is rolled out.

[9 October 2020 09:52 · Adam Forrest]

Barnier ‘tells officials Brexit talks must continue until end of October’  

Brace yourself for a wild ride on the Brexit rollercoaster: the rhetorical games are about to get intense over the next few weeks.  

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has reportedly told a meeting of European ambassadors that a trade deal is now close, but cannot be done any time too soon.  

The negotiations will have to continue beyond next week’s big EU Council summit because national leaders will be too be edgy to agree on any compromises during the summit itself, according to The Times.

The newspaper says a confidential briefing note also shows Barnier has warned EU leaders – including Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s Emmanuel Macron – not to react to any of Boris Johnson’s efforts to turn the summit into a deadline.

Barnier’s team is said to be worried the French president is especially defensive about potential concessions on fishing rights right now. “Macron is on a short fuse,” said one anonymous official.

Michel Barnier arrives in London for talks (Reuters)

[9 October 2020 10:28 · Adam Forrest]

Pay rise for MPs? ‘Insult’ to the public, says campaign group

The business secretary Nadhim Zahawi’s claim he is considering giving his £3,000 pay rise to charity has sparked renewed interest in MPs’ salary bump.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) has said next year’s pay would be based on public sector year-on-year three-month growth figure of 4.1 per cent – meaning an extra £3,360 for MPs.

Jeremy Hutton of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “IPSA must be tin-eared if it really thinks a pay rise for MPs should be considered this year … A pay rise in parliament would be an insult to hardworking taxpayers who’ve had a very tough year.”

[9 October 2020 10:38 · Adam Forrest]

No-deal Brexit would spark ‘fair degree of chaos’, says Tory MP

Sir Roger Gale has been talking about his fears if the government cannot reach a trade deal agreement with the EU this autumn.

The Tory MP for North Thanet say fellow members from Kent “are very concerned about the potential impact upon freight traffic across the channel”.

He told Sky News: “If there is no deal – it’s going to be bad enough if there is – without a deal I think we are facing a fair degree of chaos after 31 December.”

Sir Roger said Boris Johnson’s Internal Market Bill – which commits the UK to breaking key parts of last year’s withdrawal agreement – had not helped the negotiations.