Brexit Bulletin: The Zeal of a Convert

(Bloomberg) -- Today in Brexit: Jeremy Hunt is stepping up efforts to convince Conservative members he is committed to leaving – deal or no deal.

What's Happening?

Jeremy Hunt is seeking to burnish his Brexit credentials as he attempts to claw votes away from frontrunner Boris Johnson in the race to be the next prime minister.

The foreign secretary, who campaigned for the remain side in 2016's referendum, will use a speech in London today to lay out his plan for a no-deal Brexit, which includes slashing corporation tax and unleashing a 6 billion-pound stimulus package to protect fishing and farming.

The comments are Hunt's latest attempt to convince the Conservative Party membership that he is committed to leading the U.K. out of the European Union, before they vote in a party leadership contest due to conclude this month. It's an area where he particularly lags Johnson, who commands the support of hardline Brexiteers.

The two candidates took the campaign to the TV studios on Sunday. In separate interviews, both insisted they were the best man to reach a new deal with the EU, but that they were ready to leave without one if negotiations fail.  Johnson once again refused to rule out suspending Parliament to push through a no-deal exit. He also took responsibility for the vote to leave, and said he was able to “lead us out of this mess.”

Speaking in a BBC interview later, Hunt repeated that he would leave without a deal with a “heavy heart,” even if it hurt businesses.  Hunt said in an interview with the Sunday Times that he could hold back some of the 39 billion-pound “divorce bill” from the EU if he doesn't get a deal. Johnson has also advocated withholding the money.

Today's Must-Reads

• In his regular Telegraph column Monday, Boris Johnson pledged again to leave the EU by Oct. 31, saying it would prove Vladmir Putin's pronouncements of the death of liberalism wrong.
• Johnson helped sow the seeds of Brexit during his time as a journalist in Brussels, former EU commissioner Pascal Lamy tells the FT.
• Theresa May is leaving office this month, but she's not going quietly. The premier is busier than ever trying to build an ambitious legacy. 

Brexit in Brief

Election Ready | Nigel Farage says the Brexit Party will have candidates ready to fight in every Westminster constituency within days, the Guardian reports from a rally in Birmingham.

May Rebuke | Outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May appeared to hit back against the talk of a no-deal exit Sunday, saying in Brussels that the U.K. should leave with “a good deal.”

Robbins Quits | Meanwhile, May's chief Brexit negotiator, Olly Robbins, has resigned and will leave government before the next prime minister starts, according to the Mail on Sunday.

Tough Teams | Both candidates in the leadership race are building teams. The Sunday Times reported that Johnson has asked prominent Brexiteer Jacob Rees Mogg to help draft his Brexit plan, while Hunt has recruited former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to his negotiating team – a claim Harper later appeared to play down.

Fox Plan | Liam Fox, the international trade secretary who is backing Hunt, said in a BBC Radio interview Sunday that a time limit on the Northern Ireland backstop is the way to get a deal through Parliament. 

On the Markets  | Brexit “melodrama” is unsurprisingly seen as the big shadow hanging over the outlook for U.K. stocks in the second half of the year, with some fund managers seeing buying opportunities and others urging caution.

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To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anne Pollak at apollak@bloomberg.net, Leila Taha

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