Johnson's EU Adviser Meets Officials in Brussels: Brexit Update

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David Frost, Boris Johnson’s EU adviser, is in Brussels for talks with officials and to deliver the prime minister’s message that the U.K. will leave the bloc on Oct. 31. The British prime minister is visiting Northern Ireland, and told political parties his government will not put physical infrastructure on the post-Brexit Irish border. The pound, battered by Johnson’s escalating no-deal rhetoric, halted its decline.

Must read: U.K.’s Johnson Won’t Back Down on Brexit Despite Plunging Pound

Key Developments:

Johnson met Northern Irish politicians as he tries to get parties to restore devolved institutionsJohnson plans to spend hundreds of millions of pounds on hospitals and health care technology, in an attempt to deliver on the most contentious of the Brexit referendum pledgesPound rises 0.2%, though it’s still down 4% this month

Ireland ‘Won’t be Bullied,’ Varadkar Says (1:20 p.m.)

Ireland “isn’t going to be bullied” on the backstop issue and will stick to its position, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said in an interview with the Irish Mirror newspaper published Wednesday.

We are going to need to stand firm, he said, adding that there is “total support” from the EU. His call with his U.K. counterpart Boris Johnson on Tuesday “went reasonably well,” he said.

Johnson: U.K. Will Not Put Infrastructure on Border (1 p.m.)

The U.K. will not put infrastructure or carry out physical checks at the Irish border regardless of how Britain leaves the European Union, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told leaders of Northern Ireland’s main political parties on Wednesday, according to a statement from his office.

Johnson reiterated his promise to leave the EU on Oct. 31 “come what may,” a Downing Street spokesperson said, and “restated his intention to do so with a deal.” The prime minister also told the political leaders he was committed to the Belfast peace agreement and to strengthening the union of the U.K. — and Northern Ireland’s place in it.

The primary focus of Johnson’s meetings was to boost the restoration of power sharing in Northern Ireland and to help get its devolved institutions up and running, according to the statement.

Johnson’s Brexit Adviser in Brussels for Talks (12:30 p.m.)

David Frost, Boris Johnson’s Brexit adviser, is in Brussels for talks with EU officials, the prime minister’s office said.

Frost will repeat the message the premier gave to Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker — that the U.K. wants a deal but the withdrawal agreement must be reopened and the backstop scrapped.

EU spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt said they would be introductory meetings. “It’s a new sherpa, our officials always meet with the sherpa so it’s a meeting on that basis,” she told reporters.

Donaldson Convinced of Johnson’s Determination (10:30 a.m.)

Boris Johnson is “absolutely” prepared to to take the U.K. out of the EU by Oct. 31, without a deal if necessary, DUP lawmaker Jeffrey Donaldson said. Johnson is focused on delivering Brexit rather than a general election, Donaldson, who had dinner with the U.K. Prime Minister on Tuesday, told RTE Radio.

Donaldson suggested putting a time limit on the backstop as a potential compromise, rather than abolishing it outright as Johnson has demanded, and said he discussed the issue with Johnson on Tuesday night. The DUP, which props up Johnson’s government, does not want a no-deal Brexit but will accept it if need be, Donaldson said.

Speaking after Donaldson on RTE, Irish Agriculture Minister Michael Creed repeated his government’s stance that the backstop cannot be time limited.

Poll Lead for Johnson (10 a.m.)

The latest survey of voting intention in a general election by YouGov (for the Times newspaper) showed Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party maintain its double-digit lead over the main opposition Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn.

The Tories are on 32%, according to the survey of 2,066 adults on July 29-30, with Labour on 22%. That compares with 31% and 21% respectively in the equivalent survey conducted July 25-26. The Liberal Democrats are on 19%, down a percentage point, and Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party on 13%, showing no change from earlier in the month.

On the issue of preference for prime minister, Boris Johnson was backed by 42%, compared to 21% for Corbyn — 34% of respondents couldn’t choose between the two, according to YouGov.

Leadsom to Meet With Company Executives: Sky (9:45 a.m.)

U.K. Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom is planning to meet on Wednesday with executives from companies including JD Wetherspoon and Tate & Lyle, which have previously expressed support for Brexit, Sky News reported, citing people it didn’t identify close to the minister.

Brexit Changing Minds on Unification: Sinn Fein (8:30 a.m.)

Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald said Brexit is changing minds in Northern Ireland on the issue of a united Ireland, and said the U.K. must lay out what it sees as the threshold for a so-called border poll or referendum on unification.

“Brexit has raised fundamental questions around the wisdom and sustainability of the partition of our island,” McDonald told BBC Radio 4, adding that even some unionists are willing to have the conversation on unification. “It’s changed the entire political dynamic.”

McDonald said she wishes Britain wasn’t leaving the European Union, referring to it as a “piece of astonishing political and economic self-harm.”

“If you are democratically intent on it, who are we to stop you?” she said. “But you can’t wreck Ireland in the process.”

Earlier, Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster said there’s “no evidence” of demand for a border poll in Northern Ireland.

Foster Says Dublin Must ‘Get Real’ (7:40 a.m.)

Arlene Foster, leader of the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party, said Boris Johnson is focused on getting a Brexit deal and it’s time for the government in Dublin to “get real.”

She had dinner with Johnson on Tuesday evening. They didn’t discuss the confidence and supply agreement, which sets out the terms of the DUP’s support for the minority Conservative government. They did discuss Brexit, she said in an interview with ITV.

Foster is not in favor of a no-deal exit, but said the EU’s attempt to divide Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom is unacceptable. The DUP opposes the so-called backstop, which aims to prevent a border with the Republic of Ireland but keeps the U.K. tied to EU rules. Johnson has vowed to rip it up.

Johnson is also trying to get the parties in Northern Ireland to restore the devolved assembly and executive, which have been suspended since 2017. But Brexit, and the DUP’s relationship with the Conservative government, are obstacles, according to the other main Northern Irish party Sinn Fein.

Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill said the relationship between the DUP and the U.K. government is “toxic” and that Brexit is being “foisted upon us.”

“The British government are playing fast and loose with our peace process,” she told ITV.

Adults Needed: Smurfit CEO (7:30 a.m.)

The CEO of Smurfit, an Irish paper and packaging maker, is hoping the “adults will take over and make sure” there’s a Brexit deal.

“It’s a really important issue for us that there is a deal,” CEO Tony Smurfit told Bloomberg TV.

Earlier:

Sterling’s Slump May Not Sow Seeds of Economic Upswing This TimeJohnson Aims to Meet Brexit Bus Pledge With Health-Care Boost

–With assistance from Thomas Penny, Tim Ross and Stuart Biggs.

To contact the reporters on this story: Peter Flanagan in Dublin at [email protected];Jessica Shankleman in London at [email protected]

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Emma Ross-Thomas at [email protected], Thomas Penny, Stuart Biggs

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