Sir Keir wants to make it really, really clear there is “no case” for rejoining the EU, despite footage yesterday showing him claim “we don’t want to diverge” from Brussels’ rulebook. Watch as he channels his inner Ed Miliband, repeating himself almost word-for-word with his rehearsed new line…

Sir Keir’s let the cat out of the bag. In footage obtained by Sky News‘ Sam Coates, taken from a conference of left-wing leaders in Canada last weekend, Starmer admits “we don’t want to diverge” from EU rules, and “the more we share a future together” the better. An extraordinary admission from the man who’s got splinters from sitting on the fence for the last three years…

“Most of the conflict with the UK being outside of the [EU] arises inso far as the UK wants to diverge and do different things to the rest of our EU partners. Obviously the more we share values, the more we share a future together, the less the conflict. Actually different ways of solving problems become available… we don’t want to diverge, we don’t want to lower standards, we don’t want to rip up environmental standards…”

This should hardly be surprising, given he spent years pushing for a second referendum under Corbyn. The whole point of leaving was to become dynamic and nimble, rather than beholden to the whims of bureaucrats hundreds of miles away. Starmer has already admitted he prefers Davos to Westminster. The mask is slipping…

This morning Labour are talking tough on “smashing Channel migrant gangs” to stop the boats, vowing to treat traffickers like terrorists by freezing assets and restricting their movements. While Starmer appears in both The Sun and The Times to sell his migrant deal to voters, the Conservatives are already on the counterattack: not only does the deal junk the Rwanda plan, it opens the door to thousands of EU migrants in exchange for a new borders agreement with Brussels. Starmer is willing to accept a share of asylum seekers in return for the EU taking back migrants who arrive via small boats. Labour insist this is up for negotiation, which is code for ‘yes’…

Stamer told The Times this morning:

“We effectively exited the returns agreement we were in and have never replaced it. The first job is to secure the borders and make sure we are the ones determining who comes to this country.”

The Tories claim this would amount to around 100,000 EU asylum seekers a year, based on a Council of the EU document produced in June which says that distribution of migrants within a sharing agreement should be based “on the size of the population and the economy of the Member State”. The figure could go even higher if the migration crisis worsens. 100,000 more migrants a year, and 100,000 fewer homes built after Labour opposed the scrapping of the EU derived nutrient neutrality laws…

The UK is rejoining the European Union’s £85 billion scientific research programme, Horizon Europe. Something that remainers claimed would be impossible outside the EU. Rishi Sunak announced the “bespoke” new deal this morning, which also includes an association with Copernicus – the EU’s Earth observation programme. Under the agreement, the government won’t pay anything for the years it’s been excluded from the programme. There is also a clawback clause, which will provide compensation should British scientists receive proportionally less funding. The Prime Minister said:

“We have delivered a deal that enables UK scientists to confidently take part in the world’s largest research collaboration programme – Horizon Europe. We have worked with our EU partners to make sure that this is right deal for the UK, unlocking unparalleled research opportunities, and also the right deal for British taxpayers.”

Following the Windsor Framework, it’s yet further evidence of Rishi using an improved relationship with Brussels to return the UK into EU deals that are in our mutual interests. Guido won’t be surprised to see a rational solution to scheduled automative sector tariffs found…

Michael Gove has confirmed overnight briefings that the government is tearing up “nutrient neutrality” waterway pollution rules to unleash housebuilding across the UK. The restrictive EU laws, which blocked certain housing developments even when planning permission had already been granted, will be scrapped to allow up to 100,000 new homes to be built by 2030. The government estimates this will give an £18 billion boost to the economy…

Gove said this morning:

“We are committed to building the homes this country needs and to enhancing our environment. The way EU rules have been applied has held us back. These changes will provide a multi-billion pound boost for the UK economy and see us build more than 100,000 new homes. Protecting the environment is paramount which is why the measures we’re announcing today will allow us to go further to protect and restore our precious waterways whilst still building the much-needed homes this country needs.”

The minimal polluting discharge from new homes will be offset with a £280 million investment in a Nutrient Mitigation Scheme run by Natural England. Developers will no longer be obligated to offset the pollution at cost themselves. Time to get building…

The EU has rebuffed Rishi Sunak’s efforts to secure a deal which would see illegal immigrants returned to France. The government is keen to revive the Dublin Agreement, which allows EU member states to return refugees, as a post-Brexit deterrent for Channel crossings. However an EU official this year told one of the UK’s top security advisers that a deal was off the table after Rishi’s initial efforts to secure a deal with France specifically were previously ruled out. A UK government spokesman said they “remain open to working with the EU to take forward negotiations on a UK-EU returns deal”. On small boats, they’re clearly not rowing in the same direction…