Tom Goodenough

It's no surprise that Italy’s prime minister Matteo Renzi chose to host a press conference with Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande on an aircraft carrier; this was a piece of theatre designed to show the EU is fighting back. 'Many thought the EU was finished after Brexit,' said Renzi. Not so, he claimed. Instead, Britain's decision to leave the EU was the chance to 'write a future chapter' and 'relaunch the powerful ideas of unity and peace, freedom and dreams', the Italian PM insisted. All very well, you might think, but what does that mean? Defending the continent against the threat of Islamic terrorism was a key topic. Angela Merkel called for intelligence services across the continent to share more information to help fight extremism. So far, so sensible.

Can Jeremy Corbyn reach out to - and win over - Tory voters at a general election? It sounds like an unlikely prospect but that's exactly what the Labour leader pledged to do in the party's latest hustings last night. Corbyn said that his aim is to convince people 'by the policies we put forward...(including) some people who have been tempted to vote Tory' before. It certainly sounds as if Corbyn himself isn't wholly convinced by his statement, as many of those hearing it are unlikely to be either. An Ipsos Mori poll recently gave Corbyn a woeful net approval rating of -33, so it's true he needs to broaden his support base somehow.

Theresa May has somewhat shamefully maintained her reticence over the rights of EU workers to stay in Britain after Brexit. But some in the 'Leave' campaign are continuing to pile pressure on the PM to do the right thing and give assurance to the 3.5million Europeans living and working in Britain. Gisela Stuart was clear throughout the referendum that these workers should not be booted out of Britain in the event of a 'Leave' vote. And in a campaign which painted few in glory, Stuart is an exception for actually sticking by what she said. Here's what she had to say this morning: 'I think there is no debate about guaranteeing rights, it's a question about what point does the Government become explicit that existing rights will be honoured.

The dawn of a new government sparks a search amongst journalists for the flashpoints and tensions within it which are likely to bubble over. Just weeks after Theresa May walked into Downing Street, the source of that potential turmoil in her Government already seems clear. And if the revelation of the Prime Minister's intervention between Liam Fox and Boris Johnson is anything to go on, it looks like tension between the two may cause some trouble for the Prime Minister over the months and years ahead. Liam Fox sent a letter to Boris (copying in the PM) in which he made a power grab for some of the Foreign Office's remit to be transferred over to his Department for International Trade.

Labour has opted for Steve Rotheram to be their candidate in Liverpool's mayoral election. It's a big boost for Jeremy Corbyn, as Rotheram has been fiercely loyal to the Labour leader since Corbyn made him his PPS - essentially his right-hand man in Westminster - last September. He's stuck by Corbyn along the way, and Rotheram suggested after winning the vote amongst Labour members that it could well have helped him defeat current mayor Joe Anderson and Luciana Berger, amongst others, in today's vote: 'When we phoned people I think what potentially did have an impact was this underused and rare commodity in politics at the moment and that is loyalty.' Having won the Labour nomination, it now looks almost certain Rotheram will go the whole way and win the mayoral contest next May.

Is the tide in Germany turning against Turkey? It certainly seems to be. A poll today shows a majority of Germans favour ending the refugee deal agreed between the EU and Turkey back in March. The agreement has helped stem the flow of migrants flooding into Europe, making a repeat of the 1.1m people who arrived in Germany last year unlikely. But the deal came at a price: Turkey won a renewal of aid, the prospect of visa free travel for its people across Europe and the biggest prize of all - 're-energized' EU membership talks. Yet for all the bluster talked about the EU deal, it seems that many Germans are not happy with it and want it to end.

We were warned during the referendum run-up that Brexit could be a disaster for tourism. Much of the Project Fear medicine focused on what it might mean for British tourists heading overseas; the answer could be largely summarised as all doom and gloom. Abta, for instance, warned that ‘a Brexit could…affect the flow of trade and travel’. In short, the message was clear: Brexit was bad news for the travel industry. But what we heard less about was how the referendum might affect the numbers actually heading to Britain. Now, a month on from the June 23rd vote, we have the answer:  British tourism is booming. In July, bookings for flights landing in the UK went up by more than seven per cent compared to the month before the referendum.