Brexit live news

Brexit

Telegraph
Theresa May held 11th-hour crisis talks with EU leaders on Sunday as she agonised over whether to postpone Tuesday’s “doomed” vote on her Brexit deal. With time rapidly running out, Mrs May phoned Donald Tusk, the European Council president, to explain that MPs would kill off the deal – and possibly her premiership – unless Brussels could throw her a lifeline. Mrs May also called Leo Varadkar, the Irish Taoiseach, to discuss the vote and Thursday’s summit in Brussels. Mr Varadkar’s support is crucial if Mrs May is to win any concessions on the Irish backstop – the biggest obstacle to getting her deal through Parliament. 

Mail
Brexiteers were urged to ‘take the deal and get out’ of the European Union as MPs clashed on Channel 4’s Brexit debate show tonight. Ahead of Tuesday’s crucial Commons vote, Tory deputy chairman James Cleverly made the plea in support of Theresa May’s deal, arguing that it delivered on what people voted for. However he was opposed by arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, Labour shadow cabinet minister Barry Gardiner and Green MP Caroline Lucas as they set out rival visions for the way ahead- almost 900 days after the country voted to leave. The four speakers made opening and closing statements in front of a live studio audience, with Ms Lucas sharing her support for a People’s Vote and Mr Rees-Mogg making the case for a complete break away from the EU.

Independent
Theresa May is set for the bleakest week of her time in power after leadership rivals publicly positioned themselves to grab the Tory crown if her Brexit plans collapse. Ex-cabinet ministers Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab and Esther McVey all signalled a willingness to bid for the leadership amid speculation that Ms May faces a heavy defeat in the crunch Commons vote on her proposed Brexit deal. More resignations were expected from the front bench in the run-up to the vote, with government insiders indicating it could still be delayed. If she survives the first half of the week, Ms May is expected to head to Brussels where she will implore the EU to offer a concession on the hated “Irish backstop” so that she can try to sell the deal to Tory rebels one last time. The prime minister spoke to president of the European Council Donald Tusk on Sunday, who said afterwards that it would be “an important week for the fate of Brexit”.

EU

Telegraph
A shadowy EU official who once described Brexit as “stupid” and is known in Brussels as “the monster” has reportedly told friends he wants to take charge of trade negotiations with the UK.  Martin Selmayr, a former German lawyer who is infamous in EU circles for his Machiavellian management style, hopes to lead the Brexit talks after March 2019, according to the Sun on Sunday. “Selmayr wants to send Barnier off into the horizon and leave it open who will head up trade negotiations with the UK,” an EU source told the newspaper. “He’s very keen to take that position for himself.” A European Commission spokesman dismissed the claims.

Express
JEAN-CLAUDE Juncker’s Brexit-hating former deputy is reportedly seeking to become the EU’s next Brexit negotiator – and could use the position to strong-arm the UK in trade talks. Sources in Brussels say Martin Selmayr is positioning himself to succeed Michel Barnier, The Sun reports. As Secretary-General of the European Commission, Mr Selmayr currently serves as the EU’s top civil servant and is responsible for no deal planning. But he would reportedly “go hard” on Britain in trade talks if he took over from Mr Barnier in a bid to cement his position as a key player in Brussels. However the Commission has vehemently denied the rumours, which are said to be widely circulating in the Belgian capital, and insisted Mr Selmayr has no interest in taking on the role.

Independent
The European Union will renegotiate with Theresa May if she loses the crunch vote on her Brexit deal on 11 December, according to a former European Commission president.  Romano Prodi, who served in the role from 1999 to 2004, said it was crucial that the European Union took steps to avoid the negative consequences of the UK crashing out of the bloc without a deal in March, which would become a significant possibility if Ms May loses the vote this week.  The comments are in direct contradiction to the current commission president Jean-Claude Juncker who has repeatedly said that Ms May’s deal is the only one on offer.  Mr Juncker has told MPs who are considering voting down the agreement in the hope they can secure a better deal that they will be left “disappointed” if they do so. Mr Prodi however claimed that if the situation where Ms May is unable to get her deal through the Commons the EU would respond by going back to the negotiating table.

Express
THE European Court of Justice has ruled the UK can unilaterally revoke Article 50 – but what does that mean for Brexit? Today’s ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) was made shortly after 8am by 28 judges in the space of 20 seconds. The decision comes one day before Prime Minister Theresa May’s crunch vote on the Brexit deal. In an emergency judgement, the Court of Justice said: “The United Kingdom is free to revoke unilaterally the notification of its intention to withdraw from the EU.” The ruling is in line with an opinion made last week by court legal adviser Manuel Campos Sanchez-Bordona.

Times
Theresa May is facing the prospect of a leadership battle with the 48 letters from MPs that would trigger a contest likely to be submitted this week, The Times has been told. Tory challengers broke cover to set out their leadership pitches yesterday before the most difficult week of Mrs May’s troubled premiership. Boris Johnson tried to put himself at the head of a jockeying pack by outlining plans for another negotiation with Brussels. Other former ministers refused to rule themselves out of a contest. Some cabinet ministers were clinging to a fast-fading hope that the prime minster would postpone tomorrow’s so-called meaningful vote on her Brexit deal as whips calculated that she was heading for a three-figure defeat.

Express
THERESA May has been put on alert for a possible leadership coup after a top Tory rival revealed she would consider leading the party if asked. Esther McVey, who resigned from Theresa May’s cabinet last month over the proposed Brexit deal, refused to rule out running for leadership this morning. Speaking on Sky News, she said, if asked, she would give the idea of leadership serious thought. She told Sophy Ridge: “If people asked me, then of course I would give it serious thought… if people asked me. “But at the moment I’m looking at who is in papers, who we can get behind but it shouldn’t be about the personality, it should be about the country and this deal.”

Westmonster
Theresa May will be under huge pressure to quit as Prime Minister after her deal is likely defeated next week, with an attempt to oust her on the cards. Cabinet Ministers have warned her that she will have to quit if her deal is defeated and she fails to renegotiate a better deal with the European Union, according to The Telegraph. May has been steadfast in insisting that there can be no renegotiation and that her deal is the final offer. Either she has to advocate a No Deal when MPs reject her plan, or leave it to a new PM. Meanwhile Tory, DUP and Labour MPs are plotting a vote against May’s leadership of the country as they seek to take her down, reports The Times. A vote expressing no confidence in her ability could be potentially devastating.

Project Fear

Breitbart
Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) director Ashoka Mody has poured scorn on the anti-Brexit forecasts produced by officials recently, suggesting they are “making up the numbers”. The Indian-born economist and Princeton University professor savaged the extreme, negative “No Deal” Brexit scenarios which have been pushed out by the Bank of England, led by Goldman Sach  alumnus Mark Carney, and Her Majesty’s Treasury, led by Chancellor Philip “Remainer Phil” Hammond, as having “no basis in economic theory or empirical findings.” “The Bank of England’s prediction that civilisation will end with Brexit is merely an effort to outdo in shrillness similar analyses by the Treasury and the IMF,” he mocked in an article published on the Independent website.

Breitbart
The Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Major Ports Group has shot down claims of a six-month “logjam” at Britain’s ports in the event of a “No Deal” Brexit in flames. Writing to the Telegraph newspaper “on behalf of the United Kingdom’s major port operators, responsible for handling 75 per cent of the country’s seaborne trade”, Tim Morris was highly dismissive of headlines suggesting a clean break with the EU on World Trade Organization (WTO) terms — “No Deal” — would result in trade seizing up. Morris noted that while the Port of Dover could face certain “risk factors” due to its “unique” circumstances, it only handles 6 percent of British port volumes, and the same issues do not exist at Britain’s other major trade hubs.

Labour Party

Telegraph
Labour has hatched a plan to topple Theresa May rather than directly target the Government, with insiders confirming senior figures have held discussions with the Democratic Unionist Party. Sources close to Jeremy Corbyn have told The Daily Telegraph that members of the two parties have discussed tabling a no confidence motion in the Prime Minister, in a move Labour hopes will unite the warring factions in Parliament against her. Whilst Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit Secretary, last week said it was “inevitable” that Labour would press for a no confidence vote in the Government, party insiders fear that doing so would cause Tory Brexiteers and Remainers to close ranks.

ITV News
Jeremy Corbyn has given his strongest signal yet that Remain would be on the ballot paper in a second referendum. Speaking exclusively to ITV News, the Labour leader added that he remains determined to mount a no confidence motion against the Prime Minister next week, whether she pulls Tuesday’s Brexit vote or not, or even if it fails to get voted through the House of Commons by MPs. Mr Corbyn said he does not believe Theresa May’s Brexit deal will be passed, branding it “ridiculous”, and saying that “it’s not going to work, everybody knows that”.

Scotland

Telegraph
The SNP’s Finance Minister has come under further pressure to rule out middle-class tax rises in this week’s Scottish Budget after it emerged he has received the UK’s third highest funding increase. The Scottish Tories highlighted official figures showing the Chancellor’s spending announcements have handed the SNP government an extra £1.6 billion for next year. They said the Treasury’s Red Book, produced with each UK Budget, showed the only spending areas to get a larger rise from Philip Hammond are the English NHS and transport. Murdo Fraser, their Shadow Finance Minister, said the figures demonstrated that Derek Mackay has enough spending money without having to further increase taxes.

Express
ALMOST 60 percent of Scots believe it would be better for their country to gain independence rather than remain in the UK after a no-deal Brexit, a new poll has indicated. Of the 1,028 people surveyed, nearly three in five (59 percent) said leaving the union would be more beneficial than staying if the UK departs the EU without a Withdrawal Agreement. And 53 percent said Scotland would be better off going it alone even if the Prime Minister gets her Brexit deal through Parliament. The research was carried out by Panelbase for The Sunday Times Scotland and LBC in the run up to a Commons vote on Tuesday in which MPs are expected to shoot down Theresa May’s proposals.  But the shocking results did not translate into a majority for independence, with support for this at 47 percent in the poll – up from 44 percent who voted to leave in the 2014 referendum. 

Marrakesh

Breitbart
“Marrakech C’est Non!” says one of the banners wielded by the Gilets Jaunes at the protests in Paris this weekend: “No to Marrakesh!” This refers, of course, to the United Nations conference in Marrakesh, Morocco later this week; the one where the world’s nations are being asked to sign away their sovereignty, their freedoms and their identity in one of the most pernicious agreements ever devised by the UN: the justly infamous UN Global Compact for Migration. Lots of countries have already announced that they are not going to sign, among them the U.S., Hungary, Poland, Austria, Italy, Israel, Bulgaria, and Australia. There’s a clue as to how toxic this compact is: when even a country as emasculated and politically correct as Australia finds it too much to swallow.

Free trade

Times
Boris Johnson has said that the UK should keep half of its £39 billion divorce bill until the EU agrees a free trade deal that avoids a hard border in Ireland. The former foreign secretary claimed that Brussels would be prepared to renegotiate if faced with credible preparations for a no-deal exit in what he said amounted to a “sensible plan”. His comments yesterday were seen as a clear signal of an impending leadership bid. Mr Johnson said that as a way to further “incentivise” the EU the government should hold back on at least half the cash it has already agreed that it owes in budget contributions.

NHS

Mail
NHS trusts are flouting orders not to use tax avoidance schemes that cost the Treasury £140million a year, the Mail can reveal. Under the loophole, temporary staff are employed by financial consultants and supplied to hospitals as ‘medical services’. It means they are exempt from the 20 per cent VAT usually levied on agency workers. The consultancies providing the services are making huge sums from fees they charge hospitals they supply. Campaigners say the loss in public money from these schemes would be enough to fund 6,000 extra nurses a year.  The fees help bankroll a life of luxury for the firms’ bosses, with the founders of one company living in a mansion with pool and spa, racing sports cars at Silverstone and travelling by private jet for skiing trips.

Times
The NHS needs to perform an extra 10,000 operations a week to meet its target of stabilising waiting lists, a healthcare industry analysis says. The target was described as unrealistic, as hospitals prepared for what is likely to be a challenging few weeks. Last winter non-urgent operations were cancelled for weeks to free up theatre time for emergency cases. Hospital trusts have been told that their waiting lists for non-urgent treatment such as hip operations should be no longer next March than they were a year earlier, but that ambition looks unlikely to be met. In March this year there were 3.8 million patients on the list; in September there were 4.1 million.

Mail
Airlines are routinely cancelling passengers’ return flights if they miss the first leg of the journey, a watchdog claims. The ‘rip-off’ practice can leave travellers thousands of pounds out of pocket, says Which?. So-called ‘no-show’ clauses are often buried in the terms and conditions when a ticket is purchased. They involve cancelling connecting or return flights if someone does not board the plane for their first flight – even if they have made an outward journey on a different flight. Typically no refund is given and seats can be re-sold, allowing airlines to double their money. Alex Neill of Which? said: ‘Missing a flight because you’re stuck in traffic or on a delayed train is frustrating enough, but for the airline to then turn around and say your return journey is cancelled as well is completely unfair and unjustified.

Rail travel

Mail
Rail passengers were this morning braced for fresh disruption following the launch of the latest new timetable. The last time major changes were made, in May, commuters were left stranded as thousands of services were delayed or cancelled. And although network bosses stressed they had planned fewer changes this time around, they warned there could still be ‘pockets of disruption’. Worst-hit in May were 8,000 Thameslink and Great Northern services – run by Govia Thameslink Railway – and 5,000 run by Northern, which were cancelled or severely delayed.  Both companies could face fines in the New Year following an investigation into whether they breached their operating licences.

Road travel

Mail
A new London pollution charge covering large swathes of London is expected to hit one million drivers and raise six times as much as the congestion charge. Mayor Sadiq Khan confirmed that ULEZ – being introduced in Central London next year – will stretch to cover an area surrounded by the North and South Circular roads from October 2021. The £12.50 per day fee means cash-strapped Transport for London will collect between £700 million and £1.5 billion every year- a significantly higher amount than the £230 million collected from the congestion charge. Gareth Bacon, leader of the Conservative group on the London Assembly, told The Times: ‘This could be Sadiq’s poll tax.

Mail
The number of drug-drivers caught on Britain’s roads has hit a record level, figures reveal today. In a nationwide police crackdown, an average of 37 motorists a day failed tests for banned substances. The figure represented more than half of those stopped by officers. Accidents involving drug-drivers also rose by more than 50 per cent compared with a similar operation last year. Alarmingly, police stopped fewer drivers in this year’s operation, but the rate at which motorists failed roadside tests for substances such as cannabis or cocaine increased.

Mail
Petrol prices fell 5p a litre last month – the biggest drop in nearly four years, the latest figures show. The average cost of unleaded is back to mid-May levels of about 130.61p a litre after dropping 5.18p in November, while diesel fell by 2.5p to 134.42p. This equates to a saving of £2.85 on a typical family-sized car’s tank of unleaded fuel. Oil prices have fallen by 24 per cent on the world market while, in the UK, supermarket price wars have also contributed to price cuts, said an RAC report. Petrol prices are still up to 10p a litre higher than they should be as not all the savings have yet been passed on to drivers. Simon Williams, of the RAC, said: ‘This should have translated to the average price of petrol being about 120p a litre but retailers chose not to pass on the savings, meaning the current average still remains unnecessarily high at 125.43p.