Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Theresa May survives confidence vote and reaches out to politicians from all parties to try and secure Brexit… Theresa May’s hopes of reaching a cross-party solution to the Brexit paralysis were dealt a serious blow before they even began on Wednesday night as she was snubbed by Jeremy Corbyn. After winning a confidence vote by 325 votes to 306, Mrs May asked the leaders of the opposition parties to meet her individually to discuss a way forward for the Brexit deal. But her invitation was turned down by Mr Corbyn, who said he would only hold “substantive” talks if Mrs May first agreed to take a no deal Brexit off the table. Downing Street made it clear that Britain will leave the EU on March 29 regardless of whether a deal is in place or not. However, Philip Hammond told business leaders that the “threat” of a no-deal Brexit could be taken “off the table” within days and potentially lead to Article 50 “rescinded”, a leaked recording of a conference call reveals. The snub from Mr Corbyn means Mrs May must find ways of winning over Labour backbenchers and her own rebel MPs if she is to stand any chance of getting a deal through Parliament. – Telegraph (£) …but calls out Jeremy Corbyn for refusing to meet her Theresa May last night appealed for MPs to set aside tribal loyalties to find a way forward on Brexit after dramatically surviving an attempt to oust her. The Prime Minister said the British people wanted politicians to ‘get on with’ delivering on the verdict of the referendum – rebuking Jeremy Corbyn for turning down her offer of talks. The address to the nation from Downing Street came after she defeated Mr Corbyn’s no-confidence motion by 325 votes to 306, thwarting the Labour leader’s bid to force a general election. The victory was possible because the DUP and Tory Brexiteers came back into the fold despite dealing her a vicious humiliation on her EU deal the night before. Speaking outside Number 10 late last night, Mrs May said: ‘I understand that to people getting on with their lives, away from Westminster, the events of the past 24 hours will have been unsettling. Overwhelmingly, the British people want us to get on with delivering Brexit, and also address the other important issues they care about. But the deal which I have worked to agree with the European Union was rejected by MPs, and by a large margin. I believe it is my duty to deliver on the British people’s instruction to leave the EU. And I intend to do so.’ – Daily Mail Theresa May ‘must rule out no deal’ before Labour will hold Brexit talks, says John McDonnell – ITV News > WATCH: Theresa May’s statement outside Downing Street last night David Lidington to lead cross‑party talks… Theresa May is likely to entrust David Lidington with the job of leading cross-party Brexit talks after she suffered the largest Commons defeat in British political history. The prime minister offered the discussions after MPs rejected her deal by a majority of 230, with more than a third of Conservatives rebelling. This morning senior officials were considering how best to approach the cross-party initiative. Under the provisional plan Mr Lidington, the de facto deputy prime minister, would lead the initiative, along with Mr Gove, the environment secretary, Julian Smith, the chief whip, and Gavin Barwell, Mrs May’s chief of staff. Tory Eurosceptics are likely to be concerned by the make-up of the team, preferring to see more hardline Brexiteers in the group. With only 72 days to go before Britain leaves, Labour MPs have demanded that Mrs May extend Article 50 to give time for a consensus to be found. – The Times (£) …with Theresa May seemingly refusing to rule out the UK staying in a customs union as talks get underway… Theresa May has refused to rule out entering a customs union with the European Union as she prepares to start cross-party talks to save her Brexit deal. The talks will get under way on Thursday at the Cabinet Office, led by David Lidington, Mrs May’s de facto deputy, in an echo of the coalition talks between the Tories and the Liberal Democrats after the 2010 general election. Mrs May came under pressure from Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, at Prime Minister’s Questions, who asked whether Mrs May could confirm that her Government had “ruled out any form of customs union the European Union as part of their reaching-out exercise”. Such a move would be unacceptable to Tory Brexiteers because a customs union with the bloc would almost certainly prevent the UK from striking independent trade deals. Mrs May said: “The Government wants first to ensure that we deliver on the result of the referendum—that is leaving the European Union— and we want to do so in a way that ensures we respect the votes of those who voted to leave in that referendum. – Telegraph (£) …but No. 10 rules out a customs union after Brexiteers warn of Tory split Downing Street has ruled out any movement on customs union membership after Brexit-supporting Conservatives told Theresa May that a change of course to gain support for her deal would risk a serious party split, and possible breakaway. The government set out its position on Wednesday night before the prime minister began Brexit talks with party leaders. May responded to the historic defeat of her Brexit bill on Tuesday by pledging to speak to “senior parliamentarians” to identify a deal that could secure a majority vote. However, after one leave-supporting backbencher said that if she made any concessions on the customs union “there’s a real risk to the party staying together”, No 10 stressed its commitment to the principle of an “independent trade deal”, which May does not believe is compatible with a customs union. Those who support a permanent customs union include the Labour frontbench under Jeremy Corbyn and Tory backers of a Norway-style deal. It is unlikely talks with either group will get off the ground if May maintains her red lines, although Labour, the Scottish National party and the Liberal Democrats have insisted May must keep all options on the table before talks can begin. – Guardian Remainer Lords ‘will hijack Brexit and force Britain to stay in EU customs union’ – The Sun Philip Hammond tells business chiefs MPs will stop no-deal Brexit Philip Hammond told business leaders that the “threat” of a no-deal Brexit could be taken “off the table” within days and potentially lead to Article 50 “rescinded”, a leaked recording of a conference call reveals. The Chancellor set out how a backbench Bill could effectively be used to stop any prospect of no deal. He suggested that ministers may even back the plan when asked for an “assurance” by the head of Tesco that the Government would not oppose the motion. He claimed next week’s Bill, which could force the Government to extend Article 50, was likely to win support and act as the “ultimate backstop” against a no-deal Brexit, as a “large majority in the Commons is opposed to no deal under any circumstances”. A recording of the call, passed to The Daily Telegraph, recounts how the Chancellor, Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, and Stephen Barclay, the Brexit Secretary, spent nearly an hour talking to the leaders of 330 leading firms. They included the heads of Siemens, Amazon, Scottish Power, Tesco and BP, all of whom warned against no deal. – Telegraph (£) The Hammond phone call – full transcript of his conversation with 11 business leaders – Telegraph (£) EU leaders urge Theresa May to abandon Brexit red lines after crushing defeat… European Union leaders have urged Theresa May to abandon her Brexit red lines after her crushing defeat in the House of Commons, as the Irish deputy prime minister admitted there would be a hard border in Ireland if there is a no deal exit. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, warned the EU had never been so worried about the prospect of a damaging no deal but he added the door was still open for a closer relationship with the bloc. “If the UK chooses to shift its red lines in the future, and it makes that choice, a choice to be ambitious, and go beyond a simple free trade agreement, which would be quite something, then the European Union will be immediately ready to go hand in hand with that development and to give a favourable response,” said Mr Barnier. – Telegraph (£) …with Brussels reportedly ready to delay withdrawal until next year European Union officials are examining plans to delay Brexit until 2020 after Germany and France indicated their willingness to extend withdrawal negotiations because of Britain’s political turmoil. Diplomats and officials are preparing a longer than envisaged extension of the EU’s Article 50 exit procedure because the extent of Theresa May’s defeat in the House of Commons last night. Previous planning had centred on a three-month delay to Brexit from March 29 until the end of June but now, according to multiple sources, EU officials are investigating legal routes to postpone Britain’s withdrawal until next year. Peter Altmaier, Germany’s economy minister, who is close to Angela Merkel, the chancellor, and to Martin Selmayr, the powerful German head of the EU’s civil service, said that Britain needed an extension to find a consensus on the way forward after the vote.“The European Union should allow for additional time in order to achieve a clear position by the British parliament and people,” he told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. “I would see this as a reasonable request.” – The Times (£) Germany and France signal willingness to delay Brexit – Guardian Labour leadership reportedly still mulling a second referendum… Labour could give the green light for its MPs to back either a second referendum or the softest Brexit within days, under plans being discussed by the leadership. Jeremy Corbyn is facing mounting pressure from his own side to update his Brexit position once today’s vote of no confidence is concluded. The government is also embarking on cross party talks and is desperate to know what the Labour frontbench wants. The current Labour policy is if the party cannot get a general election it will support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a second referendum. Senior Labour figures are holding daily Brexit subcommittee meetings to evolve its position. One option favoured among some senior figures is to support both the softest possible Brexit as well as a second referendum. – The Times (£) …as a clutch of Labour MPs tell Corbyn to back another vote… Jeremy Corbyn came under fire from Labour MPs and opposition parties last night after he refused to shift his position and support a second Brexit referendum despite failing to trigger a general election. A Labour spokesman said that the party would continue to try to bring down Theresa May’s administration despite losing a vote of no confidence in the government by 325 to 306. Labour MPs demanded that the party change its stance, warning that voters and supporters would not accept any hesitation. The Liberal Democrats also challenged Mr Corbyn either to back or reject another public poll as they announced plans to try to force a Commons vote on the issue on Monday. Under present Labour policy if the party cannot secure a general election it will consider all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a second referendum. Last night a spokesman for Mr Corbyn said that the party would not move on to other options because it still believed that trying to force a general election was the “best outcome”. He also refused to be drawn on how the party would vote next week. – The Times (£) …and others push citizens’ assembly plan MPs pushing for a citizens’ assembly, to try to forge a Brexit consensus, are exploring ways to put the idea to parliament in an amendment next week. The chief proponents of the idea, the Labour MPs Stella Creasy and Lisa Nandy, have been campaigning for an assembly similar to those held in Ireland and Canada to tackle thorny political topics such as abortion legislation. The plan would involve 500 members of the public, facilitated by experts, and attempt to reach a consensus for the path ahead. Group members are selected at random but representative of the demographics of the UK. Writing for the Guardian in a joint appeal, Nandy and Creasy said the Brexit debate had become “unspeakably awful” and there seemed no other way to find consensus in the House of Commons. “We are nearly three years on from the referendum, and yet we are still arguing about the ‘will of the people’. Opinion polls and focus groups are conflicted. As has been made abundantly clear, referendums alone, like elections, are blunt instruments that remove complexity in pursuit of simple propositions,” they wrote. – Guardian Remain-dominated Brexit Select Committee calls for indicative votes on Brexit options Britain’s parliament should hold a series of indicative votes as soon as possible to see if there is a Brexit option which is supported by a majority, a committee of lawmakers said on Wednesday. In a report published after parliament rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, the Committee on Exiting the European Union also said that if parliament could not agree on a way forward by the March 29 exit day, lawmakers should be able to vote on whether to extend the Article 50 negotiation period. “The House of Commons needs to see if there is a consensus for a different approach and holding a series of indicative votes as soon as possible will help us to do that,” the committee’s chair, Labour lawmaker Hilary Benn, said in a statement. – Reuters Support for Parliament plummets as Brexit chaos reigns Three-quarters of voters say the crisis-hit EU departure process has shown that the current generation of MPs are “not up to the job”, according to the data from polling firm ComRes. A root-and-branch overhaul of the country’s entire political system is wanted by a massive 72% of people quizzed in the survey. But despite the chaos embroiling Brexit, a majority of voters (53%) still want the result of the 2016 EU Leave vote to be honoured by ensuring the UK’s withdrawal from the bloc and do not want a second referendum to be triggered. The scathing verdict on the Westminster political elite is delivered today in the ComRes poll of more than 2,000 voters commissioned by the Daily Express. They were quizzed in the run up to the crushing Commons defeat for Theresa May’s EU Withdrawal Agreement earlier this week that has left the Brexit process hanging in the balance. Their response is almost certain to be seen as a warning from the electorate that Parliament is at risk of losing the public’s trust completely. Andrew Hawkins, executive chairman of ComRes, said: “Parliamentarians will be alarmed to see the extent to which the Brexit stalemate has damaged the reputation of politics and politicians and is triggering significant support for constitutional change. – Express > Dr Sheila Lawlor on BrexitCentral today: Democracy is in danger as our political leaders seek to subvert the Leave vote Electoral Commission preparing for possible second referendum Britain’s election watchdog is drawing up contingency plans to hold a second referendum and to participate in the forthcoming elections to the European parliament if Brexit is postponed. EU and UK officials are privately examining what might happen if an extension to Article 50 were agreed that lasted beyond the present European parliamentary session. A number of the UK’s 73 seats have been reallocated in anticipation of Brexit for the elections in May but the EU would be open to legal challenge if British voters were not represented in the parliament while the UK was still an EU member. If the government withdrew Article 50 before May the UK would also have to have representation in the parliament. A spokeswoman for the Electoral Commission, which regulates UK elections and referendums, said they were taking all eventualities into account. “As part of our contingency planning, we are making certain preparations that will enable us to swiftly take the necessary action should circumstances change and these elections need to be held,” she said. – The Times (£) Markets expect Brexit to be delayed, Bank of England Governor says Investors expect a delay to Britain’s exit from the EU following the crushing defeat of the prime minister’s Brexit deal, the Bank of England governor has said. Mark Carney said the reaction of financial markets in the wake of the vote showed a degree of confidence that a no-deal Brexit was unlikely on 29 March. The pound bounced back against the dollar on Tuesday night amid optimism that article 50 would be prolonged and that the prospect of a disorderly severance from Brussels had receded. “Public market commentary, consistent with our market intelligence, is that a rebound appears to reflect some expectation that the process of resolution would be extended and that the prospect of no-deal may have been diminished,” said Carney. Speaking to MPs on the Treasury select committee on Wednesday, the governor said investors were following developments in parliament closely to detect shifts in the direction of Brexit. The reaction of EU officials and governments across the continent was also being watched closely. – Guardian SNP guilty of ‘crooked politics’ over proposed second EU referendum question, says former deputy leader The SNP is guilty of “crooked politics” by proposing a second EU referendum that offers Leave voters a choice between only Remain and Theresa May’s deal, the party’s former deputy leader has said. Jim Sillars, who voted Leave in 2016, told the Telegraph he vigorously opposed both options and expressed his disgust at an email he received from Ian Blackford disclosing the plan. Mr Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, confirmed at Prime Minister’s Questions that SNP policy is to ask people “whether they want the Prime Minister’s deal or they want to remain in the European Union.” Mr Sillars also hit out at Joanna Cherry, the party’s home affairs spokesman at Westminster, saying she had denounced as “liars” people like him who campaigned for a Leave vote two-and-a-half years ago. – Telegraph (£) Gisela Stuart: Why a general election may be the only way to save Brexit If Theresa May had lost the vote of confidence in her Government last night, we might now have been heading for a general election. But the outcome could well be the same even though she won. Tuesday’s vote put an end to the draft Withdrawal Agreement. The biggest stumbling block was the Irish backstop – the very thing designed to prevent a disorderly Brexit has become its most likely trigger. Without the backstop the agreement could win enough support. However, the Government’s defeat has given confidence to Remainers that Brexit can be diluted further. The public voted to Leave in 2016. Remain campaigners keep telling us that it was not clear what leaving meant but the Remain campaign itself seemed perfectly clear. Coming out of the EU would mean leaving the single market and the customs union. To think that the vote was for anything else is either delusion or deception. – Gisela Stuart for the Telegraph (£) David Aaronovitch: Corbyn’s clique are the old guard Brexiteers Most people wear their politics lightly, like favourite items of clothing to be adjusted slightly in colour and trim as the fashions alter. They don’t really understand those who keep their ideologies like old Mormon underwear: unchanged, close to the skin and on at all times. So it is with many bright new Labour members, who sunnily signed up to the Corbyn project and today find themselves wondering why he doesn’t share their view of Brexit. But now it’s crucial: what, exactly, does Labour want? The most popular explanation in Labour circles for Jeremy Corbyn’s vagueness on the issue has been “constructive ambiguity”. I never liked it but cleverer people than me said it was a canny strategy, borne out by the polls. In this twilit vacuum, various Labour politicians have grown their own positions and, as Mao nearly said, a thousand mushrooms have bloomed. Now, however, Mrs May is prepared to talk to other people about what to do next and so, we are assured, “Jeremy’s door is always open”. And this is where the puzzle begins. Mr Corbyn, of course, sort of promised his party that, unlike in the bad old New Labour days, members were now the boss and he was their servant. And it could not be clearer what his members want. Recent polling shows more than 70 per cent of them believe that Mr Corbyn should support a second referendum, in which 88 per cent of them would then vote to Remain. Polling among Labour voters shows a similar pattern. When the shadow Brexit secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, kept open the prospect of a second referendum in his speech to last year’s Labour conference, he got the biggest ovation of the week. – David Aaronovitch for The Times (£) Matthew Elliott: Beyond the Westminster bubble, there’s more to politics than Brexit infighting Theresa May’s consistent lead over Jeremy Corbyn is one of her key sources of strength as she goes through this turbulent time. Not only did she win the confidence motion before Christmas, but even having lost the meaningful vote on her Brexit plan this evening, her aides in Number 10 will continue to remind MPs about her lead in the polls. One reason for this lead is undoubtedly Corbyn, who is losing his cuddly image. His lack of leadership over antisemitism in the Labour party has rightly struck home, resonating more strongly with the electorate than previous attacks, and voters are beginning to lose patience with his continued refusal to clarify Labour’s own Brexit strategy. Were Labour to be led by a more prime ministerial figure, the Conservatives’ support would undoubtedly fall. But another reason for the Tory lead is that, beyond the SW1 bubble, many voters respect the Prime Minister for her diligence and understand the constraints that she is working under. After all, Britain has a rich history of strong female leaders in turbulent times, women who were prepared to knuckle down and get the job done in challenging circumstances. – Matthew Elliott for City A.M. Nick Timothy: Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement is dead, but so too is no-deal The House of Commons has confidence in the Government, but no confidence in its most important policy. In that respect, nothing has changed. And yet everything has changed. Theresa May can no longer play for time. She cannot hold a second vote on her deal. And she cannot stop Parliament wresting control of Brexit. No-dealers continue to fight, but they increasingly resemble Teruo Nakamura, the Japanese soldier who went on fighting the Second World War until 1974. Any hope they have of bringing about a no-deal Brexit has gone. So, too, has any chance that Parliament can force Brussels back to the negotiating table. True, before Tuesday’s vote, there were some signs that Berlin might help to pass the deal at the second attempt. Downing Street probably over-interpreted Angela Merkel’s commitments to Theresa May on Sunday, but before the vote Heiko Maas, Germany’s foreign minister, suggested talks could be reopened. His predecessor, Sigmar Gabriel, said: “We Europeans… should keep seeking compromises.” And the CSU, Merkel’s coalition partner, proposed bilateral Anglo-German talks to break the stalemate. But after a crushing defeat in the Commons, the EU knows Theresa May’s deal is dead. And they know that when Parliament takes control, Brexit can only get softer. – Nick Timothy for the Telegraph (£) Joe Wallen: Leavers’ heartland won’t give up the fight to break free It’s rare that the wall-mounted television in the Victory Inn shows anything but football, sometimes darts. But yesterday staff at the pub in Plymouth were expecting a crowd to gather for the vote on the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal, shown live from Westminster. “Brexit’s a big deal round here,” said one of the locals. “People have gone crazy for it.” The Victory is situated in the predominantly white, working-class district of Honicknowle. More than 40 per cent of local residents work in semi-skilled or unskilled industries, and the close-knit neighbourhood recorded the highest Leave vote in the area in 2016 – a prodigious 70.8 per cent. They show no signs of changing their minds. Such has been the anger generated by Theresa May’s perceived sell-out of Brexit that the local Conservative MP Johnny Mercer – once a Remainer – has switched sides and last week said he would vote against Mrs May. – Joe Wallen for the Telegraph (£) Daniel Hannan: There is nothing intrinsically wrong with being ‘half-in, half-out’ of the EU – just like the British public voted Under all the usual rules of politics, it would be over for Theresa May and her European policy. To lose by 230 votes is off the scale. Governments simply don’t suffer defeats like that. Yet the usual rules ceased to apply at some point over the past two years. One after another, the conventions and precedents have been pulverised. The idea that a PM might survive a humiliation on this scale, unthinkable though it would recently have been, now seems almost normal. What will happen next? My guess is that Mrs May will continue to push for a version of her deal. The Labour Party will try but fail to topple her in a confidence motion. The EU will remain intransigent. And we will end up back where we were, with a tweaked version of the same proposal being placed yet again before incredulous MPs. There is an overwhelming case for compromise. It was intrinsic in the referendum result: a 52-48 vote is indeed, as supporters of Mrs May’s deal say, a mandate for a partial and cautious recovery of powers. – Daniel Hannan MEP for the Telegraph (£) Stewart Jackson: Don’t be tempted to pivot to a customs union, Prime Minister – the consequences would be dire As expected, Jeremy Corbyn’s No Confidence motion tabled yesterday served to unify and focus the Conservative Party on the existential danger, not just to our party but to the whole country, of a red in tooth and claw Labour government. In that sense, it rather backfired. Perversely, it has ramped up the pressure on Corbyn to enunciate a clearer position in response to the defeat of the Prime Minister’s unlamented Withdrawal Agreement, between the Europhile majority of his party pressing for extension or revocation of Article 50, a Norway model soft Brexit, or a second referendum, and the millions of Labour voters who supported Brexit. I cannot see that Corbyn will move much, because he still commands the trust and support of the Labour membership and influential figures like Len McCluskey and because he believes that the EU is a plutocratic capitalist cartel dedicated to neoliberalism and doing the bidding of rapacious multinationals – a view he’s held since about 1983. Labour’s introspection has bought the Prime Minister some breathing space. Although as a result of John Bercow’s decision to disregard Commons precedent and rip up the rule book to allow the Remain ultras like Dominic Grieve to circumscribe the Government’s room for manoeuvre in last week’s business motion, she has only four more days to outline what her Plan B might be. – Stewart Jackson for ConservativeHome Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: Europe is in no fit state to handle the risks of its own Brexit brinkmanship Half the eurozone is either in recession or close. The currency bloc has again mismanaged cyclical policy at a crucial turning point, allowing a downturn in global trade to metastasize into something worse. While Europe’s leaders have been distracted imposing their economic settlement on Britain, the world has been imposing its economic settlement on them. A crisis has crept up on the EU. Whether or not they fully understand the financial forces at work – and they did not in 2008 or 2011 – some must be wondering whether the eurozone can endure the shock of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit in these circumstances – at least of the kind that entails a rupture in trade flows, and if it entails no such rupture then Project Fear is shown to be an empty threat. Michel Barnier said the “risk of a no-deal has never seemed so high”. For the first time since the Brexit saga began the EU side faces the consequences of its own maximalist strategy. It misread British democracy, thinking it enough to stitch up a weak Prime Minister. Few ever imagined that the Meaningful Vote would be turned against them. – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard for the Telegraph (£) Asa Bennett: Without Brexiteer backing, Theresa May risks having to woo Labour with a softer Brexit The emphatic rejection of the Brexit deal last night has left Theresa May with two ways forward in her mission to get an agreement through: extract better terms from Brussels, or soften the terms of exit so that even Remain-inclined MPs do not mind it passing Parliament. Cabinet Brexiteers want the Prime Minister to pursue the first option, with Andrea Leadsom recording a TV interview before the deal had even been rejected to say that fresh concessions from the European Union were needed. But others fear that the second path is inevitable, with Michael Gove telling my colleague Anna Mikhailova that his Tory colleagues had “voted for a softer Brexit” by throwing out Mrs May’s deal. There is a sound logic behind what the Environment Secretary says. As I warned last month, if Mrs May can’t rely on the Tory benches to get her deal through, she has to look for support from elsewhere in the House of Commons. – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) Telegraph: The Hammond phone call shows Parliament could commit a great betrayal The Prime Minister opened her speech on the no-confidence motion by stating that a general election would not be in the national interest. It was, she said, an opportunistic attempt by Labour to capitalise on her catastrophic defeat the previous evening when her Brexit deal was rejected by a majority of 230. It is worth observing that in 2017 Theresa May thought that it was in the national interest to hold a snap election, itself arguably an opportunistic attempt to exploit Labour’s perceived weakness. That decision, and the failure to win a majority, is the reason why she is in her current predicament. But that does not mean an election is wrong. If Parliament cannot decide how to proceed then going to the country is traditionally the fail-safe mechanism of democracy. Furthermore, the Conservatives do themselves a disservice to fear an election. As Jeremy Corbyn’s hapless Commons performance confirmed, he is unsuited to be prime minister and the electorate knows that, as the polls testify. – Telegraph (£) editorial The Sun: Theresa May’s life is about to get even tougher after her confidence vote wasted yet another day before Brexit It is hard to imagine, but life is about to get even tougher for Theresa May. Yes, she survived her confidence vote, after a mind-bogglingly pointless seven-hour Commons debate that merely wasted another day before Brexit. But now she has a tightrope to walk. It is said the PM could be tempted to bin her commitment to “global Britain” and sign up to a permanent Customs Union with the EU to win Labour support. That would upend everything she, and The Sun, have argued since 2016 about trading with the wider world. But we’re the least of her worries. Such a shift would alienate scores of Brexit-backing MPs, split the Tories forever and could guarantee the Corbyn Government sane people want to avoid. It’s all very well panicky Cabinet Remainers begging her to soften Brexit. At what cost? Marxism will cause vastly more harm to Britain than No Deal. – The Sun says Brexit in Brief May should propose a UK-EU trade deal – David Collins for Politeia Sterling strengthens – John Redwood’s Diary Labour must pursue a better Brexit deal, not a second referendum – Owen Jones for the Guardian Taking back control: Parliament’s plan for Brexit – James Forsyth for The Spectator Macron attacks ‘manipulated’ Brexit vote after May’s deal rejected – Express David Cameron: ‘I don’t regret’ calling Brexit referendum – Politico Cabinet Ministers demand Brexit is delayed by one year so UK can prepare for no deal exit – Express