Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team After parliamentary setback, Theresa May wins Brexit cheer at Brussels summit… British Prime Minister Theresa May made clear her desire on Thursday to move Brexit talks forward to a discussion of a future trade relationship at a dinner with EU leaders who applauded her for progress made so far. A day after she suffered a defeat in parliament over her blueprint for quitting the EU, May told her peers at a summit in Brussels that she was on course to deliver Brexit and urged them to speed up the talks to unravel more than 40 years of union. Offering her reassurance that they will endorse on Friday the launch of a second phase of negotiations on a free trade pact and an initial transition period, leaders responded to May’s remarks by a brief round of applause before she was to leave the summit to allow them to discuss Brexit without her. – Reuters What happens in Brexit Phase 2? – Politico Theresa May’s surprise Christmas present: applause from the EU – Politico Europe’s leaders want to negotiate with Theresa May — and not British MPs over Brexit – The Sun …as the PM tells the EU that Brexit is still ‘on course’ despite first Commons defeat… Theresa May has reassured EU leaders she is still “on course to deliver Brexit” despite suffering her first Commons loss in a key vote. The Prime Minister addressed fellow leaders over dinner in Brussels on Thursday night, where she stressed her desire to get on with shaping a “deep and special” future partnership. The night before, MPs claimed to have “taken back control” of Brexit after defeating the government to secure a “meaningful vote” on the final EU withdrawal deal. – Evening Standard Theresa May tells EU leaders she won’t be deflected from delivering Brexit by humiliating Commons defeat – Daily Mail > On BrexitCentral’s YouTube: Theresa May: Withdrawal Bill making good progress …but she could reportedly back down over enshrining the Brexit date in law… Theresa May is likely to be forced to drop a bid to enshrine the Brexit date in law after Tory rebels warned of a second defeat in a week. Despite grassroots anger over their conduct, the emboldened rebels told the Prime Minister to back down or face another damaging Parliamentary showdown. Downing Street had been reluctant to concede over fixing the date as March 29, 2019. Mrs May had said she would not ‘tolerate’ dissent on the issue. – Daily Mail Theresa May has delayed a key decision about Britain’s Brexit trade deal in bid to unite warring Cabinet ministers – The Sun Dominic Grieve’s self-righteous gang of Conservative rebels huff and puff as they cause bodily harm to Theresa May’s Brexit plans – Trevor Kavanagh for the Sun Brexit defeat will help May secure a deal – Philip Collins for the Times (£) Marxists are knocking on the door of No 10 and Tory rebels have slid back the bolt – Nadine Dorries for the Times (£) …as MPs are warned the EU will not renegotiate the Brexit deal if Parliament rejects it MPs have been warned Brussels will not re-negotiate a Brexit deal if Parliament rejects it, as EU leaders reacted to Theresa May’s defeat on key legislation. A group of Tory rebels forced an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill on Wednesday night, as they secured their demand for a “meaningful vote” on any Brexit deal. But, despite MPs celebrating their victory over the Government, EU leaders gathering in Brussels warned the vote will complicate the Brexit process. Luxembourg’s president Xavier Bettel suggested the UK will not be able to return to Brussels asking for a different exit deal, if it is voted down by the House of Commons. – Sky News Tory rebels have made ‘no deal’ Brexit more likely, EU leaders warn – Telegraph (£) John Bercow declares David Davis’s handling of Brexit impact papers ‘regrettable’ but he is not in contempt of Parliament David Davis has escaped the possibility of being held in contempt of parliament over the non-existence of Brexit impact assessment papers, but was criticised by the Speaker, John Bercow, for being unclear to MPs when he discussed the matter. Bercow, giving a rare public rebuke to a minister, told the Commons it was ‘most regrettable’ that Davis had taken so long to hand papers over to the Brexit select committee, and that he had redacted information from them. – Guardian What Brexodus? Banks are set to shift less than 4,600 jobs out of London ahead of Brexit Banking giants are set to move fewer than 4,600 staff out of London as they prepare for Brexit as the climbdown over City jobs continued today. Some lobbyists claimed that as many as 75,000 staff could be relocated or sacked when Britain leaves the EU in 2019 and a recent study said 10,500 roles would go on ‘day one’. But the latest estimates suggest that fewer than 4,600 jobs in total will shift abroad across the whole banking industry. The news will be a big blow to Dublin, Frankfurt and Paris who want to benefit most from the predicted ‘Brexodus’ starting on March 29, 2019. – Daily Mail Philip Hammond set to agree on $1.3 billion of deals with China Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond will seal more than 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) of trade and investment deals with China during a two-day visit to the Asian nation, the Treasury said Friday. Hammond will hold talks with Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai during the ninth gathering of the U.K.-China Economic and Financial Dialogue in Beijing this weekend, the Treasury said in an emailed statement. He’ll be accompanied on the visit by Business Secretary Greg Clark, Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney, and London Stock Exchange Chief Executive Officer Nikhil Rathi, as well as several junior ministers and a wider business delegation. – Bloomberg UK set to remain in Erasmus student scheme until at least 2020 The UK will continue to take part in the Erasmus student exchange programme until at least the end of 2020, the prime minister has said. Theresa May praised Erasmus+ and confirmed the UK would still be involved after Brexit in March 2019. Whether it is involved long term is among issues likely to be discussed during the next stage of negotiations. Erasmus+ sees students study in another European country for between three and 12 months as part of their degree. The prime minister is in Brussels where she will have dinner with EU leaders on Thursday. – BBC News ‘It can be a success’ – Archbishop calls for ‘Brexit ceasefire’ between warring Tories The Church of England’s ecclesiastic figurehead claimed a united political leadership was needed to take advantage of the “opportunities” presented by Brexit. He added it was time to call a “ceasefire” on insults and “pejorative terms” in order to keep politicians “united in their attitude to the future”. His comments follow a bitter defeat for the Prime Minister at the hands of 11 Tory MPs, who defied their party yesterday to force the Government to offer a final vote on Brexit to the House of Commons. – Express > On BrexitCentral’s YouTube: Archbishop of Canterbury says Brexit gives us opportunities Boris Johnson: ‘Brexit is unstoppable’ Speaking at a press conference in London after a meeting with senior members of the Japanese government, Johnson said Wednesday night’s first defeat for the government on key Brexit legislation wouldn’t do much damage to Theresa May’s plans, according to Sky News. “My view is it won’t for one second stop Brexit or stop the Brexit process,” Johnson told reporters. Brexit is unstoppable … I cannot believe for the life of me that when it comes to it, parliament will vote to stop or reverse the Brexit process or frustrate the will of the British people, that’s just not going to happen.” – Politico > On BrexitCentral: Boris: Brexit is unstoppable New peers to be appointed ‘within weeks’ Theresa May is expected to appoint new peers “within weeks” as she seeks to shore up support in a House of Lords emboldened by her Brexit defeat. Tory MPs have been told to expect a list in the new year that will reward former colleagues who lost their seats in the election. The names could also include those who stood down, such as Sir Eric Pickles, the former party chairman, and the Brexiteer Peter Lilley. – Times (£) Japan and UK eye post-Brexit mutual recognition of trade standards Japan and Britain said on Thursday they hoped to achieve a swift deal on mutual recognition of each other’s standards for goods and services when Britain leaves the European Union. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said he wanted agreements on mutual recognition of standards and an agreement on judicial support between Britain and Japan after Brexit. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, speaking alongside Kono, said: “Of course it is exactly right that we need to protract the economic partnership agreement between the EU and Japan and make it specific to the UK.” – Reuters More tech workers coming to UK from outside the EU More technology workers in the UK are coming from India, Australia and the US than from major EU countries, according to a study. Research from Tech City, the Government-backed organisation for the technology industry, found that the biggest sources of technology workers were from outside the single market, rather than from France and Spain. The figures go some way to soothing fears that Brexit will lead to a deficit of highly-skilled workers in the tech industry, despite warnings that leaving the EU will starve start-ups of talent. – Telegraph Home Office policy of deporting EU citizens found sleeping rough is illegal, High Court rules The Home Office policy of deporting EU citizens found sleeping on the streets is illegal, the High Court has ruled. The judge said the policy breaks EU laws and discriminates “unlawfully” against European nationals and rough sleepers. Mrs Justice Lang called on Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, to “take stock and re-consider the terms of the proposed revised policy, in the light of advice from her legal advisers”. – Telegraph Long live the high street: British shoppers are back out in force UK retail sales rebounded strongly in November as shoppers proved they are not cowed by rising prices and struggling wage growth. Sales volumes climbed by 1.6pc on the year, defying the 3.1pc rise in store prices, the Office for National Statistics said. Volumes even rose in October as initial estimates of a drop in sales – the first in four years – was revised away, and in fact retail volumes held firm on the year. – Telegraph Fraser Nelson: This latest rebellion is exactly what Brexit is all about – what powers Parliament should have As a handful of Tory rebels shared a bottle of wine in the Pugin Room after defeating the Government over Brexit on Wednesday night, the real party was being held at the other end of the parliamentary estate. After the vote, some Labour MPs glided back to Jeremy Corbyn’s office for an early Christmas celebration that lasted well into the night; there were reports of them toasting their new Tory accomplices. And this is why so many Conservatives have been so angry: they sense not just rebellion but outright betrayal. – Fraser Nelson for the Telegraph (£) Priti Patel: Cut taxes to attract the wealthy to Britain for a ‘Big Bang Brexit’ Last week the Government negotiated the crucial withdrawal agreement that outlines the terms of our departure from the EU. Yes, there are still many questions about the nature of the agreement and – following Wednesday’s vote to enshrine the agreement in law – it seems certain that this is what the House of Commons will be concentrating on. But it would be a mistake for MPs to focus just on this, and not pay attention to the fact that we are finally on the cusp of the real negotiation, on what our future relationship with the EU and the wider world looks like. It is a negotiation that will determine what sort of country we want to be – and what sort of economy we want to have. It’s a negotiation that will define the United Kingdom in the decades to come. – Priti Patel MP for the Telegraph (£) Andrew Green: The immigration policy that we need after Brexit Amidst the drama over trade talks immigration, a key factor in the outcome of the referendum, has almost disappeared from sight. Such discussion as has taken place has been focused on the rights of EU citizens in other member states. This is certainly important, but there are wider issues to be tackled. Below are ten key points for ministers keep at the forefront of their minds in the next phase of negotiations. – Lord Green of Deddington for ConservativeHome Asa Bennett: Brexit rebels risk turning David Davis into Oliver Twist – begging Michel Barnier for more Theresa May could enjoy “complete unanimity” across the Conservative benches behind her over her handling of the Brexit process so far, Anna Soubry told the Prime Minister on Monday. Two days later, she joined rebellious Conservatives in teaming up with rival parties to humiliate her on the eve of her visiting Brussels to move talks on. That ‘unanimity’ lasted long, didn’t it? The breakdown in the uneasy truce that has been in place among Conservative MPs since the Brexit vote comes at an awkward time for Mrs May. European leaders have found reason, however unjustly, to question Britain’s willingness to deliver on its commitments. And now they’ll be able to wonder if Britain even has the ability to deliver on what it promises in light of this struggle to get key Brexit legislation into law intact. – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) Tom Harris: Despite the Tories’ Brexit revolt, nothing has changed for Theresa May It doesn’t take much to reignite the decades-long civil war in the Conservative Party over Europe, does it? A “rebel” amendment enacting something that ministers had already promised to do anyway was carried by a small majority in the Commons last night, and immediately the pro-Brexit media and their hard line supporters were baying for the blood of the “malcontents”, the 11 Tory MPs whose votes tipped the balance. – Tom Harris for the Telegraph (£) Ryan Bourne: Brexit will only mean Brexit if we regain control of economic rules The litmus test of whether “Brexit means Brexit” is if the UK has regulatory sovereignty after leaving the EU. That became clear last week, as the UK Government agreed to “full alignment with those rules of the internal market and the customs union” if no solution was agreed to prevent a hard Irish border. Theresa May has insisted that “full alignment” doesn’t mean being a supplicant EU rule-taker unable to differentiate our laws. Instead, she says it’s about achieving the same regulatory goals through different means. But that’s not how other Europeans see it. The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, insists continued free trade requires EU-UK harmonisation on everything from the environment to food standards and labour laws. – Ryan Bourne for the Telegraph (£) Brexit in brief Brexit: Inside the UK’s messy deal to secure an amicable divorce – FT (£) A fog of uncertainty hangs over the UK economy – the Brexit transition will only prolong it – Jeremy Warner for the Telegraph (£) A balancing act that will define regulatory alignment – Allie Renison for the Telegraph (£) Reassurance and reinvention: Seizing the opportunities of Brexit for Brand Britain – Rana Brightman for City A.M. Miss Soubry sat on her own. She rather likes being unpopular – Quentin Letts sketches Brexit Questions for the Daily Mail Theresa May should have backed down in her Brexit battle with Parliament – Ross Clark for the Spectator Could the UK sign up to the EFTA Court after Brexit? – Institute for Government Europe is still living with the consequences of the Lisbon Treaty – James Holland for CapX Why can’t some Brexiteers accept they won? – Iain Martin for Reaction Parliamentary votes on the EU Withdrawal Bill – John Redwood for John Redwood’s Diary What Question Time made of Brexit vote defeat – BBC News ‘We are not going to fall out over this’ one of the 11 mutinous Tory MPs tells Theresa May – Telegraph Trump is better for Europe than Obama – Times (£) Francis Maude: Brexit deal necessitates parliamentary consensus – Bloomberg The force is strong in British film – Bloomberg And finally… Give us back our wine! Tory MP says Britain is entitled to share of 42,000 bottles in EU cellar Britain must secure a fair share of the EU’s thousands of bottles of wine and fine art collection during the Brexit negotiations, a Tory MP has suggested. Sir Edward Leigh said the EU is estimated to have a wine cellar boasting over 42,000 bottles and artwork worth more than £13 million. He urged ministers to “promise to take back control of our fair share of this art and wine”. British negotiators are expected to demand around 5,000 bottles of wine, 250 bottles of spirits, and €2.25m worth of artwork. – Telegraph (£)