Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Sir Keir Starmer outlines Labour’s soft Brexit plan Labour’s Brexit plan would see the UK remain forever tied to the single market and keep Britain paying into the European Union’s budget after withdrawal, Sir Keir Starmer has admitted. The shadow Brexit secretary said Labour would make it “easy” for European citizens to keep coming to the UK post-Brexit while businesses would still have to comply with rules and regulations made in Brussels. Meanwhile, Sir Keir also refused to rule out calling a second referendum on the UK’s exit from the EU. – Telegraph (£) The Shadow Brexit Secretary added that there may have to be payments and easy movement of people in order to retain the benefits of the single market and the customs union. He signalled his support for a soft Brexit, stating: “We do have a choice, do we want to stay aligned so that we can trade successfully or do we want to tear apart and I say we should stay aligned.” Labour he insisted had been “very clear” that the party wanted a partnership that “retains the benefits of the single market and the customs union” and wanted a new treaty. – New European Keir Starmer calls for ‘easy movement’ after Brexit to keep UK ‘aligned’ with EU – Sky News Starmer doesn’t rule out a second referendum – ConservativeHome Labour wants closest UK ties with EU’s single market post-Brexit – Reuters Help us fight hard Brexit, SNP chief Ian Blackford urges Labour – Times (£) > WATCH: Keir Starmer sets out the Labour Party’s position on Brexit Chances of no-deal Brexit have ‘dropped dramatically’, says David Davis… David Davis has said the chances of Britain crashing out of the EU without a trade deal have dropped dramatically as a result of last week’s breakthrough on the principles of a Brexit divorce agreement. The cabinet minister, who is leading the UK’s negotiations with the EU, said he and Theresa May were seeking a deal that was best described as a “Canada plus plus plus” arrangement. That meant taking the best elements of deals already struck with countries such as Canada, Japan and South Korea, he said, and adding in services that were key to the British economy. – Guardian Britain should sign a ‘Canada-plus plus plus’ trade deal with the EU after Brexit, David Davis says – Telegraph …and says Britain won’t pay £39 billion Brexit bill without trade deal Britain’s offer of £39 billion to the European Union will be off the table if a trade deal is not agreed, David Davis has warned. The Brexit Secretary said the payment would be “conditional on an outcome” over trade negotiations. He warned on Sunday that “no deal means that we won’t be paying the money.” Mr Davis’s comments came after Chancellor Philip Hammond said it would be “inconceivable” that the UK would fail to honour its international obligations. – ITV News > On BrexitCentral’s YouTube: David Davis: No deal means no money for the EU …and also clashes with Ireland over Brexit deal David Davis has clashed with the Irish government after claiming that the Brexit divorce agreement between Britain and the EU was a “statement of intent” rather than something legally enforceable. The Brexit secretary’s comments came after it was reported that Downing Street advisers had told cabinet ministers who campaigned to leave the EU that promises around full regulatory alignment were “meaningless”. Theresa May also appeared to suggest there was still some flexibility in the deal reached at the end of last week, writing to all Tory MPs – in a letter seen by the Guardian – to set out the details of the agreement but promising that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”. – Guardian Irish PM Leo Varadkar urged to help stop ‘offensive and unacceptable’ Brexit – Sky News Varadkar: UK relationship now ‘strained’ – Irish Independent London and Dublin clash over significance of Brexit agreement – Belfast Telegraph Paisley says Republic of Ireland was ‘done over’ during Brexit negotiations – Belfast Telegraph > On BrexitCentral today: Ian Paisley MP: The Irish Government now ought to become cheerleaders for a comprehensive UK-EU free trade deal Theresa May to tell Ireland ‘nothing is agreed’ on terms of Brexit as row over deal intensifies Theresa May will insist that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed” on the terms of Brexit after the Irish government claimed that last week’s preliminary deal is binding. The Prime Minister will say in the House of Commons on Monday that although she is optimistic that a deep and special future deal can be agreed, last week’s agreement is contingent on such an outcome. Mrs May will also face her first meeting with Cabinet ministers as potentially acriminous discussions begin about Britain’s long-term relationship with the EU. – Telegraph (£) Theresa May: It’s not about hard or soft Brexit – Politico Hard Brexit part comes next year – Politico May’s divorce deal doesn’t add up – Politico …as May vows to take back control, with a ‘new sense of optimism’ over Brexit ahead of the next phase of talks Theresa May will hail a ‘new sense of optimism’ over Brexit today as she pledges to secure a trade deal which ‘delivers prosperity and security for generations to come’. Addressing the House of Commons for the first time since last week’s breakthrough, the Prime Minister will promise to ensure that a sovereign UK ‘takes control of its borders, money and laws once again’. Striking an upbeat note about the next phase of talks with Brussels on trade and other issues, she will call for ‘bold new economic and security relationships’ with the EU after we leave. Mrs May is likely to face a rousing reception from backbench Tory MPs today after dramatically regaining the political momentum. – Daily Mail How the Cabinet is bitterly divided over Brexit with ministers battling each other to influence trade deal – The Sun Theresa May is dead right to talk about a ‘new sense of optimism’ after the breakthrough in EU negotiations – The Sun editorial EU leaders want to offer Theresa May a deal to control immigration to stop Brexit, Nick Clegg claims European Union leaders are willing to allow member states to curb immigration between them to stop Britain leaving the bloc, Nick Clegg has claimed. The former deputy Prime Minister said that they were willing to “bite the bullet” and EU countries erect border controls to stop migration between member states to stop Brexit. – Telegraph (£) UK is the top destination for European jobseekers despite Brexit Britain remains the most popular country to work in among European jobseekers who are looking for a job abroad despite the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, a fresh study has suggested. Job site Indeed analysed the online search patterns of millions of jobseekers across 15 EU countries and found that nearly a third of those looking for work in another country preferred Britain. – IBTimes The UK ranks top of all major developed economies for establishing new businesses The UK outranked all other major developed economies in terms of the number of businesses established last year, according to figures from accounting group UHY Hacker Young. It became home to 218,000 more businesses in 2016, a rise of six per cent over year-on-year. Meanwhile, other major developed economies including France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US saw an average two per cent rise in number of businesses over the year. – City A.M. Irish border spat leaves Ulster fishermen struggling to keep heads above water In a small town in Northern Ireland, on the day the “breakthrough deal” was done, one group of men watched the pictures from Brussels with something close to scorn. “Everyone is talking about the need to avoid a hard border in Ireland, but we now have a hard border — imposed by Dublin,” said Alan McCulla, their spokesman. “It amuses me when you have people like [Irish prime minister] Leo Varadkar standing up and proclaiming he’s against a hard border. The reality is that the Irish government have imposed a hard border in the sea.” – Times (£) Fishermen call for swift Brexit transition – BBC News Iain Duncan Smith: I’m not ecstatic about Theresa May’s EU deal. But I now believe it’s the best way forward For months now the EU has been demanding that we make “sufficient progress” in our Brexit negotiations. To Eurocrats this has a specific meaning: Britain getting ever closer to the EU’s position. But as I wrote in last Thursday’s Daily Telegraph, we have also been watching for sufficient progress from them. If they do not demonstrate they are worth negotiating with, or if they try to extract too high a price from us, we can, and should, walk away. I now believe they have shown that progress. The draft agreement reached by Theresa May does not make me jubilant, but nor do I feel betrayed. The EU has budged on several crucial points, and the way is now open to discuss a proper free-trade agreement that the British people voted for. – Iain Duncan Smith for the Telegraph (£) Roger Bootle: If the next phase of Brexit talks goes badly we must walk away without a deal Rushed prime ministerial visits to the Continent in search of “agreement” tend not to end well. “I have it. I have the paper. Mr Juncker and I …” Pray that Theresa May has enough sense of history not to utter anything remotely resembling Neville Chamberlain’s words, either now or later. If you are in any doubt about how badly the Government has handled these negotiations, you should note that last week we heard that Jean-Claude Juncker was keen for Mrs May to get some sort of agreement in order to prevent the fall of her Government. He feared that she could be replaced by a eurosceptic prime minister, prepared to leave the EU without a deal. Hey presto, there’s an agreement. Now, it’s on to the next phase. – Roger Bootle for the Telegraph (£) Brian Monteith: Brexit agreement is a sham to save the PM There is only one word required to sum up the agreement announced between the UK government and the European Union and it is to describe it as a “sham”, for it is designed to do one thing only and that is to keep Theresa May as Prime Minister, for now. This suits not just Theresa May and most of her Conservative colleagues (including those who aspire to replace her) but the EU – for it leaves them all to fight another day. – Brian Monteith for the Scotsman Telegraph view: We must push for agreement with a plus For all the apparent vagueness surrounding Brexit, the Government’s policy has actually been remarkably consistent. Last November an aide was photographed in Downing St carrying papers for a ministerial discussion which outlined some of the options for Brexit. Foremost among them was something called “Canada-plus”. This translates as a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta) as hammered out between the EU and Canada, with bits added – principally, financial services. – Telegraph editorial Daniel Huggins: How a clean Brexit would raise living standards A clean Brexit, with the UK leaving the Customs Union, will allow living standards to soar. By divorcing the UK permanently from the European Union, the Government will be well positioned to save the average family hundreds of pounds a year. Inside the Customs Union the UK is required to accept an EU-administered, unified, tariff policy. Leaving the EU and setting tariff levels independently, will see substantial savings for British households. By abolishing certain tariffs, the cost of everyday goods such as food, clothing and alcohol could see significant reductions. For Britain’s “just about managing”, the result would be big increases to their disposable incomes. – Daniel Huggins for CapX Juliet Samuel: Britain is pretending to accept the EU’s terms. But it’s a fudge, and it can’t last There’s an old Indian parable about a group of blind men encountering an elephant for the first time. One of them gets ahold of the ear and declares the elephant to be like a fan. Another finds its trunk and says it’s like a snake. And another touches the tusk and declares the elephant to be very like a spear. The best that can be said about last week’s Brexit divorce deal struck by Britain and the EU is that it is much like this elephant. Britain and Brussels are the blind men. Unfortunately, the next part of the parable isn’t very promising. – Juliet Samuel for the Telegraph (£) Gerald Warner: May’s Brexit betrayal is a treason too far The Brexit “deal” whose perpetrators are lauding it with hysterical fervency in the hollow echo chamber of the elite bubble is not, as many claim, a betrayal. For once, commentators and journalists are guilty not of exaggeration but of euphemism. The unconditional surrender of fundamental British rights and interests that Theresa May tendered to the blackmailers and bullies in Brussels last week was much worse than the casual betrayal that is the common currency of politics. This was treason. To give away tens of billions of taxpayers’ money, none of which is owed, to a foreign power is treason. – Gerald Warner for Reaction Brexit in brief Talks about trade – John Redwood MP for John Redwood’s Diary Swiss-style laws could give British workers the Brexit they voted for – John Mann MP for the Guardian Martin Schulz has dared EU members: converge or quit – William Cook for the Spectator Britons in Europe feel betrayed by Brexit deal – Guardian Call for United States of Europe threatens Angela Merkel coalition talks – Times (£) Experts say ‘no deal’ Brexit is still possible – City A.M. Bone: ‘Absolutely’ problems with Brexit deal – Sky News …and finally Royal Mail attacked by Government for refusing to print stamps to mark Britain leaving the European Union Royal Mail has been attacked by the Government for its “premature” decision not to print stamps to Britain’s historic exit from the European Union in 15 months’ time. One Cabinet minister last night urged a rethink while senior Tory MPs said it was “absolutely outrageous” that the national postal service is not commemorating Brexit with a series of stamps. – Telegraph (£)