Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Jeremy Corbyn says Labour isn’t calling for a second Brexit vote… Jeremy Corbyn has said Labour does not support calls for a second Brexit vote amid talk of another referendum spurred by Ukip’s former leader Nigel Farage. The Labour party leader said: “We are not supporting or calling for a second referendum; what we’ve called for is a meaningful vote in parliament.” Corbyn made the comments on ITV’s Peston on Sunday show after it was revealed Farage fears the Brexit vote could be reversed if a second referendum on EU membership took place. – City A.M. Jeremy Corbyn claims UK-US ‘special relationship’ doesn’t exist – The Sun Sturgeon: Corbyn supporters at odds with his Brexit stance – BBC News Corbyn snub to Sturgeon over plea for EU alliance – Times (£) > On BrexitCentral’s YouTube: Jeremy Corbyn on a second EU referendum …yet Emily Thornberry opens door to a second Brexit referendum if public opinion changes… The Shadow Foreign Secretary said that “at the moment” her party was doing “as we are instructed”, but she left the door open for a possible second vote. Last month Jeremy Corbyn also failed to categorically rule out a second vote, saying only that his party was “not advocating” a re-run of the 2016 poll. Meanwhile, Nigel Farage has suggested this week that there could be another referendum to put the issue to bed – although he insisted Leave would win by a bigger margin than 18 months ago. – PoliticsHome …and Jeremy Corbyn faces down critics over EU single market stance Jeremy Corbyn has hit out at Labour critics calling for him to back the UK staying in the single market after Brexit. The Labour leader insisted that continuing the trade arrangement was dependent on being in the EU. He told ITV’s Peston on Sunday: “The single market is dependent on membership of the European Union. “Do we have a trading relationship with Europe which is tariff-free, which is based on access to that market, and access of Europe to our market? Yes. “Do we push for that in the negotiations? Yes. Is that what we have said to the European Union in opposition? Yes. – Sky News Corbyn and Labour membership on collision course over Brexit – New European > On BrexitCentral’s YouTube: Jeremy Corbyn on leaving the Single Market > On BrexitCentral’s YouTube: Jeremy Corbyn on the EU Customs Union Mid-sized companies want a clean break from the EU, leaving the Single Market and Customs Union A majority of Britain’s midsized companies want the country to leave the EU single market and the customs union, according to a new poll. The survey, carried out by YouGov for the accountancy firm RSM, found that less than half would opt for the relationship Norway or Switzerland has with the bloc, which includes accepting EU regulations in return for single market access. 22 per cent wanted a lighter Canada-style deal. The vast majority of goods would be tariff free but there would be customs controls, and no free trade in services. A fifth (19 per cent) favoured reverting to World Trade Organization rules, an option favoured by some hardline Brexiters. Six per cent wanted to copy Turkey, which is in the customs union only, and 6 per cent favoured another unspecified trade relationship. – FT (£) > On BrexitCentral’s YouTube: Barry Gardiner on the EU Customs Union > On BrexitCentral’s YouTube: British business backs a clean break from the EU Boris Johnson warns allies that Brexit is still far from certain and they face a big fight to deliver it… Boris Johnson has warned allies that Brexit is far from certain and they still face a big fight to deliver it. The Foreign Secretary and leading Leaver privately shares ex-UKIP boss Nigel Farage’s worries that the referendum result could yet be reversed. The ‘establishment’ across Whitehall and the City will step up efforts to stop Britain’s EU exit over the next pivotal 12 months, Boris has insisted. He has also confided with friends over his concerns that Theresa May will be worn down and eventually forced to accept a bad deal by mandarins and Remain-leaning Cabinet ministers during trade negotiations that start in March. – The Sun Boris Johnson would ‘rather stay in’ the EU than accept a soft Brexit – Business Insider > On BrexitCentral’s YouTube: Former Ukip MEP Steven Woolfe on Nigel Farage’s second referendum comments …as Philip Hammond says Britons want to keep European economic model Philip Hammond has said that he wants the UK to maintain a “European approach” and a European-style market economy in a sign that he does not foresee big change after Brexit. Mr Hammond, the chancellor, told Welt Am Sonntag in Germany that “whatever people say”, the British public did not want to change their economic model. His comments are likely to anger Brexiteers, who presented the vote to leave the EU as a demand for big domestic change, and are a sign that he wants to minimise the areas of divergence. This week the Brexit cabinet committee will discuss areas in which Britain will diverge from the EU. – Times (£) Tory rebels to pass battle over key Brexit Bill to Lords Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit legislation returns to Parliament this week, where pro-European Conservative lawmakers who stung her once before will hold their fire and leave the fight for more changes to allies in the upper house. Instead of rebelling again, Tories seeking to preserve ties with the European Union will use the debate to send signals the House of Lords. – Bloomberg EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to meet pro-European MPs The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, will meet key EU-backing MPs on Monday, including key Conservative rebels who defeated the government over the EU withdrawal bill. He will meet a delegation led by the Conservative MP Anna Soubry and Labour’s Chuka Umunna on Monday in Brussels, as well as Dominic Grieve, the former attorney general who led efforts to amend the EU withdrawal bill. – Guardian Commission debates extending Brexit transition The European Commission has not ruled out extending a Brexit transition period beyond 2020, the deadline set by chief negotiator Michel Barnier in December. Ambassadors from a number of EU countries raised the possibility of a longer transition at a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, according to four diplomats. “The Commission didn’t rule out that it could be prolonged,” said a senior diplomat who was in the room. British Prime Minister Theresa May called for a two-year transition period in a speech in Florence in September in which she also said the U.K. would continue to make annual payments into EU budget during this time. – Politico NHS stung for £200m in health tourism scam using European insurance cards A huge health tourism scam is costing the NHS £20million a year. Millions have taken advantage of a loophole to claim free healthcare across Europe — with Britain picking up the bill. A probe by The Sun reveals how easy it is to get a fake European Health Insurance Card giving unlimited access to treatment. EU hospitals then claim the cost back from the UK government. The NHS has paid out more than £1billion over the past decade — an average of £20 for every card issued. Around £200million, the cost of 8,600 extra nurses, is thought to be fraudulent. The health service has reclaimed just £145million over the past five years. – The Sun Jeremy Hunt needs to sort out the disgraceful £200m NHS insurance card scam – The Sun editorial Calls for 100k immigration target to be scrapped and replaced with a quota The government’s target to reduce immigration to below 100,000 a year should be scrapped and replaced by an annual one based on need, senior MPs say. The powerful Home Affairs Committee unveils its plan for an Annual Migration Report to dictate the size of a new quota every 12 months. It would be based on the economy and public service’s needs, and is similar to a model used by Canada. Facts and figures for it would be compiled by a beefed up version of the independent Migration Advisory Committee, just as the Budget is informed by the independent forecasters in the Office of Budget Responsibility. – The Sun > On BrexitCentral’s YouTube: Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes on post-Brexit immigration SNP Brexit Minister: UK Government has ‘conceded’ Scotland will get powers Theresa May has backed down in a row with Nicola Sturgeon and agreed that more than a hundred repatriated EU powers should lie with Holyrood after Brexit, a senior SNP minister has said. Mike Russell said the UK Government had “conceded” in principle that the 111 powers that touch on devolved responsibilities, such as fishing and farming, should lie with the Scottish Parliament and not Westminster. – Telegraph (£) MSP predicts Brexit bill crisis for May – Times (£) President Macron seeks new deal with Britain over Calais migrants President Macron will exploit his growing international stature to press Theresa May this week to open Britain’s borders to migrants stuck in Calais. Mr Macron, who is due to visit Calais tomorrow, wants to raise the issue at talks with Mrs May at Sandhurst on Thursday. Gérard Collomb, the interior minister, has said that France is seeking pledges from Britain to take in migrants and increase its funding for border security in Calais. – Times (£) UK and France may drift apart after Brexit, warns former ambassador – Guardian UK-France laboratory enables post-Brexit research funding access – Times Higher Education City of London Corporation is poised to issue a Code Red warning on the impact of Brexit on the Square Mile The City of London Corporation is poised to issue a ‘red’ warning report on the impact of Brexit over fears that a split from the EU will damage the capital’s appeal to financial services firms. The report from the Corporation, one of the City’s most influential groups, has upgraded the risk rating for the Square Mile from ‘amber’. It cited the increased probability that ‘a post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and EU is unlikely to replicate the level of access firms have within the Single Market’. – Daily Mail Harry Wilson: EU power grab could backfire At present the vast majority of euro-denominated assets are cleared through firms based in London. The eurozone governments have been unhappy with this since the financial crisis when they were largely impotent in the face of shorting attacks on their markets and in Brexit they have the ideal opportunity to correct what they see as an unfair position. The problem is that a move to strip euro clearing from London could have unfortunate side effects. Though the UK is the largest clearing centre for euros, New York also has a stake in the game and it is hard to see how a rule could be constructed lawfully that removes the business from London but also allows it to continue elsewhere outside the single bloc. – Harry Wilson for the Times (£) John Redwood: Economic assessments of leaving the EU I see no need for more official economic forecasts and assessments. There have been many of them, including several official ones prior to the referendum and more official forecasts since the vote. The official UK study – assisted by the IMF and World Bank – prior to the referendum wrongly forecast falling output, employment and house prices in the year after the vote if we voted Leave. More recent official forecasts of the UK economy estimate continued growth by the UK across the period of our departure, which seems to me to be more realistic. The UK growth rate 2019-22 will depend much more on domestic policies pursued, and on the world economic background, than on any particular form of Brexit. – John Redwood’s Diary Gary Porter: Leaving the EU will allow simpler and more flexible local government As we start a new year, and with the negotiations surrounding the UK’s departure from the EU having progressed to the second phase, now is an appropriate time to reflect on the opportunities that lie ahead for local government as we prepare for Brexit. Above all, Brexit should provide an opportunity for the Government to build on the ambitious programme of devolution of powers to local communities that it has overseen over the past seven years. – Lord Porter of Spalding for ConservativeHome Brexit in brief British Council boss: Brexit won’t change the way we help the world – EurActiv An unhelpful semantic dance over Brexit – Faisal Islam for Sky News Michael Gove’s green crusade is a smart way to sell Brexit – Isabel Hardman for the Spectator Forget the EU-led idiocy, Iran is not our friend – David Campbell-Bannerman MEP for the Times (£) The Prime Minister should set out her stall on health and social care – as well as Brexit – Nicky Morgan MP for ConservativeHome Brexit is a reaction to the rise of left-wing populism – Bruce Oliver Newsome for CommentCentral What precisely does ‘Canada +++’ mean? – LSE Brexit Refugee row threatens Merkel’s coalition hopes – Times (£) What could UK’s future trade relationship with the EU look like? – BBC News Owen Smith: stay in customs union to avoid Irish hard border – Guardian Luxembourg Minister says Brexit over-dramatisation hinders negotiations – Bloomberg Lloyd’s CEO says biggest growth in insurance is from Asia – Bloomberg