Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team EU leaders take 38 minutes to sign off on Theresa May’s Brexit deal… It took 38 minutes for the EU leaders to sign off on the Brexit deal. There was talk of sadness and a slightly mournful air to the brief proceedings, one source said. The 27 leaders agreed that when they let Theresa May into their meeting they wanted to ask her about “next steps.” They did not, I am told, mean future trade negotiations but meant how on earth she was going to get the deal through Parliament. They didn’t, I’m told, learn much that was new from that second session. Theresa May just told them she intended to deliver the deal. – Channel 4 News …as the Prime Minister begins a frantic campaign to win support for it… Theresa May launches a frantic two-week campaign today to save her Brexit deal and premiership by telling MPs to do their duty and support her or face going “back to square one”. In a high-risk strategy to turn the tide of opposition in Westminster, the prime minister will then embark on a nationwide tour designed to sell her plan directly to the electorate. Taking personal responsibility for winning round voters, she will warn her party to put aside its differences and listen to constituents who are fed up with Brexit and want to “move on”. Failure to back the deal, negotiated over 18 months and signed off yesterday in Brussels, will create further “division and uncertainty”, she will tell the Commons. – The Times (£) Not sad but defiant: Theresa May makes case for Brexit deal – Guardian Brexit deal: Theresa May to fight for her deal in parliament, and hopes to persuade British people too – iNews …and seeks a Brexit TV debate with Jeremy Corbyn… Theresa May will challenge Jeremy Corbyn to a TV debate on her Brexit deal as the showpiece of an election-style campaign to seek the country’s backing… Insiders say that in the final days before the “meaningful vote” in Parliament next month, Mrs May favours holding a primetime Sunday night TV debate with Mr Corbyn, or if the Labour leader declines, she will hold a Question Time-style session with a TV audience hosted by David Dimbleby. Downing Street plans for her to make a major speech on December 11, the day before the vote, with the vote itself taking place the day before the next EU leaders’ summit. – Telegraph …which the Labour leader says is an opportunity he would relish Jeremy Corbyn would “relish a head-to-head debate with Theresa May about her botched Brexit deal and the future of our country”, a Labour Party spokesman has told Sky News. The spokesman was responding to a report in The Daily Telegraph suggesting the prime minister would challenge the Labour leader to a TV debate on Brexit. – Sky News Theresa May warns Tory and Labour MPs: back my deal or get voted out… Theresa May has warned MPs from all parties they will lose their seats if they ignore the will of their constituents by voting down her Brexit deal. After European leaders rubber-stamped the deal in Brussels on Sunday, the Prime Minister insisted it represented a final offer that could not be renegotiated, and that she had no “Plan B” if it was rejected. She said: “I believe, when it comes to it, MPs will be thinking about the need to deliver on the vote of the British people and will be thinking about the impact of this deal on their constituents. “I think their constituents want to ensure that their jobs and livelihoods are protected and that’s what this deal does.” – Telegraph (£) > WATCH: Theresa May’s press conference following the approval of the Political Declaration …and that leaked plans for ‘Plan B’ Brexit would mean keeping EU free movement… Senior figures in the Government led by Chancellor Philip Hammond are pressing the Prime Minister to draw up a fallback option in case her agreement with Brussels is rejected in a crunch Commons vote next month, Whitehall sources suggested. In the event of parliamentary defeat, they want her to return to Brussels with a proposal for the UK to remain in the European Economic Area (EEA) trade zone, adopting a similar relationship to the EU as Norway. A leaked document which emerged today showed that Treasury officials have been modelling the possible economic benefits of staying in the EEA in comparison to the impact of leaving under Mrs May’s deal or without a deal. Supporters of the “Plan B” insist a majority could be built in the Commons for the so-called “Norway option” that would see the country formally quit the EU while continuing to abide by single market regulations. But Mrs May yesterday said the “Plan B” proposal would mean Britain having to stay signed up to EU free movement border rules and fail to deliver the spirit of the 2016 EU referendum vote. – Express …as Amber Rudd, Michael Gove and Labour rebels reportedly plan a bid to join EFTA if MPs reject the PM’s deal The Sun can reveal that Amber Rudd and Michael Gove have formed a cross-Brexit alliance to push for membership of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). The move by the Remainer Work and Pensions Secretary and Leave campaign boss Environment Secretary is a last-ditch solution to end an impending national crisis if Parliament fails to agree any Brexit outcome. But the ministers will only publicly propose it as a final fallback when all else fails to be sure of enough Labour support for it. That would mean after the PM loses the meaningful vote next month, and once Jeremy Corbyn’s bid to force a general election and an expected backbench bid for a second referendum also all fails. Hopes are fast fading among Mrs May’s top table of success for her deal, after a total of 94 of her own Tory MPs had spoken out against it last night. One senior Government minister told The Sun: “It’s falling away from us now. The opposition seems so strong that Theresa is going to really struggle to turn this around now. – The Sun > Greg Hands MP on BrexitCentral: The “EFTA option” would fail to deliver Brexit and make us a permanent rule-taker from Brussels Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker declares the agreement “the best deal possible”… Jean-Claude Juncker said the agreement was “the best deal possible” and that the EU would not change its “fundamental position”. The president’s comments are part of an EU-wide push to convince British MPs that the plan is worth backing. The arithmetic in the House of Commons currently suggests it will be rejected by a wide margin if nothing changes. Mr Juncker described Britain’s departure as a “tragic moment”. “I would vote in favour of this deal because this is the best deal possible for Britain,” he told reporters on the doorstep of a Brussels summit to sign off the deal. “This is the deal. It’s the best deal possible and the EU will not change its fundamental position when it comes to these issues.” He added: “The UK leaving the EU is a tragic moment. Not a moment to celebrate.” – Independent EU to UK: Lose-lose Brexit deal is best you will get – Politico …as the Spanish Prime Minister says it revives the prospect of shared control of Gibraltar… Speaking after an EU leaders’ summit, Pedro Sanchez said Spain’s position over Gibraltar, a British territory since 1713, was stronger after the agreement of a Brexit deal on Sunday because Spanish policy effectively became EU policy. “We are going to resolve a conflict that has been going for over 300 years,” Pedro Sanchez told a news conference, adding he had said the same thing to British Prime Minister Theresa May, who met the EU’s 27 leaders to endorse the withdrawal treaty that she will now put to the British parliament. “We all lose (with Brexit), especially the United Kingdom, but regarding Gibraltar, Spain wins,” said Sanchez, who made no attempt to hide his delight during the news conference. Shared sovereignty in Gibraltar, home to 30,000 people, a British naval base and an airport partly contested by Spain, could echo similar arrangements in Europe such as Andorra and the Isle of Man, said Ignacio Molina, an analyst at the Elcano Royal Institute think-tank in Madrid. – Reuters …while Emmanuel Macron says he will ensure the UK remains in the Customs Union unless access to fishing waters is surrendered… Emmanuel Macron has said the UK will be trapped in a customs union after Brexit unless Downing Street offers European fishermen full access to British waters during the coming trade negotiations. As the 27 EU heads of state and government took a decisive step towards sealing the terms of Britain’s split from Brussels after 45 years of membership, the French president laid down his red lines in the talks over the future relationship. Macron said the EU’s demands on fisheries needed swift resolution after 29 March 2019 or the talks on a wider trade deal would fail leaving the UK in the “backstop” customs union envisioned in the withdrawal agreement. “We as 27 have a clear position on fair competition, on fish, on the subject of the EU’s regulatory autonomy, and that forms part of our lines for the future relationship talks,” Macron said. – Guardian Macron warns he will force Britain into Irish border ‘backstop’ if it does not give the French access to UK fishing waters – MailOnline EU leaders still hope for post-Brexit fishing access – BBC News …which piles the pressure on Scottish Secretary David Mundell again… David Mundell has rejected more calls for him to resign over the Brexit deal after the French President warned the EU will play hardball to protect their access to UK fishing waters. Labour asked again why Mr Mundell had not resigned over the Brexit deal after he pledged to oppose an agreement that linked fisheries with trade. Mr Mundell said Theresa May had made clear there was no such link and argued the “key point” was that the UK quota allocation for EU trawlers had not been predetermined by the Brexit deal. But, in an explosive intervention, Emmanuel Macron warned the EU will not allow the UK to leave the customs union backstop if it does not offer generous access to Britain’s fishing waters. – Telegraph (£) Tory MP Ross Thomson labels EU fishing deal ‘deeply troubling’ – The Scotsman Jeremy Corbyn vows Labour will oppose ‘miserable failure’ Brexit deal… Theresa May’s Brexit deal is a “miserable failure of negotiation” which will put jobs at risk, according to Jeremy Corbyn. The Labour leader said his party will oppose the package in Parliament and work with MPs from other parties to block a no-deal Brexit. Mr Corbyn described the deal as “bad for the country”. He said: “It is the result of a miserable failure of negotiation that leaves us with the worst of all worlds. “It gives us less say over our future, and puts jobs and living standards at risk.” Labour’s policy is to reject the deal and call for a general election. If there is not an election, Labour is keeping all options open including the possibility of another referendum on Brexit, although it has not specified what question would be asked. – ITV News …while the party plays a waiting game over second referendum Labour’s leadership is determined to hold out against backing a second referendum on Brexit unless all other options have been exhausted, despite growing calls for the party to tack towards remain, according to senior party sources, amid reports that Theresa May could seek a TV debate with Jeremy Corbyn. Labour sources say they would probably wait to see what she proposed before tabling a vote of no-confidence, in the hope of triggering a general election. “We’ll only get one shot at this,” one party strategist said. If the bid to trigger an election fails, “all options are on the table”, according to the motion hammered out at the party’s conference in Liverpool in September. But Labour strategists believe they cannot get to the 45% or so of the vote they would need to win the next election if they are seen to represent only what they jokingly refer to as “Remoania”. – Guardian DUP may back Norway-style Brexit deal, says Arlene Foster… The DUP could consider backing a Norway-style deal for Brexit as a way to prevent Northern Ireland being treated differently to the rest of the UK, Arlene Foster has said, stressing there is no way her party can back Theresa May’s plan as it stands. Speaking immediately after EU leaders gave their formal backing to the proposed deal, Foster was adamant that the party she leads, which supports May in government, could never back the arrangement. May has argued that there is no plan for this to happen, as the deal would be done in time. But Foster said this made no sense. “It’s a legally binding text. You can’t have it both ways – you can’t say it’s not going to happen so don’t worry, and then on the other hand sell it as the best of both worlds,” she said. “There’s been an inherent contradiction with that argument.” There was, Foster added, “the time now to look for a third way, a different and better way”. Asked on BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show if there were any circumstances in which the DUP’s 10 MPs could vote for the deal, Foster replied: “No, there aren’t.” – Guardian …as Nigel Dodds insists May’s Brexit deal is ‘worse than no deal’ Speaking to BBC 5 Live’s Pienaar’s Politics, Mr Dodds said his party’s “one red line” had been ignored by the government. The agreement on the backstop would see only Northern Ireland stay aligned to some EU rules, if it took effect. The DUP is concerned that the backstop could threaten the integrity of the union and place a trade border down the Irish Sea. “What Theresa may has succeeded in doing is putting a proposition on the table which is worse than no deal and worse than staying in the EU, whatever else is put on the table,” said the North Belfast MP. “The government is going to spend the next fortnight engaged in all sorts of project fear initiatives in order to try to get MPs to vote for something that is clearly unsatisfactory.” – BBC News Leo Varadkar says Withdrawal Agreement approval allows us to move on Leo Varadkar said he was pleased to be in Brussels to sign off on the deal, which he said represented the culmination of nearly two years of work. The Taoiseach made the comments as he arrived at the Europa building for the European Council’s special meeting on Sunday morning. EU leaders from 27 member states approved the draft Withdrawal Agreement and a Political Declaration about the future relationship between the EU and the UK. Speaking ahead of the meeting Mr Varadkar said: “It was a very difficult deal to negotiate. “I anticipate that in the next couple of hours that agreement will get the assent of the 28 governments, 27 member states that are staying and also the government of the UK and that will allow us to move on.” – Belfast Telegraph (£) EU rules out UK role in foreign and defence decisions post-Brexit The EU has ruled out any decision-making role for the UK when it comes to foreign and defence policy post-Brexit. The promise to restrict Britain’s involvement is contained in a letter to member states, seen by RTÉ News, which declares there will be no “outside interference” in the EU’s decision making process. The letter follows concerns raised by Cyprus that Britain would have a privileged role in the EU’s foreign and security policy. The letter makes it clear that any consultations between the EU and UK on security and defence would be strictly informal, and that no “written documents” could be used to influence the EU’s policy. The letter concludes that the European Council Legal Service will be “very vigilant in all future processes in which a need to protect the autonomy of decision-making of the Council”. – RTE Nicola Sturgeon tears into PM’s ‘desperate’ Brexit letter to the public In a “letter to the nation” published before the Prime Minister met the other 27 EU leaders in Brussels, Mrs May said leaving the union on March 29 2019 would mark “a new chapter in our national life”. The 800-word message said that the result of the EU referendum in 2016 would be honoured and that freedom of movement would end. Scotland’s First Minister described the letter as “desperate” and reiterated her calls for alternatives such as staying in the single market and customs union or holding a second referendum. Ms Sturgeon tweeted: “I don’t say this lightly, but almost nothing in this desperate letter is true. “That is why the Scottish Government will now work with others to get a better deal for Scotland within the European single market and customs union – which is eight times bigger than the UK market alone – and why we support another referendum on EU membership.” – ITV News Boris Johnson: The Government’s can’t-do attitude to Brexit has got us into this mess. But there is a way out If you want proof that this deal is a disaster for this country, look at the eagerness of the other countries to sign it. For the last two and a half years, the European Commission has been telling us that Brexit was a mistake, that we would regret it, that we would be worse off – and in private they have been amazed at the willingness of the British negotiators to prove them right. It cannot be repeated too often that we have not taken back control but handed over control of our laws – and with no UK presence in Brussels to intercede on behalf of British business or citizens. I really don’t see how any democrat could vote for this deal; and I don’t believe for a second that it will get through Parliament. The only argument I currently hear in its favour is – once again – Project Fear: that we have run out of time, and that all the alternatives are worse. Forgive me for repetition, but that is simply not true. – Boris Johnson MP for the Telegraph (£) Dominic Raab: Reject Theresa May’s Brexit deal because it ‘suffocates’ opportunities After months of negotiation, the UK and EU have settled the terms of a Brexit deal. Despite the unquestionable stamina of our Prime Minister, it is a bad deal for the country and Parliament should reject it. Scenting weakness, the EU is now threatening to exclude Gibraltar from a future trade deal. We are being blackmailed and bullied into a flawed deal. The EU has used the negotiations to stifle the opportunities and optimism that fired people up to vote Leave in 2016. In truth, there are risks in any course of action we take now. But, by far the gravest is to succumb to the EU’s terms, stay tethered to Brussels, and accept a deal that prevents us from becoming masters of our own destiny. Over the long term, that would drain the strength of our economy, when Brexit should be a boost for workers and consumers. And those who voted Leave would feel cheated, shredding trust in our democracy. – Dominic Raab MP for The Sun Nigel Dodds: Brexit plan binds us into an EU straitjacket… we’re heading for Brexit in name only or the break-up of UK Despite the evidence of mounting opposition to her deal, the Prime Minister has signed up to it without asking for a single change. Some people may regard it as being resilient; most will see it as further proof that Number 10 just doesn’t listen. So, we have ended up with the worst possible outcome. Leave voters are outraged at the betrayal of Brexit and Remain voters are asking what on earth is the point of losing all our say, but still taking the EU’s rules. The more people pore over the details, the more problematic the whole mish-mash becomes. Project Fear will now be ramped up and negotiation fatigue will be exploited to try to force people into accepting what the PM always said she would resist: a bad deal. So, parliament is being presented with a plan that locks us into an EU straitjacket and leaves us divided and diminished. There is a better way. Rather than waste any more time putting forward false choices, we need the Government to get on with securing a better deal. – Nigel Dodds MP for the Belfast Telegraph Laura Kuenssberg: May’s message – ‘This is all there is’ The talking in Brussels is done. After nearly two years of negotiations, arguments – and the inevitable moments where it felt like the process would explode – there is, now, a deal. It’s a compromise. It was always going to be. It’s not a happy compromise either. People on both sides of the Brexit argument are already screaming their protests. And although the prime minister must be relieved, she didn’t exactly say that she was pleased about the deal when I asked her at a news conference this lunchtime. Instead, she said she was sure the country’s best days are ahead. But however she really feels about it – and with this prime minister it is hard to tell – her strategy for the next couple of weeks is crystal clear. Her case? This is all there is. However the prime minister looks, however she sounds in the next fortnight, the levels of unhappiness at home are so profound that her pleas may fall on deaf ears. – Laura Kuenssberg for BBC News Charles Moore: Leavers and Remainers will only be reconciled if we drop the Irish backstop In her “Letter to the Nation” yesterday, Theresa May said that the day of Brexit in March next year “must mark the point when we put aside the labels of ‘leave’ and ‘remain’ and we come together again as one people”. So it should, but we can achieve the “renewal and reconciliation” which she seeks only if the question at stake has been settled. Under her deal, it will not be, because the conditions surrounding the backstop mean that we may never be allowed to leave. Unless we drop the backstop, the fight will continue. From the other side of the fence, Jean-Claude Juncker hails the deal agreed in Brussels because “Britain will not be like other third countries”. That, too, encapsulates the problem. If only we were like other third countries, rather than beholden to future EU approval of our decisions, we could get on with life. – Charles Moore for the Telegraph (£) Peter Foster: Now the deal is signed, brace for an almighty flap with Brussels over fishing As Theresa May returned to London on Sunday night with her Brexit divorce deal, signed and sealed – but not yet delivered – she could be forgiven for putting the best possible complexion on a plan that she said left her “full of optimism about the future of our country”. But listen carefully to EU leaders, and it was very clear that if the first (divorce) deal is signed off by Parliament, then the fight over the second (trade and security partnership) is only just beginning. Firstly, fish. Mrs May sees no linkage between fishing and trade deals, but Mr Macron has other ideas as France (and the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, Germany and Belgium) seeks to retain status quo access for their fleets to UK waters. And more importantly, Mr Macron can clearly see the lever that will enable him to prosecute his country’s interests. – Peter Foster for the Telegraph (£) Matthew d’Ancona: May’s Brexit deal is already doomed. Here’s how the Christmas meltdown could play out It was a funeral masquerading as a baptism. In Brussels, Theresa May’s Brexit deal was welcomed into the world by the UK’s 27 soon-to-be-ex-partners and the priesthood of the European commission. It is dead because – barring a truly dramatic realignment of parliamentary opinion – it simply cannot survive the “meaningful vote” in the House of Commons expected on 10 December. Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president, declared that “this is the best deal possible. This is the only deal possible.” The history of diplomacy suggests that most such statements contain a footnote written in invisible ink: “Unless we have to amend it a bit.” One can still imagine a few scraps being thrown May’s way to show good faith. Expect the campaign for a fresh referendum to gather in strength after the parliamentary vote. Those who have always felt that a no-deal Brexit was the cleanest and most honest option – the oxymoronic “managed” no-deal of Dominic Raab’s fantasies – will shift up a gear. Within the cabinet, a new “gang of five” (Philip Hammond, Amber Rudd, David Gauke, Greg Clark and David Lidington) are reported by the Mail on Sunday to be ready to quit if a no-deal exit becomes a serious prospect. – Matthew d’Ancona for the Guardian Chloe Westley: If the Conservatives bow to May’s betrayal of the referendum result, they will be cursed for a generation Up until now, many in the silent majority have been quiet, patiently waiting for the Government to do what it said it would do, and deliver on the referendum result. But now that the Prime Minister has returned with a deal makes Britain a satellite state of the European Union, the mood is starting to shift. Make no mistake. If the Conservatives fail keep the promises they made at the last general election, it will be a defining black mark against the Party’s name for a generation. Before the referendum, many people already feared that the political system was geared against them, and that politicians were ignorant of their concerns. Those Tory MPs advocating for a second referendum are proving them right. Instead of betraying the electorate, the Government should look to the opportunities of leaving on WTO terms. If we leave on a no deal Brexit we can immediately begin to negotiate free trade deals around the world; we can take advantage of the growing markets in Asia and America. – Chloe Westley for The Spectator Henry Newman: The Gibraltar ‘capitulation’ is nothing of the sort What has just happened with Gibraltar? The Prime Minister of Spain had threatened to “veto” Brexit but now says he has received assurances – suggesting that something happened this weekend. It did, but it was more about politics than substance. Sanchez has issued hollow threats to “veto” Brexit, even though he has no power to follow up on them (although Michel Barnier would be reluctant to proceed with negotiations if Spain was really unhappy hence why Spain fell into line this weekend). At present Gibraltar is already outside the customs union so there’s a customs border now between the UK and Gibraltar, and indeed between Spain and the Rock. So it isn’t clear that Gibraltar would want to be part of a future trade agreement between the EU and UK anyway. This whole confected Gibraltar drama has changed nothing. Spain still has veto over any future arrangement, as all countries do. Spain will try to push for more on Gibraltar, and the UK will have to resist that. – Henry Newman for The Spectator Martin Howe QC responds to No 10’s “rebuttal” of the Brexit deal 10 Downing Street has published a “rebuttal” to my article in this week’s Spectator looking at the legal implications of the Withdrawal Agreement. Regrettably, its responses to my critique go beyond making a best case for the treaty. Instead, No10 seeks to take advantage of the legal complexities to misrepresent the legal effects of the agreement on the first critical point (whether there could be any effective recourse to arbitration) as well as others. – Martin Howe QC for The Spectator Christopher Hope: Three ways Theresa May could yet get her Brexit deal past MPs Theresa May confidently asserted after meeting EU leaders in Brussels on Sunday that she “will make the case for this deal with all my heart” to persuade MPs to back it. Number 10 sources made clear that MPs will vote on the deal in the week commencing Monday December 10. But with 93 Conservative MPs saying they will oppose it, the Prime Minister will have to look at alternatives to get her deal through the Commons. Here The Telegraph looks at three ways Mrs May might try to get the deal through the Commons – and the three things which could happen if she does not. – Christopher Hope for the Telegraph (£) Jon Tonge: Despite condemning the government over Brexit, the desire to retain the deal with Tories is still there A delayed flight back from Belfast on Saturday night allowed plenty of time for reflection on the DUP conference. Things will be easier when Boris’s bridge – an easy build, he reckoned – is constructed. At least it’s more straightforward leaving Northern Ireland than Northern Ireland leaving the EU. The EU backstop must have felt pummelled by Saturday’s close. It was to be binned, junked, ditched, ended, rejected, abhorred and eschewed. The Brexit messages from the DUP’s gathering were unambiguous. The DUP leadership reiterated it was a Conservative-DUP arrangement, not a May-DUP deal, a thinly veiled warning to the Prime Minister that her political shelf life may be short. – Jon Tonge for the Belfast Telegraph Brexit in Brief Why I can’t vote for the Withdrawal Agreement – Julia Lopez MP We still can’t trust the EU says lawyer as Barnier admits UK and EU do have trust issue – Paul Baldwin for the Express The Brexit Withdrawal Agreement: Taking back “control of our laws”? – Mark Elliott for Public Law for Everyone Jeremy Hunt brutally picks apart Tony Blair’s bid for a second referendum – Express Newly-knighted Tory MP says he still won’t back May’s deal – The Spectator