Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said his party would oppose it, unless they were promised a second referendum on the UK’s Brexit deal with EU leaders. Several Labour MPs are also willing to vote against it, despite the Labour Party pledging not to do so….With the support of Conservative MPs and the support or abstention of most Labour MPs, the bill is well placed to pass through the Commons. But the opposition of some MPs is likely to embolden critics in the House of Lords. – BBC Should parliament have a binding vote on the terms of Brexit? – Ed Miliband MP and Michael Gove MP for Prospect Magazine The MPs who will, and won’t, seek to block Brexit – The New Statesman’s Staggers blog Tim Farron MP: Once we know what Brexit means, the people must have a vote on it Too much of Cameron’s handling of this issue was trying to unite a divided Conservative party. It is now critical that the government puts aside narrow party interest. For these reasons, the only circumstances in which the Lib Dems could vote for article 50 is if any such vote includes an explicit guarantee to put the direction of Brexit back into the hands of the people through a referendum on the deal. We trusted people to vote for departure. Now we must also trust people to vote for a destination. – Tim Farron MP in The Guardian The government may argue Article 50 could be reversed Government lawyers are exploring the possibility of arguing in the supreme court that the article 50 process could be reversed by parliament at any time before the UK completes its exit from the European Union…If the government argued that MPs could vote to revoke article 50 during the exit negotiation period, some academics say, the outcome of the government’s appeal to the supreme court would be different, because it would imply that the sovereignty of parliament had not been removed. – The Guardian Theresa May could try to overturn Brexit court ruling by claiming Article 50 won’t affect UK citizens’ rights – The Independent Brexiters hope for closer ties with Trump Britain’s Brexiters have seized on the election of Donald Trump, arguing that it offers the chance to strengthen ties with the US, in an echo of the partnership forged decades ago between Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, has depicted Mr Trump’s victory as “a great opportunity”, emphasised the possibility of a post-Brexit trade deal, and called for Europe to snap out of its “general doom and gloom … and collective whingearama” following this week’s election. – FT (£) Time for an economic special relationship? – BBC Trump is a real gift to Theresa May’s Brexit negotiations – James Forsyth in The Sun Nigel Farage will not be Donald Trump go-between, says Government spokesman – Sky News A free trade deal with Brexit Britain would help Trump jump-start economic growth – Iain Murray in the Sun Sentinel UK could become part of new trade area with the US, Canada and Mexico after Brexit Britain could become an “associate” member of a new North American Free Trade Area (Nafta) once Brexit has taken place, it has emerged. The prospect of the UK becoming part of a North American trade bloc under Mr Trump’s presidency could be on the cards with the heightened flexibility Brexit is expected to bring and the President-elect’s disapproval of the deal in its current form. – The Independent With the UK heading for the exit door, the EU is now set to impose punitive anti-dumping tariffs on imports The EU is ready to use punitive anti-dumping tariffs on imports — such as steel — after a UK-led blocking minority of countries opposed to the reforms collapsed. Britain had been part of an alliance set on scuppering the plan as unnecessary and protectionist. But on Friday the Netherlands and Austria indicated that they would throw their weight behind the proposal, leaving the UK likely to be outnumbered when EU member states vote on the plan later this year. – FT (£) How Leave won: behind the scenes in the battle for Brexit Now comes the first wave of books seeking to explain how Britain arrived at this point….The essential account of the referendum, however, is All Out War by Tim Shipman, political editor of the Sunday Times. He has spoken to every key individual to produce the definitive first draft of history, a comprehensive yet impartial study of how Brexit won. – FT (£) New Lord Mayor plays down Brexit threat to City from Frankfurt The incoming Lord Mayor of London has played down the threat to the City from Frankfurt saying it would take its German rival 25 years to build the homes and office space the capital has. Andrew Parmley said he was “not at all worried” about the German financial centre as a rival, adding the City’s operations were on a “different scale”. – Sky News Pound sterling becomes best performing major currency in the world after Trump win Investors’ concerns about political shifts in the eurozone and Donald Trump’s shock election victory have benefited the pound as it became the best performing currency this week. Sterling has climbed against all of major currencies since last Friday and broke the $1.26 barrier against the dollar for the first time in five weeks. It is also its highest level since the “flash crash” that caused a massive drop in the currency’s value in early October. – The Independent How has the pound gone from the worst to best performing major currency? – The Independent John Rentoul: No, David Cameron’s EU referendum wasn’t a mistake, and Brexit didn’t come from a campaign of lies either I was a Remainer myself, although a reluctant Remainer (like the Prime Minister), but I don’t accept (a) that it was foolish or mistaken to have the referendum, or (b) that it was won by lies. I think the decision to hold a referendum was right, unavoidable and democratic. And I think that the campaign may have been simple-minded and unedifying – although I don’t think it was as dishonest as Donald Trump’s presidential campaign – but that is what democracy is like. – John Rentoul in The Independent Brexit news and comment in brief SNP rising star Mhairi Black admits she ‘held her nose’ while voting Remain – Daily Telegraph British steel crisis shouldn’t slip off the agenda amid Brexit negotiations says First Minister Carwyn Jones – Wales Online Soft or hard Brexit: do the UK’s political parties know what they want? – Kirsty Hughes for openDemocracy Brexit must not mean more red tape warns Freight Transport Association – Logistics Manager What should universities be in post-Brexit Britain – Citi blog Viktor Orban heralds Donald Trump’s win as start of Europe counter-revolution – Daily Telegraph (£) Juncker says we must teach Trump ‘how Europe works’ – ITV News