Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Global powers lobby to stop special Brexit deal for UK… Theresa May’s hopes of securing a unique post-Brexit trade deal with the EU were under threat on Saturday night as Brussels said it was coming under international pressure to deny Britain special treatment. After a week that saw May reach a deal with the EU that will allow Brexit talks to move forward on to future trade relations, EU officials insisted a bespoke deal more favourable to the UK than other non-EU nations was out of the question. One EU source close to the talks said: “We have been approached by a number of [non-member] countries expressing concerns and making it clear that it would constitute a major problem for them if suddenly the UK were to get better terms than they get.” The official said that once the UK is out of the single market and customs union in March 2019, there could be no replication of the terms of the current trading relationship, or anything close to it, and no special treatment. – Observer What next now the trade talks can begin? – Sunday Times (£) Theresa May’s Brexit deal is bulletproof, Leo Varadkar says – Sunday Times (£) To-ing and fro-ing forced EU to show hand when pushed – Telegraph (£) > Hugh Bennett on BrexitCentral: What does the UK-EU deal say and is it good for Britain? …as Cabinet Brexit truce threatens to unravel as Leavers told ‘concession to EU meaningless’… A row has broken out between Downing Street and senior Eurosceptics over claims Theresa May’s aides told Boris Johnson and Michael Gove that the key concession used to seal Friday’s deal with Europe was “meaningless” and “not binding”. A senior Eurosceptic with knowledge of the discussions involving Cabinet ministers, including Mr Johnson and Mr Gove, told The Telegraph that No 10 had said a commitment to “full alignment” between the UK and the EU “doesn’t mean anything in EU law”. – Telegraph (£) Following Theresa May’s great escape, Brexiters plan their final battle for Britain – Observer …while Sunday Times reports Brexiteers Michael Gove and Boris Johnson as insisting on payback from Theresa May Michael Gove and Boris Johnson will insist that Theresa May presses for a hard Brexit when Britain begins trade negotiations with Brussels — as payback for their support for her deal last week. In a crucial breakthrough for the Brexiteers, the environment and foreign secretaries have won support from Gavin Williamson, the new defence secretary, to press for a clean break from European Union regulations, giving them a majority in the Brexit war cabinet. The prime minister agreed a deal last week that will see the UK remain in “full alignment” with the EU on matters that affect Northern Ireland. But Gove will demand that Britain is allowed to leave the common fisheries policy and take back control of Britain’s sovereign waters even during the two-year transition period that follows Brexit. – Sunday Times (£) Theresa May to take on Boris Johnson’s vision – Sunday Times (£) Brexiteers’ threat to EU: Give UK gold-plated trade deal or Britain pays nothing Crucial talks are set to start on Britain’s future relationship with the EU this week, with MPs claiming the behaviour of Brussels’ negotiators revealed that they both “need and want” a free-trade deal with the UK. The 15-page agreement – which satisfied the condition of “sufficient progress” being made on citizens rights, Northern Ireland and the financial settlement – entrenched Mrs May’s caveat that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”. It also means Britain can withdraw its offer of paying up to £39billion to the EU if no deal is reached. Leading Eurosceptics have been emboldened by the sudden urgency with which EU chiefs Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk reacted to the talks appearing to fall apart at the beginning of last week following an intervention by DUP leader Arlene Foster. – Sunday Express Theresa May is deluded – a truly great deal would be the Brexit we all voted for – Tony Parsons for the Sun EU will reward Theresa May with transition deal next week The European Union will formally offer Theresa May a two-year standstill Brexit transition deal next week as reward for yesterday’s divorce settlement. In return for Britain paying £35-£40 billion in EU liabilities over many years, the other 27 EU member states will sign off on the next stage of Brexit at a summit on Thursday. The plan, which both sides believe can be agreed by the end of January, will give business a two-year cushion to make preparations for a full EU exit. Ministers hope that the transition plan, a key trade-off in the settlement, will be enough to steady industry nerves and prevent significant relocations in the run-up to March 2019, when the UK withdraws from the EU. – Sunday Times (£) From darkest to finest hour: May’s big-dipper Brexit week – Sunday Times (£) It could be the PM’s Brexit – if she stays the course – Adam Boulton for the Sunday Times (£) Now one deal is done, fast comes another big decision – Sunday Times (£) Pay growth accelerates to fastest pace this year as inflation peaks Pay growth is accelerating to its fastest pace this year and inflation is at its peak, meaning the painful squeeze on families’ finances is starting to fade. Annual wage growth picked up to 2.5pc in the three months to October, economists believe, up from 2.2pc previously. Official figures published on Wednesday are expected to show unemployment fell to 4.2pc in the same period, the lowest level since 1975. – Telegraph Lib Dems’ single market plan ‘to flush out’ Labour Jeremy Corbyn will be put on the spot over his Brexit plans this week when a Liberal Democrat attempt to keep Britain in the single market is put to a vote in parliament. The Lib Dems have tabled an amendment to the Brexit withdrawal bill which calls on the government to keep open the option of remaining in the single market after Brexit. The plan has the support of a handful of Labour MPs and could be backed by Tory remainers. Sir Vince Cable, the Lib Dem leader, told The Sunday Times that the vote would be a key test of whether Labour would support a soft Brexit. – Sunday Times (£) UK could pay ‘monstrous’ £100bn bill to break ties with Brussels, ex-Brexit Minister warns MP David Jones was one of the few Conservative Brexiteers to publicly criticise the deal Theresa May reached in order to trigger trade talks earlier this week. The Member of Parliament for Clwyd West said the UK could end up paying a “monstrous” exit settlement nearly three times the estimated divorce bill, which is expected to be between £35bn to £40bn. The intervention came following reports that senior Leave campaigners such as Michael Gove and Boris Johnson will seek a compromise from Mrs May on a sharper break from the bloc as “payback” for their support amid her deal with the EU. The Environment Secretary, Mr Gove, is keen to ensure the UK quits the commons fisheries policy, despite Mrs May’s agreement that the UK could retain “alignment” with the EU in areas that impact on Northern Ireland. – Express James Forsyth: What will the Cabinet decide on Brexit? Diplomatic agreements are often deliberately ambiguous. Yesterday’s was no different. As one senior source on the UK side admits, alignment is a deliberately ‘broad term that covers everything from full regulatory harmonisation to full regulatory equivalence’. But when talks move onto trade, Theresa May must ensure that the UK has the right to do things differently where it is in the national interest to do so. Without that freedom, Britain won’t be able to make a success of Brexit. – James Forsyth for the Spectator Rod Liddle: A United States of Europe was always their plan. It’s worth any sum to avoid that As I was taking my money from a cash machine the other day, a young man came up, punched me, grabbed my money and, as I slumped to the floor, kicked me. “Thank you, thank you!” I shouted as he ran away. “I believe we have struck a historic deal! We can now proceed to trade talks that will be mutually beneficial to you, me and the wider community in general!” I don’t think he heard. Dude was gone, with my dosh. OK, that didn’t happen. But it’s a little how I felt last week when the pound rose after news that we’d negotiated to pay a £39bn unitemised bill without a clue of what we might get in return. It wasn’t quite a “Rejoice, rejoice!” moment for me or, I suspect, most Brexiteers. – Sunday Times (£) Molly Kiniry: Britain can snuggle up to the EU or reach out to new trading partners – but not both Learning about the technicalities of trade is not unlike having one’s liver pecked out by eagle. It is a hellacious process, an endless torment of pedantry which is pointless for most people, at most times, in most places. Unfortunately for the British public, these are not ordinary times. Perhaps the biggest dividend of Brexit is the chance to negotiate trade agreements outside of the European Union, an opportunity which the UK has not enjoyed in 40 years. The United States, your friendly (if obese) cousin across the pond, is one of the more tempting partners for Global Britain, our future self who goes to the gym more often and has perfect hair. – Molly Kiniry for the Telegraph (£) Simon Wolfson: We are over the first Brexit hurdle… now we want free trade with the EU Britain has cleared the first major hurdle towards striking a Brexit deal – despite all the pessimists warning of impending doom. But now we have made progress on the Irish border, the size of the divorce bill and EU citizens’ rights, we can start discussing the more important issues of trade and future relations. Before we do though, we really must learn to stop going into meltdown every time these talks run into the buffers. It is certain to happen again as we move into the more difficult stages but as we learned this week, when things go wrong, you go home, sleep on it and move forward. As we go into these negotiations one idea must remain at the forefront of our minds — whatever deal we get with the EU will not be as important as the decisions we make once we have left. – Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise for the Sun Chris Grayling: Our key advantage on trade: Europe depends on UK consumers We are now only sixteen months away from leaving the European Union. For those who want to leave but are sceptical about where we have got to – you should see Saturday’s agreement in Brussels was a huge step along the road. To leave the European Union and the path it has chosen towards much greater integration. To leave the Single Market, and respond to the wish of a large part of our population to take back control of our borders and immigration system. And to leave the Customs Union, allowing us to harness the potential of fast growing markets in other parts of the world – and take a less protectionist approach to helping the poorest countries trade their way out of poverty. – Chris Grayling MP for the Telegraph (£) Owen Paterson: PM striking Brexit ‘deal’ is welcome but there are still causes for concern The news on Friday that Theresa May had struck a “deal” with the EU Commission was welcome. Certainly, its language was an improvement on the draft which we saw on Monday and the Government has clearly managed to move the Commission some way. The agreement allows the talks to move forward. It does not set in stone any terms of the final Brexit arrangement. There are, however, obvious causes for concern. The continued oversight of the European Court of Justice in the UK is not good. It is standard practice across the world for the courts of countries in an international treaty to pay attention to the judgments of their partners, and to try, if possible, to apply a consistent interpretation. – Owen Paterson MP for the Sun Liam Halligan: Why ‘exit from Brexit’ would be a disaster Last week, in a five-star Knightsbridge hotel, several-hundred financiers, lawyers and MPs enjoyed a £200-a-plate gala dinner. This was an “Exit from Brexit” fundraiser organised by Nick Clegg – the former Liberal Democrat leader who, since voters threw him out of the Commons six months ago, is on the airwaves more than ever. The campaign to reverse Brexit is gathering pace, run by ultra-Remain MPs, peers and denizens of big corporations who, benefiting from the status quo, are determined to maintain it. While most still piously claim to “respect the referendum result”, some have broken ranks. They now admit, unashamedly, they want to upend the biggest vote in British history, before it’s even been implemented. – Liam Halligan for the Telegraph (£) Simon Heffer: Tory Brexiteers are privately furious about Theresa May’s ‘deal’ with the EU Although on Friday the great triumph Theresa May allegedly had in Brussels was being hailed in some quarters as evidence of her superb leadership, it wasn’t hard to find Tories who begged to differ. Quite a few felt she had just rolled over, and they blamed a style of leadership utterly lacking in collegiality, distrustful of consultation and reliant on bad advice. That style now means all the conditions are in place for the current acclamation of a deal that her critics damn as both vague and a betrayal of the democratic majority to turn in time to cynicism and disapproval. From there, it is a short step to a renewed assault on her incumbency of Downing Street. – Simon Heffer for the Telegraph (£) John Longworth: May has capitulated – and here’s what must be done to fight back This latest capitulation by Theresa May has been cautiously welcomed by some politicians, presumably because there is general relief that we have seen the end of the beginning of the negotiations. However botched, misguided and detrimental to our national interests the process has been to date, at least nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, and it is therefore crucially important that we do not face yet more defeats at the hands of the EU. If we do, it will be perceived by a large proportion of the British public as the greatest betrayal in living memory, and the Conservative Party will be punished furiously at the next election. – John Longworth for ConservativeHome Brexit in brief Financial services must be at the front and back of free trade talks – Jeremy Warner for the Telegraph (£) EU bullies are forcing proud countries out of the Union – Tim Newark for the Express After a week of preposterous grandstanding and melodrama, now the Brexit fun really begins – Janet Daley for the Telegraph (£) No, there isn’t a surge in hate crime. It’s confusion that’s running riot – David Goodhart for the Sunday Times (£) The Joint Report on the negotiations so far – John Redwood MP for John Redwood’s Diary Brexit. What we should do now – James Arnell for ConservativeHome Michael Gove is waving the white flag over Brexit – but it’s not for the reason you would think – John Rentoul for the Independent Sadiq Khan has commissioned Brexit impact reports for London – City A.M. Scotland needs special agreement too, Nicola Sturgeon says – Sunday Times (£) John Redwood MP on Friday’s deal – Channel 4 News