Theresa May to announce a 12-point plan for a clean break from the EU… On her plan for Brexit, the Prime Minister will says she has 12 negotiating priorities driven by four key principles: Certainty and clarity; A stronger Britain; A fairer Britain; A truly global Britain. “We have 12 objectives that amount to one big goal: a new, positive and constructive partnership between Britain and the European Union,” she will say. “And as we negotiate that partnership, we will be driven by some simple principles: we will provide as much certainty and clarity as we can at every stage. And we will take this opportunity to make Britain stronger, to make Britain fairer, and to build a more Global Britain too.” – Sky News What to watch out for in Theresa May’s big speech – The Times (£) What are the key issues the PM will need to address? – ITV Leading figures on their hopes for the PM’s landmark speech – Wales Online My five-point plan for Theresa May that can make hard Brexit a success – William Hague for the Daily Telegraph (£) A truly global Britain is May’s Brexit vision – Daily Mail editorial Britain must embrace its freedom from the European Union – Daily Telegraph editorial …with the Prime Minister set to confirm the UK’s exit from EU single market… Theresa May is expected to use the most important speech of her premiership to confirm that Britain will be leaving the single market while insisting that it wants to remain “the best friend” to European partners. In remarks that critics will cite as evidence that the government is pursuing a hard Brexit, the prime minister will set out 12 key priorities for the EU negotiations, with no compromise over the ability to control borders and regain sovereignty….May will stress her ambition to reach out beyond the continent to build new trading relationships in a move that suggests the UK will also leave the customs union. – The Guardian The Prime Minister is to call her vision an equal partnership. Critics call it a hard Brexit. – Julia Rampen for the New Statesman’s Staggers blog Why a clean Brexit would be best for the new Global Britain – Gerard Lyons for the Evening Standard Theresa May vows to turn Britain into “a great global trading nation” – City A.M. Liberal Conservatives must abandon impractical dreams of staying in the Single Market – Nick Boles for ConservativeHome Theresa May’s Brexit focus should be on the least harmful way of leaving – Lord Mandelson for The Guardian …and work permits reportedly at heart of her Brexit immigration control plan The cabinet is divided on how to regulate the flow of EU workers into Britain. Former Remain supporters advocate a “free movement minus” regime that would consist of a cap on migrant numbers and an “emergency brake”. Pro-Brexit politicians want an end to free movement and the introduction of a work permit system, with the government having the power to decide how many EU citizens would be allowed into Britain each year to take up a job offer. They also want restrictions on welfare payments. Crucially, Amber Rudd, home secretary and a former Remain supporter, is thought to back the work permit plan while Mrs May’s allies say she is also minded to endorse the idea. – FT (£) Theresa May’s Brexit plan must begin with an immediate end to all EU immigration – Simon Heffer for the Daily Telegraph (£) May is missing EU’s shift on free movement – Rachel Sylvester for The Times (£) We can escape Brexit doom with one small tweak to free movement – Paul Mason for The Guardian IMF upgrades UK growth projections for 2017 In an update to its global growth projections, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said domestic demand in the United Kingdom “held up better than expected in the aftermath of the Brexit vote”. But it also cautioned that the instability surrounding Britain’s terms of exit for the EU could have adverse effects on both short and long term projections. The IMF now expects the UK economy to grow by 1.5% this year, up by 0.4 percentage points compared to its previous forecast in October. Meanwhile growth for 2016 is pencilled in at 2%, up from 1.8%. However the forecast for 2018 has been cut to 1.4%, from a previous 1.7%. – Sky News Bank saved 250,000 jobs by cutting rates after referendum, claims Mark Carney The Bank of England’s decision to cut interest rates by 0.25 per cent last August in the wake of the Brexit vote may have saved 250,000 British jobs, Mark Carney has suggested. In a speech to the London School of Economics, the governor said that if the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee had not acted in this “timely, coherent and comprehensive way” an “output gap” of 1.5 per cent of GDP would have opened up in the UK economy, “implying around a quarter of a million lost jobs”. That would have meant even more lost output and a total disregard for higher unemployment. Given our remit that would have been undesirable,” Mr Carney said. – The Independent Eurosceptics slam Carney over claim Bank action saved 250,000 jobs – City A.M. UK bosses are optimistic despite Brexit fears UK bosses are more optimistic about their firms’ prospects than a year ago, despite fears the Brexit vote could hamper growth, a survey suggests. Some 89% of UK chief executives are confident their firm will grow this year, up from 85% last year, the poll by consultants PwC showed. The finding makes UK business leaders some of the most optimistic globally. – BBC The world’s CEOs are more worried about a burgeoning jobs problem than Brexit or populism – Business Insider Job vacancies increasing despite Brexit uncertainty – Daily Mail PwC boss doubts many firms will quit UK over Brexit – The Courier Angry birds developer to open video game studio in London despite Brexit fears – The Independent Humber firms are enjoying the effects of a ‘Brexit boost’ – Hull Daily Mail Brexit vote boosts Hugo Boss – City A.M. Daniel Hannan MEP: Brussels doesn’t hold all the cards – Brexit is a chance for the UK to trade with the world We should approach the Article 50 procedure by preparing for third-country status, but negotiating in good faith for something closer. If we go in as supplicants, that’s how we’ll be treated. But if we remember that we are the world’s fifth largest economy, and the EU’s largest export destination, there is every chance of a mutually beneficial outcome. We should, in other words, seek a deal that is fair to both sides while being ready to walk away if the terms are not right. Which, I’m delighted to say, is precisely what Theresa May seems set to announce. – Daniel Hannan MEP for International Business Times Debbie Abrahams MP: No, the Brexit vote wasn’t just about immigration Whether people voted to remain or leave, they did so because they believed that they and their families would be better off, and the majority who voted believed they would be better off if we leave the EU. Labour accepts and respects this. We have said that we will vote for Article 50, but we intend to hold this Tory government to account to ensure we get the best possible deal for the country. – Labour’s Debbie Abrahams MP for the New Statesman’s Staggers blog Tim Stanley: There’s no place for the EU in Donald Trump’s world Happily, what Mr Trump wants us to do is what we’re doing already. Speaking in an office wallpapered with photographs of himself, Mr Trump declared that Brexit is going to be so great, so very, very great. He had predicted it, of course; Theresa May is a wonderful person; there’ll be a free trade deal so fast your head will literally spin. The rest of Europe, I infer, can take a running jump… Britain, meanwhile, finds itself enjoying an astonishing bit of good luck. As America recalibrates its foreign policy, we are emerging from a position of isolation on the edges of Europe to suddenly being on friendly terms with the new emperor of the free world. If Brexit once appeared eccentric, even risky, it now looks prophetic. – Tim Stanley for the Daily Telegraph (£) Tom Harris: Donald Trump does not speak for Leavers – Brexit is everything he is not The Prime Minister will have to be mindful of the very real damage that Trump’s intervention may well have on the government’s policy. There are many of us who voted Leave but who still value international institutions and co-operation, who still want the United Nations to be respected, who believe Nato still has a crucial role to play in maintaining world peace, who believe that the art of international co-operation, which the UK has always been rather good at, will continue to be practiced, even with respect to our EU friends, after we leave that troubled institution. – Tom Harris for the Daily Telegraph (£) Brexit news in brief UK trade deals could put EU in ‘very unfavourable position,’ Hungary warns – Politico Italian centre-right MEP Tajani has edge in race for European Parliament presidency – Politico What I found behind Trump’s showy façade – Michael Gove tell the inside story of his interview with Donald Trump in The Times (£)