House of Lords urged to respect Brexit decision as two days of Article 50 debate gets underway… Peers have been urged to “respect” voters’ decision to leave the EU as they began debating the Brexit bill. With Prime Minister Theresa May taking the unusual step of sitting in the Lords to watch the opening speeches, Leader of the House Baroness Evans said peers must not “frustrate” Brexit… The prime minister decided to sit in the Lords chamber itself to listen to the start of the debate. Her official spokesman said this was “in recognition of the importance of this bill as it proceeds through the Lords”. Opening proceedings, Lady Evans said the government had promised to deliver on the result of last year’s referendum, in which 51.9% of voters backed Brexit. She said: “This bill is not about revisiting the debate.” She added: “Noble Lords respect the primacy of the elected House and the decision of the British people on 23 June last year.” – BBC News …with William Hague slamming Tony Blair’s intervention last week William Hague has launched a scathing attack on Tony Blair’s call to Brexit opponents to “rise up”, as peers debate the Government’s Article 50 Bill in the House of Lords. Any attempt to “rise up” against the result would lead to the most “bitter, potentially endless conflict” seen in British society for decades, the former foreign secretary claimed. Lord Hague said he voted Remain but supported the Article 50 Bill because the referendum had been decisive, with more people voting to leave the EU than for any British government in history. – Sky News Lord Lawson warns against delaying Brexit bill – ITV News Mandelson: I voted to remain because I am a patriot – ITV News Who are the peers with EU pensions likely to frustrate Brexit and what have they said about it? – Daily Telegraph Peers prepare to push for Brexit bill changes despite PM’s Lords appearance – The Guardian No pressure, chaps: the day Theresa May went to show the Lords who’s boss – Michael Deacon for the Daily Telegraph (£) Analysis: How could the Lords actually vote on the Brexit Bill and how does it work? – Ashley Kirk, Patrick Scott and Laura Hughes for the Daily Telegraph (£) >WATCH on BrexitCentral: House of Lords second reading debate highlights Matt Ridley: The Lords has no business amending the Brexit bill It is not our job to second-guess the people’s decision. The House of Lords prides itself on being a revising chamber that brings special expertise to bear on scrutinising any bill, sending it back to the Commons for rethinks of detail if necessary… In a bill that simply confers on the prime minister the power to trigger a treaty article, and consists of two short clauses, what is there to scrutinise? Even to try to amend such a bill is constitutionally inappropriate because we would be adding to, not revising, the legislation… There will be ample opportunities for the Lords to do its constitutional duty on the details of our future relationship with Europe in years to come. – Matt Ridley for The Times (£) In revolutions, things get broken. I pray the House of Lords will be mindful of that – Tim Stanley for the Daily Telegraph (£) It’s time to let Theresa trigger Article 50 and give her every power to secure Britain the best deal – The Sun says If Lords try to delay Brexit there will be the stench of a stitch up – Paul Nuttall MEP for the Daily Express Peers are playing with fire – Douglas Carswell’s blog Relax – the Lords won’t block Article 50 – Christopher Howarth for ConservativeHome If my fellow peers try to derail Brexit, they will destroy the House of Lords’ credibility – Lord Callanan for the Daily Telegraph (£) >Lord Callanan on BrexitCentral last week: Any attempt by my fellow peers to block the Article 50 Bill would be a constitutional outrage France and Germany oppose Britain offsetting its share of EU assets against continued EU budget contributions… The European Commission wants Britain to be paying into EU projects for four years after it has signed a Brexit deal, with final payments continuing up until the end of 2023, the Daily Telegraph has learned. The plan is part of a European Union demand that Britain settles a €60bn “Brexit bill” before being granted a deal that will govern future trade relations… The meeting between Mr Barnier and the EU member states also revealed a deep split between France, Germany and the European Commission over how to calculate what Britain owes prior to “B-day”, scheduled for March 2019. The European Commission believes that Britain should be allowed to off-set its share of the EU’s €154bn assets against its owings – comprised of annual budget commitments until 2019, pension obligations and other longer term liabilities. “Both France and Germany objected to this, but the Commission said it was hard to argue that Britain must pay up for its outstanding commitments while refusing to recognise its share of the EU’s assets,” the source said. – Daily Telegraph …but Germany sides with Britain on issue of parallel negotiations to stop backlash over €60bn divorce bill Germany is siding with Britain to stop the European Commission presenting a €60 billion “divorce” bill immediately after Theresa May begins the Brexit process. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, wants the opening phase of Brexit talks to focus on the size of the exit bill for existing funding commitments, pensions and other liabilities… In private Germany is understood to be critical of this approach, in what will be a boost for Downing Street. German ministers are sensitive to the argument from their UK counterparts that the public backlash in Britain over the concept and size of an “exit bill” could scupper talks before they begin… Other countries have signalled their opposition to the commission-led plan. In January Alfonso Dastis, the Spanish foreign minister, said his country was sympathetic to London’s call for trade deal negotiations at the same time as the separation talks. France is thought to be less sympathetic. – The Times (£) EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier ‘wants to tie down £50bn Brexit bill’ before trade talks start – Daily Telegraph Theresa May denies accusations she is playing ‘divide and rule’ with EU states over Brexit and trying to split eastern states from France and Germany – The Sun Britain has ‘selfish’ reasons for wanting EU to thrive after Brexit, says David Davis – Daily Express Britain should use its security expertise as a bargaining chip in the Brexit negotiations, ex-counter terror chief claims Richard Walton said the UK would be in a stronger negotiating position if it withdraws from Europol, the EU law enforcement agency. The former head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command said it would have ‘little or no effect’ on Britain’s ability to maintain security. In a report for Veterans for Britain, he said the heightened threat of terror across Europe would mean the EU will continue to seek access to the UK’s intelligence post Brexit. – Daily Mail Jean-Claude Juncker could step down as European Commission President in March Jean-Claude Juncker could step down as President of the European Commission as early as next month, according to reports. The former Prime Minister of Luxembourg has previously said he would not seek a second term as European Commission president when his five-year term expires in 2019. However, European sources have told the Italian newspaper Republic that Mr Juncker will decide to stay in Brussels or resign over the next few weeks. – Daily Telegraph Juncker ready to quit if plan for closer union is blocked – The Times (£) Leadsom hails record British food and drink exports ahead of NFU conference Growing demand for British produce in China and America contributed to food and drink exports rising 10 per cent to a record £20 billion last year. Andrea Leadsom, the environment secretary, will use the figures today to tell farmers that they have a bright future after Brexit, despite almost three quarters of their exports going to other EU countries. Speaking at the National Farmers’ Union annual conference, Mrs Leadsom will say that farming can thrive by being more “outward looking” and targeting non-EU markets… Mrs Leadsom said ahead of the speech: “As we prepare to leave the EU, there has never been a better time to become more outward looking — developing new trading relationships and establishing our place as a truly global Britain.” – The Times (£) Global sales of UK food and drink hit the £20bn mark for the first time as Government prepares for Brexit – The Independent Meurig Raymond: A Brexit that benefits agriculture is a Brexit that benefits the nation – Ministers, take note We are currently faced with an unprecedented chance to reshape the agricultural sector to deliver more for the UK, building prosperity and improving our quality of life. How to maximise the benefits and minimise the disruption of Brexit is hugely important to the country’s future and will dominate discussions at the NFU conference this week… Leaving the EU will allow us to take control of the policy that currently governs our farming industry. Gone will be the current Common Agricultural Policy structures; new measures bespoke to the UK’s food and farming needs will be in its place. – Meurig Raymond, President of the National Farmers’ Union for the Daily Telegraph How New Zealand cleared the field for subsidy-free farms – The Times (£) Good riddance to the EU’s three-crop rule – Emmet Livingstone for Politico Agricultural Yield: By removing farm subsidies and abolishing tariffs on imported produce, Britain can improve its efficiency – The Times (£) editorial ‘No circumstances’ where Scotland stays in EU, independent or not, says Scottish Secretary Scotland will be outside of the EU regardless of the terms of the UK’s Brexit deal or whether Nicola Sturgeon wins a second independence referendum, David Mundell will tell MSPs this week. The Scottish Secretary will tell a meeting of Holyrood’s Europe and external relations committee on Wednesday that there is “no set of circumstances” in which Scotland will stay within the EU when the UK leaves. Even if there was a vote for independence, he will say Scotland would have to apply for EU membership from scratch and advised against making “easy assumptions” about how long this would take and the terms that would be offered by Brussels. – Daily Telegraph British consumers see no negatives from Brexit despite rising economy fears Brexit did not stop British consumer confidence from growing over the past year, despite the economy topping a list of concerns for future prospects, according to a new poll. British consumer confidence at the end of 2016 was marginally higher than a year earlier and far ahead of European average, according to pollsters Nielsen. More than half of consumers felt confident in making big-ticket purchases, its highest level since the survey began in 2005. Demand for larger items is traditionally particularly vulnerable to economic or political fears. The UK score was a point above the global index average of 101 and the much weaker index score of 81 in Europe. A reading above 100 indicates optimistic sentiment. – City A.M. Sir Bill Cash: Deutsche Börse and London Stock Exchange merger threatens the national interest Answers are needed to the suggestion that the proposed deal is not a normal, commercial deal in the light of the Brexit negotiations. It is politically affected by the state of Hesse which has a desire to boost Frankfurt as a hub at the expense of London, as indicated in a report by Professor Dirk Schiereck, commissioned by Deutsche Börse in January. Furthermore, the German minister for Hesse indicated that the headquarters of the group should be in Germany — “the reason for the headquarters being in Frankfurt are crystal clear”…. Given the declared political objective to promote Frankfurt, Paris and the eurozone this is not an outcome which is in the UK’s national interest. – Sir Bill Cash for The Times (£) UK politicians to have their say on London Stock Exchange-Deutsche Börse deal as Sir Bill Cash secures Parliamentary debate today – City A.M. >Daniel Hodson on BrexitCentral last week: As the City prepares for Brexit, the authorities should call a halt on the LSE merger with Deutsche Börse Julian Harris: The EU mustn’t shoot itself in the foot – euro clearing thrives in London Dragging euro-denominated clearing away from London is, in all likelihood, politically feasible – but any such attempt would be financially catastrophic. The City dominates global clearing not through political tug-of-war, but due to simple economic fundamentals… The costs are so extensive that ratings giant S&P has brushed off any risk of euro clearing activity being moved away from London. Such an outcome would be “unparalleled among major global markets”, it concluded towards the end of last year. EU leaders should heed the warnings. It may be necessary to appear tough on the UK – especially during election season – but vandalising Europe’s economic prospects is no way to preserve its political union. – Julian Harris for City A.M. >Peter Leahy on BrexitCentral last month: The EU’s attempts to drive euro derivatives clearing out of London post-Brexit are doomed to fail Lord Hill: Sound and fury will fail to help Britain make the best of Brexit Too often since June, it has seemed as though Brexit is just a private matter for the UK, as politicians endlessly re-fight the referendum. Former prime minister Tony Blair’s call to arms to Remainers last week is a case in point. His appeal to man the barricades and dig in will merely unleash a new round of sound and fury, and make sensible debate more difficult. It is time British politicians stopped talking only to each other and started speaking to the rest of Europe. There are not three people in this marriage: there are 28. Just as urgent, instead of rehashing old arguments, we need to spend much more time thinking about the future, about the country we want to be and the economy we want to have. – Former European Commissioner Lord Hill of Oareford for the FT (£) Tom Harris: Peter Mandelson has a right to resist Brexit. But he must realise he is the worst figurehead Yes, the referendum is over and yes, there was a clear result. And it is plainly disingenuous for Lord Mandelson to state, as he did [on Sunday], that only 37 per cent of the electorate voted Leave on June 23; it is a sign of desperation when the losing side starts counting those who choose not to vote as having the same voice as those who actually took the time and effort to draw a cross on a piece of paper. Nevertheless, as Mandelson pointed out, as a former UK trade minister and EU trade commissioner, he brings a valuable and unique perspective to a nation-defining debate and he should be heard. That is not, of course, the same thing as saying he should prevail… But master strategist though he was in the ’90s and noughties, Peter Mandelson is not the man to lead such a campaign. – Tom Harris for the Daily Telegraph (£) The entire British public, not just the Brexiteers, deserve a vote on the terms of Brexit – Lord Mandelson for The Independent Janan Ganesh: Remainers can shape Britain once it is sovereign Eurosceptics are right to smell an organised resistance. Open Britain, under whose auspices Mr Blair spoke last week, is the official heir to the Remain campaign and its data. Friendships are growing on the sly between pro-European MPs in the Conservative party, the Liberal Democrats and Labour. There are smart people and lots of money waiting to be deployed. The question is to what end. The mission of Continuity Remain must be to shape Britain after exit, not to overturn exit. – Janan Ganesh for the FT (£) Brexit comment in brief Cameron’s renegotiation took place a year ago. Here’s our take on it from the time. – Paul Goodman for ConservativeHome Brexit is being used as a catch-all, knee-jerk excuse for everything – Richard Littlejohn for the Daily Mail The eurozone peripheral nations paid a high price for single currency folly – Matthew Lynn for the Daily Telegraph (£) As rival Martin Schulz overtakes Angela Merkel in the polls, is the Queen of Europe about to lose her crown? – Daniel Hamilton and Denis MacShane for City A.M. Brexit news in brief ‘No deal’ Brexit would mean £6bn in extra costs for UK exporters, according to Guardian analysis – The Guardian Article 50 rebel David Lammy publishes written warning from Labour whips – The Independent Czech deputy PM slams ‘inept’ EU over immigration – Daily Express Pence seeks to soothe jangled EU nerves with pledge of support – Politico