Amber Rudd claims dozens of ministers are ‘ready to quit’ if they cannot have a free vote on anti-No Deal amendments… Amber Rudd is warning No 10 that it could face dozens of ministerial resignations next week if Tory MPs are banned from voting for a plan that helps stop a no-deal Brexit. The work and pensions secretary believes that 25 to 40 members of the government want to vote for an amendment drafted by Labour’s Yvette Cooper and the Tory backbenchers Sir Oliver Letwin and Nick Boles. Ms Rudd is telling No 10 that it should offer a free vote on the issue as a way of forcing all Tory MPs to show their view on Brexit issues, rather than just waiting while the prime minister attempts to delay key decisions for another round of Brexit negotiations and winding down the clock. One source who backs the plan said: “For too long parliamentarians have shouted from the peanut gallery about what they won’t support. Now is the time for them to get on the stage and show what they would support. If done properly this could help the PM go to Brussels in a stronger position.” – The Times (£) …as Theresa May faces fresh Commons votes next Tuesday Fresh Commons clashes over launching a second Brexit referendum and blocking a no-deal EU withdrawal loom as Theresa May faces new challenges to her authority. Labour wants Parliament to be given the option to back a national poll on Brexit when MPs vote on the Government’s EU exit stance next week. An amendment to the Prime Minister’s Brexit motion calls for a vote on backing Labour’s plan for a customs union with the EU, and whether to legislate “to hold a public vote on a deal or a proposition” supported by a Commons majority. The move came is it was understood that Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd had urged Downing Street to allow Tory MPs a free vote on moves aimed at preventing a no deal, amid fears that dozens of ministers could otherwise resign. Meanwhile, Tory HQ has been effectively put on a snap general election “war footing” due to the Brexit situation in Parliament. Despite Mrs May’s claim that a second referendum could “damage social cohesion”, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the option should be considered. – Telegraph (£) Theresa May says a EU second referendum would threaten ‘social cohesion’… Theresa May doubled down on her opposition to a second Brexit referendum on Monday night, claiming it would threaten Britain’s “social cohesion” and insisting the centrepiece of her strategy remained negotiating changes to the Irish backstop. With just 67 days to go until Britain is due by law to leave the European Union, May exasperated MPs and business groups by offering scant evidence that she was willing to change course. Giving a statement in the House of Commons, the prime minister outlined three changes she claimed had emerged from discussions with colleagues in the six days since her Brexit deal was rejected by MPs with a crushing margin of 230: a more consultative approach to the next phase of negotiations, with MPs, business groups and unions more involved, stronger reassurances on workers’ rights and environmental standards, “with a guarantee that not only will we not erode protections for workers’ rights and the environment but we will ensure this country leads the way”, & Another attempt to address the concerns of Tory and Democratic Unionist party MPs about the Irish backstop – which she could then discuss with Brussels. – Guardian MPs and business leaders protest at May’s identical ‘plan B’ – Independent …as Labour calls for Commons vote on option of holding a second referendum… Labour has said the Commons should be able to vote on whether to hold a second referendum in an amendment the party submitted on Monday night to Theresa May’s Brexit update. It is the first time the party has asked MPs to formally consider a second poll, although the carefully worded compromise amendment did not commit the party’s leadership to backing a referendum if such a vote were to take place. The wording called for May’s government to hold a vote on two options – its alternative Brexit plan and whether to legislate “to hold a public vote on a deal or a proposition” that is supported by a majority in the Commons. The intervention came as the party’s leadership seeks to deal with divisions between Jeremy Corbyn and some of the leader’s closest allies who are sceptical about a second referendum and those who are more enthusiastic such as Brexit spokesman Sir Keir Starmer. – Guardian Corbyn shift makes new referendum more likely – Daily Mail Jeremy Corbyn backs MPs’ plan to force a second Brexit referendum – Telegraph (£) …and pro-EU MPs prepare to call for a second referendum in a ‘Doctor’s Amendment’ to Theresa May’s ‘Plan B’… Pro-EU MPs are preparing to formally call for a second referendum as early as Tuesday in a “Doctor’s Amendment”. The Sun can reveal that Tory backbencher Dr Sarah Wollaston is in talks with colleagues from Labour and the SNP to lead the push for a People’s Vote. The formal call will come in the form of an amendment to Theresa May’s ‘Plan B’ motion to be debated next Tuesday, January 29. If selected by the Speaker it would see MPs vote on a new poll. Ms Wollaston told The Sun: “It’s all about informed consent. You wouldn’t opt for surgery if you didn’t know the operation you were having. And here, Theresa May is the surgeon.” Other lead signatories are understood to include Tory ex-Minister Dr Philip Lee and Labour’s Dr Paul Williams and Dr Philippa Whitford of the SNP, a breast surgeon. It comes despite People’s Vote insiders admitting privately that only 150-180 MPs in the Commons currently back a People’s Vote – nowhere near a majority. A group of Conservative and Labour second referendum backers including Chuka Umunna and Anna Soubry met Theresa May’s de-facto deputy PM David Lidington for confidential talks about a new poll yesterday. They are believed to have warned that a second vote could keep the union together given the strength of the ‘Remain’ vote in Scotland and Northern Ireland. – The Sun …while political rivals work on joint strategy to stop a no-deal Brexit MPs backing a soft Norway-style deal with the European Union have put aside their differences with supporters of a second referendum in a joint effort to wrest control of Brexit from Theresa May. The leaders of two rival amendments designed to give MPs the power to delay and direct the process have been working behind the scenes to co-ordinate tactics before a crunch vote next week. Representatives of both groups met Hilary Benn, chairman of the Commons Brexit committee, in private yesterday. They are understood also to have shared drafts of their amendments to ensure that they are compatible and therefore attract the greatest possible support across the Commons. One, laid by Dominic Grieve, the former attorney-general who backs a second referendum, would give MPs the power to vote on a series of Brexit options, including another vote. – The Times (£) Michel Barnier rebuffs May’s attempt to renegotiate backstop plan… Theresa May told parliament that her Brexit ‘plan B’ would centre on renegotiating measures to prevent a hard border with Ireland, an initiative that was immediately rebuffed by the EU’s chief negotiator. The British prime minister presented her blueprint to MPs in a bid to build support in the House of Commons by appealing to Eurosceptic rather than pro-EU factions in her party. Eurosceptics see the Irish border “backstop” as a “trap” that would keep the UK locked in a customs union with the EU indefinitely. But Michel Barnier, Brussels’ Brexit negotiator, called on her to focus instead on negotiating a “more ambitious” future relationship with the EU rather than attempting changes to the backstop, describing the withdrawal treaty that Westminster rejected last week as the “best possible” deal. – FT (£) …as Polish foreign minister breaks ranks with EU to suggest time limit on Irish backstop… Poland’s foreign minister has suggested that the Irish border issue could be solved if the backstop were time-limited to five years, as he warned that Dublin had the most to lose from a ‘no deal’ Brexit scenario. Jacek Czaputowicz said the UK and Ireland were playing a “game of chicken” over the border that would end with a “frontal collision” unless a compromise was made. His comments hint at growing concerns among EU leaders that pressuring the UK into accepting the backstop will backfire and lead to ‘no deal’ – paradoxically creating the hard border which the clause was designed to avoid. – Telegraph (£) …although Ireland’s Simon Coveney begs to differ Tánaiste Simon Coveney has said the Withdrawal Agreement is not up for renegotiation and he dismissed the call by the Polish Foreign Minister for a five-year limit on the backstop as not reflecting the EU position. Speaking in Brussels during a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Mr Coveney said: “We have spent 18 months or so in a difficult negotiation that resulted in a Withdrawal Agreement and all of the detail that was part of that. “It’s been made very clear repeatedly that the Withdrawal Agreement is not up for renegotiation.” The Minister for Foreign Affairs responded to the remarks by his Polish counterpart Jacek Czaputowicz about the backstop. – RTE Theresa May’s chief Brexit negotiator cast doubt over her ‘Plan B’ in text to Philip Hammond Theresa May’s chief Brexit negotiator privately cast doubt on her ability to renegotiate the Irish backstop as part of her Brexit “plan B”, The Telegraph has been told. A source said Mr Robbins texted Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, during a Cabinet conference call raising concerns about the prospect of re-opening the EU withdrawal agreement. The Telegraph has been told that Mr Robbins, who was listening in on the call, sent the message to Mr Hammond as Mrs May was outlining plans to secure changes in a bid to win over Tory Eurosceptics and the DUP. A Government source confirmed that Mr Robbins had sent the text to Mr Hammond during the call but claimed that what he said had been “misrepresented”. – Telegraph (£) Queen could be asked to veto John Bercow’s attempts to water down Brexit, Government confirms The Queen could be asked to block backbench legislation which could frustrate Theresa May’s Brexit plans. A senior Government minister confirmed that one option was for the Queen to be asked not to give royal assent to any backbench legislation drawn up by Tory MPs Dominic Grieve or Nick Boles which is given debating time. Any veto would be the first time a Monarch has blocked Parliamentary legislation since Queen Anne vetoed the Scottish Militia Act in 1707 and would set the Queen against John Bercow, the Speaker, who has enabled Mr Grieve’s attempts to seize control of the Brexit process to go ahead. The fears were raised in a paper by Sir Stephen Laws QC who said any moves to act without the consent of the Government would risk involving the monarch in “a legislative showdown”. He said it could give rise to a scenario where ministers advise the Queen, the “ultimate referee”, to withhold “royal assent” from any Bill, something that has not happened in more than 300 years. – Telegraph (£) Government announces climbdown on £65 registration fee for EU citizens living in UK EU citizens applying to stay in the UK after Brexit will not have to pay a £65 registration fee, after a climbdown announced by Theresa May today. The prime minister has repeatedly defended the charge as small and affordable but backed down in the face of pressure from campaigners and MPs. She said that those who had taken part in trials of the settled status administration process and had already paid the fee would have it refunded by the Home Office. The move will cost the government about £200 million, with up to 3.8 million people expected to apply to stay in the UK after Brexit. However, the true cost of running the scheme is expected to be higher. In the House of Commons Mrs May said she was waiving the application fee “so that there is no financial barrier for any EU nationals who wish to stay”. She added that some EU member states had “similarly guaranteed the rights of British nationals in a no-deal scenario, and we will step up our efforts to ensure that they all do so”. – The Times (£) 150,000 members desert Labour in Brexit backlash The Labour Party is haemorrhaging members amid a growing backlash over Jeremy Corbyn’s stance on Brexit, according to party insiders. At the height of Corbyn’s popularity following the general election in 2017, Labour was considered the “largest party in western Europe” with more than 500,000 members. In recent months, however, it has lost up to 150,000 members, according to three sources within the party. It is estimated that up to 100,000 are not up to date with their subs and enrolment has slumped to around 385,000. A Labour insider said the downswing had already cost around £6m. “The party is skint,” the source said. “There have already been some recriminations about the amount spent on last summer’s botched music festival Labour Live. “Although there is always some drop-off in membership after big events like general elections, or a leadership contest, this is more than you would ordinarily expect and has led many of us to think it’s linked to Jeremy’s unpopular stance on Brexit.” – The Times (£) Theresa May promises Nicola Sturgeon greater say over Brexit ahead of meeting Theresa May will hold talks with Nicola Sturgeon on Wednesday after promising her a greater say over the Brexit agreement in a desperate attempt to break the Commons deadlock and prevent no deal. The Prime Minister is expected to hold discussions with Ms Sturgeon in London after pledging the SNP government will have an “enhanced role in the next phase” of discussions. But the First Minister said she was “very sceptical” there would be any major change in the UK Government’s approach, citing similar “empty and undelivered promises” since the Brexit vote in 2016. Mrs May extended an olive branch to Ms Sturgeon as pressure intensified on all parties to work together to prevent the UK crashing out of the EU with no deal. But Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, reiterated his demand that Mrs May rule out a no deal Brexit. She said this could only be achieved by reaching an agreement or revoking Article 50, thereby cancelling Brexit. – Telegraph (£) New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern says UK trade deal ‘a priority’ New Zealand’s prime minister has said she is “ready and willing” to sign a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK. Jacinda Ardern said negotiating a free trade agreement would be a “real priority” once the UK had left the EU. She is meeting British Prime Minister Theresa May before heading to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. New Zealand says it imported £1.41bn in goods and services from the UK in the year to September 2018, sending £1.54bn of trade in the opposite direction. That accounts for about a third of its trade with the EU as a whole. New Zealand is negotiating a free trade agreement with Brussels and Ms Ardern said she would be promoting the talks while visiting Europe. She said it was an opportunity to stop in London during a “very unsettled period” to emphasise her country’s long and deep ties with the UK. “As a very important trading partner for us, at the point the UK is ready to do so, we’re very keen to enter into a free trade agreement,” she told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme. Asked whether her main priority was tying up access to the EU market, Ms Ardern emphasised historic links to the UK and said: “For us, it’s not just the size, it’s the quality.” – BBC News Lords put brakes on post-Brexit trade plans with embarrassing Government defeat The House of Lords today [Monday] inflicted a humiliating defeat on the Government as it stalled progress on ministers’ post-Brexit trade plans. Peers voted by 243 to 208 to shelve the Trade Bill amid concerns ministers have refused to provide enough detail over its proposed future arrangements. Among their complaints is that the Government has failed to make guarantees on food safety and animal welfare in its hoped-for trading regime. The defeat also means preparations to move to World Trade Organisation terms in the event of a no-deal Brexit are impossible, according to Cabinet minister Liam Fox. The motion passed today will hold up the Report Stage of the bill, which had been set for 25 February, until a white paper or other detailed proposals on trade have been published. – PoliticsHome How David Cameron ignored desperate EU warnings not to hold Brexit referendum As the former Conservative Prime Minister attempted to get immigration concessions from the EU before the 2015 general election, he was warned by still-serving European Council president Donald Tusk not to promise the Brexit referendum. Mr Tusk labelled the vote “dangerous” and “stupid” after Mr Cameron confided he expected to go into another coalition government with the Liberal Democrats who he knew would veto the referendum. However Mr Cameron won the 2015 General Election meaning he had no choice but to follow through on his commitment to hold the Brexit vote to appease the eurosceptics in his party. The claim is made in BBC documentary Inside Europe: Ten Years of Turmoil which begins next Monday. The three-part series features exclusive interviews with key figures from all sides at the heart of the Brexit debate including Mr Tusk and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. The documentary also speaks to former French presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande who both also had stark warnings from Mr Cameron. – Express UK will be fastest growing European G7 country after Brexit The International Monetary Fund has released a forecast showing they expect the UK to have the joint-fastest GDP growth among European countries in the G7 nations in both 2019 and 2020. This is a significant upgrade from their October forecast. The IMF is also predicting that growth will rise further next year, from 1.5% in 2019 to 1.6% in 2020, after the UK has formally left the EU. The forecast assumes that Britain leaves the EU, albeit with a deal in 2019. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss said that this proves “Despite the naysayers, the UK has defied all forecasts and is will be the third fastest growing economy in the G7 showing that our approach is working.” Still waiting for that Brexit recession we were told was inevitable. – Guido Fawkes William Hague: A second referendum would be a disaster for Britain, but it’s where we are now heading There was much jubilation last week among the crowds outside the Houses of Parliament when Theresa May’s deal went down to a record-breaking defeat. Yet we are likely to look back on that moment in future years as a calamitous one for British democracy. At a stroke, the majority of MPs joined together to paralyse the only good government available, make Brexit impossible to deliver on schedule or even at all, and produce in much of the population an utter disgust with their proceedings. Most important of all, wittingly or not, they started the countdown to another referendum. Yes, it is now quite likely that we will have to do it all again. Readers of this column will know that I say that with a heavy heart. For a second plebiscite on EU membership will be the most bitter and divisive event in our modern history, complete with unbridled anger, accusations of betrayal, harrowing doubt and distraction. It will probably produce only a narrow victory for either side despite a long struggle, and leave a wounded country to limp on afterwards. But it’s coming, unless some extraordinary turn of events prevents it. It’s coming by a process of elimination, not because it’s a good idea in itself. – Lord Hague for the Telegraph (£) Catherine Blaiklock: My new Brexit Party, supported by Nigel Farage, will fight for our democracy Is this the day democracy dies? Today may see an establishment coup in the corridors of Westminster designed to overturn the biggest vote in our electoral history. It was 31 months ago that we were asked as a nation whether we wanted to ‘leave’. We gave a clear answer. Yet now most MPs seem determined not simply to water it down but to reverse it completely. When young children are losing at board games they demand to change the rules. Yet this same juvenile intent drives the cabal of democracy defying MPs. Let us remember that it was pro Remain MPs who decided the rules. They decided that there would be a referendum. David Cameron’s leaflet to every household said: “The Government will implement what you decide.” In bold type it stated that we were making a “once in a generation decision”. Yet now Remain MPs want us to believe that “once in a generation” only applied if it was a decision they liked. To understand how deep their contempt for democracy is let us also recall that in February 2017 overwhelming majorities of both Conservative and Labour MPs voted to set Brexit in motion either through a negotiated deal or WTO terms. In all 498 MPs voted to confirm Brexit. In the General Election that followed four months later both the main parties promised to implement the result of the Referendum. So pro Leave voters across the nation felt safe that Brexit was going ahead. – Catherine Blaiklock for the Telegraph (£) Michael Fabricant: If Remainers are happy to tear up the rule book, why shouldn’t Mrs May? When Theresa May rose to answer Prime Minister’s Questions the day after the unprecedented defeat of her deal last week, the atmosphere was flat. Even the later debate on the no confidence motion – normally a high voltage affair – was low key, bar the rumbustious summing up by Michael Gove. The only MPs with their tails in the air were the Remainers. Dominic Grieve, Nick Boles, and others were already planning to table amendments designed to prevent Brexit happening as planned on March 29, while arguing, somewhat disingenuously, that they are only against no deal, even when they knew the Government’s deal would be defeated. Until recently, Brexiteers have taken comfort from standing orders and Erskine May, the bible of parliamentary procedure. The rules as we know them state that only a government minister can move to enact legislation that requires money to be spent by the state. Yet with the Speaker recently tearing up hundreds of years of procedure, anything might be possible. With over 70 per cent of MPs and the Speaker himself declaring they voted Remain in the referendum, the Commons may well pass motions seeking to frustrate Brexit. It has passed motions that interfered with the Brexit process in the past and there’s no reason to think it won’t continue, especially as a No 10 spokesman yesterday suggested the House may now choose to hold a series of indicative votes. – Michael Fabricant MP for the Telegraph (£) Pieter Cleppe: Renegotiation is the EU’s worst option except for all the others Following Theresa May’s resounding failure to convince MPs of the merits of her Brexit deal, she has now opened up talks with other parties. It is yet to be seen whether Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is willing to engage. As a precondition, he has requested that the option of no deal be taken off the table. But, however loathed no deal may be by most MPs, taking it off the table is difficult without Theresa May surrendering her leverage in negotiations with the EU, especially now that France has put its “no deal” contingency plan in motion. The bigger problem is that, if MPs can’t agree on any kind of Brexit, it is hard to stop no deal without stopping Brexit. – Pieter Cleppe for Cap X David Jones: No Deal, not Bad Deal We are told repeatedly by those of the Remain tendency and their publicists – most particularly the BBC – that for the UK to leave the EU without a negotiated Withdrawal Agreement would be a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. Indeed, one senior Labour MP, only last week, described the current political situation as “the greatest crisis this country has had in any of our lifetimes”. It is worth mentioning that the gentleman in question was born in the summer of 1940, when the Battle of Britain was raging in the skies over his native county of Surrey. For him, however, Brexit is apparently a greater threat than the Luftwaffe ever was. Hyperbole is never in short supply when Brexit is discussed, particularly when that discussion turns to the prospect of there being no negotiated deal. In such circumstances, we will not simply be leaving the EU: we will be “crashing out” over a “cliff edge”. Life will never be the same. There will be 75-mile queues of lorries approaching Dover. Planes will be unable to fly. Diabetes patients will run out of insulin. The British Sandwich Association has even issued dire warnings of an avocado shortage. – David Jones MP for Get Britain Out Henry Newman: Norway Plus, Common Market 2.0. Call it whatever you like, it would basically leave us as a non-voting EU member A week after the biggest ever Parliamentary defeat, we are no closer to finding a way through on Brexit. Theresa May and her ministers have been meeting MPs from different factions. Yet the people I’ve spoken to in the room for those cross-party discussions say that few of those visiting 70 Whitehall showed interest in exploring compromises other than their own preferred solution. Some of those leaving the talks complained that they heard no new ideas from the Prime Minister, but that’s little surprise. We have been arguing about Brexit pretty much non-stop for three years. There’s something odd about the current debate. Putting aside those at the extremes advocating No Deal or a second referendum, there seems to be a majority in the Commons in favour of a form of negotiated exit. However, there isn’t yet a majority for the Prime Minister’s deal. Most MPs in favour of a negotiated deal accept the need for some form of backstop (now a sine qua non for a deal), and also accept that major changes to the Withdrawal Agreement are unlikely. To put it another way: these MPs are (essentially) only arguing about the non-binding bits of the deal. – Henry Newman for ConservativeHome The Sun: Leavers, and plenty of Remainers, are sick of EU bullying and weak-willed MPs ready to roll over and reverse Brexit Theresa May is exactly in tune with an angry public whose mood is hardening. Leavers, and plenty of Remainers, are sick of EU bullying and weak-willed MPs ready to roll over and reverse or forget the whole thing. No Deal is the No1 choice for many, regardless of the fallout. The world now knows that Michel Barnier never negotiated in good faith. He reportedly boasted: “I’ll have done my job if the exit terms are so bad that the British would rather stay.” Yet Remainers want to capitulate anyway: to scrap or “extend” Article 50, risibly pretending it’s a pragmatic solution instead of what they wanted all along. They would force on us a dangerous second referendum, or some vague pause to avoid No Deal, disgracefully backed by Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd and other Remainer Ministers. The tactics are so undemocratic the Queen might have to block them. That’s right, these MPs could force our monarch, in her 93rd year, into the worst constitutional crisis for three centuries. – The Sun says Yorkshire Post: Queen must not be dragged into political chaos of Brexit Parliamentarians seeking to delay or stop Brexit entirely were already playing a dangerous game with democracy given the result of the 2016 referendum – a vote described by then-Prime Minister David Cameron as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” – prior to the warning that their tactics risk dragging the Queen into the accelerating political crisis. Attempts, led by former attorney general Dominic Grieve, to enable backbenchers to choose to debate and vote on Brexit issues, one day a week – breaking with the convention that the Government controls the parliamentary timetable – have been condemned on the basis they risk involving the monarch in “a legislative showdown” between the Commons and Theresa May’s executive. Sir Stephen Laws QC, the Government’s former top constitutional lawyer, says he can foresee a situation where Government ministers would ask the Queen to withhold Royal Assent from a bill to prevent it becoming law, a scenario he fears would have “potentially horrific, constitutional consequences”. No monarch has withheld royal assent since Queen Anne in 1707. – Yorkshire Post editorial Brexit in Brief Fund British jobs not Frankfurt fat-cats – Joel Casement of Get Britain Out for Comment Central Here’s what should happen to the Tory plotters – Brian Monteith for The Scotsman The DUP faces a historic Brexit decision with uncertain consequences – Sam McBride for Newsletter Brexiteers feel the heat as prospect grows of delay to EU departure – FT (£) Brexiteer warns May’s deal will ‘handcuff’ Britain to transition period – Express Britain’s leaving gift: A more stable European Parliament – Politico