MPs to vote on the Article 50 Bill tonight after a second day of debate… The first major Commons vote on the road towards the UK leaving the EU is to take place after MPs complete a marathon two-day debate on triggering Article 50. At the end of the first day of the second reading debate on the bill, which went on until four minutes to midnight, almost 100 MPs had already spoken for and against… Theresa May is assured of a large majority in favour of the Government’s bill to approve triggering Article 50, with Tory MPs and most Labour MPs set to vote for it. But the Labour Party is badly split, with up to 60 of its backbenchers and a handful of rebel frontbenchers declaring they will defy their leader’s order to vote for the bill. – Sky News …as David Davis warns MPs to honour the result of the referendum… Mr Davis began an historic two-hour debate in the House of Commons after the Government was forced to draw up legislation to trigger Article 50 after losing an appeal at the Supreme Court. The Bill is being rushed through Parliament in order to meet Mrs May’s aim to trigger Article 50 by March 9. He said: “The eyes of the nation are on this chamber as we consider this Bill. For many years, there has been a creeping sense in the country – and not just this country – that politicians say one thing, and do another. “We voted to give the people the chance to determine our future in a referendum, now we must honour our side of the agreement: to vote to deliver on the result.” – Daily Telegraph Tory MPs Grieve and Soubry want “meaningful vote” in Parliament on Brexit deal – The Times (£) How the SNP, Lib Dems and Labour will try and fail to block Brexit in Article 50 debate with five key amendments – Daily Express The Remainer MPs plotting to derail the Article 50 bill – and how they hope to do it – Asa Bennett for the Daily Telegraph (£) Brexit bill’s obstacle course through UK parliament – Charlie Cooper for Politico Brexit Bill debate: MPs are confused about their job description – Isabel Hardman for The Spectator Coffee House EU Referendum result must be respected by our MPs – Daily Express editorial The Article 50 debate shows how Brexit is already rejuvenating Parliament – Daily Telegraph editorial …and Sir Keir Starmer admits the Brexit decision is “difficult” for Labour Labour MPs face a “difficult decision” on whether to authorise the UK’s departure from the European Union, the party’s Brexit spokesman has said. Sir Keir Starmer said “as democrats” Labour should not block the start of the process but called for an end to “gloating” from Leave campaigners… Sir Keir said two thirds of Labour MPs represented constituencies that voted to leave the EU, and one third where people voted to stay in. “This is obviously a difficult decision,” he said. “I wish the result had gone the other way. I campaigned passionately for that. But as democrats our party has to accept that result and it follows that the prime minister should not be blocked from starting the Article 50 negotiations.”… The size of the Labour rebellion will be closely scrutinised, with several of his MPs indicating they plan to defy Mr Corbyn. Two shadow ministers have quit, saying they want to vote against it. – BBC News Shadow Business Secretary Clive Lewis to oppose ‘hard Brexit’ Article 50 bill ‘whatever the consequences’ – PoliticsHome ‘It’s unacceptable for my Labour colleagues to block Brexit’, warns MP Ruth Smeeth leading Stoke by-election charge – Huffington Post Keir Starmer’s funeral lament shows Labour’s Brexit plight – George Eaton for the New Statesman Staggers Moules frites… and melancholic musing for Labour – Patrick Kidd’s sketch for The Times (£) Labour have failed as an Opposition – so Ken Clarke’s doing their job for them – Michael Deacon’s sketch for the Daily Telegraph (£) Ken Clarke ensures a quiet leaving do with article 50 fireworks – John Crace’s sketch for The Guardian > WATCH on BrexitCentral: Highlights from day one of the Article 50 Bill debate Brexit white paper to be published on Thursday, sources say Theresa May is planning to publish the government’s Brexit white paper on Thursday but could first make one further concession by agreeing to report back to parliament on a regular basis, sources have told the Guardian. They have suggested that the prime minister is minded to accept quarterly reporting of progress on Brexit negotiations – which is being demanded by Conservative backbenchers, Labour and other opposition parties. – The Guardian Home Secretary Amber Rudd suggests EU migrants could be barred from coming to Britain after Brexit unless they have a job Amber Rudd highlighted the fact that 82,000 people came from the EU last year who were “looking for work”…The Home Secretary confirmed that the Government remains committed to reducing net migration to the UK to the tens of thousands, but said it would be “some time” before this is achieved… She told MPs that “the main point about leaving the European Union, from an immigration point of view, is that those decisions will be made here… We are certainly doing a lot of work across government to ensure that any system reflects the needs of different businesses, different areas, different regions.” – Daily Telegraph European nurses registering in UK falls by 90% post-Brexit – EurActiv UK growth forecast upgraded… again The surprising resilience of consumer spending in the months since the Brexit vote has forced one of the UK’s leading economic thinktanks to revise up its growth forecasts for the second time since the referendum. In its quarterly health check of the economy, the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said it now expected growth of 1.7% this year – only slightly down on the 2% recorded in 2016. It predicted that only the US – at 2.1% – would have faster growth among the G7 major industrialised nations than the UK this year. Next year, Britain is expected to grow by 1.9%, behind the US and Canada at 2.2%, but above Japan, Germany, France and Italy. – The Guardian Chinese tourist spending soars in London’s West End as Brexit fall in sterling leaves more bang for the yuan – City A.M. Why the economics profession remains blind to the benefits of Brexit – Paul Ormerod for City A.M. Donald Trump threatens Europe, says European Council President Donald Tusk President Trump’s administration is a threat to the EU alongside the aggressive and assertive superpowers of Russia and China, the union’s president has warned. Donald Tusk urged EU leaders to take “spectacular steps” to strengthen the bloc’s borders and boost economies to restore faith in the European ideal. “For the first time in our history, in an increasingly multipolar external world, so many are becoming openly anti-European, or Eurosceptic at best,” he said… In comments aimed at the US president, Mr Tusk wrote: “It must be made crystal clear that the disintegration of the EU will not lead to the restoration of some mythical, full sovereignty of its member states but to their real and factual dependence on the great superpowers: the United States, Russia and China. Only together can we be fully independent.” – The Times (£) Pound surges after Donald Trump’s trade chief Peter Navarro accuses Germany of abusing euro for own gain – Daily Telegraph Donald Tusk speaks out for the elites – John Redwood’s Diary Lib Dem blow for The Donald as Tim Farron announces he will not attend a state dinner with Trump – Patrick Kidd for The Times (£) Brexit comment in brief London urgently needs a new devolution deal to protect our city’s economy from Brexit risks – London Mayor Sadiq Khan for City A.M. How to sustain the City of London when we leave the EU – Philip Baldwin for ConservativeHome The City finally sees the light on Brexit – Allister Heath for the Daily Telegraph (£) The Article 50 Bill: May and Davis should kill their opponents with kindness – Paul Goodman for ConservativeHome Today, at long last, we begin the process of leaving the EU – Iain Duncan Smith MP for ConservativeHome With fresh IMF warnings over Greece’s “unsustainable” debt, is the Eurozone crisis about to heat up again? – Jennifer McKeown and Carsten Hesse for City A.M. Brexit reshapes Europe; challenges and opportunities of the new arrangement – Jan Zahradil MEP for The Conservative Fillon looking finished. French election looking farcical and frightening – Iain Martin for Reaction ‘Cultural counter-revolution’ tests Polish democracy – Neil Buckley for the FT (£) Brexit news in brief David Cameron ‘tried to get Daily Mail editor [Paul Dacre] sacked’ over Brexit stance – BBC News Ruth Davidson accuses Nicola Sturgeon of trying to bully Scots into ‘fratricidal conflict’ over second independence referendum pre-Brexit – Daily Telegraph Will Brexit be good for Britain? Academics say these four tests will judge Brexit success – Daily Express ‘Thousands’ of Britons are asking to remain EU citizens, says Guy Verhofstadt – The Independent Banks must plan for ‘hard’ Brexit, PwC report warns – The Independent Nigel Spearing 1930-2017: a tribute to the eurosceptic former Labour MP – Campaign for an Independent Britain EU farming policy: The damage done by 20 years of inertia – EUObserver Brexit the movie: Film bosses “fight to make the EU shocker hit the big screen” as Nigel Farage announces he wants to play himself – Daily Star