Supreme Court says MPs must be given a vote on triggering Brexit… In an historic judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that she cannot lawfully bypass MPs and peers by using the royal prerogative to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. The court’s justices ruled by a majority of eight to three against the Government….[Supreme Court] president, Lord Neubeger said: “The referendum is of great political significance, but the Act of Parliament which established it did not say what should happen as a result. “So any change in the law to give effect to the referendum must be made in the only way permitted by the UK constitution, namely by an Act of Parliament. “To proceed otherwise would be a breach of settled constitutional principles stretching back many centuries.” – The i WATCH: Supreme Court rules 8 to 3 government cannot trigger Article 50 The Article 50 Supreme Court judgment explained – Full Fact What the Brexit ruling on Article 50 does not mean – Serena Sandhu for the i Panel verdict: the supreme court decision on article 50 – Polly Toynbee, Mark Wallace, Schona Jolly and Gisela Stuart for The Guardian All democrats should unite behind Theresa May’s Article 50 Bill – Dominic Raab MP for the Daily Telegraph (£) Labour must now back Brexit. Our people will abandon us if we do not – Kate Hoey MP for the Daily Telegraph (£) … and that the devolved legislatures do not need to be consulted on Article 50 The judges reached a unanimous decision: UK ministers are not obliged to consult the devolved assemblies. The judges decided the relevant sections of the Northern Ireland Agreement were “not of assistance in this case”, and the Sewel convention, by which Scotland usually has to give legislative consent to any Westminster legislation affecting devolved matters, “does not give rise to a legally enforceable obligation”. In their summary, the judges noted that the devolution acts “were passed by parliament on the assumption that the UK would be a member of the EU, but they do not require the UK to remain a member.” They added that relations with the EU and other foreign affairs matters “are reserved to UK government and parliament, not to the devolved institutions”, and concluded that “the devolved legislatures do not have a veto on the UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU”. – The Guardian Nicola Sturgeon rallies towards second Scottish indyref – ITV Sturgeon to ignore Brexit ruling and push for Holyrood vote – The Times (£) What happened to Scotland being an equal partner in the UK? – Kirsty Blackman MP for The Times (£) Government plans to introduce bill to start Brexit process tomorrow… Speaking in the Commons within hours of the eight-three ruling by the Supreme Court judges, the Brexit Secretary David Davis warned MPs against attempting to sabotage the legislation in the Commons or the Lords. “The purpose of this Bill is simply to give the Government the power to invoke Article 50 and begin the process of leaving the European Union,” Mr Davis said. “That’s what the British people voted for and it’s what they would expect. Parliament will rightly scrutinise and debate this legislation. But I trust no one will seek to make it a vehicle for attempts to thwart the will of the people or frustrate or delay the process of exiting the European Union.” – Sky News WATCH : David Davis makes a statement on Supreme Court ruling How ‘straightforward’ can the Government’s Brexit bill actually be? – Isabel Hardman for The Spectator’s Coffee House blog Which MPs will vote against the Article 50 Bill? – Guido Fawkes Quarter of Labour MPs ‘to rebel’ over Article 50 – PoliticsHome Keir Starmer hints that Labour rebels in Article 50 vote will escape punishment – The Independent Lib Dem MPs on three line whip to vote against Article 50 bill unless it includes a referendum – Mark Pack’s blog How opposition MPs are planning to challenge Brexit in Parliament – Julia Rampen for the New Statesman’s Staggers blog Lord Blunkett warns peers that blocking Brexit would be ‘foolish in the extreme’ – PoliticsHome Government threatens to create ‘sunset’ peers if House of Lords thwarts Brexit Bill – Daily Telegraph …with the aim of securing parliamentary approval to trigger Article 50 by mid-March Theresa May will this week table fast-track legislation to keep her Brexit plan on track after suffering a defeat in the UK Supreme Court which ruled she could not trigger an exit from the EU without the consent of parliament. The British prime minister is expected to publish a concise bill on Thursday that would give her full authority to invoke Article 50, the EU treaty’s divorce clause, at her discretion. She will try to push it through both the House of Commons and House of Lords by the middle of March, allowing her to stick to her original timetable and trigger Brexit by the end of that month. – FT (£) MPs call for White Paper on EU exit plan MPs have repeated their call for the government to publish its plan for Brexit in a formal policy document. A number of Conservative MPs have joined Labour in asking for a White Paper on the government’s negotiating objectives, arguing it will allow for a fuller debate on Brexit…. More than half a dozen Conservative MPs including some ex-ministers are calling for a Brexit White Paper to be published in the coming days. The BBC understands they have already met with Conservative Party whips. Downing Street, while not explicitly ruling out a White Paper, has stressed that Prime Minister Theresa May has already set out her plan for Brexit. – BBC Absence of Brexit White Paper shows a ‘lack of respect’ for Parliament, claim MPs – Yorkshire Post Courts should never have got involved in Brexit says dissenting judge Lord Carnwath, one of three Justices who sided with Theresa May, said the courts had taken “too narrow a view” of the issues at stake and should have left it to Parliament to settle its own affairs. Together with fellow dissenters Lord Reed and Lord Hughes, he said the Prime Minister was within her rights to use the power of royal prerogative to trigger Article 50, but the three men were overruled by the eight other Justices, who all concluded that the law required a Parliamentary vote on the matter. Ironically, two of the three judges who sided with the Government are among the most Europhile of the 11-member bench at the Supreme Court. – Daily Telegraph In praise of dissenting judges – Charles Moore for The Spectator’s Coffee House blog Why three judges dissented in article 50 case – The Guardian Fraser Nelson: The Supreme Court ruling, like the Brexit vote, has defended the sovereignty of parliament I’ve never been a big fan of the Supreme Court, seeing it as a Blairite invention and – given our position in the European Union – a misnomer. But its decision to back the High Court and remind Theresa May that only parliament can dissolve laws that parliament makes is welcome. It has issued a useful refresher on constitutional law to certain MPs who might, in the excitement of the Brexit vote, have forgotten it. – Fraser Nelson for The Spectator’s Coffee House blog Brendan Chilton: Labour needs to respect the wishes of the British people The referendum was not a vote against Europe, nor an endorsement of the ‘Little Englander’ mentality; it was a vote for democracy and genuine internationalism. Most importantly though, we urge not just Labour MPs, but the House of Commons collectively to respect the wishes of the British people and not attempt to delay, or obstruct the invoking of Article 50. Last Sunday three very senior Labour figures appeared on three separate TV programmes and gave three separate accounts of Labour’s policy towards exiting the EU. This confusion and lack of direction over Brexit is without doubt the most significant reason for Labour’s continued downwards spiral in the opinion polls. – Brendan Chilton of Labour Leave in the Daily Express Simon Jenkins: A hard Brexit may hit London at first but we will prosper in the end I believe hard Brexit is an exciting but dangerous, almost reckless, option for Britain. Only one thing is sure. Its disruptive impact will be easiest on London, and easiest to turn to its advantage. It will be a bucket of ice-cold water. London will scream, shake itself free and return to making money. It will survive. – Simon Jenkins for the Evening Standard Cormac Lucey: Is it time for we Irish to consider our own EU escape plan? The dog that has hardly barked in this debate is the question of Ireland’s continued membership of the EU. Polite society — the government; big political parties; main media outlets; business group Ibec; trade union association Ictu; and the state’s epicentre of pro-EU sentiment, the Institute of International and European Affairs — take it as read that Ireland’s membership of the EU should continue despite Britain’s impending exit… The key argument against continuing EU membership is that the whole of the EU is so far less than the sum of its parts. Since the eurozone crisis erupted nearly a decade ago, economic growth in the EU has fallen far below its potential. Eurozone policymakers may want to kick the can down the road indefinitely but eventually they will run into a brick wall. – Cormac Lucey of Hibernia Forum Brexit comment in brief Every attempt by the political class to delay or dilute Brexit will only increase our anger – Nigel Farage for the Daily Telegraph (£) Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, we are still set for a smooth ride out of Europe – Daniel Hannan MEP for The Sun Well done Supreme Court. Parliament sovereign. SNP furious – Iain Martin for Reaction The most important verdict on Brexit isn’t the Supreme Court’s, but the ECJ’s – Robert Colvile for CapX Theresa May should be able to take this defeat in her stride – Henry Newman for Open Europe The Supreme Court has ruled. Now get on with Article 50. – Mark Wallace for ConservativeHome The Supreme Court judgment shows the constitution is working – David Allen Green for the FT (£) Brexit news in brief Civil servants to get international trade training – BBC Decline in democracy and lack of trust in politicians caused Brexit says report – Daily Express Microsoft quashes Brexit fake news that they are leaving the UK – The Register We should ‘negotiate own Brexit deal’ with UK says Czech interior minister – Daily Telegraph President of Catalonia vows to go ahead with independence vote – Politico EU parliament will be ‘very difficult’ in Brexit talks, says leading MEP – The Guardian