Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team MPs to take part in indicative votes tonight in a bid to break Brexit deadlock… MPs are preparing to vote for their preferred Brexit option, with the PM due to meet Tory backbenchers in an effort to win them over to her deal. Some have suggested Theresa May must name the date she will step down to have any hope of winning MPs’ approval for her deal at the third attempt. But leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg has hinted he may soon back the plan. Having voted to seize control of Commons business, backbench MPs will vote on Brexit alternatives later. The Speaker will select around half a dozen options, likely to range from cancelling Brexit to leaving the EU without a deal, with MPs marking on paper each option with a “yes” or “no”. The process is likely to continue into next week. However, it is unclear whether MPs will be free to vote as they wish or will take orders from party leaders. Former Health Minister Steve Brine, who resigned on Monday to back the move to force indicative votes, told BBC Newsnight more than a dozen others might quit government roles if they are denied a free vote. “MPs should be free to vote as they see fit,” he said. “This is bigger than all of us, bigger than the parties; it’s country first.” Meanwhile, the Scottish Parliament is expected to formally back calls for Brexit to be cancelled in a vote later. – BBC News MPs submit indicative vote plans – Independent > On BrexitCentral today: Indicative votes – a guide to what MPs will be debating today …as Theresa May is warned that 20 Remain ministers will quit unless she gives them free votes on ‘softer’ Brexit… Theresa May was warned by Remain members of her Cabinet that she will face mass-resignations by junior ministers if she attempts to whip votes that could lead to a softer Brexit. Amber Rudd, David Gauke and Greg Clark all argued in Cabinet that there must be free votes on alternative Brexit options on Wednesday, including on membership of a Customs Union, revoking Article 50 and a second referendum. One Cabinet source said there will be “carnage” if the Prime Minister denies ministers free votes, with around 20 ministers prepared to quit. “There won’t be a junior Remain minister left in Government,” the source said. Cabinet ministers, however, are not expected to resign over the move. There was a strong push back from other ministers amid concerns it will lead to a softer Brexit including Jeremy Hunt, Stephen Barclay, Gavin Williamson Geoffrey Cox, Liz Truss, Chris Grayling, Liam Fox and Andrea Leadsom. – Telegraph (£) …and MPs hope to force her to accept whatever plan the Commons chooses tonight Rebel MPs warned Theresa May last night that they will change the law to force her to accept whatever Brexit plan they pick tonight. A series of paper ballots will be held this evening on alternatives to her deal after backbenchers seized control of the Commons timetable in an unprecedented turn of events. Mrs May has said she will not be bound by the results of these indicative votes, which could demand a soft Brexit. MPs will be given the chance to say Yes or No to a list of options, which are expected to include staying in a customs union, having a second referendum and even cancelling Brexit altogether. But the rebels revealed plans last night to take control again on Monday, giving them the opportunity to bring forward legislation forcing Mrs May to act on their preferred plan. Sir Oliver is planning to seize control of the parliamentary timetable again next Monday so they can repeat the process to narrow down the options or attempt to pass legislation to enforce them. Labour’s Hilary Benn told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘There will be discussions between MPs. Which are the most popular options? We may then change the system for next week as we are trying to narrow it down.’ Richard Harrington, the former business minister who quit on Monday, said yesterday he expected Mrs May to follow the will of Parliament if a majority was formed for one pathway for Brexit, unless the choice was ‘so off the wall she couldn’t do it’. ‘A responsible Prime Minister… will say, “I would rather have my deal, Parliament’s wish is clearly Norway or customs union or whatever. I will go to Brussels with that, but I’m prepared to put my deal to Parliament against that”,’ he said. – Daily Mail May clings on to hope of third meaningful vote for her deal later this week… Theresa May still hopes to bring her Brexit deal back to parliament for a third meaningful vote this week, after the leading Eurosceptic Jacob Rees-Mogg said he was reluctantly considering supporting it. The prime minister’s spokesman said there had been a long discussion at cabinet on Tuesday morning about how to respond to MPs’ vote to seize control of the parliamentary timetable. But he said the government’s focus remained on trying to find a majority for May’s deal. “If we are able to hold and win a vote this week, we will be able to leave the EU in two months, which is what the PM firmly believes is the right thing,” the spokesman said. Asked whether May was hopeful she could yet win over her party, he said “the prime minister and her colleagues understand the need to work hard on this in order to build support”, adding that ministers would continue to hold meetings with MPs from different parties. The hopes of some in government were buoyed by Rees-Mogg on Tuesday, as he indicated he could back the prime minister’s Brexit deal rather than risk Britain’s departure from the EU being delayed or abandoned. – Guardian …as loyalist ministers call on her to suspend Tory MPs who refuse to vote for her Brexit deal… Loyalist ministers have urged Theresa May to suspend all Tory MPs who refuse to vote for her Brexit deal in a pre-emptive strike for an upcoming party civil war. Under the nuclear move, the PM would threaten to withdraw the Conservative whip from any Brexiteers who defy her again. The loyalists want her to issue the warning just before she puts the meaningful vote to the Commons for a third and final time – as early as Thursday. As well as concentrating rebel minds, suspending them would also have the effect of a ruthless party purge. The punished MPs would be automatically disqualified from standing as Tory candidates in any following general election if Mrs May’s government then collapses. The extraordinary move was suggested to the PM by one Remain minister when a group of them met her on Monday. The minister told The Sun: “My wing of the party are not going to allow it to be taken over by the Moggmentum headbangers. “Theresa should withdraw the whip from anyone who votes against the deal again, and that will stop them from standing for us at a general election too.” The senior Tory added: “That would be strong leadership, and it’s what Maggie or Tony Blair would have done”. – The Sun …while Tory rebels are asked by No. 10 if they would back the deal if May quit… Downing Street aides directly asked hard-Brexit Conservatives at Chequers on Sunday whether Theresa May’s resignation as prime minister would be enough to get them to endorse finally the exit deal struck with the European Union, it has emerged. The afternoon summit at the prime minister’s country retreat was carefully choreographed so that Boris Johnson, Iain Duncan Smith, Jacob Rees-Mogg and other Tory rebels present ended up in one-to-one chats with key No 10 staffers when the main meeting periodically broke up. A source said that in those private conversations several aides to the prime minister present asked whether it would help them vote for the controversial Brexit deal if May were to quit. “It didn’t look like a coincidence; aides like this are not meant to think for themselves,” they added. The prime minister made no mention of resigning in the three-hour rolling meeting at the country retreat described as “like a royal levee”, although the idea was at one point put to her by Rees-Mogg and, according to some accounts, Duncan Smith. May did not respond. Downing Street had hoped to pick off some of the rebels attending, but did not appear at first to have made much progress, and the meeting broke up inconclusively without any breakthrough. – Guardian …as the Prime Minister is urged to say today she will quit within weeks Tory grandees have told Theresa May to say she’ll quit within weeks when she addresses all Conservative MPs today. Their shop steward Sir Graham Brady summoned the PM to a pivotal showdown of all Tory ministers and backbenchers at 5pm. The 1922 Committee boss held a one-on-one meeting with Mrs May in No10 yesterday which all her aides were excluded from, The Sun can reveal. During it, Sir Graham told her it is now the overwhelming view of Tory MPs that she lay out a timetable to go before the summer. At the same time, in a resignation pact being brokered by former Tory leader Iain Duncan-Smith, a series of Brexit hardliners yesterday revealed they were now ready to pass her EU exit deal as soon as tomorrow. Sir Graham told allies: “The PM knows the first question on everyone’s lips tomorrow. It would be strange for her not to have an answer to it”. The Sun can also reveal that Sir Graham and the other five other senior officers of the 1922 committee’s executive – dubbed the Men in Grey Suits – met in secret late on Monday night in the Commons. It is believed it was there that they agreed on the ultimatum for the PM, after Tory anger exploded over her loss of control over Brexit. 1922 Committee secretary Nigel Evans told The Sun last night: “I’m really pleased the Prime Minister is coming to address the ‘22. “It would be really advisable if she set out a timetable for her departure in order that she can focus minds to get something agreeable over the line. It would then allow her to look at her legacy and say to the country ‘I delivered on Brexit’.” – The Sun Conservatives tell Theresa May to set her exit day on Wednesday to get her Brexit deal through Parliament – Telegraph (£) May ‘on the brink of naming exit date’: PM could announce today that she’ll quit in weeks if Tory MPs agree to back her Brexit deal – Daily Mail ‘I’ll support May’s deal if she can win over the DUP,’ says Jacob Rees-Mogg… Hardline Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg will back Theresa May’s Brexit deal – as long as the Democratic Unionist Party does the same. The chairman of the highly influential European Research Group made the admission at a meeting of the group’s MPs in Parliament tonight, a source said. His backing would be a huge boost for the Prime Minister’s twice-defeated deal as she seeks to build support ahead of plans to bring it back a third time. But it could end up being of little use as the DUP remains bitterly opposed to the deal and seem highly unlikely to vote for it in its current form. – MailOnline Eurosceptics ready to throw their support behind May’s deal to avoid ‘losing Brexit’ – Telegraph (£) Fearful Brexiteers swing behind May’s deal – The Times (£) Jacob Rees-Mogg accused of going soft as he throws Theresa May a lifeline – The Times (£) Jacob Rees-Mogg says he will now back Theresa May’s Brexit deal and BoJo hints he’ll switch too – The Sun …but the DUP torpedo any Brexiteer climbdown by saying they would rather delay Brexit for a year than ever vote for May’s deal Theresa May’s hopes of a miraculous win on her deal suffered a heavy blow today as the DUP signalled it would rather accept a one year Brexit delay than ever vote for it. The Northern Irish party’s Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson said the Prime Minister’s deal was a ‘prison’ for the UK locked by a key held by EU negotiator Michel Barnier. The intervention is devastating to Mrs May’s bleak hopes of getting her EU divorce through Parliament. Downing Street had a glimmer of hope this morning when Brexiteer ringleader Jacob Rees-Mogg and other Eurosceptics signalled they are ready to U-turn and support the PM. But if the DUP refuse to endorse the deal at the 11th hour Mrs May’s chances of winning 75 more votes at the third attempt than she managed on March 12 appear to be shrinking fast. The Prime Minister has until Friday to pass her deal and secure an orderly exit from the EU – while ministers have threatened to call a general election if the chaos continues and they have a soft Brexit forced upon them in the coming weeks. – MailOnline DUP prefer long Brexit delay to PM’s deal – Sky News Delaying EU departure by a year preferable to Theresa May’s ‘toxic’ deal, says DUP’s Sammy Wilson – Independent > WATCH: DUP Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson on Sky News yesterday Eurosceptic MPs suggest May’s Brexit delay is ‘unlawful’ Theresa May will address Tory MPs at the 1922 committee at 5pm today amid speculation she will use the meeting to announce the date of her resignation – while Brexiteer MPs have claimed the decision to delay Article 50 was “unlawful”. One MP said it was “certainly a possibility” the Prime Minister would inform the influential groups of backbenchers when she intends to step down. Meanwhile Brexiteer MPs led by Sir Bill Cash have written to Mrs May warning of their “serious legal objections” to her decision to delay Article 50, and hence Brexit, beyond March 29. And in a further blow to the PM, Brexiteer Sir Christopher Chope has even suggested Tory MPs could back a Labour motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister should one be tabled. – Express Labour considers backing ‘Common Market 2.0’ version of ‘soft’ Brexit Jeremy Corbyn was considering throwing Labour’s weight behind a “common market 2.0” soft Brexit deal as MPs considered which options to back in indicative votes on Wednesday. MPs voted on Monday to seize control of the parliamentary timetable to allow the House of Commons to explore whether there could be support for alternatives to Theresa May’s twice-defeated deal. Labour frontbenchers held a wide-ranging discussion at a weekly shadow cabinet meeting on Tuesday about how to manage the complex process and whether the party’s MPs should be given a free vote. They broke up with no firm decision having been made, although one shadow minister said: There was a clear sense that we will whip along the lines of what our party policy is.” – Guardian > Julian Jessop on BrexitCentral today: Common Market 2.0 would be a Brexit capitulation too far Brexit extension could be until 31st March 2020, EU documents reveal The EU has pencilled in April Fools’ Day 2020 as a leading option for Britain’s first day outside the bloc, should the UK government ask Brussels for a lengthy extension of article 50 in three weeks’ time, it can be revealed. The date was to be offered at the leaders’ summit last week if Theresa May had followed through on her promise to request a short extension in the event of passing her Brexit deal, and a longer one should it be rejected again by the House of Commons. Such was the disapproval of her cabinet, the prime minister only sought a short delay until 30 June in her formal letter. She was subsequently given an unconditional extension until 12 April, or a longer one to 22 May in the unlikely event of the withdrawal agreement being ratified this week. Without having received a request from Downing Street for a prolonged extension, the EU’s leaders instead left open the offer of a lengthy delay should there be a new political process or event before 12 April, such as a general election or second referendum, but they did not stipulate its potential length. A one-year extension, ending on 31 March 2020, was, however, written into internal EU papers before the summit as an offer that could be made to May should she formally seek a longer extension, sources said. It will likely remain an option if May comes back to Brussels having failed to ratify her deal. – Guardian No-deal Brexit ‘would require direct rule in Northern Ireland’, says civil service union chief The head of the senior civil servants’ union has called for direct rule to be imposed in Northern Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA, said public sector employees in the province could not be expected to make increasingly political decisions with major security and economic implications if the UK crashed out of Europe. His words follow Theresa May’s comments on Monday, when she told the House of Commons that “some direct application of powers” might have to be imposed on Northern Ireland in a no-deal scenario. Penman, whose members include dozens of permanent secretaries across Whitehall and Belfast, said: “The prime minister has confirmed what should have been patently obvious to any politician in Northern Ireland. A no-deal Brexit will require decision-making of such magnitude that only an elected politician should be responsible. “In the absence of a functioning government in Belfast, ministers in Westminster will need to intervene if the UK crashes out of the EU with no-deal. Civil servants, who have been left without political direction for more than two years now, could not and should not be expected to take decisions with such profound economic and security implications.” – Guardian EU leaders heap praise on MPs for ‘real revolt’ European Union leaders have hailed the latest Commons defeat for Theresa May as a “real Brexit revolt”. Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliament’s lead negotiator, said yesterday that he was “very pleased” that MPs had voted to take control of Brexit from the government. “We see at the moment a real Brexit revolt,” said the former Belgian prime minister. “Until now all the Commons votes have been against something. This is the first time that there is a vote for something, cross-party co-operation. We have long called for that.” Philippe Lamberts, one of his colleagues on the parliament’s Brexit steering group and leader of the Green MEPs, was scathing of the prime minister and warned that she might defy the Commons and take Britain crashing out of the EU without a deal. “Theresa May might be tempted to play scorched earth policy and say whatever parliament wants I won’t do it,” he said. “She must be totally devoid of the basic human skills you need to be a political leader.” – The Times (£) Remainer ringleader MP Nick Boles gloats ‘I’m going to wake up with a broad grin on my face’ after Brexit-wreckers seize control of Commons Remainer ringleader MP Nick Boles has gloated “I’m going to wake up with a broad grin on my face” after Brexit-wreckers seized control of Commons. The Tory told The Sun: “It’s a great feeling to be finally off to the races and see whether this horse will run.” Squabbling politicians have rushed to carve up Brexit as 16 alternatives to Theresa May’s deal were tabled for a historic Commons showdown on our EU divorce. Nick Boles hailed the latest development “very exciting” and added: “Do you know what? I’m going to wake up tomorrow morning with a broad grin on my face. “I’m going to think – I finally live in a parliamentary democracy, where parliament is sovereign,” reports the Mail Online. – The Sun UK economy defies Brexit gloom even as crisis deepens MPs are entering the crunch phase of the Brexit process against a backdrop of better news from the British economy, despite growing alarm over the political deadlock and the lingering risk of a no-deal departure from the European Union, according to the latest Guardian analysis. The Guardian’s monthly tracker of economic news showed employment reaching the highest levels on record and consumers continuing to spend on the high street, even as Britain’s departure from the EU looms. However, business groups warned that the political situation has developed into a full-blown national emergency, with the uncertainty over Brexit putting their investment plans in jeopardy, paving the way for weaker growth in future. Theresa May’s seeking a short delay in the article 50 process from Brussels has also handed a double cliff-edge risk for companies to plan around. Companies stepped up their hiring to add another 222,000 people to the workforce in the three months to January, the latest available figures. This took the overall number of people in work to a fresh record high of 32.7 million. Unemployment also edged down to the lowest point since the start of 1975 and wage growth remained above the rate of inflation at 3.4% a year. The unexpected strength of the jobs market has fed through to the Treasury, as higher levels of income tax have benefited the public purse, giving Philip Hammond a boost at this month’s spring statement. – Guardian Government rejects petition to ‘cancel Brexit’ signed by 5.8 million people The British government has rejected a petition calling for Brexit to be stopped, which gathered more than 5.8 million signatures. The petition is due to be debated by MPs on 1 April, after breaking the 100,000 threshold for consideration and becoming the best-supported proposal in the history of the House of Commons and government’s e-petitions website. Rejecting the oft-repeated claim that EU withdrawal is the “will of the people”, it calls for the revocation of the Article 50 letter informing the European Council of the UK’s intention to leave. The Article 50 letter can be withdrawn by the UK unilaterally, without the need for EU agreement, leaving Britain free to continue as a member on its current terms. But in its official response to the petition, the department for exiting the EU said: “It remains the Government’s firm policy not to revoke Article 50. We will honour the outcome of the 2016 referendum and work to deliver an exit which benefits everyone, whether they voted to Leave or to Remain. “Revoking Article 50, and thereby remaining in the European Union, would undermine both our democracy and the trust that millions of voters have placed in government.” – Guardian David Davis: Nick Boles’ vision of a ‘Norway plus’ Brexit is the worst of all worlds After a famous victory for Norway over England in 1981, Bjørge Lillelien, the Norwegian football commentator, exclaimed: “Lord Nelson! Lord Beaverbrook! Sir Winston Churchill! Sir Anthony Eden! Clement Attlee! Henry Cooper! Lady Diana! Maggie Thatcher – can you hear me, Maggie Thatcher? Your boys took one hell of a beating!” Today the House of Commons will debate several policy options it could recommend to the Government for the next stage of Brexit talks. One is the “Norway Plus” proposal. This sounds superficially attractive. Norway is a prosperous country, at peace with itself and its place in the world. Unfortunately, the option misleadingly described as “Norway Plus” will never actually deliver anything like the status of Norway. When Nick Boles MP was first promoting the concept, he came to see me. We had several meetings, to which I devoted a considerable amount of time, seeing whether this was a route through the thicket of parliamentary obstacles to delivering Brexit. Norway is a member of the Single Market but is not in the Customs Union. But Nick wanted to take the status of Norway and add to it membership of the Customs Union. The idea was that it would take away every barrier to trade between ourselves and the EU. The drawback is it would take away one of the great economic prizes of Brexit; the ability to make our own trade deals. There is still time to stop the parliamentary legerdemain and the procedural games. We should all focus on delivering the Brexit the British people voted for. They want straight talking and an end to false gambits. We owe it to them to give them the Brexit they deserve and should seize the chance to take back control and focus on the prize of global trade deals. – David Davis MP for the Telegraph (£) Sammy Wilson: We won’t let the PM or the Remainer horde in Parliament bully us into backing a toxic Brexit deal Minister seeks to achieve support for the toxic deal which she allowed the EU to impose on her and the referendum-defying Remainer horde in Parliament try to beat the truculent British public into submitting to their plan to keep us in the EU. The latest tactic is their plan for Parliament to vote on alternatives to the Withdrawal Agreement. They describe it as Parliament taking control and the message which they are blasting out is that further resistance is futile because the Remainers are in charge. This message also suits the Prime Minister because she has used the claim that a Remain Parliament is taking control to try and bully those who want to leave the EU into supporting her flawed and damaging deal. The threat is that, if the Withdrawal Agreement is not supported, these Remainers will vote for alternatives which means no Brexit. First of all let us be clear: the Withdrawal Agreement itself means no Brexit. It ensures that the EU has the legal power to prevent us ever leaving except on their draconian terms, which would include a Customs Union and adherence to EU regulations. Those who negotiated the agreement have been quite open about that. They insist that the terms of the deal will be the basis for any future relationship with the EU. They also make it clear that different treatment for Northern Ireland will have to continue. As Leo Varadker has said, the agreement’s terms settle the arrangements required to keep the Northern Ireland border open. We will never volunteer to Northern Ireland being torn from the rest of the UK or our economy being damaged by having trade restrictions between Northern Ireland and our main market in Great Britain. We have worked assiduously with the Government to try to get changes to the agreement and will continue to do so, but we will not vote for an unamended or unchanged version. – Sammy Wilson MP for the Telegraph (£) Owen Polley: The case for the backstop is unravelling Since at least late 2017, the UK has been locked in fraught negotiations with the EU about Northern Ireland. According to Brussels and Dublin, the government must accept an insurance policy — or backstop — in order to prevent the “hard border” that would be erected in the absence of an agreement. Now, the Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, has expressed confidence that special arrangements can be put in place to avoid new checks and infrastructure between the Republic and Northern Ireland, even if there is a no-deal Brexit. So, what exactly have we been arguing about for 16 months and why has Britain allowed itself to be fooled and humiliated repeatedly on the border question? The taoiseach was speaking as the European Commission completed its preparations for a no-deal outcome. The EU states that it “will be required to immediately apply (WTO) rules and tariffs at its borders with the UK. This includes checks and controls for customs, sanitary and phytosanitary standards and verification of compliance with EU norms.” A commission official confirmed that, though controls will have to be carried out on the island of Ireland, that “doesn’t mean we’d want to see visible infrastructure. We’re working very closely with Irish authorities to try and perform controls away from the border if at all possible.” When British politicians suggested that technology could be used to avoid customs posts and other visible buildings, chief negotiator Michel Barnier dismissed their theories as “magical thinking”. Now the EU is preparing a similar system and the draft withdrawal agreement commits Brussels to explore “facilitative arrangements and technologies for ensuring the absence of a hard border”. The Irish Republic’s combative foreign minister, Simon Coveney, who fronted its campaign for the backstop, finds himself denying that it is impossible to protect the single market and avoid a hardening of the frontier, if the UK leaves without a deal. “The British government have made it clear in their paper… that the British government, the Irish government and the European Commission will need to work closely together,” he said. – Owen Polley for CapX Andrew Lilico: How disappointing that MPs like Jacob Rees-Mogg lack the stomach to see this Brexit battle through Disappointingly, a number of pro-Brexit Conservative MPs, including most notably Jacob Rees-Mogg, are now apparently considering switching to backing May’s deal. That won’t make her deal pass. Even if every pro-Brexit MP had switched to backing May’s deal at the second vote, it would still have been defeated by its pro-Remain opponents. And since that time, the pro-Remain Conservative rebels’ ranks have expanded. Last night 30 rebel Remainer Conservative MPs voted for the Letwin-Benn amendment, granting the House of Commons control of the “indicative votes” process this coming Wednesday. They now expect to be able to cancel or utterly neuter Brexit. Why would they want to switch to backing May’s deal now? Similarly, why would Labour’s front bench now start to back May’s deal, since the Government is disintegrating under the pressure and the Conservative Party is on the point of splitting? Of course, even if some more pro-Brexit MPs panic and switch to backing it, there will still be a hardcore of 20-30 Conservative pro-Brexit rebels who will not back the deal under any circumstances. They apparently call themselves “the Spartans”, alluding to the 300 Spartans whose glorious defeat at the famous battle of Thermopylae was the salvation of Greece, and indeed European civilisation more broadly, from the Persian invasion. For all the talk of how weak May supposedly was for backing down on the backstop in her deal, when it comes to it these pro-Brexit MPs are backing down too. For all the talk of how May’s deal was a “vassalage” worse than Remaining, when it came to it that and the rest was all just hot air. Well, when I said May’s deal was worse than Remaining, what I meant was that May’s deal was worse than Remaining. When I said we’ll inevitably leave the EU regardless of whether Brexit is cancelled now, because there will be no place for a non-euro EU as the Eurozone integrates, I meant that. And when I said MPs should vote down May’s deal and force our opponents to cancel Brexit, if they must, rendering themselves and their parties politically toxic, I meant that as well. The Spartan Whigs are right. Defeat here, in the form of Brexit being cancelled, will empower our cause, not finish it. Vote down May’s deal, and let the deluge commence. – Andrew Lilico for the Telegraph (£) Tom Harris: Our cowardly MPs need the ‘People’s Vote’, and the pretence of democracy, to mask their true intentions Step forward the bravest politician in the country. Yes, I’m looking at you, Mark Field, the Honourable Member for the Cities of London and Westminster. The Foreign Office minister has done what many, many other Remain-supporting MPs must be dying to do: publicly express a preference for revoking Article 50 and cancelling Brexit altogether. It was a brave comment indeed, all the more welcome for being an honest opinion that he knew would make him unpopular with just about everyone in government. In these difficult political times, we need more politicians of courage and principle like Mark Field. Alas, there’s a dangerous shortage of them. The minister is not alone, of course, in his preference for revocation, to put all this unpleasantness behind us and get everything back to normal. The difference is that every other Remainer – even those without front bench or government jobs and therefore with far less to lose than Field does – prefers to cower behind the “People’s Vote” campaign in order to achieve the same ends. Take Tom Watson, for instance, who addressed a medium-sized crowd of up to 400,000 people in central London at the weekend on this very subject. “I will support [Theresa May’s] deal, will help [her] get it over the line to prevent a disastrous no-deal Brexit…” (and it was here he started to lose the crowd, because some of them took him seriously and started booing), “But I can only vote for a deal if you. Let. The people. Vote. On it. Too!” Reassured that Labour’s deputy leader had, after all, got with the programme, the crowd offered some reluctant applause. They had belatedly and correctly interpreted Watson’s constitutional nod-and-a-wink as “Don’t worry – we’ll cancel Brexit one way or the other.” – Tom Harris for the Telegraph (£) Rob Wilson: The Government is in crisis, but what makes Parliament think it can do any better? It is hard to think of a more humiliating moment for a sitting Prime Minister than what happened in Parliament yesterday. MPs from across the House, including ministers, voted to take matters out of her Government’s hands into their own – “taking control” as they put it – because they do not trust Theresa May to get a grip and find a workable response to Brexit. The Prime Minister, whose self-assigned task was to clear up the mess after her awful general election campaign, appears to have created an even bigger disaster involving a political and constitutional crisis. If it turns into an economic crisis, three horsemen of the political apocalypse will have saddled up. Yet, in the aftermath of yesterday’s vote, a procession of Remainer MPs have been crowing that Parliament is now in the driving seat and will set about sorting things out, first through indicative votes and then, if necessary, its own Brexit legislation. These are the very same MPs who, according to a poll this week, the public overwhelmingly believes wish to stop Brexit. A Remainer Parliament, that has usurped the constitutional role of the executive, therefore begins with a trust deficit with the people it serves given they rightly suspect it of grabbing power to block the referendum result. History teaches us that when Parliaments move to stop the will of the people, matters do not end well and we now have moved into extremely dangerous territory.- Rob Wilson for the Telegraph (£) Lewis Goodall: Brexit was about taking back control… the government has lost it Brexit was all about taking back control. One thing is for certain: tonight, the government lost it. In the British system, to govern is to control the House of Commons order paper. With the Letwin amendment passing, by a healthy majority of 27, for one day only (and potentially for more besides) it will not do so. Its grip on governing became looser. It is very unusual for the House of Commons to seize control of its business in this way, especially on the central issue of the day. The government is now a bystander; it can only watch as MPs act as an executive, determining what they vote on and how. It might at last yield a majority for something where previously there has been none for anything. The government will have to justify why it does not and cannot put the Commons’ will into effect. Its most powerful argument, that the Commons cannot decide, will be nullified. And this control might not remain toothless in the longer term: A motion will also now be put which compels the government, by law, to do what they decide. At that point the PM’s authority would be completely exhausted. She would become an employee of the House of Commons, to do as they please. Much rests on Wednesday and the persuasion, negotiation and discussion of the different options before then. MPs will set out their stalls. Much too on the type of voting system MPs will use. And perhaps the mechanics matter little; sometimes symbolism is enough. Theresa May heads back to Downing Street the premier of a government denuded. – Lewis Goodall for Sky News Robert Peston: May faces 20 ministerial resignations if they are not allowed free vote on solving Brexit mess Theresa May conveyed no sense at Cabinet as to whether her ministers will be allowed to vote with their consciences tomorrow on Sir Oliver Letwin’s indicative votes, to find a solution to the Brexit mess. She has been warned by MP Anne Milton that there could be 20 resignations from junior ranks of government to add to the three on Monday, if she does not allow a free vote. Ministerial sources tell me that the four in the cabinet, justice minister David Gauke, Amber Rudd, Greg Clark and Scottish minister David Mundell, who are seen as the leaders of the anti-no-deal rebels, won’t resign. There is a view among the ministers prepared to fight to the political death, to prevent a no-deal Brexit, that the quartet known as the Gaukward Squad are better off for now staying in the Cabinet, because if they quit, the balance of the Cabinet would shift definitively towards supporters of a no deal Brexit. My hunch would be that if the PM, on advice of the chief whip, stands firm and refuses a free vote, there would probably be “only” 10 resignations. – Robert Peston for ITV News Ross Clark: Brexiteers can sleep easy with gormless Oliver Letwin in charge of the Remainer ‘coup’ So, Parliament has now ‘seized control of Brexit’. We can all now relax, knowing that the agonising process has been taken out of the hands of our stubborn and unimaginative Prime Minister, and entrusted to all these sensible backbench MPs who will swiftly and decisively come up with a workable plan. After all, with Sir Oliver Letwin in charge, what could possibly go wrong? At least now we can be sure that a Brexit deal will not be sewn up in secrecy. We will all be able to find out what is going on by the simple expedient of rummaging through the bins in St James’ Park. The gormless Mr Letwin is best known for his habit of walking around the park with his correspondence, dictating replies to letters from constituents and MPs, and then stuffing the said letters in the nearest waste bin – until his unusual filing system was rumbled in 2011. The letters reportedly included some from the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee – perhaps not the best material to dispose of so casually, although thankfully none of it was found to have breached state secrets.But above all, I can’t quite see how MPs are any more likely to agree on Letwin’s ‘indicative votes’ any more than they have managed to agree on Theresa May’s deal. We have, in fact, already had a series of indicative votes in the shape of amendments to government motions. MPs have already rejected Boles’ favourite Norway option – last June the Commons voted on a Lords amendment to that effect and rejected it by 327 votes to 126. MPs also rejected an amendment for Britain to remain within the customs union. Just about the only thing the Commons has voted for was to try to rule out no-deal – except that it can’t rule out what is the default option without positively voting for something else. Why does Oliver Letwin or anyone else think MPs will be any more united on any particular option now? The House of Commons, like the country, is deeply divided. That will remain true whether it is Theresa May, Oliver Letwin or anyone else who is in charge of Brexit. – Ross Clark for the Telegraph (£) Philip Johnston: The Brexit-hating minority is determined to impose its views on the rest of us Friday is Brexit Day, or at least I’m pretty sure that’s what it says in the EU Withdrawal Act (2018). Yes: there it is under the heading General and Final Provision, Clause 20: “In this Act ‘exit day’ means 29 March 2019 at 11.00 p.m”. So, that’s clear then. We can light the bonfires in celebration if we are Brexiteers or drown our sorrows in prosecco if Remainers; the law of the land states unequivocally that by Saturday morning we will once again be an independent, sovereign nation. Would that it were so straightforward. Despite the date being written into statute and endorsed twice by overwhelming majorities in the Commons, it has been changed to April 12 or May 22; and it will almost certainly not happen on either of those dates. Moreover, this has not been done by Parliament voting to change the law but by decree from Brussels. As a ComRes poll on Sunday showed, most people think Parliament intends to thwart Brexit, as might well happen. Yet there has been little change in the view of the electorate despite all the trials and tribulations involved in getting there. The pollster Sir John Curtice has detected a slight move towards Remain, with support at around 55 per cent, but not one that would necessarily change the outcome. Michael Heseltine on the Today programme yesterday said: “there is no doubt at all that public opinion is moving quite significantly now”; but there is no evidence to support such an assertion. Yet on this flimsy basis many Remainers are pressing for the revocation of Article 50 and the cancellation of Brexit. Again, they see no contradiction here between insisting that their own (minority) view must trump that of the majority expressed in a referendum. Mind you, in the series of indicative votes in the Commons today every option could fall; and revocation – if it is voted on at all – will be the least popular because Parliament is too terrified of the electorate to overturn the result of a plebiscite even if it can be done unilaterally by executive order. – Philip Johnston for the Telegraph (£) Telegraph: Brexiteer MPs are running out of options The Prime Minister was right to voice her scepticism about the procedure taking place in parliament today. In the absence of an agreement on her deal with the EU, the Order Paper has been commandeered by the legislature in an effort to find a Brexit position on which a majority of MPs can agree. The chances must be high that they will fail. A similar exercise was conducted, though in less dramatic circumstances, in Feb 2003 when the Labour government put seven proposals for reforming the House of Lords to a free vote and every single one was rejected. As a result, nothing has happened since. The same could happen today, deepening confusion rather than ameliorating it. But at least the Government controlled the business. Today’s exercise is not only constitutionally questionable in that the executive is being sidelined, but the methodology leaves much to be desired. In other words, today’s fandango risks adding to uncertainty in the country while deepening the divisions between the Government and the legislature, which will expect its decisions to be upheld, should it reach any. If every other option falls then her twice-defeated deal might be the only mechanism left that guarantees leaving the EU. Given parliament’s implacable hostility to a no-deal departure, the most likely alternative will be a lengthy extension to Article 50 of a year or more, during which time anything could happen. In these circumstances, Brexiter Conservatives who have so far opposed to her deal might be tempted to back it on Thursday or Friday, the last possible date for a third vote. Already there are cracks in their ranks. These might widen if the Prime Minister announces a date for her departure when she meets backbench MPs today. In these circumstances, Brexiter Conservatives who have so far opposed to her deal might be tempted to back it on Thursday or Friday, the last possible date for a third vote. Already there are cracks in their ranks. These might widen if the Prime Minister announces a date for her departure when she meets backbench MPs today. – Telegraph (£) editorial Telegraph: The EU’s diktat on changing clocks shows why it’s time to leave Were we actually leaving the EU on Friday as planned, our clocks would still have gone forward on Sunday along with those in the rest of Europe. This biannual adjustment has been harmonised for many years and the UK would doubtless have remained in step for the foreseeable future. The two dates for changing the clocks – the last Sundays in October and March – make sense. But the EU Commission, backed by the European Parliament, has decreed that this should no longer be allowed. A new directive has been issued based on a consultation which allegedly elicited more than 4 million replies – 70 per cent from Germany. As a result, from 2021 there will be no twice-yearly alteration and every member state will have to stay on the same time throughout the year. They will have to choose whether to stay permanently on winter time or summer time. For the UK this would mean either GMT, which would limit long evenings in the summer; or BST, which would lead to darker mornings in the winter. This is a function of latitude and longitude not of regulatory diktat. Finland’s requirements will be different to those of Portugal. Provided we are out of the EU by 2021 and no longer in a transition phase, this will not apply to the UK. But it must inevitably mean a different time zone with Ireland for at least half the year unless we adopt it too. Why should the Commission impose this upon member states? It is supposed to follow a principle of subsidiarity whereby individual nations are best-placed to decide such matters for themselves. The fact they are not allowed to is one reason why people in the UK voted to leave. – Telegraph (£) editorial The Times: Never Norway Now that parliament has taken control of Brexit, MPs have to decide what to do with it. Having already twice voted down Theresa May’s deal, what’s their way out of the crisis? The idea that appears to have most chance of securing majority support is the so-called Common Market 2.0, which is the brainchild of the Tory MPs Nick Boles and Oliver Letwin and Labour’s Lucy Powell. This would see Britain retaining membership of the single market by joining the European Free Trade Association (Efta) while signing up to a new customs union with the EU. By opting for this much softer Brexit, it is claimed, Britain can maintain frictionless trade with the continent, thereby removing the need for the Irish backstop and minimising damage to the economy. If this plan really is popular in parliament, it can only be because it has never been subjected to hard scrutiny. Indeed, it is not clear it was ever designed to be taken seriously. For some Tories backing the deal, it appears to have been a ruse to help Mrs May get her deal passed by spooking Brexiteers with the prospect of a softer Brexit. Some Labour supporters appear to have been drawn to it as a much-needed fig leaf to allow them to support Mrs May’s deal, since the plan requires parliament to accept her withdrawal agreement, albeit with a different political declaration. This lack of seriousness is reflected in assertions that the plan could be negotiated quickly. In reality, it is more of a unicorn than a fig leaf. – The Times (£) editorial The Sun: MPs have voted to put Brexit in the hands of Parliament’s most blunder-prone Tory buffoon Brexit is today in the hands of Parliament’s most blunder-prone Tory buffoon. It’s hard to imagine how things could get worse. But Oliver Letwin will find a way. MPs voted for this diehard Remainer and Old Etonian twit to take charge of votes on mainly “soft Brexit” alternatives. If one wins a majority today or next Monday, Remainers then aim to compel Mrs May by law to negotiate it with the EU. We highly doubt she will. She or any new Tory leader is more likely to risk an election than be forced to preside over the deliberate betrayal or cancellation of Brexit, about which Remainers are now openly salivating. Sadly, the likely result is Tory wipeout — with voters raging at their failure, Nigel Farage hoovering up Leavers — and Jeremy Corbyn in Downing Street. What a result that will be for Letwin. Yes, he has had career highs before, what with convincing Maggie Thatcher to keep faith with the hated poll tax, dumping secret letters in a public bin, plotting with Hacked Off to shackle the Press and inviting burglars into his home. But triggering his own party’s destruction and ushering in years of Marxist rule, with millions losing jobs and our economy destroyed, would cap it all. Letwin is, technically, a clever man. No doubt the no-mark ex-ministers Richard Harrington, Alistair Burt and Steve Brine — who resigned their posts to back him — imagine they are too. Not one has the simple common sense to foresee the carnage they are unleashing. – The Sun says Quentin Letts: The Loony Oliver Letwin is taking over and ‘Prime Minister-for-the-day’ wally could wreck Brexit Cometh the hour, cometh the oddball. For a few bizarre hours today, with our politics in paralysis and our national pride at stake, we will effectively have a different Prime Minister. What a prize Mr Bean he is. With Europhiles having ripped up centuries of parliamentary procedure, clownish Tory toff Sir Oliver Letwin MP will be put in charge of the Commons agenda — and will encourage Remain-leaning MPs to wreck Brexit. “Take back control of our destiny,” said 17.4million Leave voters in the 2016 referendum. “Make Britain independent again. Assert some authority to our Government.” That vote was the biggest expression of public will in the history of our kingdom. So what do our political class do? Such is the Establishment’s desperation to keep us in the EU empire, it changes the rules and puts our legislature in the hands of an Eton-educated egghead who is so naive, so unplugged from the ways of the world, that he once admitted a burglar to his house at 5am. I talk, yes, of Sir Oliver “Loony” Letwin. Today’s manoeuvre is allegedly the Commons “taking back control” from broken PM Theresa May. But how can a House of 650 MPs, with roughly 650 different opinions, act as a government? The reason we have a Prime Minister is so decisions ultimately rest with a single person — and that person must possess the authority of electoral support. If the head of government has not been voted into office, you can’t call it democracy. Yet that is what will happen today when Sir Oliver, with his gurgling giggles and Regency-fop airs, is put in charge of the Commons and gives MPs votes on numerous Brexit options. It promises to be chaotic. All it will likely achieve is a further weakening of Brexit. Our historic vote to quit the EU was a public castigation of remote politicians. – Quentin Letts for The Sun Tom McTague and Charlie Cooper: Two hours that will shape Brexit Don’t expect MPs to be any better at Brexit than Theresa May. At 7 p.m. local time on Wednesday — 52 hours before Britain was supposed to leave the European Union — the House of Commons will begin voting on a series of alternative Brexit plans, with no confidence that any of them will get majority support. Two hours earlier the U.K. prime minister, who is still fighting for the divorce deal she agreed with Brussels, will address a private gathering of Conservative MPs, amid speculation she may offer to resign in return for her deal being agreed. What transpires over the space of those 120 minutes will go a long way to dictating how, when — and perhaps if — the U.K. leaves the EU. But whatever MPs vote for on Wednesday, as long as there is no majority for the prime minister’s deal, everything from no-deal to no Brexit remains an option. Even if MPs are able to form a stable majority for an alternative Brexit plan, the prime minister and Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay have indicated the government would not accept anything that contradicts the Conservative Party manifesto, raising the prospect that unless MPs agree to the prime minister’s deal there will be a long delay and possibly a general election. Before MPs get a chance to vote on the proposals, May will address Conservative MPs behind closed doors, at a 5 p.m. meeting of the backbench 1922 Committee. One former Cabinet minister and Brexiteer said they would not be surprised to hear the prime minister set out a timetable for her departure — but said that this would not persuade many to back her deal. “How does the prime minister’s departure make a bad deal better?” the MP said, citing the Northern Ireland backstop, which Brexiteers say would restrict the U.K.’s room for maneuver if it wanted to negotiate a more distant economic relationship with the EU. – Tom McTague and Charlie Cooper for Politico Shanker Singham: Of all the options Parliament might consider this week, only a free trade agreement is viable As we face the prospect of indicative votes in Parliament this week, the quote by Sherlock Holmes comes to mind: “Once you have eliminated everything that is impossible, whatever you have left, however implausible, must be the truth”. There are (at least) seven options which might be tabled for indicative votes in Parliament this week. I will not deal with revocation of Article 50 or a second referendum, as these are political decisions. The Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement has been analysed to death. But in summary the threat of the backstop would guarantee us a bad deal and push us toward a permanent customs union and strong alignment with the EU’s rules. This would rule out having an independent trade policy, exposes the UK to potentially damaging action by the EU and puts the Union at risk. The Stormont lock being discussed would make this worse, not better. Leaving on WTO terms is often inaccurately described as ‘No Deal’, despite long-standing and widely used trade rules being in place, as well as a series of deals. There are already mini-deals on everything from citizens’ right to road haulage, Eurotunnel and aviation in place. We have also rolled over trade agreements with many countries (now about half the value of our trade with these countries and rising) and published our tariffs schedule for ‘No Deal’. While leaving this way will undoubtably cause some disruption in the short-term, it will be nothing like the catastrophe prophesied and does have some advantages; we would immediately be able to put in place our trade strategy as outlined in Plan A Plus. – Shanker Singham for ConservativeHome Steven Edginton: The polling which suggests that most voters believe MPs are trying to stop Brexit Parliament has lost the faith of the people. After yesterday’s Commons votes, it is no wonder new polling shows the public are increasingly frustrated with MPs. New Leave Means Leave polling undertaken by ComRes shows that 55 per cent of the public agree that Parliament is trying to stop Brexit, with just 19 per cent disagreeing. Pro-Remain MPs claim what they are doing is in the national interest – suggesting that they are somehow superior to the electorate who put them where they are. This is having devastating consequences. One in five voters say they will never vote again if Parliament attempts to stop Brexit, including a massive 38 per cent of leave voters. The way in which these MPs have behaved is a disgrace, and the public know it. Over half (53 per cent) of those polled agree that if MPs revoke Article 50 it could damage the democratic process beyond repair. Pro-Remain Ministers, backbenchers and opposition politicians have failed to uphold the basic democratic principle of accepting a free and fair election result. – Steven Edginton for ConservativeHome Brexit in Brief Brexit delays could force UK into EU army – Get Britain Out’s Joshua Mackenzie-Laurie for The Commentator David Cameron privately urges Remainer ministers to push PM towards a ‘soft’ Brexit – The Sun Northern Ireland food checks under no-deal Brexit to remain secret – Guardian