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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow

Brexit: Article 50 extension would lead to 'humiliation' for UK, says Eustice as he resigns as minister - Politics live

George Eustice has resigned as fisheries minister over Theresa May’s decision to offer MPs a vote on extending article 50
George Eustice has resigned as fisheries minister over Theresa May’s decision to offer MPs a vote on extending article 50 Photograph: Simon Hadley/NFU

A group of Extinction Rebellion climate activists planning to stage a protest during first minister’s questions were stopped by police from entering the Scottish parliament earlier today.

Extinction Rebellion Scotland, an offshoot of the now global network of climate protestors, said they planned to interrupt Nicola Sturgeon by challenging her to pursue much more radical, tougher policies to cut carbon emissions. Activists posing as tourists staged an occupation in the Holyrood chamber on Friday 25 January, a non-sitting day, and also a sit-down protest in Parliament Square outside Westminster.

Sturgeon insists her government is amongst the world leaders on tackling climate change, but an Extinction Rebellion spokeswoman said:

We were intending to stand up during first minister’s questions, and ask ‘why won’t the Scottish government commit to going carbon neutral by 2025? We call on the Scottish government to tell the truth and act as if the truth was real.

A Police Scotland spokesman said:

On the morning of Thursday 27th February, officers working at the Scottish parliament had reason to believe that five individuals attempting to enter the Scottish parliament were intent on disrupting parliamentary business. They were refused entry and left the area with no issue.

Boris Johnson say no deal 'may yet be best option for UK'

Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, has welcomed George Eustice’s resignation. He says leaving the EU with no deal “may yet be the best option for the UK”.

Here is the BBC’s Norman Smith on George Eustice’s resignation.

Here is Michael Gove, the environment secretary, on the resignation of his junior minister and fellow Brexiter George Eustice.

Here is Theresa May’s response to George Eustice’s resignation letter. By the standard of these things, it is warm and complimentary.

The Russell Group is calling on Sajid Javid to scrap plans for a 36-month visa for EU nationals coming to the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit because it discriminates against Scottish universities, which offer four year degrees.

Describing the plans, which would also penalise future EU students wanting to study engineering or medicine courses, which also last longer than three years, as “a kick in the teeth” for Scottish universities, the Russell Group head of policy Jess Cole said:

Introducing a non-extendable, three-year visa for EU nationals would be bizarre. It’s a kick in the teeth to Scottish universities, given nearly every undergraduate course in Scotland is four years, and to courses such as medicine and engineering, which are also longer. This makes no sense for the NHS and industry, given the doctors and engineers we need.

Alastair Sim, director of Universities Scotland, said:

This policy actively discriminates against Scottish universities as our undergraduate degrees are typically four years in length. This is an oversight by the UK government but one which will inflict disproportionate damage to our institutions and must be rectified as a matter of urgency.

Brexiters plan march from Sunderland to London to protest about referendum 'betrayal'

It’s not quite the Jarrow March, although it follows a similar route – next month a group of pro-Brexit protesters , led by Nigel Farage, are due to stage a walk from Sunderland to London to “voice their deep disappointment at the ongoing betrayal of the referendum result”.

The event is being organised by Leave Means Leave, whose founder and chair, Richard Tice and John Longworth, will be among the planned “core group” of marchers who will trek the entire 270 or so miles.

Farage, the former Ukip leader who is setting up a new pro-Brexit party, will be there for the start – Sunderland was chosen as the first city to record a vote for leave in 2016 – and on yet-to-be-confirmed other legs to be fitted round his “pre-existing commitments”, a spokesman for Leave Means Leave said.

The march will end with a rally in Parliament Square on 29 March, the planned Brexit date, though of course it might end up not being then.

In a quote released by the organisers, Farage said:

The Westminster elite are in the process of betraying the British people over Brexit. All of us who want Britain to be a great country once again accept that we must be prepared to stand up for what we believe in and fight for our independence.

Nigel Farage
Nigel Farage Photograph: John Keeble/Getty Images

EU rejects Costa plan backed by MPs for mini agreement on citizens' rights in event of no deal

The European commission has rejected the UK parliament’s call for a mini deal guaranteeing citizens’ rights in the event of the withdrawal agreement being rejected. Last night the Commons approved without opposition the amendment tabled by the Tory MP Alberto Costa saying the government should ask the EU “to adopt part two of the withdrawal agreement on citizens’ rights ... whatever the outcome of negotiations on other aspects of the withdrawal agreement.” The government originally opposed the amendment, on the grounds that the EU would never agree, although it changed its mind yesterday hours ahead of the vote.

And today we’ve discovered that Theresa May’s initial assessment was right; according to the EU, the Costa plan is a non-starter. This is what the European commission’s spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told a Brussels briefing when asked if the EU was willing to strike a deal of the kind proposed by Costa. She replied:

We will not negotiate mini-deals because negotiating such mini-deals outside the withdrawal agreement would imply that the negotiations have failed.

Andreeva said that the best way to protect the continuing rights of expat citizens was “through the withdrawal agreement”.

George Eustice's resignation letter - Snap analysis

Last night most Tory MPs voted alongside the opposition to back an amendment approving Theresa May’s decision to allow the Commons a possible vote on extending article 50. Dozens of Conservatives abstained, but only 20 voted against. They were all hardline Brexiters, but they were small in number, and they lost the vote by a majority of almost 500. The rebellion seemed contained.

But George Eustice’s resignation shows that it is not just the Brexiter ultras who are furious about the prospect of article 50 being extended. He is one of the Brexiter pragmatists - in his letter he says that he accepts the need for compromise, and will vote for Theresa May’s deal - but felt strongly enough about this to leave government.

Here are some of the main points from his letter. (See 2.47pm.)

  • Eustice claims that allowing article 50 to be extended would lead to “humiliation” for the UK because it would allow the EU to dictate terms.
  • He says that the UK must be willing to leave the EU with no deal in order to get the best outcome. However, he does not explain in detail exactly how he expects the EU would react to this brinkmanship, or what concessions he thinks they might offer.
  • He claims that, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the EU would offer the UK an informal nine-month transition.

We must be ready to face down the European Union here and now. The absence of an agreement poses risks and costs for them too. We already know that in the event of “no deal” the EU will seek an informal transition period for nine months in many areas and settlement talks could continue within this window.

This is significant because it reflects a relatively common view amongst Brexiters. But this is not what the EU are saying would happen in the event of no deal. Towards the end of last year, when giving evidence to the Commons Brexit committee (pdf),
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiators, was asked if there would be informal UK-EU deals in the event of there being no agreement. He replied:

Now if there is a no deal there is no more discussion. There is no more negotiation. It is over and each side will take its own unilateral contingency measures, and we will take them in such areas as aviation, but this does not mean mini-deals in the case of a no deal. We want a deal. We want an overall agreement; otherwise each will take their own contingency measures on their own side.

  • Eustice claims that parliament is now “in direct control of events”. This is questionable, because the amendment that would have forced the government to cede control of the parliamentary timetable to allow the Yvette Cooper bill to be debated was never voted on or passed. But Eustice clearly feels that, even though the original Cooper plan was not implemented, it might just as well have been.
  • He says that he is resigning because he wants to be “free to participate in the critical debate” coming up. That implies that he wants to be able to vote against extending article 50 if there is a vote on 14 March (following the defeat of the Brexit deal). That in turn implies that he expects May to whip Tory MPs to vote for extension in those circumstances - something ministers have refused to confirm.
  • He accuses the EU of not acting honourably. He says:

I do not believe that the commission has behaved honourably during these negotiations. They have deliberately made progress slow and difficult. They have stated in terms that they will refuse to even hold substantive negotiations on a future partnership until after we leave. If the position of parliament is now that we will refuse to leave without an agreement then we are somewhat stuck. This is uncomfortable for everyone, but we cannot negotiate a successful Brexit unless we are prepared to walk through the door.

Updated

This is from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on George Eustice’s resignation.

To make sense of George Eustice’s resignation, it helps to know that, although he is not the most vocal of the Brexiters in government, he is probably the only one who once stood as a Ukip candidate. That was back in 1999, when he failed to get elected as an MP. He subsequently joined the Conservatives, working for David Cameron as his press secretary when Cameron was opposition leader, before being elected MP for Camborne and Redruth in Cornwall in 2010.

George Eustice's resignation letter in full

Here is the full text of George Eustice’s resignation letter. Here is his resignation letter in full.

It is with tremendous sadness that I have decided to resign from the government following the decision this week to allow the postponement of our exit from the EU. Since parliament is now in direct control of events, I want to be free to participate in the critical debate that will take place in the weeks ahead.

It has been an honour to work alongside so many talented individuals at Defra over the past five years. Defra has phenomenal expertise and, more than any other government department, has embraced the opportunities posed by our exit from the EU. I have particularly welcomed the chance to craft two new Bills on farming and fisheries, which are the first for half a century, as we have prepared the ground to restore self-government in this country.

I will vote for your withdrawal agreement when it returns to the House and I very much hope that the attorney general succeeds in securing final changes so that others might too. Although I campaigned to leave, I have always supported compromise to achieve a reconciliation in our country. Leaving the EU would represent an historic change and it is natural that some people will feel apprehensive. I have been open to the idea of using our existing membership of the EEA as an exit mechanism and I supported your approach outlined at Chequers when others did not. I have stuck with the government through a series of rather undignified retreats. However, I fear that developments this week will lead to a sequence of events culminating in the EU dictating the terms of any extension requested and the final humiliation of our country.

I appreciate that you have been terribly undermined by those in parliament who refuse to respect the referendum result. You have shown tenacity and resilience over the past year. However, what our country needs from all its political leaders at this critical juncture is courage, and we are about to find out whether parliament has it.

As a Defra Minister, I have enjoyed good relations with the European commission and with ministers from other member states. However, I do not believe that the commission has behaved honourably during these negotiations. They have deliberately made progress slow and difficult. They have stated in terms that they will refuse to even hold substantive negotiations on a future partnership until after we leave. If the position of Parliament is now that we will refuse to leave without an agreement then we are somewhat stuck. This is uncomfortable for everyone, but we cannot negotiate a successful Brexit unless we are prepared to walk through the door.

We must therefore have the courage, if necessary, to reclaim our freedom first and talk afterwards. We must be ready to face down the European Union here and now. The absence of an agreement poses risks and costs for them too. We already know that in the event of “no deal” the EU will seek an informal transition period for nine months in many areas and settlement talks could continue within this window.

I will do what I can from the back benches to try to salvage this sorry situation and I hope that, when the moment comes, Parliament will not let our country down.


George Eustice resigns as fisheries minister in protest against May agreeing possible article 50 extension

George Eustice, the Brexiter fisheries minister, has just announced his resignation from the government. He says he is opposed to Theresa May’s decision to allow MPs a vote on extending article 50.

David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister, has moved to quell concerns in Ireland after reports that Britain wanted to start a “beef trade war”.

Downing Street said there was still no firm date for the publication of the schedule of tariffs which was due last week.

Simon Coveney, Ireland’s deputy prime minister, told the Irish parliament that Lidington rang him to tell him he was concerned about the reports over beef wars and “made it clear to me that they were not coming from the British government”.

Coveney told MPs in the Dail there were “elements within the Westminster system that are frustrated that they cannot get over this issue of the backstop and want to see some pressure being applied to Ireland.”

Ireland is concerned about the prospect of tariffs with around 50% of its Beef exports going to the UK.

Government briefings to food sector interests suggest that while tariffs threaten price rises, quotas will be used to counter that in areas such as beef where Britain relies on imports.

This would mean little or no price rises on foods like beef and dairy imports.

Lunchtime summary

  • Scotland could see the size of its workforce fall by up to 5% over two decades as a result of the UK government’s immigration plans, an expert panel advising the Scottish government has said in a report (pdf). Summarising the findings, a Scottish government news release said:

The report reveals the harm UK government proposals would have on Scotland, reducing migration by up to 50%, thereby jeopardising Scotland’s economy, public services and future population growth.

The advisory group also highlighted the disproportionate impact of the UK government’s proposed salary threshold, under which people earning less than £30,000 would not be allowed admittance to the UK.

The group estimated 63% of workers in Scotland currently earn below that level, and that it would exclude a greater proportion of women than men as well as younger people at the start of their career.

  • Sir Mark Sedwill, the cabinet secretary, has told MPs that TV adverts explaining the implications of a no-deal Brexit will be broadcast. Giving evidence to the Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee, he said:

Information [about no deal[ is available. We’ve been putting it out on the website for several months, that’s now been complemented by some radio advertising. We have plans to bring through some television advertising as well.

So there is a communications campaign, but of course citizens and businesses are aware of that but they also look at the front pages and the news bulletins and they make a judgment, their own judgments, about the likelihood of no deal on 29 March.

  • Sedwill told the committee that the government will make an announcement about “new towns” next week. (See 11.04am.) He was speaking in response to a question about reports that the government will increase investment in leave-voting Labour areas, and the move is likely to be seen as part of a bid to encourage Labour MPs to back the government’s Brexit deal. The government is also expected to announce new pledges on workers’ rights next week - another strand of its strategy to win round opposition MPs on Brexit.
  • Sedwill told the committee there was too much leaking from cabinet. He said:

Ministers are entitled, and indeed are required, to exercise full candour in debating issues [in cabinet] before a decision is made, and expect to be able to able to do so in confidence. And, of course, the area in my view of collective responsibility that has been under most pressure - I can’t put it quite as well as Peter Bone did yesterday in the House - is the breakdown in the confidentiality of those discussions. That is an issue that we are going to have to address as we work our way through this.

Updated

And here is some more reaction to the immigration figures. (See 11.06am.)

From Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary

The data simply confirms the fakery behind the government’s immigration policy. Once again the number of migrants coming here vastly outstrips its unworkable 100,000 net migration target.

From Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford

The overall story the data tell on EU migration is clear - Britain is not as attractive to EU migrants as it was a couple of years ago.

EU net migration happened to be unusually high in the run-up to the referendum so at least some of this decline would probably have happened anyway even without Brexit.

From Lord Green of Deddington, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said:

It is a real concern that non-EU net migration has risen still further to more than a quarter of a million even before the government has implemented its proposals to loosen the work permit system.

These are from the Sun’s Nick Gutteridge in Brussels.

CBI and IoD express concern about falling immigration from EU

Here is some reaction to the migration figures out this morning, showing a sharp fall in net migration from the EU since the referendum, but an increase in net migration from outside the EU. (See 11.06am.)

From Ed Davey, the Lib Dem home affairs spokesman

Hospitals, schools and social care providers are already struggling to hire the staff they need, and Brexit is making that problem so much worse.

Even before we’ve left the EU, the chaos created by Tory ministers and the nasty rhetoric of Brexiters is putting off the EU workers that our public services badly need.

From Matthew Fell, the CBI’s chief UK policy director

These figures confirm fewer EU workers are coming to the UK, exacerbating labour and skills shortages across many sectors, from farm labourers to engineers.

Businesses cannot succeed without access skills and labour, which is why it’s so important the government delivers a post-Brexit immigration system which is both open and controlled.

From Tej Parikh, an economist at the Institute of Directors

With job vacancies at record highs, recruiting from abroad has never been more crucial for British businesses.

Flexible and hassle-free access to international skillsets is part and parcel of having a globally competitive skills regime, so adjusting to the government’s post-Brexit immigration agenda, with its new restrictions, will present some challenges.

Already, firms across the retail, hospitality and construction sectors are facing obstacles as some EU workers are returning home, while it’s also becoming harder to attract labour from Europe amidst the uncertain political climate.

From Stephen Clarke, an economic analyst at the Resolution Foundation thinktank

While UK politicians are seemingly unable to provide any clarity on where Britain is heading post-Brexit, EU migrants are increasingly doing so – by leaving.

EU migration is now at its lowest level in a decade – a fall that is being driven by fewer EU migrants coming to the UK for work. In contrast, migration from the rest of the world is close to a record high, though many of these migrants are coming to study rather than work.

Post-Brexit Britain’s migration system is still to be decided, and is years away from coming into effect. But many areas of the labour market – particularly firms in high-turnover sectors like hospitality who are reliant on the free movement of EU workers – are going to have to adjust to lower migration well before the new system is in place.

From Prof Jonathan Portes, a fellow at UK in a Changing Europe, an academic network

Today’s migration statistics show a continued fall in EU migration – indeed, comparing today’s data with the most recent labour force statistics, it is very likely that more Europeans are now leaving the UK than are arriving. This undoubtedly reflects the impact of Brexit on the attractiveness of the UK to other Europeans.

Chris Williamson, who has been suspended from Labour for saying the party was “too apologetic” in response to complaints about antisemitism, has posted a message on Twitter thanking those Labour members who have supported him.

Watson says Labour investigation into Chris Williamson should take 'weeks, not months'

Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, has told BBC’s Radio 5 Live that the party’s inquiry into Chris Williamson should take “weeks, not months”. In an interview with Emma Barnett, asked how long the investigation should take, he replied:

It has to be very quick …

I’m not going to set a date but I do know our general secretary is under a lot of pressure on this ... I would imagine, in order to gather evidence and for him to have his case heard, it’s probably a matter of weeks ... But it’s definitely weeks not months, in my view.

Curiously, Watson also insisted that he was not technically Corbyn’s deputy. This may come as a surprise to anyone familiar with his job title but, in response to a question as to whether he was speaking out as Corbyn’s deputy or in his own right (Barnett wanted to know why Corbyn was not giving interviews on Williamson), Watson explained:

I’m not actually Jeremy’s deputy. I was elected by 200,000 Labour party members. I have my own mandate and I have a responsibility in light of that, which is why I am speaking out now.

Chris Williamson
Chris Williamson Photograph: Jack Taylor/Getty Images

The Greek foreign ministry has uploaded a Brexit FAQs website for UK nationals living in the country. The “Greece gets prepared for Brexit” site comes a week after Athens’ leftist government announced that the rights of all UK nationals resident in Greece - estimated at 45,000 - will be fully protected in the event of London crashing out of the EU without a deal.

The site lists various FAQs under a picture of the Parthenon and, given the uncertainty, ends with “more questions ands answers to follow soon!”

Updated

Immigration from outside EU hits highest level for 15 years

Net migration from outside the EU has hit the highest level in nearly 15 years, as a post-Brexit plunge in arrivals from the bloc continued, new figures reveal. As the Press Association reports, overall, the balance between the numbers arriving in and leaving the UK remained above 250,000 - nearly three times the government’s target level of below 100,000. Office for National Statistics data showed that 261,000 more non-EU citizens came to the country than left in the year ending September 2018. This was the highest estimate since 2004.

EU net migration continued to add to the UK’s population, but it almost halved year-on-year to 57,000 - a level last seen in 2009, the Press Association reports. Overall, around 283,000 more people moved to the UK with an intention to stay 12 months or more than left.

Immigration figures
Immigration figures Photograph: ONS

At the public administration committee Sir Mark Sedwill, the cabinet secretary, has just told MPs that there will be an announcement about “new towns” next week. He was responding to a question from Labour’s Rupa Huq about reports that the government will increase investment in leave-voting Labour areas, in what is being seen by some as a move to encourage Labour MPs to vote for the government’s Brexit deal.

Alberto Costa, the Tory MP forced to resign as a parliamentary aide by Theresa May, has obliquely criticised the government’s sluggish decision to back his EU migrants amendment as “better late than never”.

Costa, a Scot who served as private parliamentary secretary to Scottish secretary David Mundell before effectively sacked for putting down the unauthorised amendment, robustly defended his actions in an interview with BBC Radio Scotland.

He said his amendment, which instructs May to seek European Union guarantees on residency rights for EU migrants living in the UK after Brexit, and vice versa, had unified Westminster’s parties for the first time since the Brexit vote in June 2016. He told Good Morning Scotland:

I brought together all wings of my party, the Labour leader and his party, the SNP leader and his party, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, and his party, the Green party, the Welsh nationalists, Lady Herman, the DUP; it’s the first time we’ve ever seen the House of Commons putting their name down to an amendment with full government backing, on a wholly uncontroversial issue. This morning, I’m really pleased.

Costa, the MP for South Leicestershire, and a lawyer, refused to discuss the nature of his dismissal, but said he and May had “a full and frank discussion” about his measure after prime minister’s questions. There was significant levels of confusion at Westminster over whether May would endorse his proposal; she eventually did.

I made it very clear to her that the whole house was brought together by my amendment; she confirmed she would give full government support, and you know what, all I care about are the rights of five million people.

Asked whether he felt he had been a casualty of Brexit chaos, he said: “Well there’s an old idiom of better late than never.”

Updated

Cabinet secretary admits there's too much leaking from cabinet meetings

Sir Mark Sedwill, the cabinet secretary, has just started giving evidence to the Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee. The Tory Brexiter David Jones has just asked him if there is any precedent for cabinet ministers openly arguing against government policy, as is happening now. He was referring to the way three pro-Europeans published a Daily Mail article on Saturday saying the government should rule out a no-deal Brexit. Sedwill appeared to concede that this was unprecedented, saying “I don’t think there’s an exact parallel”, although he subsequently said similar issues arose at the time of the Iraq war.

He also admitted that there was too much leaking from cabinet. There has been a “breakdown” in confidentiality, he said.

Sir Mark Sedwill
Sir Mark Sedwill Photograph: HoC

Tom Watson's Today interview - Summary

Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader and shadow culture secretary, was on the Today programme this morning ahead of a speech he will give later on online gambling. My colleague Rob Davies has previewed the speech here.

But Watson was also asked about wider Labour issues, particularly antisemitism. Here are the main points he made.

  • Watson said the resignation of Luciana Berger last week was “the worst day of shame in the Labour Party’s 120-year history”. He would be meeting Jeremy Corbyn next week to discuss what more could be done to tackle antisemitism in the party. He explained:

I’ve asked to see Jeremy on Monday next week to talk about how we can further improve our measures to deal with antisemitism.

When Luciana Berger left the Labour party, I thought it was the worst day of shame in the Labour party’s 120-year history. A pregnant young MP bullied out of her own party by racist thugs.

The one thing I say to my colleagues and half a million Labour party members is that I am not going to allow them to be tainted by racism, so I am going to speak out on antisemitism for as long as it takes to root it out and deal with it. There’s individual responsibility here but there’s also collective responsibility on the shadow cabinet and national executive committee to speak out and deal with it.

Having monitored some of the things he’s said in the last week, our general secretary decided that the pattern of behaviour over recent months was potentially bringing our party into disrepute, and so has suspended him from the party and there’ll be an inquiry.

He’s entitled to a fair hearing but I’ve been very, very concerned that his comments have almost been deliberately inflammatory and causing offence to not just parliamentary colleagues but people in the Jewish community who understandably have a real concern about antisemitism in the Labour party.

  • He said he did not know whether or not, as has been claimed, someone from Jeremy Corbyn’s office argued against Williamson being suspended.
  • Watson failed to give Corbyn a wholehearted endorsement as a potential prime minister. When asked if Corbyn was fit to be prime minister, he replied:

He could easily be prime minister.

But, of course, we could do without the antisemitism because it allows you to ask me that question on the Today programme. We need to close these issues down and we do it by being absolutely vigilant in the way we deal with racism in our own ranks. That’s on all of us.

  • He confirmed that he wanted to set up a group for Labour MPs from the party’s social democratic wing. He explained:

For very understandable reasons in the party - to do with the challenge to Jeremy a couple of years ago and some MPs not wanting to serve - we’ve not got a balance of traditions on our front bench.

We can handle that, but it does mean there needs to be a different way of making sure that those traditions’ voices are expressed in a different way on policy-making.

There’s no big issue about this but I do want the democratic socialist and the Christian socialist and the social democratic traditions to be heard in the parliamentary Labour party - if not on the front bench, to be heard by the front bench.

Tom Watson
Tom Watson Photograph: Henry Nicholls/Reuters

In the Commons Nick Brown, the Labour chief whip, has just moved the writ for the Newport West byelection, caused by the death of Paul Flynn. It is due to take place on Thursday 4 April.

McDonnell says there's chance Labour could win vote for second Brexit referendum

After its Brexit amendment was defeated in the Commons last night, Labour is now officially committed to backing a second referendum. That does not mean that Jeremy Corbyn has become a passionate enthusiast for the idea, there are still many in the party who suspect that his office will manoeuvre to sabotage any such people’s vote if it becomes a probability (not least because it would be hugely divisive), and there is no evidence that, even with Labour whipping its MPs, there is a majority for referendum legislation in the Commons.

Still, David Cameron (if we believe Donald Tusk) and Nick Clegg (see here) are both available to give Corbyn some advice on what can happen when you back a referendum expecting it to never happen.

And last night John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, said there was a chance Labour could win a vote on a second referendum soon. In recent weeks McDonnell has become much more positive about the case for a second referendum than Corbyn and this is what he told ITV’s Peston programme.

When the meaningful vote comes back, and we’re told maybe that might be March 12, that’s the time when we’ll have to put the [second referendum] amendment up. Let me just say, we’re still going to argue we want a general election, we’re still going to argue we think our deal that we put up is the best option, but we realise, we’ve got to break this deadlock. We’ve said we’ll keep all the options on the table because we still want a general election.

Things are shifting. There is a chance we could win it, and I’ll tell you why. It’s because people are worried about their constituencies, they’re worried about jobs, they’re worried about the economy. And I think the more we focus on that, the more there’s a chance that either a deal will go through that will protect jobs and the economy, or to get some deal through it will be conditional on going back to the people.

McDonnell also said that, even though his Hayes and Harlington constituency voted leave, he would vote remain in a second referendum, he would campaign for remain if there were a referendum. He explained:

Yes I would [vote remain] because I did last time. I think it’s the right thing to do. At the same time, I tell you, we’ve got to respect people’s views on this. My constituency voted leave, and I am going back all the time and explaining to the people in my constituency, this is why I’ve come to this conclusion. Almost I’ve been forced to. We’ve gone through every path, there’s been no deal that’s been brought forward that is acceptable to parliament at the moment that would protect their jobs and their livelihoods, so we’ve been forced into this situation where there’s no other route that we can see other than this.

After the vote last night Jeremy Corbyn himself also released a statement saying that the party would now “back a public vote in order to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit or a disastrous no deal outcome”. But he included a caveat, adding:

We will also continue to push for the other available options to prevent those outcomes, including a close economic relationship based on our credible alternative plan or a general election.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9.30am: Stephen Barclay, the Brexit secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

10am: Sir Mark Sedwill, the cabinet secretary, gives evidence to the Commons public administration committee.

10.40am: Tom Watson, the Labour deputy leader and shadow culture secretary, gives a speech on online gambling.

4.30pm: Theresa May speaks at the end of the Jordan: Growth and Opportunity Conference, following talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah in Downing Street earlier.

As usual, I will also be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web, but I expect to be focusing mostly on Brexit. I plan to post a summary at lunchtime and another when I finish, at around 5pm.

You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe round-up of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads.

If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

I try to monitor the comments BTL but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply ATL, although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.

If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter.

John McDonnell on ITV’s Peston last night.
John McDonnell on ITV’s Peston last night. Photograph: Jonathan Hordle/ITV/REX/Shutterstock

Updated

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Cinemablend
The Cast Member SNL Has Used The Most This Season Is Still Just A Featured Player
No one has gotten more screen time this season.
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Cinemablend
Insider Says Kevin Federline Memoir Had Nothing To Do With DUI, As Britney Spears Doc Director Also Defends Her
Britney's arrest continues to make headlines.
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Cinemablend
Smaller portions are a big restaurant trend as customers watch their budgets and waistlines
The biggest new restaurant trend is small
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
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