Theresa May is under pressure to seek fresh concessions over Irish backstop as MPs gear up for a series of critical votes that could alter the course of Brexit.
Jacob Rees-Mogg said his Eurosceptic allies will not support a compromise amendment to remove the backstop tabled by Tory grandee Sir Graham Brady – despite Conservative MPs being ordered to vote for it on Tuesday by the government.
The prime minister is scrambling to find a plan to unite the Commons, after MPs overwhelmingly rejected her Brexit deal by 230 votes earlier this month.
Meanwhile Labour found itself under pressure over its position on the government’s immigration bill.
At first the party issued a one-line whip to abstain and shadow home secretary Diane Abbott announced the party would not oppose the bill during its second reading, insisting they would seek amendments at committee stage.
But ninety minutes later, after facing widespread criticism, the leadership issued a single-line-whip - which is not binding – for its MPs to vote against.
Labour MP Chris Leslie described the situation as an “utter shambles”.
During the debate home secretary Sajid Javid confirmed that there would be no “targets” in the immigration bill but reaffirmed a commitment to “bring net migration down to more sustainable levels.”
He revealed that, under the new legislation, EU citizens would be able to come to the UK for up to three months without a visa before being required to apply for leave to remain.
Mr Javid went on: “They will be allowed to work temporarily but will need to apply for leave, and pay an application fee if they want to stay longer.
“We plan to grant them three years leave subject to identity, security and criminality checks, this will give us the time needed to run our EU settlement scheme for EEA and Swiss nationals that are already living here, and ensure there is no sudden shock to UK businesses as the future system is put in place.
“But the leave will be strictly temporary. It cannot be extended and those who wish to stay will need to meet our future immigration requirements.”
See below for our coverage as it happened.
Asked if the Government would support the Brexit amendment backed by senior Tory Sir Graham Brady, the Education Secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today:
The Prime Minister has been clear already that alternative arrangements are an alternative to the backstop - as by the way, is extending the implementation period.
So it is not necessarily the case that if we did reach that point the backstop would have to come in anyway.
It is an uncomfortable thing for the European Union, as it is an uncomfortable thing for us - there are some things about it, like the fact that we would have free market access but without paying, free movement would be over, we would be out of the common agricultural policy and fisheries policy - that's not comfortable for the EU either."
Student backing for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour has fallen as the support for a Final Say referendum has jumped
Student backing for Corbyn's Labour falls as support for fresh Brexit vote jumps
Support for Labour among students has fallen by 10 percentage points in the last yearEducation minister Damian Hinds said he did not envisage a no-deal Brexit becoming the official government policy.
Asked if Ms May had told her cabinet of senior ministers she would not allow a no-deal Brexit, Mr Hinds told BBC Radio 4: "I don't envisage the pursuit of a no deal becoming government policy because we want a deal."
"The clear majority of colleagues across the House in parliament ... absolutely want there to be a good deal."
He told Today there was a "great deal of support among ministers and, indeed, Cabinet ministers" and they had been pressing for a free vote on the amendment.
This is the last chance for Parliament, this is probably the only opportunity that Parliament is going to have to intervene in this process, to take control.
If we don't seize the moment tomorrow afternoon then we are at grave risk of just driving off the edge on March 29 without really wanting to, and when there might be a compromise we could achieve if we just had a few more months."
UK consumer confidence dropped to an 18-month low in the last quarter of 2018, as worries grew about Brexit and the clouds gathering over the global economy.
A poll of more than 3,000 consumers by YouGov for Deloitte showed confidence dropped to -9 per cent from -7 per cent in the previous quarter.
Inflation fell, real wages began to rise and unemployment remained at a more than four-decade low during the quarter, but this was not enough to counter uncertainty around the UK’s departure from the EU on 29 March.
Ireland has dealt a blow to Theresa May’s hopes of obtaining the changes to her Brexit deal needed to secure the backing of her own Conservative MPs.
The country’s foreign minister Simon Coveney said on Sunday that the Irish backstop that Ms May wants to renegotiate “isn’t going to change” despite the prime minister’s deal being comprehensively rejected by the House of Commons.
On Tuesday Ms May hopes to secure backing for a move to go back to Brussels and ask for changes to the backstop, in order to put it to another full vote in the coming weeks.
Brexit setback for Theresa May as Ireland warns backstop can't be renegotiated
The prime minister is pinning her strategy on securing a concession to mitigate the indefinite backstop arrangement.Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the Conservative MP Sir Graham Brady said his amendment (if passed on Tuesday) would give “enormous firepower” to the prime ministers when she returns to Brussels, by setting out what the UK parliament would back.
Sir Graham said any alternative would have to be “legally binding”, as “I don’t think anybody is going to accept something which is just warm words”.
Asked if it had government backing he said: "I hope so... I don't know so. The amendment was born out of a number of conversations I had with colleagues including members of the government, including the prime minister.
"I had also spoken to people in the DUP too and I'm hoping that the way in which the amendment is crafted can attract that very broad support and if we can win the vote on my amendment then I think it gives the prime minister enormous firepower."
Barnsley and Liverpool have been named as the cities worst affected by cuts to local government funding over the past decade.
The Yorkshire city has seen a 40 per cent reduction in day-to-day council spending – a higher proportion than anywhere else in Britain, according to a new report by the Centre for Cities.
When calculated per resident, Liverpool was found to be hardest hit by austerity measures, with an £816 reduction to council services’ funding for every person living in the northwest city.
Liverpool and Barnsley hardest hit by decade of austerity cuts, study shows
Northern English cities have endured most severe cuts to local services over past 10 yearsMinisters have been accused of putting the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) before domestic violence victims after it was claimed plans to reform abortion laws in Northern Ireland had been restricted for fear of angering them.
Labour MP Stella Creasy had intended to put down an amendment to the draft Domestic Abuse Bill, but she said the scope of it had been restricted – a technical move that prevents her from bringing her reforms forward.
Northern Ireland has a ban on abortions in almost all cases – even rape or incest. Theresa May has come under pressure to give MPs a free vote on the issue after abortion was legalised in the Republic of Ireland following a referendum last May.
Cabinet ministers have demanded that a no-deal Brexit remain an option for Britain, ahead of a showdown in House of Commons over the matter.
Education secretary Damian Hinds and commons leader Andrea Leadsom both said the option to quit talks without a deal should be a possibility for Theresa May.
The comments from Mr Hinds in particular, seen as one of the cabinet’s strong Remainers, will give little comfort to pro-EU ministerial colleagues who have threatened to resign over no deal in recent days.
Jeremy Corbyn has joined alongside 200 survivors of the Holocaust and genocides to honour the millions of people who were murdered, the Press Association reports.
Britain's Jewish community was assured it was an "intrinsic part of what makes Britain great", at a national memorial service in Westminster.
Mr Corbyn, whose party has been dogged by allegations of anti-Semitism, arrived 20 minutes before the service began and was seen chatting and taking photos with guests.
He earlier posted on Twitter: "Let us never allow anti-Semitism or any other form of racism to disfigure our society."
Chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust Laura Marks told guests trustees had been questioned over recent months about whether the guest list was "appropriate" given the reported prevalence of anti-Semitism within mainstream politics.
She told the room: "We were asked if it was appropriate to continue to welcome some representatives knowing that this may cause distress to Holocaust survivors and refugees.
"But we know through independent studies that people who attend Holocaust Memorial Day events learn more, empathise more deeply and go on to do more to build a better future."
Jeremy Corbyn has been asked outside his home in North London whether he will be backing Yvette Cooper’s amendment in the Commons tomorrow.
"We have a unanimous EU27 position on the withdrawal agreement which reflects the common EU position," he said.
"This withdrawal agreement has been agreed with the UK government, it is endorsed by leaders and is not open for renegotiation."
A cabinet minister has refused to completely rule out the possibility that the UK could impose martial law to stop disorder in the case of a no-deal Brexit.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said it was not the “focus of our attention”, but admitted the government ws looking at all the options.
Other cabinet colleagues have argued that a no-deal Brexit must remain an option for the UK in Brexit negotiations, ahead of attempts by a group of cross-party MPs to take it off the table on Tuesday.
Student backing for Corbyn's Labour falls as support for fresh Brexit vote jumps
Student backing for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party has fallen amid growing support for a Final Say referendum on Brexit, a new poll has found.
The survey revealed that backing for Labour among the core group of young supporters who have helped maintain Mr Corbyn’s power dropped 10 percentage points in a year.
At the same time the group’s desire to see a new referendum take place on the outcome of Brexit has risen as the clock ticks down to 29 March.
The Graham Brady amendment (a time limited backstop) appears to be losing much needed support from Conservative Brexiteers, who are demanding more clarity…
Plans to allow new parent MPs to nominate a colleague to vote on their behalf could be extended to the seriously ill and bereaved under a new Commons bid.
Tory MP Philip Davies has tabled several amendments to plans to allow proxy voting in parliament, which he said must also cover the sick and grieving, as well as women who have suffered a miscarriage and carers of those who are seriously ill.
But the move has sparked a parliamentary row, with Labour’s Jess Phillips accusing him of trying to hinder the rollout of the one-year proxy voting pilot announced by Commons leader Andrea Leadsom on Thursday.
Bid to extend proxy voting for MPs launched by Tory MP
The IndependentMPs due to approve one-year pilot on voting rules for new parentsTheresa May is ready to demand the removal of the Irish backstop from her Brexit deal, in a significant toughening of her stance ahead of a fresh Commons showdown.
Downing Street refused, multiple times, to say the prime minister still accepted the withdrawal agreement must include the insurance policy laid down by the EU, to avoid border checks.
Instead, No 10 said the commitment was only to avoiding a hard border by some means – arguing the crushing 230-vote defeat of her deal a fortnight ago meant “changes are going to have to be made”.
Theresa May hints she will request removal of Irish backstop after Tory Eurosceptics' demands
Shift comes ahead of vote on Brexiteer amendment that 'requires the Northern Ireland backstop to be replaced with alternative arrangements'
The Independent has launched its #FinalSay campaign to demand that voters are given a voice on the final Brexit deal.
Sign our petition here
