Top story: PM has finger on Article 50 trigger
Hello, it’s Warren Murray taking you beyond the headlines this morning.
Theresa May has won the battle in parliament over setting Britain on the road to Brexit – but her triumph has been quickly swamped by a bitter row over Scottish independence.
The House of Lords last night let the Article 50 bill through after the Commons threw out earlier amendments – so the prime minister has authority to start the process of leaving the European Union at any time.
After harrying the bill through parliament under the crack of a whip, May has surprised many by apparently electing not to hit the big red button straight away. The PM had been expected to get things rolling today but now she might wait another fortnight, according to No 10.
There is anger and apprehensiveness that EU nationals in Britain have ultimately become bargaining chips in the Brexit negotiations whether the government is prepared to admit it or not. Labour and the Lib Dems traded recriminations over who could or should have stopped it happening. Polly Toynbee says it’s not all over even if the Brexit fanatics are at the helm.
Nicola Sturgeon received a flat no from the PM after immediately calling for a fresh referendum on independence for Scotland, which voted to remain. But May’s delay in firing the Brexit starting gun has led to suggestions she is rattled by the prospect of having to fight against a renewed Scottish independence campaign while trying to take the UK smoothly out of the EU.
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Too big for the charts – The UK top 20 has been deemed no longer fit for purpose when Ed Sheeran can have every one of the 16 songs from his latest album in there at the same time. Rankings used to be based on sales, but streaming a song without buying it now counts towards chart position. Music managers’ spokesman Jon Webster says the two metrics – streaming and sales – don’t mix. “You should be looking at two different things: what’s happening in streaming, and what’s happening in sales … We live in a different world, and we need a different chart for a different world.”
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Screen means diabetes – Children who spend upwards of three hours a day in front of the TV, computer or connected device are on the road to type 2 diabetes, a study warns. Researchers say the things that tend to go along with excessive screen – such as obesity, lack of exercise and bad diet – are to blame. In better news for families, if you have children and live to 60, you are more likely to make it to 100 than non-parents.
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Wiretapped v ‘wiretapped’ – Donald Trump doesn’t have to justify his claim of bugging by Barack Obama – because he put quote marks around it on Twitter, according to his press secretary. Sean ‘Spicey’ Spicer said: “The president used the word ‘wiretapped’ in quotes to mean broadly surveillance and other activities during that.” Obama has denied ordering any such surveillance. Spicer also helpfully explained that everything the president says is true unless he is joking.
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Ship of less fuel – If physics is your forte you might be able to explain how two giant Berocca tubes sticking up in the air can make a cargo ship burn 10% less of its dirty fuel.
These “rotor sails”, first conceived nearly 100 years ago (perhaps by a steampunk scientist in Biggles goggles), are to be trialled by the shipping company Maersk. A 240 metre-long tanker is being fitted with the biggest ones ever sent to sea at 30 metres tall and five metres in diameter. The theory goes that you put in 50 kilowatts of power to turn them and the air pressure differences that are created generate three megawatts of thrust.
Lunchtime read: Out of austerity, one story of hope
Aditya Chakrabortty reintroduces us to Colin Burrell – left behind in the age of austerity, they met as he scrabbled for his next meal at a Merseyside food bank. Now he’s got a paid apprenticeship – but it took a local football club to set it up when, writes Aditya, so many businesses rake in the benefits of such government-backed schemes while failing to fulfil their social licence. “Much of what ministers used to call our ‘jobs miracle’ is a patchwork of part-time, low-paid work … a private sector that is not expected to provide good jobs, decent pay, its fair share of tax, but which demands public subsidies, infrastructure and ready-made workers.”
Sport
José Mourinho hit back at Antonio Conte and a section of the home support by insisting “Judas is still No1” at Chelsea after Manchester United’s defence of the FA Cup came to a juddering halt at the hands of his former club. The 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge came after Mourinho’s cynical and failed attempts to shackle Chelsea’s main creative force, Eden Hazard, writes Barney Ronay.
In rugby, Eddie Jones has stoked the rivalry between England and New Zealand by comparing his All Black counterpart, Steve Hansen, to the cunning Big Bad Wolf in Little Red Riding Hood and warning his players not to be seduced by the warm words of praise from the southern hemisphere over the weekend.
And the law professor who exposed the full extent of state-sponsored doping in Russia has warned it will be a “real struggle” for the country to be rehabilitated in time for next year’s Winter Olympics.
Business
The markets in Asia were fairly static ahead of a much-anticipated Federal Reserve policy meeting which could see interest rates increased and give indications for the year ahead. In early trading the dollar was also flat against the yen, euro and pound.
The pound was buying US$1.22 and €1.15 overnight.
The papers
Pretty much every paper has the same story on the front: Brexit and Nicola Sturgeon’s call for a second referendum for Scottish independence. The difference is in the headlines.
The Mail is scathing: “Hands off our Brexit, Nicola”, while its Scottish edition blasts “SNP’s day of betrayal”. The Telegraph has “The new battle for Britain” while the Times says “Sturgeon ambushes May”. The Express goes with “Hooray, MPs vote to trigger EU exit”.
The Mirror has “Independence Day II” saying a new Scottish referendum could be launched before Britain leaves the EU. The FT is wordier: “Sturgeon’s call for independence vote lays down challenge for May.”
Lastly the Sun’s editor has decided that Brexit won’t sell in a crowded market but the royals will. It has no mention of EU goings-on, instead opting for a story about Prince William “ducking out” of a Commonwealth service to go skiing.
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