EXPLOSIVE Brexit row – 'lied and now you've COCKED it up' PIERS MORGAN clashed with MPs on Good Morning Britain during a heated Brexit debate where he claimed the Parliamentarians had “lied” and now they have “cocked up” Britain's exit from the EU.
Brexit can still be delayed, cancelled, or a no-deal despite May's new agreement
British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker look at each other during a news conference in Strasbourg, France March 11, UK prime minister Theresa May just sealed a ‘new’ deal with the European Union over Britain exiting the remaining 27-nation bloc. However, considering the contention over the ‘Irish backstop,’ there is a distinct possibility that Britain could still either exit the EU without a deal, delay the exit, or cancel Brexit altogether. Late last night, May and her Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay secured a new agreement with EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker, which included ensuring that there will be “no indefinite backstop” — the key sticking point for many hard-line Brexiteers who May must win over. She said the new agreement — or “instrument” — could be used to start a formal dispute against the EU if it tries to keep the UK tied to the backstop. The “Irish backstop” is an insurance policy that will ensure there is no hard border in Ireland. However, there is potentially a long road ahead for Britain as there are a number of hurdles that need to be overcome in order for Britain to leave the EU with a deal in place.
Nearly every paper and news website focuses on the proposed changes to the Brexit deal announced on Monday night. There is agreement on how much the alterations come at the 11th hour: for the Guardian they are "last ditch"; the i describes them as a "last roll of the dice"; and, according to Huffpost UK, they are a "last chance" for Theresa May to avoid "Brexit humiliation". There is less consensus about whether Mrs May will succeed in getting her deal through the Commons. The Daily Mail pictures her and the EU's lead negotiator, Michel Barnier, in Strasbourg. "Sealed with a kiss?" its headline asks, as it says the question now becomes whether the changes will be enough to alter the outcome of today's meaningful vote. Perhaps, says the Sun - with the headline "Backstop from dead" - as it suggests Mrs May has "breathed new life" into her agreement. The Daily Express clearly hopes so: "Now get behind this deal and let's unite Britain", reads its front page. The Times says Mrs May has "claimed victory", and expects Attorney General Geoffrey Cox to revise his previous legal opinion that the UK could become trapped in the Irish backstop indefinitely.
But it also points out the two groups the prime minister needs to win round - Tory Brexiteers and the party's DUP allies - both "withheld immediate judgment". The Daily Telegraph suggests they might need a lot of persuading. An unnamed senior Eurosceptic tells the paper Mrs May's proposals face a "rough ride" because they rely on proving that the EU is acting in "bad faith" if the UK is to exit the backstop. The source asks: "How on earth do you prove that?"
Brexit vote news: Geoffrey Cox tweets 'b*****ks' to speculation over his legal advice on changes to Theresa May's deal
Attorney General Geoffrey Cox has described claims that he had been "told to find a way" to ensure legal validation of Theresa May's newly-negotiated agreement with the EU as "b*****ks". He sent the one-word response to Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow, who had tweeted: "A lawyer contact tells me that the legal world is aware that the Attorney General said NO last night to the validity of Mrs May's 'new EU deal'... he been told to go away and find a way to say YES: A cohort of lawyers has been summoned." But Mr Cox swiftly replied with the word: "B*****ks". https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/brexit/brexit-vote-news-geoffrey-cox-tweets-bks-to-speculation-over-his-legal-advice-on-changes-to-theresa-mays-deal/ar-BBUFhKW?ocid=spartanntp
Nissan's Infiniti to exit western Europe early next year
Nissan Motor Co's premium brand Infiniti said on Friday it will exit western Europe early next year, as it restructures its global operations and turns its attention to sales in the world's top two auto markets. Infiniti said it will discontinue the Q30 sedan and the QX30 sport-utility vehicle (SUV) and cease their production by the middle of 2019 at Nissan's manufacturing factory in Sunderland. Both models are sold globally but produced only in Britain. The move comes as Infiniti seeks to divert its resources to markets with bigger opportunities, such as China and the United States, from a region where non-European premium brands are struggling to compete against local players such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Majority of UK import tariffs set at zero in a no-deal Brexit
The government also announced that in the event of a no-deal it would remove all border checks between Ireland and Northern Ireland except a "small number of measures strictly to comply with international obligations, protect the biosecurity of the island of Ireland, or to avoid the highest risks to Northern Ireland business."
Wednesday's newspapers are dominated by the news that MPs rejected Theresa May's Brexit deal for a second time. "How much more of this can Britain take?" asks the Daily Express, while "May loses control of Brexit" is the headline in the Financial Times. The Guardian says MPs inflicted a fresh blow to the prime minister's "shattered authority" when they again voted against her Brexit plan. The Daily Mirror calls her defeat "humiliating", and says it now looks like Brexit will be delayed. The HuffPost UK website says the EU has demanded a "credible justification" before it can grant any delay request. This, the website says, suggests Mrs May might have to pivot to a softer deal or call an election or referendum. The Times says the rejection of the PM's plan darkened the mood of EU leaders, who are due to meet next week for a summit. A diplomat tells the paper that some behind the scenes are prepared to cut Britain loose.
There's criticism too of MPs. The Sun calls them a "parliament of pygmies" who "calamitously let down the nation". The Express accuses "wrecking Remainers" of rendering the vote of more than 17 million people "meaningless". But the FT argues MPs must now take control to avoid political chaos and create space for a re-think. The Daily Mail is one of several papers to speculate about how much longer Mrs May can survive as prime minister. The Times and the Mirror say she's on borrowed time. A writer in the Daily Telegraph, Allison Pearson, argues the UK needs "a bold new leader" who can enter EU negotiations with "guts, vision and fire in their belly". The Sun says that Boris Johnson, Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt are leading contenders to replace Mrs May. The i adds Michael Gove and Dominic Raab to the list.
'The night you LOST BREXIT!' Jacob Rees-Mogg STUNNED as Andrew Neil lets loose on ERG BREXITEER Jacob Rees-Mogg was left stunned after Andrew Neil accused him of ‘losing Brexit’ moments after Theresa May’s deal was voted down.
Mr Rees-Mogg replied: “I don’t acknowledge that because the House of Commons voted twice for bills that became acts of Parliaments that mean we leave on March 29. “They voted for the Article 50 act and the withdrawal act. “The Article 50 act paved the way for the 29th of March and the withdrawal act specifically mentioned it. “The only way of changing the date is for an extension granted by the EU. The ERG leader began: “The default legal position remains, as Theresa May pointed out, that we still leave on March 29.”
Andrew Neil then interrupted to say that that law would be changed and could be done quickly by a statutory instrument. The BBC host continued: “The Commons will not let the country leave on no deal.
“What purpose would this extension serve? What is going to be asked for with this extension? Mr Neil quickly snapped: “But if you get an indefinite extension it could be a year, it could be 21 months or two years. “A lot could happen in that time. “Brexit might never happen. “Historians will well look back on this as the night you lost Brexit.”
Boris Johnson tells family to button it, says ADAM HELLIKER
I'm told: "Boris got the family together and told them that this was his last opportunity for the top job - so could everyone be on their best behaviour at what would be a time of heightened media scrutiny. "It was aimed at those who particularly love the limelight, but it was delivered to everyone in a typically bouncy Boris style, along the lines of 'Button it you Johnsons!'" The putative premier, 54, who has always been rather shambolic, is being "managed" by his perky girlfriend Carrie Symonds, 30, a former Tory PR adviser, who is responsible for Boris's slimmer figure (he has lost nearly 2st) and for choosing his new suits. While his divorce from his wife Marina is nearing its conclusion, Boris is sharing Carrie's flat in South London (she calls him "Bozzie Bear"after Fozzie, the fluffy-haired Muppet).
Hours before MPs vote on stopping no-deal Brexit, ministers reveal stinging tariffs Britain would slap on European products if UK crashes out - including cars, meat and dairy goods - but without ANY border checks in Ireland
Ministers today revealed a series of alarming new tariffs that would be charged on products imported from the EU if there is a no deal Brexit - just hours before Theresa May gives MPs a vote on whether they want to Britain crashing out of the bloc. At the moment products from EU countries such as Germany can be imported into Britain without any charges under the single market, but if Britain leaves without a deal on March 29 the government will have to introduce new import policies. After the decisive defeat of Theresa May's Brexit deal last night, she has given MPs a vote at 7pm tonight on whether they want to leave the EU without a deal. Just hours before that vote this morning, ministers announced the alarming new tariffs that are likely to provoke more accusations of scaremongering after months of apocalyptic warnings about the impact of a no deal Brexit. Ministers said products from the EU including beef, pork, chicken, butter, cheese and fish would also be subject to import taxes expected to push up prices in the supermarkets from March 29 if there is no deal.
UK plan to trade with Commonwealth nations after Brexit is 'utter b**locks', former Australian PM says 'For Britain’s economic self-interest, as well as the wider political interests of the western community of nations, Britain should remain in the EU', Kevin Rudd argues
Claims Britain will be able to recuperate its trade losses with the EU by dealing with Commonwealth nations are “utter ****”, Australia‘s former prime minister has said. Kevin Rudd said the idea trade deals with his country, Canada, New Zealand and India would make up for leaving the EU was “the nuttiest of the many nutty arguments” made by Brexit supporters.
Writing in The Guardian, he said that while Australia, Canada and New Zealand would “do whatever they could” to work out new free-trade agreements with the UK, their total population of 65 million people does not “come within a bull’s roar of Britain’s adjacent market of 450 million Europeans”.
Discussing the prospect of a free-trade agreement with Delhi, Mr Rudd wrote: “As for India, good luck! India’s trade and commerce bureaucracy is the most mercantilist and outright protectionist in the world.”
Parliament has failed (again), so let the people decide Brexit with a Final Say referendum The costs of Brexit, the tacit conclusion must be, are not worth it, at least on the terms agreed between the prime minister and the European Union
One of the many excruciatingly painful ironies associated with Brexit is that a process designed to allow the British parliament to “take back control” has seen it utterly fail to do so. The issue has proved so divisive, so difficult and so costly that it has jammed the usually smooth machinery of British political life. It has split parties; it has made enemies of friends; it has undermined businesses and destroyed jobs; it has rent families asunder; it has made hard-working Europeans in Britain feel unwelcome. The constitutional status of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Gibraltar are in jeopardy. All to no avail.
The costs of Brexit, the tacit conclusion must be, aren’t worth it, at least on the terms agreed between the prime minister and the European Union. Hence the defeats.
But that is a judgement – now that we know the realities behind the sloganeering – that should rightly rest with the British people. In other words, even if parliament had approved the deal with a thundering majority, it should still have been put to the people. If not, then many would feel that they had never had the opportunity to give their assent to this momentous, historic decision.
Now, though, there is a less high-minded, though perfectly valid, reason for pursuing a Final Say referendum: parliament is deadlocked. Because it cannot reach a decision, the question must be put back to the people in a further popular vote. A general election would not resolve this matter, because the likelihood is we would see another hung parliament, and the arguments would remain as they are. Much the same goes for a new Conservative prime minister – she or he would face exactly the same realities as Theresa May, though perhaps enjoying a marginal advantage in competence or luck.
There is, practically, no alternative left to another vote. In truth, Ms May could easily declare that, having made insufficient progress in parliament, she will now take her case to the country, and put her deal – which is a real, signed-off package rather than a mythical construct – against remaining in the EU on existing terms. She might even win, and gain the popular mandate that has thus far eluded her. It would be a perfectly respectable course of action. In any case it is the only one left to her. For months, it has been apparent that our MPs know what they do not want; but they have proved unable to come to a decision about what they do want. Partly, that is a failing on the part of the prime minister, whose stubborn refusal to reach out to the opposition to frame some sort of cross-party consensus lies behind her recent humiliations.
She has been in politics a long time, including a spell as party chair. She knows well the nature of the Eurosceptics on her back benches and in the local associations. As Tory leader, she is unusual in actually liking her activists and coming from their ranks herself, having served in local government for a time. She should not now be taken aback when she discovers that the likes of Bill Cash and Steve Baker are always likely to ask for more. No one doubts their right to do so, nor their personal motives as honourable politicians. Yet the stubbornness of the European Research Group is unnatural, matched only by that of the Democratic Unionists and their “blood red” lines. So it proved. Ms May should really have known better.
Now it also seems certain that a no-deal Brexit will be taken off the famous table, and that the UK will have to ask the EU for a delay to the Article 50 process.
The question the EU will be entitled to ask now is: what is the delay for? If it is merely to spend another few months going around in circles then that would be futile – as most agree. If it is for the British to draw breath and collect their thoughts, then it would do some good.
In reality, a longer time period would be required to hold a further referendum, or to reformulate Brexit, with a view to a new deal eventually being presented to the British people. If that means remaining in the EU for another 21 months, as some Brussels sources suggest, it will be time well spent. It is currently far superior to crashing out. At the end of it we might even find an answer to the conundrum of the Irish backstop, and actually have an actual UK-EU trade and security treaty to examine. If it takes time, then it takes time. Uncertainty is far better than a hard Brexit. The time has come: let the people choose their destiny.
Politics Tory ERG divisions were laid bare ahead of the Brexit vote Former Brexit Secretary David Davis switched sides to back her agreement, along with 38 other former rebels
The Tory Party’s most impassioned Brexiteers split over whether to back Theresa May’s revised deal, but more than enough opposed it to ensure she crashed to a second heavy defeat. Divisions within the 80-strong European Research Group (ERG) were laid bare when it met two hours before the vote to decide its stance. Several MPs argued that holding out against the agreement risked ensuring Parliament seized control of the Brexit process and steered Britain towards a “soft Brexit”. However, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the ERG’s chairman, emerged from the 90-minute meeting to declare: “The majority of people in this room – and it was quite well attended – will be voting against it.”
His deputy, the former Brexit minister Steve Baker, added: “It is the worst conceivable reason to vote for a bad deal, because otherwise it would frustrate the outcome of another vote. That is a mad reason.” Switching sides However, the former Brexit Secretary David Davis switched sides to back her agreement, along with 38 other former rebels including Nadine Dorries, Philip Davies and Nigel Evans. The so-called “star chamber” which the ERG had assembled to scrutinise Mrs May’s tweaked withdrawal agreement concluded that she had failed to deliver the “legally-binding changes” which it had demanded. Sir Bill Cash, a veteran Eurosceptic, said: “In the light of our own legal analysis and others we do not recommend accepting the government’s motion today.” His phrasing – and some earlier ambiguous pronouncements by Mr Rees-Mogg – had fuelled speculation that the group could abstain or could even be persuaded to fall into line.
However, the hopes of Tory whips that the ERG’s resolve would falter were dashed after the group met in a packed room off Westminster Hall.
MPs have voted to reject leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement. Theresa May said there was a "clear majority" against a no-deal Brexit but the "legal default" was that the UK would leave without a deal on 29 March if no deal is reached. MPs will now get a vote on delaying Brexit, said the prime minister. That vote will take place on Thursday, and if it is passed - and the EU agrees to it - the UK will not leave the EU as planned on 29 March. There could be a short extension - or a much longer one - depending on whether MPs backed her withdrawal deal "in the coming days", said the prime minister. LIVE: MPs vote on no-deal Brexit That means the government could make a third attempt to get Mrs May's deal through Parliament by 20 March, after MPs voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to reject it. Commons proceedings descended into confusion earlier, as the government tabled a motion to prevent the UK from exiting the EU on 29 March without a deal. Before MPs voted on the government motion, they backed an amendment tabled by Labour's Yvette Cooper rejecting a no-deal Brexit under any circumstances - by just four votes.
This dramatic development led to the government ordering Conservative MPs to vote against its own motion, despite earlier promising them a free vote. The government motion, as amended, was passed by 321 votes to 278, a majority of 43, reinforcing the message that MPs do not want to leave without a deal. Thirteen government ministers - including Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, Business Secretary Greg Clark, Justice Secretary David Gauke and Scottish Secretary David Mundell - defied the government whips by abstaining in the vote. Work and pensions minister Sarah Newton voted against the orders of the whips and has now resigned. David Mundell, who abstained in the vote, said: "I am not resigning because I support the prime minister's course of action." He said he backed the PM's deal and had always made clear his opposition to a no-deal Brexit. Speaking after the result of the vote was read out, Mrs May said "the options before us are the same as they always have been". "The legal default in EU and UK law is that the UK will leave without a deal unless something else is agreed. The onus is now on every one of us in this House to find out what that is."
On Thursday, MPs will be asked if they want to delay Brexit until 30 June - to allow the necessary legislation to get through Parliament. But that is only if MPs back Mrs May's deal by 20 March, the government says. If they fail to back her deal by then, then the delay could be longer, Mrs May warned MPs, and it could clash with the European Parliament elections in May. "I do not think that would be the right outcome. But the House needs to face up to the consequences of the decisions it has taken," she said. MPs also voted by 374 to 164 to reject a plan to delay the UK's departure from the EU until 22 May 2019, so that there can be what its supporters call a "managed no-deal" Brexit.
This amendment was proposed by Prime Minister Theresa May's former second-in-command, Conservative MP Damian Green, and was backed by prominent Conservative Brexiteers and Remainers. It was known as the Malthouse Compromise - after Kit Malthouse, the government minister who devised it. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that Parliament must now take control of the Brexit process and his party will work across the House of Commons to seek a compromise solution.
A European Commission spokesperson said: "There are only two ways to leave the EU: with or without a deal. The EU is prepared for both. "To take no deal off the table, it is not enough to vote against no deal - you have to agree to a deal. "We have agreed a deal with the prime minister and the EU is ready to sign it."
"Are you well?", I asked of a senior member of the government, caught up in the thick of it tonight. "I wouldn't go that far!", came the response. What a night. Pandemonium in the cabinet, confusion in the Commons chamber. Looking down from the press gallery, some ministers could be seen wrestling with their conscience - hating the idea of a no-deal Brexit, hating the idea of defying the government, and not quite clear if they'd lose their jobs if they did. Thirteen ministers, including four in the Cabinet, couldn't bring themselves to back the government. Afterwards, some ministers were seen literally running away, such is the anger tonight has provoked. So "what's going to happen next?" seemed like a reasonable question to a minister. "I've no idea. Find me someone who has and I'll find you a liar," came the reply. In fair fruitier terms than these pages allow, another MP described it as a "cluster" something - and then predicted the prime minister might, just might, ram her deal through in the end. "It's a scorched earth policy," the MP said.
Comments
PIERS MORGAN clashed with MPs on Good Morning Britain during a heated Brexit debate where he claimed the Parliamentarians had “lied” and now they have “cocked up” Britain's exit from the EU.
http://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1098508/Brexit-news-UK-EU-Theresa-May-European-Union-vote-deal-Piers-Morgan-Good-Morning-Britain
British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker look at each other during a news conference in Strasbourg, France March 11,
UK prime minister Theresa May just sealed a ‘new’ deal with the European Union over Britain exiting the remaining 27-nation bloc. However, considering the contention over the ‘Irish backstop,’ there is a distinct possibility that Britain could still either exit the EU without a deal, delay the exit, or cancel Brexit altogether.
Late last night, May and her Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay secured a new agreement with EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker, which included ensuring that there will be “no indefinite backstop” — the key sticking point for many hard-line Brexiteers who May must win over.
She said the new agreement — or “instrument” — could be used to start a formal dispute against the EU if it tries to keep the UK tied to the backstop. The “Irish backstop” is an insurance policy that will ensure there is no hard border in Ireland.
However, there is potentially a long road ahead for Britain as there are a number of hurdles that need to be overcome in order for Britain to leave the EU with a deal in place.
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/brexit-can-still-delayed-cancelled-no-deal-despite-mays-new-agreement-064619849.html
There is agreement on how much the alterations come at the 11th hour: for the Guardian they are "last ditch"; the i describes them as a "last roll of the dice"; and, according to Huffpost UK, they are a "last chance" for Theresa May to avoid "Brexit humiliation".
There is less consensus about whether Mrs May will succeed in getting her deal through the Commons.
The Daily Mail pictures her and the EU's lead negotiator, Michel Barnier, in Strasbourg.
"Sealed with a kiss?" its headline asks, as it says the question now becomes whether the changes will be enough to alter the outcome of today's meaningful vote.
Perhaps, says the Sun - with the headline "Backstop from dead" - as it suggests Mrs May has "breathed new life" into her agreement.
The Daily Express clearly hopes so: "Now get behind this deal and let's unite Britain", reads its front page.
The Times says Mrs May has "claimed victory", and expects Attorney General Geoffrey Cox to revise his previous legal opinion that the UK could become trapped in the Irish backstop indefinitely.
But it also points out the two groups the prime minister needs to win round - Tory Brexiteers and the party's DUP allies - both "withheld immediate judgment".
The Daily Telegraph suggests they might need a lot of persuading.
An unnamed senior Eurosceptic tells the paper Mrs May's proposals face a "rough ride" because they rely on proving that the EU is acting in "bad faith" if the UK is to exit the backstop.
The source asks: "How on earth do you prove that?"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-47532962
Attorney General Geoffrey Cox has described claims that he had been "told to find a way" to ensure legal validation of Theresa May's newly-negotiated agreement with the EU as "b*****ks".
He sent the one-word response to Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow, who had tweeted: "A lawyer contact tells me that the legal world is aware that the Attorney General said NO last night to the validity of Mrs May's 'new EU deal'... he been told to go away and find a way to say YES: A cohort of lawyers has been summoned."
But Mr Cox swiftly replied with the word: "B*****ks".
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/brexit/brexit-vote-news-geoffrey-cox-tweets-bks-to-speculation-over-his-legal-advice-on-changes-to-theresa-mays-deal/ar-BBUFhKW?ocid=spartanntp
https://newspunch.com/document-plan-britain-re-enter-eu-2020/
UPDATE 21:11- This article has now been removed from The Bruges Group website and we are seeking clarification as to why.
Nissan Motor Co's premium brand Infiniti said on Friday it will exit western Europe early next year, as it restructures its global operations and turns its attention to sales in the world's top two auto markets.
Infiniti said it will discontinue the Q30 sedan and the QX30 sport-utility vehicle (SUV) and cease their production by the middle of 2019 at Nissan's manufacturing factory in Sunderland. Both models are sold globally but produced only in Britain.
The move comes as Infiniti seeks to divert its resources to markets with bigger opportunities, such as China and the United States, from a region where non-European premium brands are struggling to compete against local players such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/business/nissans-infiniti-to-exit-western-europe-early-next-year/ar-BBUFzz2?ocid=spartandhp
Majority of UK import tariffs set at zero in a no-deal Brexit
The government also announced that in the event of a no-deal it would remove all border checks between Ireland and Northern Ireland except a "small number of measures strictly to comply with international obligations, protect the biosecurity of the island of Ireland, or to avoid the highest risks to Northern Ireland business."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/brexit/majority-of-uk-import-tariffs-set-at-zero-in-a-no-deal-brexit/ar-BBUHRlH?ocid=spartanntp
"How much more of this can Britain take?" asks the Daily Express, while "May loses control of Brexit" is the headline in the Financial Times.
The Guardian says MPs inflicted a fresh blow to the prime minister's "shattered authority" when they again voted against her Brexit plan.
The Daily Mirror calls her defeat "humiliating", and says it now looks like Brexit will be delayed.
The HuffPost UK website says the EU has demanded a "credible justification" before it can grant any delay request. This, the website says, suggests Mrs May might have to pivot to a softer deal or call an election or referendum.
The Times says the rejection of the PM's plan darkened the mood of EU leaders, who are due to meet next week for a summit.
A diplomat tells the paper that some behind the scenes are prepared to cut Britain loose.
There's criticism too of MPs.
The Sun calls them a "parliament of pygmies" who "calamitously let down the nation".
The Express accuses "wrecking Remainers" of rendering the vote of more than 17 million people "meaningless".
But the FT argues MPs must now take control to avoid political chaos and create space for a re-think.
The Daily Mail is one of several papers to speculate about how much longer Mrs May can survive as prime minister.
The Times and the Mirror say she's on borrowed time.
A writer in the Daily Telegraph, Allison Pearson, argues the UK needs "a bold new leader" who can enter EU negotiations with "guts, vision and fire in their belly".
The Sun says that Boris Johnson, Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt are leading contenders to replace Mrs May.
The i adds Michael Gove and Dominic Raab to the list.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-47548482
BREXITEER Jacob Rees-Mogg was left stunned after Andrew Neil accused him of ‘losing Brexit’ moments after Theresa May’s deal was voted down.
Mr Rees-Mogg replied: “I don’t acknowledge that because the House of Commons voted twice for bills that became acts of Parliaments that mean we leave on March 29.
“They voted for the Article 50 act and the withdrawal act.
“The Article 50 act paved the way for the 29th of March and the withdrawal act specifically mentioned it.
“The only way of changing the date is for an extension granted by the EU.
The ERG leader began: “The default legal position remains, as Theresa May pointed out, that we still leave on March 29.”
Andrew Neil then interrupted to say that that law would be changed and could be done quickly by a statutory instrument.
The BBC host continued: “The Commons will not let the country leave on no deal.
“What purpose would this extension serve? What is going to be asked for with this extension?
Mr Neil quickly snapped: “But if you get an indefinite extension it could be a year, it could be 21 months or two years.
“A lot could happen in that time.
“Brexit might never happen.
“Historians will well look back on this as the night you lost Brexit.”
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1099264/Brexit-News-update-latest-today-Jacob-Rees-Mogg-Andrew-Neil-vote
Boris Johnson tells family to button it, says ADAM HELLIKER
I'm told: "Boris got the family together and told them that this was his last opportunity for the top job - so could everyone be on their best behaviour at what would be a time of heightened media scrutiny.
"It was aimed at those who particularly love the limelight, but it was delivered to everyone in a typically bouncy Boris style, along the lines of 'Button it you Johnsons!'" The putative premier, 54, who has always been rather shambolic, is being "managed" by his perky girlfriend Carrie Symonds, 30, a former Tory PR adviser, who is responsible for Boris's slimmer figure (he has lost nearly 2st) and for choosing his new suits. While his divorce from his wife Marina is nearing its conclusion, Boris is sharing Carrie's flat in South London (she calls him "Bozzie Bear"after Fozzie, the fluffy-haired Muppet).
https://www.express.co.uk/comment/columnists/adam-helliker/1098130/boris-johnson-prime-minister-theresa-may-brexit-deal?utm_source=traffic.outbrain&utm_medium=traffic.outbrain&utm_term=traffic.outbrain&utm_content=traffic.outbrain&utm_campaign=traffic.outbrain
Ministers today revealed a series of alarming new tariffs that would be charged on products imported from the EU if there is a no deal Brexit - just hours before Theresa May gives MPs a vote on whether they want to Britain crashing out of the bloc. At the moment products from EU countries such as Germany can be imported into Britain without any charges under the single market, but if Britain leaves without a deal on March 29 the government will have to introduce new import policies. After the decisive defeat of Theresa May's Brexit deal last night, she has given MPs a vote at 7pm tonight on whether they want to leave the EU without a deal. Just hours before that vote this morning, ministers announced the alarming new tariffs that are likely to provoke more accusations of scaremongering after months of apocalyptic warnings about the impact of a no deal Brexit. Ministers said products from the EU including beef, pork, chicken, butter, cheese and fish would also be subject to import taxes expected to push up prices in the supermarkets from March 29 if there is no deal.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html
'For Britain’s economic self-interest, as well as the wider political interests of the western community of nations, Britain should remain in the EU', Kevin Rudd argues
Claims Britain will be able to recuperate its trade losses with the EU by dealing with Commonwealth nations are “utter ****”, Australia‘s former prime minister has said.
Kevin Rudd said the idea trade deals with his country, Canada, New Zealand and India would make up for leaving the EU was “the nuttiest of the many nutty arguments” made by Brexit supporters.
Writing in The Guardian, he said that while Australia, Canada and New Zealand would “do whatever they could” to work out new free-trade agreements with the UK, their total population of 65 million people does not “come within a bull’s roar of Britain’s adjacent market of 450 million Europeans”.
Discussing the prospect of a free-trade agreement with Delhi, Mr Rudd wrote: “As for India, good luck! India’s trade and commerce bureaucracy is the most mercantilist and outright protectionist in the world.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-uk-trade-commonwealth-kevin-rudd-australia-a8818996.html
The costs of Brexit, the tacit conclusion must be, are not worth it, at least on the terms agreed between the prime minister and the European Union
One of the many excruciatingly painful ironies associated with Brexit is that a process designed to allow the British parliament to “take back control” has seen it utterly fail to do so.
The issue has proved so divisive, so difficult and so costly that it has jammed the usually smooth machinery of British political life. It has split parties; it has made enemies of friends; it has undermined businesses and destroyed jobs; it has rent families asunder; it has made hard-working Europeans in Britain feel unwelcome. The constitutional status of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Gibraltar are in jeopardy. All to no avail.
The costs of Brexit, the tacit conclusion must be, aren’t worth it, at least on the terms agreed between the prime minister and the European Union. Hence the defeats.
But that is a judgement – now that we know the realities behind the sloganeering – that should rightly rest with the British people. In other words, even if parliament had approved the deal with a thundering majority, it should still have been put to the people. If not, then many would feel that they had never had the opportunity to give their assent to this momentous, historic decision.
Now, though, there is a less high-minded, though perfectly valid, reason for pursuing a Final Say referendum: parliament is deadlocked. Because it cannot reach a decision, the question must be put back to the people in a further popular vote.
A general election would not resolve this matter, because the likelihood is we would see another hung parliament, and the arguments would remain as they are. Much the same goes for a new Conservative prime minister – she or he would face exactly the same realities as Theresa May, though perhaps enjoying a marginal advantage in competence or luck.
There is, practically, no alternative left to another vote. In truth, Ms May could easily declare that, having made insufficient progress in parliament, she will now take her case to the country, and put her deal – which is a real, signed-off package rather than a mythical construct – against remaining in the EU on existing terms. She might even win, and gain the popular mandate that has thus far eluded her. It would be a perfectly respectable course of action. In any case it is the only one left to her.
For months, it has been apparent that our MPs know what they do not want; but they have proved unable to come to a decision about what they do want. Partly, that is a failing on the part of the prime minister, whose stubborn refusal to reach out to the opposition to frame some sort of cross-party consensus lies behind her recent humiliations.
She has been in politics a long time, including a spell as party chair. She knows well the nature of the Eurosceptics on her back benches and in the local associations. As Tory leader, she is unusual in actually liking her activists and coming from their ranks herself, having served in local government for a time. She should not now be taken aback when she discovers that the likes of Bill Cash and Steve Baker are always likely to ask for more. No one doubts their right to do so, nor their personal motives as honourable politicians. Yet the stubbornness of the European Research Group is unnatural, matched only by that of the Democratic Unionists and their “blood red” lines. So it proved. Ms May should really have known better.
Now it also seems certain that a no-deal Brexit will be taken off the famous table, and that the UK will have to ask the EU for a delay to the Article 50 process.
The question the EU will be entitled to ask now is: what is the delay for? If it is merely to spend another few months going around in circles then that would be futile – as most agree. If it is for the British to draw breath and collect their thoughts, then it would do some good.
In reality, a longer time period would be required to hold a further referendum, or to reformulate Brexit, with a view to a new deal eventually being presented to the British people. If that means remaining in the EU for another 21 months, as some Brussels sources suggest, it will be time well spent. It is currently far superior to crashing out.
At the end of it we might even find an answer to the conundrum of the Irish backstop, and actually have an actual UK-EU trade and security treaty to examine. If it takes time, then it takes time. Uncertainty is far better than a hard Brexit. The time has come: let the people choose their destiny.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/editorials/brexit-parliament-theresa-may-final-say-referendum-vote-a8820006.html
The Tory Party’s most impassioned Brexiteers split over whether to back Theresa May’s revised deal, but more than enough opposed it to ensure she crashed to a second heavy defeat. Divisions within the 80-strong European Research Group (ERG) were laid bare when it met two hours before the vote to decide its stance. Several MPs argued that holding out against the agreement risked ensuring Parliament seized control of the Brexit process and steered Britain towards a “soft Brexit”. However, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the ERG’s chairman, emerged from the 90-minute meeting to declare: “The majority of people in this room – and it was quite well attended – will be voting against it.”
His deputy, the former Brexit minister Steve Baker, added: “It is the worst conceivable reason to vote for a bad deal, because otherwise it would frustrate the outcome of another vote. That is a mad reason.” Switching sides However, the former Brexit Secretary David Davis switched sides to back her agreement, along with 38 other former rebels including Nadine Dorries, Philip Davies and Nigel Evans. The so-called “star chamber” which the ERG had assembled to scrutinise Mrs May’s tweaked withdrawal agreement concluded that she had failed to deliver the “legally-binding changes” which it had demanded. Sir Bill Cash, a veteran Eurosceptic, said: “In the light of our own legal analysis and others we do not recommend accepting the government’s motion today.” His phrasing – and some earlier ambiguous pronouncements by Mr Rees-Mogg – had fuelled speculation that the group could abstain or could even be persuaded to fall into line.
However, the hopes of Tory whips that the ERG’s resolve would falter were dashed after the group met in a packed room off Westminster Hall.
Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/tory-erg-divisions-laid-bare-ahead-of-brexit-vote/
MPs have voted to reject leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement.
Theresa May said there was a "clear majority" against a no-deal Brexit but the "legal default" was that the UK would leave without a deal on 29 March if no deal is reached.
MPs will now get a vote on delaying Brexit, said the prime minister.
That vote will take place on Thursday, and if it is passed - and the EU agrees to it - the UK will not leave the EU as planned on 29 March.
There could be a short extension - or a much longer one - depending on whether MPs backed her withdrawal deal "in the coming days", said the prime minister.
LIVE: MPs vote on no-deal Brexit
That means the government could make a third attempt to get Mrs May's deal through Parliament by 20 March, after MPs voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to reject it.
Commons proceedings descended into confusion earlier, as the government tabled a motion to prevent the UK from exiting the EU on 29 March without a deal.
Before MPs voted on the government motion, they backed an amendment tabled by Labour's Yvette Cooper rejecting a no-deal Brexit under any circumstances - by just four votes.
This dramatic development led to the government ordering Conservative MPs to vote against its own motion, despite earlier promising them a free vote.
The government motion, as amended, was passed by 321 votes to 278, a majority of 43, reinforcing the message that MPs do not want to leave without a deal.
Thirteen government ministers - including Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, Business Secretary Greg Clark, Justice Secretary David Gauke and Scottish Secretary David Mundell - defied the government whips by abstaining in the vote.
Work and pensions minister Sarah Newton voted against the orders of the whips and has now resigned.
David Mundell, who abstained in the vote, said: "I am not resigning because I support the prime minister's course of action."
He said he backed the PM's deal and had always made clear his opposition to a no-deal Brexit.
Speaking after the result of the vote was read out, Mrs May said "the options before us are the same as they always have been".
"The legal default in EU and UK law is that the UK will leave without a deal unless something else is agreed. The onus is now on every one of us in this House to find out what that is."
On Thursday, MPs will be asked if they want to delay Brexit until 30 June - to allow the necessary legislation to get through Parliament.
But that is only if MPs back Mrs May's deal by 20 March, the government says.
If they fail to back her deal by then, then the delay could be longer, Mrs May warned MPs, and it could clash with the European Parliament elections in May.
"I do not think that would be the right outcome. But the House needs to face up to the consequences of the decisions it has taken," she said.
MPs also voted by 374 to 164 to reject a plan to delay the UK's departure from the EU until 22 May 2019, so that there can be what its supporters call a "managed no-deal" Brexit.
This amendment was proposed by Prime Minister Theresa May's former second-in-command, Conservative MP Damian Green, and was backed by prominent Conservative Brexiteers and Remainers.
It was known as the Malthouse Compromise - after Kit Malthouse, the government minister who devised it.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that Parliament must now take control of the Brexit process and his party will work across the House of Commons to seek a compromise solution.
A European Commission spokesperson said: "There are only two ways to leave the EU: with or without a deal. The EU is prepared for both.
"To take no deal off the table, it is not enough to vote against no deal - you have to agree to a deal.
"We have agreed a deal with the prime minister and the EU is ready to sign it."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47562995
"Are you well?", I asked of a senior member of the government, caught up in the thick of it tonight.
"I wouldn't go that far!", came the response.
What a night.
Pandemonium in the cabinet, confusion in the Commons chamber.
Looking down from the press gallery, some ministers could be seen wrestling with their conscience - hating the idea of a no-deal Brexit, hating the idea of defying the government, and not quite clear if they'd lose their jobs if they did.
Thirteen ministers, including four in the Cabinet, couldn't bring themselves to back the government.
Afterwards, some ministers were seen literally running away, such is the anger tonight has provoked.
So "what's going to happen next?" seemed like a reasonable question to a minister.
"I've no idea. Find me someone who has and I'll find you a liar," came the reply.
In fair fruitier terms than these pages allow, another MP described it as a "cluster" something - and then predicted the prime minister might, just might, ram her deal through in the end.
"It's a scorched earth policy," the MP said.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-parliaments-47529293