Theresa May secures ‘improved’ Brexit deal
Theresa May has called for MPs to “come together” and back her Brexit deal when it reaches parliament today, after claiming she has secured legally binding changes which will convince those in parliament that fear the Irish border backstop could ‘trap’ the UK indefinitely.
However, soon after the prime minister’s claim was announced on Monday, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, stated that the EU had not agreed to the prime minister’s central demand.
The prime minister made a last-minute trip to Strasbourg in order to once again try to reach a compromise which will help pass her Brexit deal through parliament today.
May met EU leaders in the French city as Downing Street insisted that the meaningful vote on her deal would be taking place on Tuesday as planned. The PM met with Juncker in one last bid to final bid to find a Brexit compromise.
May’s deal: what happens next?
The prime minister’s deal will be voted on by MPs in the Commons today. If it passes through, by a majority of votes in favour, then Britain will leave the EU by the terms of the deal currently on the table.
If May’s deal is voted down – as happened in January – then the Commons will move onto further votes as set out by the prime minister in February. The first step will be to hold a vote on whether Britain should leave the EU without a deal – this will take place on Wednesday 13th March.
If parliament votes in favour of leaving the EU without a deal, then a ‘no deal Brexit’ will become reality the following day. If – which is far more likely – MPs vote against no deal, there will be a further vote on whether or not to extend article 50.
No-deal could cost Japanese carmakers in UK $1bn a year
A no-deal Brexit could cost Japanese carmakers in the UK $1bn a year, according to a new analysis published by Moody’s Investors Service, an influential ratings agency.
Toyota, Honda and Nissan would be at risk of collectively losing up to $.17bn in operating profit, if Britain crashes out of the EU without a deal – the companies account for almost half of all UK car production.
Moody’s report also casts doubt on the claims of Nissan and Honda that Brexit did not factor in their decisions to move investments away from Britain. Part of the report reads: “We believe the need to prepare for a no-deal Brexit scenario were also considered in the companies’ decisions.”
McDonnell: Independent group is ‘completely irrelevant’
John McDonnell has claimed that the ‘independent group’ made up of former Labour and Conservative MPs is “completely irrelevant”.
Labour’s shadow chancellor emphasised that his party had supported a second referendum even before the initial split, which saw seven of the party’s MPs leave to form the new group.
Speaking at the Scottish Labour conference in Dundee on Monday, McDonnell said: “I think it will be not just a waste of time for them personally but also for any others who support them as well.”
