Political Headlines – Brexit deal forced through and ministers resign

Today’s political headlines include May forcing through her Brexit deal but two ministers resign, Labour won’t back deal states Starmer, Brexit deal welcomed by Varadkar and special summit date confirmed by Tusk. 

May forces Brexit plan through Cabinet, but two ministers resign
The Times reports that Theresa May has forced her deal through, following a five-hour Cabinet meeting. May said a ‘decisive step’ had been taken, but the paper claims that nine ministers expressed concerns during the meeting. The details of the agreement show that the UK will remain in a customs union with the EU indefinitely unless a solution is found for the Irish border, with no right to withdraw unilaterally and Northern Ireland continuing to follow additional single market rules. According to The Daily Telegraph, however, eleven ministers spoke against the plan, including Esther McVey, who was described by sources as ‘emotional’ and ‘aggressive’. This morning, as The Guardian reports, both Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and Northern Ireland Minister Shailesh Vara have resigned over the deal.

Starmer says Labour won’t back deal
The Independent reports that Sir Keir Starmer, Labour’s Shadow Brexit Secretary, has said that his party will vote against the Brexit deal. He claimed that it was ‘not good enough for manufacturing and services’ and was ‘a miserable failure of negotiation’ which would make reaching new trade agreements difficult.

Varadkar welcomes deal  
The Guardian says that Ireland’s Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that Ireland gained everything that it wanted from the Brexit negotiations, describing news of the deal as ‘one of the better days in politics’ and adding that ‘a satisfactory outcome’ had been achieved on ‘protecting the peace process and the Good Friday agreement’.

DUP criticises ‘bad deal’
The Daily Mail says that the DUP has described the proposed agreement as a ‘bad deal’, with Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson claiming that the party would vote against it. He criticised the plan for tying the UK to the customs union and EU regulations, and because the UK would not be able to leave it unilaterally.

Tusk confirms special summit date
The Financial Times reports that European Council President Donald Tusk has confirmed that EU leaders will hold a special summit on November 25 to agree the proposed deal. He said that he still saw Brexit as a ‘lose-lose’ situation, but that he would ‘do everything’ to make Brexit ‘the least painful possible’ for each side.

Immigration White Paper to be published before Brexit vote
In an exclusive, The Sun says Theresa May will publish the delayed Immigration White Paper in the first week of December, prior to the vote on the Brexit deal. The paper says that ‘insiders’ claim that it will be used to try and win over Eurosceptics who might be considering voting against May’s deal.

Betting stake plan brought forward
According to The Times, Theresa May was ‘forced into an embarrassing climbdown’ yesterday after the Government announced that plans to reduce the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals would be brought forward to April. The change followed a rebellion by over 20 Tory MPs and the resignation of Tracey Crouch from the Government.

Brokenshire announces housing courts
The Sun reports that Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary James Brokenshire has released plans to establish housing courts to speedily settle disputes between landlords and tenants. He said the plan would be especially important ‘for families and vulnerable tenants’.

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