Theresa May risks defeat in the Commons as 100 Tory MPs have now indicated they will vote it down in Parliament. The Telegraph reports that Matthew Offord became the latest to say he plans to vote against her plan, which he said would leave the UK “bound to the European Union in many ways.” The MP for Hendon released a statement saying he “cannot support a deal which hands over £39 billion without certainty of a future trading relationship.”
Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have agreed to a live TV debate on Brexit but are clashing over which channel should host it.Sky News reports that Downing Street said it had accepted a proposal which would see a debate over Mrs May’s Brexit withdrawal deal screened on the BBC at 8pm on Sunday 9 December – two days before a crunch vote in the Commons. But a Labour spokesman said discussions were still ongoing and Sky News understands the party is still “unhappy” about some of the arrangements.
This morning Mrs May told MPs that postponing Article 50 would “reopen negotiations” with Brussels, which could lead to an uncertain outcome. Speaking to the Commons liaison committee, she said she was “concerned” about the prospect of extending Article 50 – a day after official economic analysis appeared to undermine key aspects of her deal.
A “no deal” Brexit would leave the UK and the European Union at greater risk, the UK’s security minister has warned. Euronews reports In a speech to law enforcement and security leaders in London, British Security Minister Ben Wallace was set to argue that a no deal exit from the European Union would have a “real impact” on the UK’s ability to cooperate closely with its European partners.
The government is set to relax its immigration rules to let more foreign doctors come to Britain to help tackle the NHS’s widespread shortages of medics, the Guardian reveals. Ministers have agreed to significantly expand the 1,500 doctors a year allowed to come and work in Britain under the medical training initiative (MTI). The move could result in the maximum number of non-EU medics able to come rising to as many as 3,000.
