Labour figures urge MPs not to vote for ‘rotten’ deal as RAF to fly signed agreement to UK
Ministers poised to delay return of secondary schools
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Sir Keir Starmer is facing a growing revolt over his decision to back Boris Johnson’s trade deal with the EU in a Commons vote this week, with Labour figures including John McDonnell urging MPs not to back what they say is a “rotten” deal.
The Labour leader says he will call on his MPs to support the "thin" post-Brexit free trade agreement, despite misgivings that it would fail to protect many key economic sectors. He argued that ending the Brexit transition period without a deal would be even worse for the economy.
It comes as Downing Street revealed the deal will be signed in Brussels by EU chiefs tomorrow before being flown by an RAF plane to London for Boris Johnson to sign.
Meanwhile, ministers are poised to bow to pressure to delay the return of English secondary school pupils to allow more time for mass testing.
See below for how our live coverage unfolded.
- Caroline Lucas: Why I’m voting against the Brexit deal with the EU
- Brexit deal: Labour’s civil war over Europe is just getting started
- What is Brexit and why is it still happening?
- Here’s what Brexit will mean for your wages, benefits and taxes
- Can I still move to France, Germany or other EU countries after Brexit?
Trade deal brings ‘a little stability’, Barnier says
The European Union’s Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has said striking a trade deal was a relief and will provide stability for people and companies.
"We've delivered an orderly Brexit," Mr Barnier told Franceinfo radio.
The deal, agreed a week before the year-end deadline, brought "a little stability," he added.
Mr Barnier said there were still some elements to define in the EU's future relationship with Britain, including on foreign policy cooperation.
Britain and Spain negotiating Gibraltar’s post-Brexit status
The main hurdle in talks between Spain and Britain over Gibraltar's post-Brexit status is keeping cross-border traffic fluid, Spain’s foreign minister, Arancha Gonzalez Laya, has said.
Madrid and London are negotiating how to police the land border between Spain and Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula, as it was excluded from the last-minute exit deal reached between Britain and the European Union last week.
Spain has secured an exemption for about 8,500 cross-border workers from border controls even if no agreement on free movement is reached, Gonzalez Laya said in an interview with RNE radio station.
She added her government seeks to keep traffic between Gibraltar and Spain fluid and avoid long lines of cars and trucks.
Sturgeon accuses Tories of breaking Brexit promise to Scotland
Nicola Sturgeon has accused the government of “spectacularly” breaking its promise to Scotland over Brexit.
The Scottish first minister tweeted to say “a better deal for fishing is the only Brexit justification the Tories have ever been able to offer Scotland," alongside Scottish government analysis which she says “shows just how spectacularly they’ve broken that promise".
John McDonnell and Labour figures urge MPs not to vote for ‘rotten’ deal
A series of Labour figures including John McDonnell have urged MPs not to vote for the “rotten” post-Brexit trade deal agreement.
In a statement, the former shadow chancellor alongside colleagues and campaign groups, said the opposition risked “falling into a trap” if it rallied around the UK-EU deal, warning: “We are witnessing an act of vandalism against our livelihoods”.
Political correspondent Ashley Cowburn has the full report:
Keir Starmer faces growing backlash as Labour figures urge MPs not to vote for ‘rotten’ deal
'We call on Labour, the labour movement and other opposition parties not to support the Tories’ Brexit deal when it is put to a vote in the House of Commons’
Johnson pursuing Trump-style agenda to ‘work up white nationalism’, race equality thinktank says
Boris Johnson is pursuing a Donald-Trump-style agenda to “work up white nationalism” to win the next election, the head of a race equality thinktank says.
In an extraordinary attack, the new director of the Runnymede Trust accused the prime minister of neglecting poorer people from ethnic minority groups for political gain.
Deputy political editor Rob Merrick reports:
Boris Johnson is pursuing Trump-style agenda to ‘work up white nationalism’, race equality thinktank says
Tories pushing narrative of 'white working class that's been left behind’ as US president did, says new head of Runnymede Trust
Britain’s best political quotes of 2020
From butcher’s dogs to mutant algorithms, Adam Forrest looks back at the weird and not-so-wonderful things our politicians have said in the past 12 months.
Butcher’s dogs and mutant algorithms – Britain’s best political quotes of 2020
Adam Forrest looks back at the weird and not-so-wonderful things our politicians have said in the past 12 months
FTSE soars to nine-month high after Brexit deal
The FTSE 100 has soared to a nine-month high after markets opened for the first time following the Brexit deal.
London's top index was 2.3 per cent, or 149.4p, higher at 6,651p after investor sentiment lifted following the Christmas break.
All the UK's markets were in positive territory, with the FTSE 250 up 2.4 per cent.
Key fishing stocks landed by Scottish fleet ‘set to fall as a result of Brexit’
Key fishing stocks landed by the Scottish fleet are set to fall as a result of the Brexit fisheries deal, according to a Scottish government analysis.
The study suggests eight fish stocks will not present an increase in fishing opportunities, with ministers also saying shares in five-and-a-half years' time will still be less than their current equivalent.
Currently, the average UK landing percentage of total EU and UK quota combined for North Sea cod is 63.5 per cent.
However, the analysis says this will drop to 57 per cent - the maximum percentage of total EU and UK quota available to the UK - under the Brexit deal.
Similar decreases have been estimated for North Sea haddock (92.5 to 84.2 per cent), Rockall haddock (88.4 to 85 per cent), North Sea saithe (31.6 to 26 per cent), North Sea whiting (82.7 to 73.5 per cent) and North Sea hake (55.6 to 53.6 per cent).
Covid: Two million people must be vaccinated each week to prevent third wave, experts warn government
The UK government must vaccinate at least two million people a week in order to prevent a third wave of the coronavirus outbreak, a new study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has reported, Chantal da Silva reports.
Two million people must be vaccinated each week to prevent third wave, experts warn government
Without strict measures and substantial vaccine roll-out, ‘2021 situation could be worse than 2020’
Labour says Brexit trade deal is ‘a platform to build on’ as party braces for revolt
In an article for The Independent, Rachel Reeves argues that the Brexit trade deal need not be a “ceiling of ambition”, insisting that Labour can improve upon it if it wins the 2024 general election.
Deputy political editor Rob Merrick reports:
Labour calls Brexit trade deal ‘a platform to build on’ as party braces for revolt
Rachel Reeves insists Boris Johnson will still ‘own it’ - even if unhappy Labour MPs hold their noses and back his agreement
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