Brexit: May hit by two cabinet resignations as Raab and McVey quit over plan - Politics live

May will address MPs today after cabinet agreed to support draft version during tense five-hour meeting

Theresa May wins cabinet backing for Brexit deal How the papers covered the dealDominic Raab’s resignation letterRaab’s resignation - Snap analysis

11.45am GMT

Labour’s Phil Wilson asks May if she can say, “hand on heart”, that this deal is better than what the UK has now.

May says she firmly believes the UK’s best days are ahead.

11.43am GMT

Sir Edward Leigh, a Tory Brexiter, asks what happens if Dominic Raab is correct. What happens if May loses the vote in the Commons. Will May deliver Brexit whatever?

May says she is determined that the UK will leave the EU on 29 March, “whatever happens in between”.

11.42am GMT

Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, says May should agree a people’s vote. May says she has already explained why she won’t.

11.41am GMT

Nicholas Soames, the Tory former defence minister, asks May to elaborate on the proposals on security. May says, where it makes sense to do so, the UK will cooperate with with EU on defence matters. And on sanctions too.

11.40am GMT

Frank Field, the former Labour MP who now sits as an independent, asks if the UK will be completely independent under this plan. May tries to give those assurances.

11.38am GMT

Amber Rudd, the Conservative former home secretary, asks May what response she has had from business to the plan.

(That was a helplful question, so we can probably chalk Rudd up as the third MP to speak out in support.)

11.37am GMT

This is from Newsnight’s Nicholas Watt.

With two Tory MPs supporting Theresa May’s deal she has one breakthrough: enough tellers for her #Brexit vote

11.36am GMT

Steve Baker, the former Brexit minister and ERG vice chair, says this backstop is “completely intolerable”. MPs will not vote for it. So will May trigger all no-deal planning now?

May says MPs will get to vote on the deal, but the government is continuing no-deal planning too.

11.34am GMT

Nicky Morgan, the Tory pro-European who was sacked by May as education secretary, says backing the deal would be in the national interest. May welcomes her comments.

11.33am GMT

Labour’s Ben Bradshaw asks if it is true that Theresa May, when she was home secretary, told the security services not to investigate Arron Banks.

May says she cannot comment on security matters.

11.32am GMT

Mark Francois, a Tory Brexiter and a member of the European Research Group, says there are 84 Tories who will vote against the deal, and the numbers are rising. The agreement was “dead on arrival”, he says. He urges May to accept the political reality.

The prime minister says when a deal gets brought back it will be for MPs to consider it, and their duty to deliver on the vote of the British people.

11.30am GMT

Labour’s Angela Eagle says May’s fatal mistake has been to kowtow to Brexit extremists who made promises that were undeliverable.

May says she has kowtowed to no one.

11.29am GMT

At last. An MP has defended May and her deal. Sir Peter Bottomley, a Conservative, said the agreement was the best available.

11.27am GMT

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Tory Brexiter, says May said the UK would leave the customs union, protect the integrity of the UK and take the UK out of the jurisdiction of the European court of justice. But the deal does not do these things. As what May says and what she does “no longer match”, should he write to Graham Brady (chair of the backbench 1922 Committee)?

May says in the future relationship the UK will no longer be in the customs union or single market, the integrity of the UK will have been maintained, and the jurisdiction of the ECJ will be ended. She will deliver on her commitments, she says.

11.23am GMT

Labour’s Chris Leslie says not a single MP has yet spoken up in favour of May’s plan. May says remaining in the EU is an option. How can that be achieved?

May says she said there was a risk of no Brexit. But the government is determined to deliver on leaving the EU.

11.22am GMT

Justine Greening, the Tory former education secretary, says if it was acceptable to have a referendum before, why not again?

May says there was an overwhelming vote in parliament to have a referendum. People voted in that in huge numbers. She says she has seen the EU before ask people to vote again when they vote against the EU, a “go back and think again” vote. That would be wrong, she says.

11.21am GMT

Yvette Cooper, the Labour chair of the home affairs committee, says the political declaration does not mention the European arrest warrant or the SIS II information exchange system.

May says the government wants an arrangement covering arrests. And she says SIS II will be taken forward in further negotiations.

11.19am GMT

Sir Bill Cash, the Tory Brexiter, says the deal amounts to broken promises and abject capitulation to the EU. The EU will continue to control UK laws after this, he says.

May says the EU will not control UK laws in future.

11.16am GMT

Hilary Benn, the Labour chair of the Brexit committee, says the UK will remain in the customs union under this plan. Will May admit to the British people that that is in the national interest?

May says what is in the national interest is having a good trading partnership with the EU.

11.15am GMT

Anna Soubry, the Conservative pro-European, says May cannot honour the promises made by Brexiters because those cannot be met. She asks May to not rule out a second referendum.

May says she cannot give that assurance. The UK will leave the EU on 29 March next year, she says.

11.13am GMT

Nigel Dodds, the DUP leader, says he could take May through the promises she made in public, and private, to his party. But it would be a waste of time because “she clearly doesn’t listen”. He says the five people who have resigned today have all said May’s deal would compromise the integrity of the UK. We can either vote to protect the UK. Or vote for a vassal state that will break it up, he says.

May says her commitments to Northern Ireland remain.

11.09am GMT

John Redwood, the Tory Brexiter, says the UK should spend the £39bn on itself, rather than on the EU.

May says the government continues to meet its legal obligations.

11.08am GMT

Sir Vince Cable, the Lib Dem leader, says that May herself said there were two alternatives to her plan: a no-deal Brexit, and no Brexit. What plans is May making for no Brexit, including asking if article 50 could be revoked.

May says the government is not planning for no Brexit.

11.07am GMT

Ian Duncan Smith, the Tory former leader, says he has deep misgivings about this plan. We have the sovereign right to leave bodies like Nato and the UN, but not to leave the backstop under this plan.

May says she shares Duncan Smith’s concerns. But the withdrawal agreement had to have an Irish backstop.

11.04am GMT

Responding to Blackford, May says the reason Scotland is treated differently from Northern Ireland is because Northern Ireland will be the only part of the UK that will have a land border with the EU after Brexit.

And Scotland is not mentioned because it is part of the United Kingdom, she says.

11.02am GMT

From the Labour MP Mary Creagh

Chief whip staring at phone with face like thunder. 5 ministers gone in 3 hours.

11.02am GMT

This is from CityAM’s Owen Bennett (who is writing a biography of Michael Gove.)

No word from @michaelgove’s team about where he is. Radio silence. Is he plotting?

11.01am GMT

Ian Blackford, the SNP’s leader at Westminser, says to lose two Brexit secretaries in six months is chaotic. He says that May looks desperate and defeated.

Scotland is not even mentioned in the document, he says. Yet there are 100 references to Northern Ireland, and references to Gibraltar and the Isle of Man too. If Northern Ireland can stay in the single market, why not Scotland too? He says May is ignoring the democratic desires of Scotland.

10.57am GMT

Ken Clarke, the Conservative pro-European, asks May if she agrees that the main benefits from EU membership have come from having a completely open border. So will she agree not to give that up until we know what we are changing to?

May says the UK has heard from business the importance of frictionless borders. That is why the future plan is based on that.

10.54am GMT

May is responding to Corbyn.

She says the government is planning for no deal.

10.50am GMT

Corbyn says there is no clarity about a future immigration strategy.

After the Windrush scandal, EU nationals living in the UK need certainty.

10.49am GMT

Corbyn asks May to confirm that the UK would not be able to leave the backstop unilaterally.

He says rules committing the UK to maintaining EU state aid regulations are baked in. But there are no equivalent guarantees on worker rights, he says.

10.46am GMT

Jeremy Corbyn is speaking now. He says May’s plan represents a huge and damaging failure and does not meet Labour’s six tests.

The withdrawal agreement and the outline political declaration represent a huge and damaging failure … and I will comment on both in turn …

After two years of bungled negotiations … the government has produced a botched deal that breaches the prime minister’s own red lines … and does not meet our six tests …

10.42am GMT

May says, when she became PM, there was no plan for Brexit.

10.39am GMT

May is now on the outline future partnership.

Free movement will end once and for all, she says.

10.37am GMT

May says some people urged her to rip up the backstop.

But that would have been irresponsible, and it would have meant reneging on promises made to the people of Northern Ireland.

10.37am GMT

May is taking MPs through the details.

She says the withdrawal detail shows how the UK will leave the EU in 134 days’ time.

10.33am GMT

Theresa May is making her Commons statement on the Brexit deal now.

We may be here for a while. John Bercow, the Speaker, always lets statements of this kind run, and interest in this one is enormous. I wouldn’t be surprised if it runs for up to three hours.

10.31am GMT

Anne-Marie Trevelyan has resigned as a parliamentary private secretary.

It is with sadness that I have submitted my letter of resignation as PPS to the Education Ministers to the Prime Minister. It has been a joy and a privilege to have served in defence and education. pic.twitter.com/AWlMXNxtT0

10.29am GMT

My colleague Jesssica Elgot is tipping Michael Gove, the environment secretary, as a possible replacement for Dominic Raab as Brexit secretary.

There surely can't be a credible candidate for Brexit secretary other than Michael Gove. That might be the only way to keep this show on the road. Depends on his choices today, I suppose.

10.23am GMT

Suella Braverman, a junior Brexit minister, has resigned.

It is with deep regret and after reflection that I have had to tender my resignation today as a Brexit Minister. Thank you for the opportunity. I look forward to working to support Brexit from the Backbenches. This has not been an easy decision. pic.twitter.com/C0kply8aLE

10.14am GMT

These are from the BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg.

Brexiteer sources hoping Mordaunt goes next and soon, not clear yet if she actually will - Brexiteer ministers all now under huge pressure

If May loses three Cabinet ministers this morning then is it credible to think she can keep her deal, and keep her job?

10.13am GMT

Here is an extract from Esther McVey’s resignation letter.

The proposals put before cabinet, which will soon be judged by the entire country, mean handing over around £39bn to the EU without anything in return. It will trap us in a customs union, despite you specifically promising the British people we would not be. It will bind the hands of not only this, but future governments in pursuing genuine free trade policies. We wouldn’t be taking back control, we would be handing over control to the EU and even to a third country for arbitration ...

We have gone from no deal is better than a bad deal, to any deal is better than no deal.

10.03am GMT

Here is the text of McVey’s resignation.

Earlier this morning I informed the Prime Minister I was resigning from her Cabinet pic.twitter.com/ZeBkL5n2xH

10.00am GMT

This is from the Telegraph’s Steven Swinford.

BREAKING

Esther McVey has become the second Cabinet minister to quit this morning

Feels like she had no choice but to go after extraordinary confrontations in Cabinet yesterday

McVey gone before PM has chance to get to her feet in the Commons - three resignations by 10am

9.59am GMT

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has admitted that the agreement is “not perfect” but claimed it is good for Britain.

Speaking on the Today programme minutes after Shailesh Vara resigned, but before Dominic Raab quit, he said:

In any negotiated agreement of course there are going to be details that are compromises and it is not perfect. Everyone can find a point in this that they may disagree with, but you have got to look at the deal as a whole. The cabinet as a whole backed the deal ... It is good for Britain.

I didn’t see any tears. There was an incredibly civil, and very open and frank discussion.

I am not going to go into what anybody said, and that includes me. We need to make sure that everybody does what’s necessary, if there is no deal, to have the unhindered flow of medicines that people need. No deal is not pretty. It is very difficult for the economy and for lots of other areas like health care.

We are working very hard to ensure that people have the unhindered flow and access to medicines that they need. There is a lot of work to do that but I hope that by this deal we can avoid a no deal Brexit. We can avoid a second referendum and we can have a high quality future relationship with the EU and that’s what this deal provides.

A second referendum would be divisive but it would not be decisive. And given all of he pain of the last few years in British politics and the angst that it has caused, a second referendum would be even worse.

9.56am GMT

From ITV’s Paul Brand

BREAKING: I understand another resignation imminent - more junior though. Stand by.

9.51am GMT

The Tory Brexiter Anne Marie Morris has just told the BBC that she believes more than 48 of her colleagues have already written to Sir Graham Brady, chair of the backbench 1922 committee, calling for a vote of no confidence in Theresa May. But some of those letters were written on the condition that they could not be activated until the author agreed, she said. She said the time had come for those MPs to now authorise the use of their letters.

She said she was calling for the removal of May because she thought that was necessary for Brexit to be delivered.

9.42am GMT

Some cabinet resignations matter more than others. Over time we will find out quite how significant this one is, but it is quite conceivable that this could in time be seen as the move that sank Theresa May’s Brexit plan. Here are some snap thoughts.

1- Dominic Raab’s decision to resign as Brexit secretary is likely to encourage other Brexiter cabinet minsters to quit too. We don’t know yet if Brexiter cabinet ministers are coordinating their moves today, but we do know that around 11 ministers expressed strong reservations about the deal at yesterday’s cabinet and in politics there is a natural tendency not to allow yourself to be outflanked by people who share your views - particularly if you think there might be a party leadership contest coming at some point in the future where whether or not you supported May’s Brexit plan becomes the defining issue (just as where you stood on the Iraq war has been a defining issue in Labour contests since 2010.)

9.24am GMT

Labour has put out this response to Dominic Raab’s resignation from Jon Trickett, the shadow minister for the Cabinet Office. Trickett said:

The government is falling apart before our eyes as for a second time the Brexit secretary has refused to back the prime minister’s Brexit plan. This so-called deal has unravelled before our eyes.

This is the twentieth Minister to resign from Theresa May’s government in her two year premiership. Theresa May has no authority left and is clearly incapable of delivering a Brexit deal that commands even the support of her cabinet - let alone parliament and the people of our country.

9.14am GMT

Iain Duncan Smith, a leading Tory Brexiter and former party party leader, has just told BBC News that the impact of Raab’s resignation will be “devastating”. He says that Raab’s letter suggests that, within government, he has been ignored.

9.13am GMT

And here is the full text of Raab’s resignation letter.

Dear Prime Minister,

It has been an honour to serve in your government as justice minister, housing minister and Brexit secretary.

9.09am GMT

Here is the key extract from Dominic Raab’s resignation letter.

For my part, I cannot support the proposed deal for two reasons. First, I believe that the regulatory regime proposed for Northern Ireland presents a very real threat to the integrity of the United Kingdom.

Second, I cannot support an indefinite backstop arrangement, where the EU holds a veto over our ability to exit. The terms of the backstop amount to a hybrid of the EU customs union and single market obligations. No democratic nation has ever signed up to be bound by such an extensive regime, imposed externally without any democratic control over the laws to be applied, nor the ability to decide the exit arrangement. That arrangement is now also taken as the starting point for negotiating the future economic partnership. If we accept that, it will severely prejudice the second phase of negotiations against the UK.

9.04am GMT

In the last few minutes, since news broke of Dominic Raab’s resignation, the pound has fallen sharply ... down more than 1% against the euro and the dollar - a big move. Against the euro it is now 1.1382 and against the dollar $1.2873. It was over $1.30 first thing this morning.

8.56am GMT

Dominic Raab has resigned as Brexit secretary.

Today, I have resigned as Brexit Secretary. I cannot in good conscience support the terms proposed for our deal with the EU. Here is my letter to the PM explaining my reasons, and my enduring respect for her. pic.twitter.com/tf5CUZnnUz

8.49am GMT

Shailesh Vara said he quit the government because the agreements binds the UK to a customs arrangement with the EU with no unilateral means of getting out.

Speaking to the Today programme he said: “For us to tie ourselves up to mechanism where we are not in control is not in the interest of the country. The people were given a choice and they voted for a sovereign, independent United Kingdom and this isn’t going to provide it.”

When the people voted in the referendum it was a very simple choice: in or out.

And this is a halfway house and we are going to be locked in for an indefinite period [to a] customs arrangement – an institution over which we will have no say and effectively be taking rules and regulations from the EU. And if we want to leave the customs arrangement then we can’t.

8.49am GMT

Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Matthew Weaver.

According to the Press Association, Esther McVey, the Brexiter work and pensions secretary and one of those cabinet ministers most unhappy about the Brexit deal, would not answer questions as she left her flat in London this morning. “Thank you and good morning,” she told reporters.

Ms McVey, one of the most ardent Brexiteers of the cabinet, demanded a vote during the meeting to force each minister to commit definitively one way or another to the draft Brexit deal.

Colleagues were unimpressed, with one describing her as “aggressive” and another describing a “massive row” which “got really fruity” with the minister pushing her point more than once.

8.28am GMT

The Irish government is backing the deal.

Ireland's deputy PM Simon Coveney says "people on the border communities who saw themselves as collateral damage" now have a treaty that will protect them. He says the backstop is a "fallback" that nobody wants to use but gives people of NI a floor

Coveney says May now has to show "that mettle again" that she used getting this for and using her "powers of persuasion" to get her opponents to support the deal.

Coveney: "I think Theresa May will now have to persuade people, the consequences so not voting for this pulling it down is chaotic. " "

8.25am GMT

Scotland’s Brexit secretary Michael Russell will make a statement to Holyrood this afternoon, but speaking on BBC Scotland this morning he confirmed that SNP MPs would not support May’s Brexit deal in its current form.

He said that the SNP’s Westminster group were working closely with other opposition parties to examine other ways forward.

He described May’s current deal as “a mess of her making” and insisted that “no one should accept that its Theresa May’s way or no way at all”.

Echoing first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s comment last night, he said that the deal was “disastrous” for Scotland. “Even one detail of it, ending freedom of movement, is disastrous for every sector in Scotland”.

Russell also insisted that if Northern Ireland could have a continuing differentiated relationship with the EU then Scotland, which voted decisively to remain within Europe, should too: “If it can be done elsewhere it can be done in Scotland.”

8.24am GMT

The agreement has been available for 12 hours now and the DUP is still signalling that it will vote against. Lisa O’Carroll has this:

Jim Shannon DUP MP tells BBC Ulster he will "certainly" vote against the deal. And this could change to change of government? "Yeah, and we are up for election, we've never been afraid of elections"

8.17am GMT

Shailesh Vara’s resignation is being backed by fellow Brexiters in the Tory party. This from Steve Baker.

.@ShaileshVara is right. Many of us will not accept this dreadful deal https://t.co/lRzo3FRXcZ

Dignified and right. https://t.co/i76oEzC0FC

Principled & dignified. https://t.co/DOJdlep9cn

8.08am GMT

Barnier warned that there was “long road ahead”.

I took good note of Prime Minister May’s statement yesterday. Of course, I don’t share the Prime Minister’s enthusiasm about Brexit as such. Since the very beginning, we have had no doubt that Brexit is a lose-lose situation, and that our negotiations are only about damage control.

Given these extremely difficult circumstances, I would like to thank Michel Barnier and his team, especially Sabine Weyand and Stéphanie Riso, for doing this exceptionally hard work. Michel, we all put a lot of trust in you, and rightly so. You have achieved our two most important objectives. First, you ensured the limitation of the damage caused by Brexit and, second, you secured the vital interests and principles of the 27 member states, and of the European Union as a whole. If I weren’t confident that you did your best to protect the interests of the twenty‑seven, and I am familiar with the essence of the document, I would not propose to formalise this deal.

8.02am GMT

Health secretary Matt Hancock has been sent out to defend the deal in the broadcast studios.

7.53am GMT

Vara, the Tory MP for North West Cambridgeshire, was promoted to his government post in July, having previously been a parliamentary private secretary in the Northern Ireland Office. He voted remain in the EU referendum.

In a statement posted on Twitter, he said:

We are a proud nation and it is a say day when we are reduced to obeying rules made by other countries who have shown that they do not have our best interests at heart.

We can and must do better than this. The people of the UK deserve better.

With much sadness and regret I have submitted my letter of resignation as a Northern Ireland Minister to the Prime Minister. A copy of my letter is attached.
It has been a joy and privilege to serve in the Northern Ireland Office and I will always cherish the fondest memories. pic.twitter.com/SN8j4OwhYD

7.51am GMT

Shailesh Vara has resigned as Northern Ireland minister, saying he cannot support Theresa May’s Brexit agreement.

7.42am GMT

Tusk praised the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier for achieving the EU’s two most import objectives. “First you ensured the limitation of the damage caused by Brexit and second you secured the vital interest and principles of the 27 member states and of the European Union as a whole,” Tusk said with Barnier standing beside him.

Tusk also endorsed the deal. He said:

If I weren’t confident that you did your best to protect the interest of the 27, and I weren’t familiar of the essence of the document, I would not propose to formalise this deal.

7.31am GMT

European Council president Donald Tusk confirmed that EU summit will be held on 25 November to discuss the deal.

Speaking in Brussels he said:

We have always said Brexit is a lose-lose situation and these negotiations were always about damage control.

7.23am GMT

Not just one, but two vital meetings for the future of Britain’s relationship with the European Union took place on Wednesday afternoon in Westminster,” writes Martin Kettle.

“Wednesday’s cabinet meeting was a long-planned effort by No 10. Its aim was to bounce other ministers into agreement with the prime minister’s deal. The ministers didn’t get the chance to read the agreement fully. They were given individual briefings that flattered their self-importance. If the strategy succeeded – and most ministers bought in – it meant the Brexit deal would reach first base in the long process of ratification. It would also have momentum, making it harder to defeat. No 10 has shown some emotional intelligence this week alongside the political ruthlessness...

His full analysis is here.

Related: Theresa May has made her move. Now MPs must take back control | Martin Kettle

7.06am GMT

Labour MPs have launched a petition calling on Jeremy Corbyn to back a people’s vote on whether Brexit should continue.

The petition was launched by Angela Smith, Labour MP for Penistone and Stocksbrige, and has been shared by Chuka Umunna, Labour MP for Streatham.

Brexit in any form poses real harm to our country’s future. And with new dangers coming to light every day, we believe that MPs should give the public the final say, which must include an option to remain in the European Union.

We call on Labour’s Leader Jeremy Corbyn to back a People’s Vote on Brexit at the earliest opportunity -- and if he is successful in forcing a General Election then Labour’s manifesto must commit clearly to an immediate People’s Vote, in which Labour will campaign to remain.

Very febrile in UK politics this morning - if there’s a snap election out of the chaos it’s vital @UKLabour has a commitment to a #PeoplesVote with Remain on the ballot in the manifesto. Sign @angelasmithmp’s petition calling for that pledge here: https://t.co/npoz2JLvt7. Pls RT

6.59am GMT

Starmer is being pushed on whether Labour will refuse to back the deal. He says Labour always said it would read and assess the deal against its “six tests”.

“It’s failing all six of them,” he says. “We’ve always said we’re not prepared to back a bad deal, and why would you, it doesn’t meet our tests, it doesn’t tell you where you’re going.”

6.55am GMT

Starmer says there isn’t much firm detail about the future relationship between the UK and the EU.

What it means is we haven’t negotiated anything about the future relationship that is serious enough to be committed to paper ... Give us enough detail to know where we’re heading.

It doesn’t even have the ambition anymore of frictionless trade ... This must be the first proposed trade deal that makes trade more difficult, rather than easier.

6.51am GMT

Keir Starmer, shadow Brexit story is speaking to BBC 5Live now and he’s coming out all guns blazing.

We’ve read and analysed all 585 pages, it’s a miserable failure of negotiation.

But for the future relationship, what it does intend, it’s seven pages, it’s vague in the extreme. And only three pages on the economic agreement.

We talk about blind Brexit. This about the blindest of blind agreements. This is much vaguer than a lot of the speeches the prime minister has given.

6.46am GMT

Kevin Connelly, the BBC’s European correspondent has just been on BBC 5Live, and has been talking about the 585-page draft agreement, which ministers voted on yesterday in that long cabinet meeting.

It’s like being given a Victorian novel and being given two hours to read it and then being asked what you think of individual characters and how you think the plot works.

Or when you take an update from iTunes and you’re given 35 pages of very dense language, and it’s 20 times that and written in similar language.

6.38am GMT

Some of the online headlines from Dutch news outlets feature Brexit today. (Do get in touch if your Dutch translation is better than Google Translate’s – as it inevitably will be if you actually speak Dutch.)

Algemeen Dagblad or AD, says: “Brexiteers critical: we pay billions get nothing back”, Daily newspaper NRC Handelsblad says “British cabinet does not unanimously agree with Brexitdeal”.

Four main Dutch newspaper’s (online) front pages this morning. Any surprise they’re not all leading with #Brexit? pic.twitter.com/qZ7lWcxQOH

6.28am GMT

Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, is doing the rounds this morning to set out the Labour reaction to the Brexit deal. I’ll be listening and will bring you a summary of what he’s saying.

Morning! @Keir_Starmer will be touring the studios giving Labour’s reaction to May’s Brexit deal.

GMB: 0635
5Live: 0645
LBC: 0705
Sky: 0715
Today: 0730
BBC Breakfast: 0740

6.24am GMT

Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, is on the Today show at the moment and was on the phone call with the chancellor last night.

She says business leaders were relieved that the wording of the draft avoids a “cliff edge” for the UK.

This gives a potential route forward. We can’t underestimate the benefits of coming back from the cliff edge for communities and businesses, but there’s a hard slog ahead.

6.20am GMT

A commenter has pointed out an omission in my previous post that analysed the numbers May might need to get the deal through parliament. As they noted, there was no mention of SNP. I apologise for that.

It seems unlikely that SNP MPs will support the deal, given Nicola Sturgeon’s comments yesterday. Last night she labelled the deal “bad for Scotland” and said it was like being “blackmailed into a choice between the frying pan or the fire”.

I pointed out that there isn’t a single mention of Scotland in the agreement, that it disregards our interests and puts Scotland at a serious competitive disadvantage,” she said.

It is obvious that the Prime Minister can barely unite her Cabinet on this deal and it is also increasingly clear that she will struggle to get a majority for it in Parliament.

6.13am GMT

If you’re tempted to read the draft withdrawal agreement in full – all 585 pages of it – you can do so here.

6.01am GMT

Let’s talk numbers.

One of the chief obstacles ahead for May if she is going to get her Brexit agreement through could be the House of Commons, where a simple majority of MPs will need to vote for the blueprint for the deal to be given the green light.

5.49am GMT

The front pages of the newspapers today are fairly varied, but the overwhelming majority are united in casting doubt on the prospects of the deal and the prime minister herself.

We’ve got a full wrap of how the papers (including some from Ireland, France and Germany) covered the day’s Brexit news.

Related: Splits, cracks and difficult days: what the papers said about May's cabinet deal

GUARDIAN: May Brexit plan: a split cabinet, a split party and a split nation #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/Ee7WFIBP4U

Tomorrow’s @TheSun splash: We’re in the Brexs*it pic.twitter.com/dgsVN06CRo

Thursday’s @DailyMailUK #MailFrontPages pic.twitter.com/eE3PZsXG80

TELEGRAPH: ‘There will be difficult days ahead’ #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/vosrBWixE1

NEW EUROPEAN: May’s last gasp deal #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/sCqetIQsCa

5.35am GMT

Good morning and welcome to Politics live for today – the morning after the night before.

Yesterday, Theresa May held a five-hour cabinet meeting to discuss the draft of the withdrawal agreement that has been negotiated with the EU. She emerged somewhat victorious, announcing they had reached a “collective” decision to press ahead with finalising the deal in Brussels; but it was clear there had been significant dissent.

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