Today’s political headlines include Bercow under fire for setting a ‘damaging precendent’, Corbyn to call for general election, Tory rebels open talks with Labour about alternative deal and May to back workers’ rights to woe Labour MPs.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Bercow under fire from ministers for setting \u2018damaging precedent\u2019 Corbyn to call for general election again Tory rebels open talks with Labour about alternative deal May to back workers\u2019 rights in attempt to secure Labour support for deal Eurotunnel complain about ferry contracts Senior MPs propose holding inquiry into abuse Forced marriage victims will no longer have to pay for their rescue Japanese carmakers urge Shinzo Abe to make no-deal Brexit impact clear to May
\n<\/strong>The BBC\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Commons Speaker John Bercow has been criticised by ministers for allowing an amendment to the Government\u2019s business motion on the vote on the Withdrawal Agreement, which they claim broke with parliamentary precedent. The amendment, which was passed, forces the Government to come up with new plans within three days should May\u2019s deal be defeated, rather than within three weeks. The Leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, claimed that Bercow had set \u2018a very damaging precedent\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>According<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0The Guardian<\/em>, Jeremy Corbyn will use a speech in Wakefield today to call for Theresa May to call a general election, which would \u2018let the people decide\u2019 on her Brexit deal and \u2018break the deadlock\u2019. Yesterday, two Labour frontbenchers confirmed that Labour would call for a vote of no confidence in May very soon after her deal is defeated next week.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that Tory rebels have opened talks with Labour about an alternative to Theresa May\u2019s deal. Speaking in the House of Commons, Labour\u2019s Shadow Brexit Secretary confirmed to Ken Clarke that the party would enter cross-party discussions \u2018in the right\u2019 spirit once May\u2019s deal is defeated, while he told Sir Oliver Letwin that there would need to be a \u2018consensus\u2019 in the Commons if no-deal was to be avoided.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Mirror<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that Theresa May is likely to attempt to gain Labour MPs\u2019 support for her deal by backing an amendment put down by Labour backbenchers John Mann, Caroline Flint and Gareth Snell guaranteeing that existing EU workers\u2019 and environmental rights would be protected after Brexit. The paper suggests that up to 20 Labour MPs could support the deal if the amendment is successful.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>According<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0Financial Times<\/em>, Eurotunnel is claiming that the Government\u2019s decision to award contracts worth up to \u00a3103m to three ferry companies to provide additional capacity in the event of a no-deal Brexit is \u2018distortionary and anti-competitive\u2019, and a breach of \u2018competition and state-aid law\u2019. In a letter to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling the firm hinted that it could take legal action against the Government.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that Parliament \u2018is moving towards\u2019 holding a Speaker\u2019s conference to examine the abuse and harassment of MPs after the idea was put forward by Ken Clarke and Harriet Harman. A cross-party group of MPs would examine the evidence and decide the best way of balancing the right to protest and allowing MPs to work freely.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that, following an earlier investigation by the paper, the Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has announced that women rescued from forced marriages abroad by the Foreign Office will no longer be charged for the cost of their rescue. The department will now seek court orders to force their parents to pay instead.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Financial Times<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0Japanese car manufacturers with factories in the UK have been urging the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, to make the impact of a no-deal Brexit clear to Theresa May when they meet today.\u00a0The Sun<\/em>\u00a0adds<\/a>\u00a0that the lifting of a 23-year trade ban on exports of British beef and lamb to Japan is to be announced.<\/p>\n