Today’s political headlines include May warned of mass resignations if she tries to stop MPs from blocking no-deal Brexit, Corbyn warned of resignations if he backs another referendum, Bercow may miss out on peerage and UK could extend EU membership without electing new MEPs.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
May warned of mass resignations if she tries to stop MPs from blocking no-deal Brexit<\/span> Frontbenchers might resign if Corbyn backed another referendum<\/span> Government may not give Bercow peerage<\/span> UK could extend EU membership without electing new MEPs<\/span> Johnson to make pitch for Tory leadership<\/span> UK fails to agree post-Brexit trade deals<\/span> Hitachi ditches plans for nuclear power stations<\/span> Plans for calories on menus may be abandoned<\/span>
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0reveals<\/a>\u00a0that Theresa May has been warned by members of her Cabinet that she will face \u2018mass resignations\u2019 if she tries to stop MPs from blocking a no-deal Brexit, with up to ’20 mid-ranking ministers’ have indicated that they are prepared to quit the Government to do so. One Cabinet minister has told the paper that the Prime Minister would be \u2018wise\u2019 to give a free vote on the issue. The paper has also\u00a0obtained<\/a> Cabinet Office guidance suggesting that a second referendum would take over a year to organise.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that up to a dozen Labour frontbenchers might resign if Jeremy Corbyn were to back a second referendum on Brexit. The paper claims that \u2018a string of junior shadow ministers\u2019 have told the paper that they worry that doing so would lead to a backlash in constituencies which voted to leave the EU.\u00a0The Times<\/em>\u00a0adds<\/a>\u00a0that a number of Labour MPs have defied their leadership\u2019s instructions by meeting Theresa May for talks on Brexit yesterday, claiming that both May and Corbyn \u2018are battling not to be sidelined\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0suggests<\/a>\u00a0that John Bercow might be the first Speaker in 230 years not to be given a peerage by the Government. A Cabinet source told the paper that they couldn\u2019t \u2018imagine we would look favourably on those who\u2019ve cheated centuries of procedure\u2019 and insiders have said that the Prime Minister has the power to refuse to award the peerage.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>European Parliament legal advice has been\u00a0leaked<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0Financial Times<\/em>, showing that the UK would be able to extend its membership of the EU beyond this summer without needing to elect MEPs. The UK would not have any seats, but they would only be reallocated to other members once Brexit has happened. However, some European Commission and Council lawyers are concerned that this would undermine the parliament\u2019s authority.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Daily Mail<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that Boris Johnson will today make a \u2018thinly-veiled pitch for the Tory leadership\u2019 at the HQ of JCB in Staffordshire. He will call for \u2018no new taxes\u2019, express his concerns about the \u2018worrying\u2019 gap between London and the rest of the country, and call for investment in \u2018great public services\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Financial Times<\/em>\u00a0has\u00a0obtained<\/a>\u00a0a Government memo which shows that the UK has not finalised most of the trade deals needed to replace the 40 agreements made by the EU, and will not have done so by the time the UK leaves the EU on 29 March. Without a transition period, the memo warns, most of these deals will lapse.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that the UK\u2019s plans for new nuclear power stations are now \u2018in disarray\u2019 after Hitachi announced that it was suspending plans for two plants and writing off \u00a32bn spent on preparations. This follows the decision of Toshiba to pull out of a project in November. The Government is currently developing a new way to finance nuclear plants.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>According<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0The Sun<\/em>\u00a0plans to force restaurants to include calorie information on menus may be abandoned by the Government, with Chancellor Philip Hammond and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss claiming that the policy would be burdensome for businesses, especially small ones. The Department of Health and Social Care is also unsupportive.<\/p>\n