Brexit news - live: Theresa May to fly to Brussels tomorrow for crucial talks with EU, as Juncker says breakthrough 'in God's hands'
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May is to travel to Brussels on Wednesday for crunch talks with the European Commission, as Jean-Claude Juncker said a breakthrough is in “God’s hands’.
It came after the prime minister met with her cabinet amid reports ministers told Ms May to stop using a no-deal scenario as a threat in the ongoing Brexit negotiations.
And it followed the decision by seven MPs to quit Labour on Monday – the biggest schism in the party since the formation of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 1980s.
On Tuesday members of the European Research Group (ERG) also met with the PM to discuss the future of the so-called Malthouse compromise arrangement amid speculation it had been killed off.
The plan, named for MP Kit Malthouse, would see the backstop dropped and the transition period extended in exchange for the UK paying some of the financial settlement it owes Brussels.
Jacob Rees-Mogg and Steve Baker, of the ERG, said in a joint statement that the compromise was “alive and kicking”. They added: “We look forward to further developments.”
Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay had previously briefed the cabinet on his talks with Michel Barnier in Brussels on Monday, at which the EU chief negotiator voiced concerns about the viability of the Malthouse plan.
Mr Barclay is also expected to make another visit to Brussels later in the week as Britain seeks the bloc’s approval for changes to the backstop – the insurance arrangement designed to avoid a hard Irish border after Brexit by keeping the UK in a customs union until a wider trade deal is agreed.
Late on Tuesday, Mr Barnier tweeted that there was a “clear and strong unity of EU27 to preserve the withdrawal agreement in all its dimensions, including on Ireland”.
See below how we reported the events live
Interesting odds from Ladbrokes. In 2015 - as the Labour leadership contest was kicking off following Ed Miliband's resignation after the general election - Jeremy Corbyn's odds were also placed at 200/1.
Business minister Richard Harrington has suggested that MPs would act to delay Brexit rather than allow the UK to crash out without a deal.
He told a manufacturers' conference in London: "I do not believe there will be a no-deal Brexit. The reason I don't believe that is because I think the Prime Minister's deal will go through.
"But if it doesn't get through, before then Parliament will have taken control, we will have a small extension to Article 50 and Parliament will then decide on alternatives.
"I believe that will become the Plan B."
Jeremy Corbyn is now speaking at the manufacturing conference in central London. He says the "long slump" in manufacturing lays squarely with the government and "strangled investment".
"There is another way of doing things," the Labour leader says, as he makes clear the party will establish a national investment bank.
He says his party's policies won huge support at the election, and he is "disappointed" a small number of MPs decided to take a different path and split from the party.
Corbyn says the Conservatives' failure to invest in infrastructure goes hand in hand with their failure to invest in the workforce.
The Labour leader - in a brief moment reminiscent of Theresa May's infamous conference speech - searches for water underneath the podium where he is delivering his speech to help his cough. Luckily for him, the cough now seems to have eased.
On Honda's decision to cut jobs, Corbyn says: "Today we learn that Honda is planning to close its plant in Swindon at the cost of 3,500 jobs. That is devastating news for those workers, their families, and for the local economy. It’s bad news too for all the businesses in the supply chain."
Asked about the seven MPs who resigned from the party and what he will say to those considering resigning, Corbyn replies: "I regret that 7 MPs decided to no longer be members of the party".
He says those MPs stood on the 2017 manifesto, and they were elected to carry out those policies. "I regret that - I want our party to be strong, united."
While responding to a question on Brexit, Mr Corbyn confirms that he is going to Brussels next week for talks to break the Brexit deadlock.
Our Europe correspondent Jon Stone wrote a bit about this last week.
Asked what he would do differently to address the concerns of his MPs, Mr Corbyn said: "Anyone who thinks they are not being consulted are not taking up, in my view, the opportunities that are available there and open and ready for them at all times to do that.
"I'm always prepared to discuss policies with people in the party and I do all the time."
Corbyn is asked whether he agrees with his deputy Tom Watson that the shadow cabinet should be more reflective of the parliamentary party.
He says he is proud to lead the Labour Party, and lists its achievements.
He adds "But I recognise that leading the party means you have got to take people with you and I am determined to do that - determined to do that so that we can, when an election comes - present those policies and that determination to the public as a whole."
That's it for the Q&A.
Despite the tough words from both sides in Brexit negotiations, momentum is building towards a possible breakthrough before the end of this week, writes Political Editor Joe Watts.
This morning the EU Commission’s spokesman again ruled out options previously put forward by the UK for reshaping the Irish backstop, while in the UK’s daily lobby briefing just now, the PM’s spokesman reminded us that the EU has said it does want a deal and the current one on offer has been rejected.
But with the pressure on May building up domestically and the looming threat of a no-deal, the cogs appear to be moving in both Brussels and London. Several factors are pointing towards something coming soon.
May will travel to Brussels tomorrow for a meeting with Commission President Jean Claude-Juncker, it will be a workmanlike affair – with officials, no dinner.
Then, we are expecting a speech from attorney general Geoffrey Cox towards the end of this week. He is the PM’s weapon of choice when she needs to convince her own MPs and others of the legal and political viability of her cause.
So if some new wording on the backstop has been achieved by then, this will be the speech in which he sells it to colleagues.
Also, if the PM has not put a new deal with Brussels to the house herself by next week, she will be forced to table a further “amendable motion” – giving MPs like Yvette Cooper and Nick Boles a chance to put alternative Brexit plans to the commons.
If she insists on keeping no deal on the table at that point, she has been warned that she may well face a series of resignations from remainer ministers, so there is an incentive to move.
Nothing is written in stone in the withdrawal saga, but time is ticking down for the PM as well as for Brexit itself.
And of course, even if she does get something from Brussels, there is the unanswered question as to whether it will be enough to convince her eurosceptic Tory colleagues to pass her deal.
Independent MP John Woodcock - who resigned from Labour last year - has released a statement about speculation on his involvement with the Independent Group.
He says he has not asked to join and would need to be assured of their positions on both Trident and their grievance procedures. He was subject to a harassment complaint by a former member of staff.
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