Peers vote to bring back the ‘meaningful vote’ amendment, setting up a clash in the Commons

‘The House of Lords defied the PM’s pleas to ‘keep faith’ with the British public and fall into line on the EU Withdrawal Bill. Instead they backed the Hailsham amendment in a move which sets the stage for a crunch showdown between Mrs May and her Tory rebels on Wednesday when it returns to the Commons. In a fiery debate, Viscount Hailsham branded Brexit a ‘national calamity’ and said he was driven to act after ministers reneged on their promise to give Parliament a say if no deal is done by late January. But he was accused of trying to ‘sabotage Brexit’ and of overstepping their authority by pushing through the change. Peers voted by 354 to 235 to pass the controversial amendment. Mrs May now faces a frantic 48 hours as she tries to pick off Tory backbenchers – led by Dominic Grieve – planning to join the revolt on Wednesday.’ – Daily Mail

• That’s a larger majority than before – The Times
• These Lords are endangering our democracy – The Sun Says
• Ministers plan to publish guidance for EU citizens who wish to remain in the UK – The Guardian
• Left wing Remainers will no longer stay silent – Zoe Williams, The Guardian
• Collins, privacy champion, publishes Banks’s passport details – The Times
• Manifestoes for new hereditary election are released – The Guardian

>Yesterday:

• WATCH: Viscount Hailsham – “I don’t believe in Brexit. I think it’s a national calamity.”
• WATCH: Lord True – “People outside this House are getting a little bit tired of Parliamentary games”

Ashcroft: If forced to choose, Leave voters would rather lose Northern Ireland than stay in the EU

‘While Northern Ireland Unionists are determined that they should have the same deal as the rest of the UK, only one third of voters in Britain say it would be unacceptable for Northern Ireland to have a different EU status from the rest of the country; almost as many say this would be tolerable to get a workable deal. It is not hard to imagine how Leave voters would react if told the UK would not be taking back as much control as they hoped because of the Irish border, an issue they believe is being blown out of proportion.  There is more uncomfortable news for Unionists. A majority in Britain said Northern Ireland’s place in the UK was up to its people to decide – but if the province voted to leave, most said they wouldn’t mind either way. We also asked Leave voters in Britain whether they would leave the EU, or keep England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales together in the UK, if it were impossible to do both. Most, including more than seven in 10 Tory voters, said they would rather leave the EU.’ – Daily Telegraph

• Majorities of Leave and Remain voters think the Brexit process is going too slowly – Daily Telegraph
• Single Market enthusiasts still aren’t being honest about the costs – Juliet Samuel, Daily Telegraph
• The EU threatens to ditch security deal if Britain leaves the Human Rights Convention – Daily Telegraph
• Ministers accused of betraying Gibraltar over airport – The Sun
• Will the Government ever show any fight in its dealings with Brussels? – The Sun Says
• May needs to learn the art of diplomacy – Rafael Behr, The Guardian

>Today: Steven Woolfe on Comment: To win the working class northern vote, the Conservative Party must change its attitude and tone

Health spending boost must be underpinned by reform, May insists

‘Unveiling plans for her £20 billion funding package, she stressed the NHS was mired in too much bureaucracy that acted as a “barrier to progress”. Explaining how the Government had delivered its side of the bargain, the PM said the NHS now had to deliver a 10-year plan to ensure the money is not wasted. And she criticised the 200-strong NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups, which were only set up to buy-in care for patients by former Tory health secretary Andrew Lansley in 2012. The PM said: “It is a problem that a typical NHS Clinical Commissioning Group negotiates and monitors over 200 different legal contracts with other, different parts of the NHS. It is too bureaucratic, inhibits joined up care, and takes money and people away from the front line.”’ – The Sun

• Health chiefs say it isn’t enough money, and social care needs action, too – The Times
• More cash required – The Times
• May hints she might be willing to repeal the Lansley NHS reforms – The Times
• Civil servants look again at Dilnot’s social care cost cap – Daily Telegraph
• Hunt’s plans to overhaul the system are delayed again – The Sun
• Man appeals to Sturgeon after waiting a year for an appointment – The Scotsman
• £20 million fund for community groups to tackle loneliness – The Sun

Opinion

• £20 billion is a sticking plaster – Rachel Sylvester, The Times
• The money will vanish overnight – Polly Toynbee, The Guardian
• There is public support for a hypothecated tax – David Babbs, The Times
• The NHS can always take more money – ministers must force it to cut waste – Lord Saatchi, The Sun
• Leaving the EU will help to heal the health service – Leo Mckinstry, Daily Express

Editorials

• There must be serious change if taxes are to rise – Daily Telegraph Leader
• The service needs more money, but people can’t bear bigger tax bills – The Sun Says
• There’s no Brexit dividend – The Guardian Leader

>Today: The Moggcast. “There clearly is a Brexit dividend” but “the IFS and the Bank of England carry on with Project Fear”

>Yesterday:

• MPsETC: “This must be a plan that ensures every penny is well spent.” May’s NHS speech – full text
• James Price on Comment: More borrowing and higher taxes are not the only – or even the best – way to free up more money for the NHS.

There’s no money left, the Chancellor tells the Cabinet

‘Philip Hammond has warned the cabinet that he has no more money for other policies after being forced to find £25 billion for the NHS. The chancellor used a presentation to senior ministers before Theresa May’s speech on the health service yesterday to rule out extra spending on areas including schools, defence, prisons and police. He also made clear that, having fulfilled the Vote Leave pledge of paying for the NHS rise from a “Brexit dividend”, the government would need to find money to replace other funding provided at present by Brussels. One cabinet minister said that there was shock at what this meant: “The atmosphere was quite muted. Ministers could see the implications are going to make life quite difficult. Any sense that the taps are about to be turned on were dispelled.”’ – The Times

• May grants Hammond a free hand to rip up tax pledges if he deems it necessary – FT
• She seeks to harness the political power of the Brexit dividend – Robert Shrimsley, FT
• 4,000 public assets sold by councils last year – The Times
• Motorists ‘overcharged for fuel by £500 million’ – The Times

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