Boris Johnson news: Government suffers first parliamentary defeat since election, as EU warns Brexit trade talks may not start until March

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of events at Westminster.

Gordon Brown will make yet another big speech on the union today. The former Labour prime minister will be setting out his ideas for region-by-region citizens assemblies and attacking the government’s planned constitutional shake-up as “cosmetic”.

Boris Johnson, meanwhile, will call for the UK to be the “investment partner of choice” for Africa at a conference in London. And the Brexit bill is under scrutiny again in the House of Lords, where Labour peer Alf Dubs is confident his new amendment to ensure protections for child refugees remain in the bill has majority support.

New Labour members have until 5pm to join – as 100,000 new people are said to have signed up

Prospective Labour party members need to make applications by 5pm on Monday to be able to take part in the leadership contest.

According to The Huffington Post, more than 100,000 people have joined in recent weeks. Some commentators think it could be bad news for Rebecca Long-Bailey – seen as the flagbearer for the Corbynite left. But we really have no idea yet whether the newbees are moderate or militant.

Leadership hopeful Jess Phillips, one of those who could gain from an influx in more moderate members, said the surge was “great to see”.

Keir Starmer has taken an early edge in the campaign – buoyed by a second YouGov poll of Labour members at the end of last week which indicated he had boosted his support.

Keir Starmer at leadership hustings in Liverpool (Getty) 

UK could do deals with individual US states, says Liam Fox

You can always rely on former trade secretary Liam Fox to say something strange and interesting to an obscure think tank. Today the Tory MP will tell the Spinoza Foundation in Geneva that the UK should strike deals with individual US states.

Fox claims Washington will try to drive a “hard” bargain on a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA), so British diplomats could get better deals on services if they went on a road trip to state capitals in California, Florida, New York and all the rest.

He told The Telegraph: “There are other things in the toolkit apart from FTAs.”

It comes as the Food and Drink Federation has warned food prices could go up if the government refuses to align with EU rules at the end of this year. It follows an FT interview with chancellor Sajid Javid in which he said “we will not be a ruletaker” after Brexit.

Former trade secretary Liam Fox (Reuters) 

The House of Lords: is it moving to York?

Boris Johnson is considering a radical plan to relocate the House of Lords to the north of England, with York emerging as a frontrunner to house the upper chamber.

Tory chairman James Cleverly confirmed the plan was being considering in Downing Street after reports emerged that the prime minister had ordered officials to look into the practicalities of shifting the Lords outside of London.

Cleverly told Sky News’ Ridge on Sunday: “What we are looking at is a whole range of options about making sure that every part of the UK is properly connected with politics.”

Birmingham is also said to be under consideration as possible location for the Lords. Peers are already expressing disquiet, with concerns about the expense of such a move.

Lord Forsyth said: “I can only assume this is the first fruit of the weirdos that Dominic Cummings said he wanted to recruit to No 10.” 

Dismissing it as a “cosmetic gesture”, former PM Gordon Brown said: “An outdated institution 200 miles or so north of its current location is still an outdated institution.”

PM to impose restriction on low-skilled EU workers on the first day after Brexit transition period ends

Boris Johnson is drawing up plans to impose strict new restrictions on EU immigration by 2021, two years earlier than promised by Theresa May.

New proposals are understood to be in the works to implement restrictions on lower-skilled EU migrants on the first day after the Brexit transition period ends, removing a temporary extension of current rules to 2023 sought by business groups.

Priti Patel, the home secretary, is expected to present the blueprint to cabinet this week, which would give businesses and workers less than a year to prepare for a major overhaul of the immigration system.

An Australian style-points-based immigration system should be introduced into the UK by the end of 2020, she will reportedly tell cabinet colleagues.

Diane Abbott, shadow home secretary, said: “This is an ill-informed and reactionary policy that will damage us all.”

PM could face Lords defeat over protections for child refugees

Boris Johnson is braced for a Lords defeat on his Brexit bill amid disquiet among Tory peers over the decision to strip support for child refugees from the legislation.

Labour peer Alf Dubs has tabled a new amendment to ensure protections for child refugees remain in the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) – a promise made by Theresa May but noticeably absent from Johnson’s new bill.

Lord Dubs told The Independent: “All I can say is that there are quite a lot of Conservative members of the Lords who are unhappy about this. They won’t vote or speak but they may abstain, which will help.

“It’s interesting how many Conservative peers are quietly supporting the amendment ... clearly the majority is not with the government.”

Jess Phillips: My hustings performance was ‘awful’

The Labour leadership hopeful has admitted her campaign to succeed Jeremy Corbyn is faltering, saying: “I probably won’t win.”

The centrist candidate described her own performance in the first party hustings in Liverpool at the weekend as “awful” – appearing to acknowledge that either Keir Starmer or Rebecca Long-Bailey would triumph.

Phillips vowed to be herself and strive to be less “statesmanlike” at future hustings with the Labour faithful, saying: “I am going to say what I think. I am going to give honest answers.”

‘Nothing would be wasted,’ says transport secretary on HS2

There has been speculation for several months the government could be prepared to back out of the controversial rail project HS2, with various groups intensifying their arguments in recent weeks.

The whole thing could cost up to £106bn, according to a widely leaked government review.

An inquiry led by former HS2 Ltd chairman Doug Oakervee reportedly found there is “considerable risk” that the high-speed rail project’s cost will rise by up to 20 per cent beyond the £81bn to £88bn range set out in a report by current HS2 chairman Allan Cook just four months ago.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has been asked about it this morning, and about the initial work already done.

“Nothing would be wasted whatever the outcome,” he said of work done in stations and other upgrades to the rail network.

Asked for his view on whether HS2 should be scrapped, Shapps said: “Quite simply, [the decision] needs to be fact-based. I asked Doug Oakervee to do the report, and I said to him: ‘Give me the facts’ … I’ve always approached this from a relatively neutral point of view.”

He said a final decision whether to continue would be made “very shortly”.

Nandy complains about hustings format to Labour’s general secretary

Labour leadership hopeful Lisa Nandy is said to have written to general secretary Jennie Formby to complain about the format for the Labour leadership hustings event – which only allowed candidates 40 seconds to respond.

Jess Phillips criticised it in her comment piece for the Guardian, saying: “To answer any question in 40 seconds is ridiculous. If it were possible to sum up, for example, an economic plan or an industrial strategy in 40 seconds, one wonders why they are actually hundreds of pages long. What a ridiculous farce.”

The Labour-supporting pundit and broadcaster Paul Mason, who has backed Keir Starmer in the contest, also has problems with it – complaining that it favours Rebecca Long-Bailey.

“The format of the Labour hustings looks stacked in favour of the existing machine, which backs RLB. It stifles honesty … and puts the party machine in charge of the debate agenda. Change it now.”

Post-Brexit immigration will put ‘people before passports’, says Boris Johnson

There has been plenty of criticism of the government proposals to bring in tough restrictions on lowed-skilled migrants from the EU at the end of this year.

But the prime minister has claimed the UK’s post-Brexit immigration system will put “people before passports”, as he made a pitch for improved business links with Africa.

At the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London Johnson said: “Our system is becoming fairer and more equal between all our global friends and partners, treating people the same, wherever they come from.

“By putting people before passports we will be able to attract the best talent from around the world, wherever they may be.”

PM launches investment summit with African leaders (AFP)