These three things will change the world today.
1. House of Lords pose double defeat to Brexit bill
The House of Lords will restart the debate over the Brexit bill today as peers across all parties have joined together to pose a fight to prime minister Theresa May.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Lords from Labour, Liberal Democrats, Tory rebels and cross-benchers want to force two amendments on the bill to trigger Article 50.
One amendment will ensure every European Union citizen currently living in Britain retains the right to work and stay in the UK.
Lord Newby, leader of the Lib Dems in the upper chamber, said: “In the House of Lords there is clearly an overwhelming desire to do the right thing and ensure that all EU nationals have the right to remain.”
The second proposed amendment wants to give parliament a vote on the final terms of the Brexit deal – effectively giving MPs and peers a veto on the deal before the UK withdraws from the EU.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataFormer deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine wrote in the Mail on Sunday to say he would defy orders and vote to change the bill to give MPs a meaningful vote on the final terms of the deal.
“This is not a confrontation with the Government. It is to ensure the Commons can exercise its authority over the defining issue of our time,” said Heseltine.
However, any amendment to the Bill approved by the upper chamber could be reversed by MPs when the legislation returns to the Commons in March.
2. Macron is closing in on Le Pen in the French presidential elections
As the French presidential elections come close to the first round of voting, centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron is closing in on National Front leader Marine Le Pen.
Macron has taken his biggest lead yet over Republican Francois Fillon in recent polls publishing on Sunday, giving Macron the support of 25 percent of the French electorate, compared to Fillon’s 20. Le Pen is currently in the lead with 27 percent, however, the polls are suggested that Le Pen could lose to either Macron or Fillon in the second round.
According to the Odoxa poll Macron would defeat Le Pen by a margin of 61 percent to 31 percent in the run-off ballot.
Former prime minister Fillon was under pressure to quit the race earlier this month because of a fake-jobs-for-family-scandal. Whilst he has carried on campaigning to lead the country, his reputation has no doubt suffered as a result of the scandal.
3. Netflix chief executive will be the keynote speaker today at MWC
While it appears Mobile World Congress has been running since Friday, the mobile-focused event officially kicks off today in Barcelona.
LG, BlackBerry and Nokia have all used the conference to launch new gadgets, however, today focuses more on the technology side of the event, with talks taking place today on IoT, the blockchain, artificial intelligence and 5G.
Chief executive and founder of Netflix, Reed Hastings, will be speaking at the conference later today.
He is set to give an insight into the multi-billion dollar streaming industry, no doubt spurred on by Netflix’s Oscar win last night for the documentary The White Helmets.
It is thought Hastings might also be bringing a sneak peek of some of the new shows that will be coming to the platform later this year, as part of its pledge to create over 1,000 hours of original content in 2017.
