Green MEP Molly Scot Cato told the European Parliament there was a "very real risk" that UK will leave the EU and said David Cameron's "fake negotiation is unravelling".

She said Mr Cameron's "pro-austerity, regulation-lite anti-migration rhetoric" was "more nightmare than vision". She said he wanted to "export" and "inflict" it on to the European Union.

She said Mr Cameron was in a "race to the bottom" on environmental protections, workers' rights and health standards.

She said the Green Party "says yes to the EU, yes to real reform and yes to upholding the rights of all citizens, which Mr Cameron seems so keen to bargain away".

Knut Fleckenstein, a German MEP, told the European Parliament the EU would be "poorer" without the UK and wanted the country to stay within the union.

He told the parliament they needed to "handle this well" referring to the upcoming referendum in the UK. He warned against having similar referendums in other countries 

He added "there is a limit to everything" adding freedom of movement could not be "curbed". 

He hoped a solution could be reached, and said Mr Farage "was not really talking to us".

The Commons Home Affairs Committee has produced this eye-catching Star-Wars themed card to send its Christmas greetings this year.

It stars chairman Keith Vaz as Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kanobe and Home Secretary Theresa May as Princess Leia:

Image source, Home Affairs Committee

Image source, Thinkstock

The finance secretary John Swinney is expected to rule out an increase in Scottish income tax next year, when Holyrood gets new financial powers.

The announcement will form part of his detailed spending plans for the year ahead, due to be disclosed to MSPs.

It is thought that his spending priorities will be childcare, the NHS, schools and the police.

Mr Swinney has warned that Scotland faces "tough choices" in the light of overall Treasury spending constraint.

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Conservative MEP Vicky Ford told the European Parliament that the UK will vote to leave the EU in a referendum, "unless substantial changes are made". 

She urged EU leaders to "listen carefully to our requests", noting that "in two years' time, Britain may well have voted to leave". 

She said a deal on re-formulating the relationship between euro and non-euro members will be a vital element of the negotiations, noting that countries like the UK should not see their economic future in the single marker dictated by "a cartel of those within". 

Plaid Cymru MEP Jill Evans told the European Parliament that her party would be campaigning to stay in the EU, saying: "EU membership is vital in building our economy and our communities"

She said Wales has "benefited" from EU structural funds and could help to improve the EU.

Ms Evans said she wanted to send a "strong message" that her party will be making a "clear and positive" case to remain in the EU.

Diane Dodds, a DUP MEP, has told the European Parliament that talks on Thursday on are a "serious test" on whether the European Union is capable of reform. 

She said David Cameron's demands had been lessened over the years, and said he was "limiting himself" by asking for changes which "reflect the status quo". She said his demand for greater competitiveness was "vague".

She added the talks were a "stern" test for Mr Cameron and a "bigger test" for Brussels. 

She ended her speech by telling members of the European Parliament "the ball is in your court".

Unemployment fell by 110,000 between August and October to 1.71 million, official figures showed today.

The number of people on the claimant count last month increased by 3,900 to 796,200, said the Office for National Statistics. 

Average earnings increased by 2.4% in the year to October, 0.6% down on the previous month.  

LBC

Asked whether Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will feature much in his election campaign, Sadiq Khan says there'll be "occasions where they'll be campaigning together".

Would he nominate Mr Corbyn for the leadership again? "Yes, absolutely," he tells LBC, adding: "He won fair and square."

Nigel Farage speaking in the European Parliament said the UK's referendum on the European Union was a "very bright dawn" and the "tipping point".

He said the EU border policy was an "open invitation to terrorism" and was a "dramatic failure". 

He said he "hoped" David Cameron would have more luck during talks tomorrow in the "so-called renegotiation" than previous attempts. He said "nobody in this room is exactly quaking in their boots" at Mr Cameron's demands. He said the prime minister will return to Britian with a "grave face" and tell the public how "tough" the talks were but it would all be "theatrics". 

He said Mr Cameron had "asked for almost nothing and is unlikely to even get that". He added there would be a deal on something "minor" and "inconsequential" and that "opposition to this project is growing across the continent".

When asked why UKIP didn't have more seats in Westminster by German MEP Bernd Lucke, he responded by calling the first past the post system "odd".

He finished by saying MEPs like Mr Lucke didn't have the courage of their convictions. He added he wanted to work with Europe but "without the flag, without the anthem, without the commission and without the European Parliament".

LBC

Labour's London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan reckons four out of 10 voters haven't made up their minds on how to vote in next year's election.

Answering questions on LBC radio, he says he wouldn't have attended Stop The War's Christmas fundraiser last week, after some Labour MPs urged Jeremy Corbyn to stay away from the event.

He says to be fair to Mr Corbyn he has "a long association" with the movement but cautions that by going it risks creating an impression "rightly or wrongly" that he subscribes to all of its views.

He adds that the Labour leader needs to talk to "everybody" in society "and I'm sure he will, he's only been the leader for three months".

The European Parliament are discussing issues impacting the European Union including the refugee crisis and closer union - they are also touching on the UK renegotiations. 

Conservative group leader Syed Kamall told the Parliament that Turkey would never be part of the European Union. He said on the UK's renegotiation he was proud a Conservative British Prime Minister was leading the reforms and added it should be a "catalyst for EU-wide reforms".

He said many of the requests could be "relatively easily" accommodated.

The Today programme is running through some highlights from James Naughtie's career there. Have a listen yourself, with this clip here.

Image source, EPA

To recap on Sir John Major's interview, the former Conservative prime minister has warned David Cameron against "flirting" with leaving the EU "at a moment when the whole world is coming together".

He said Thursday's EU reform talks should not be regarded as "high noon".

And they "should not decide whether or not we remain inside the European Union." he told Today.

Mr Cameron has refused to rule out campaigning for an EU exit if the EU does not agree to his reform demands.

Full story here.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

At the end of the interview, Sir John Major takes a moment to pay tribute to James Naughtie, who is presenting his last Today.

Sir John says he and John Humphrys have been part of his "daily diet" for a very long time and tells Naughtie "I'll miss you". He quips that "you've generally asked the right questions, mostly you've listened to the answers", and in a friendly way - and tells him "I hope you're proud of what you've done".

He wishes him all the best in his future endeavours and says he hopes their paths will cross again.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Sir John Major cautions that he won't be a backseat driver and attempt to offer David Cameron any advice over his EU talks, saying that having "sat in that chair" it would "be fruitless".

Does he believe there's a greater chance of a vote to leave the EU than before? He says there's a lot of frustration with the EU at the moment, most of which is "entirely justified". But he thinks when people look at the long-term implications of leaving the bloc, they will "move back to realising that in a world as interconnected as we are, in a world moving together as we are, we are better off and safer in the EU than outside".