There have been tears in Brussels today as the European Parliament is set to ratify the Brexit deal and seal the UK's departure.

Some, though, as CNN's Europe editor notes, are much happier...

Many MPs are welcoming the government's decision to take Northern Rail into public ownership - with some saying it should have happened a long time ago.

But the Spectator's economic correspondent Kate Andrews tweets:, external "Until neglected northern networks are updated, invested in properly, and (publicly-owned) Network Rail gets its act together, there is little reason to think government will manage this franchise better than Northern Rail did."

Image source, Graham Eva

The Liberal Democrats say "sacking" Northern Rail from its franchise is a positive move, but only "the first step on a long road to improving the trains across the north".

The party's former leader, Tim Farron, says: "The Conservatives must now reverse their cancellations of the electrification of the Lakes Line and the Trans-Pennine line.

"It must press on with HS2, while increasing transparency and accountability of this project.

"It must also approve the new Northern Powerhouse Rail between Manchester and Leeds and publish the Williams Review, implementing its recommendations as a matter of urgency."

Mr Farron adds: “Sacking Northern will not fix the problems with our railways overnight and Liberal Democrats will continue to hold the Tories to account on their delivery of rail services across the north and the rest of the UK.”

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

It might seem an extraordinary decision but, in a way, the government really had no choice.

If they had left Northern Rail alone, there would have been an explosion of rage among those poor commuters who've had to put up with that service.

Added to which, of course, Boris Johnson has said again and again he is going to improve infrastructure and transport links in the North.

So this was a decision where the government had very little choice but to take it back into public ownership.

Interesting, though, is that Grant Shapps' statement says this is just the first step, cautioning rail users in the North that it will take time to turn the service around. In other words, it is also pre-empting a much wider shake-up of the railways.

And today's decision gives us a sense of where the government is going, because this is the second line to be taken back into public ownership after Virgin lost its contract to run the East Coast line.

You get a sense the government wants to give the public sector a much greater overarching role and more control of the railways, short of nationalisation.

When you put that together with the attempt to reverse the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, we have a slight sense that when it comes to the railways, we are going back to the future.

Image source, AFP

The Party of European Socialists posts a video of their MEPs giving their soon-to-be-departing British colleagues a standing ovation.

You'll notice some of those in the front row are wearing red and blue scarves. They read "always united" and are decorated with both the Union Jack and the EU flag - the political equivalent of a half-and-half football scarf.

Image source, Getty Images

We knew the US had warned the UK government not to allow Huawei into 5G mobile networks before the decision was taken.

But as the country's secretary of state travels to London for meetings with Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab, he makes his aversion to yesterday's decision even clearer.

Mike Pompeo tells reporters there is a "chance for the United Kingdom to re-look at this as implementation moves forward".

The UK government says the decision doesn't cause any issue when it comes to passing secure information between the UK and the US.

But casting a little doubt on that conclusion, Mr Pompeo says: "We will make sure that when American information passes across a network we are confident that that network is a trusted one."

He adds: "We’ll work with the United Kingdom. We were urging them to make a decision that was different than the one they made and we’ll have a conversation about how to proceed."

In his statement Mr Shapps also promises that "Pacers will be banished very soon on the western side of the Pennines."

"In Yorkshire, Pacers will be gone by the spring and next year, we will move electric trains from elsewhere on the network to the north, boosting capacity for commuters into Manchester and Leeds.

"We will also be extending platforms at 30 stations on the Northern network to allow for longer trains."

Pacer trains were introduced in the 1980s as a "stopgap".

But decades later passengers are still crowding on to rattling carriages which are essentially buses on train wheels.

This video explains why they're so unpopular...

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced that Northern Rail will be taken into public ownership from 1 March.

In a statement, he says: "It’s no surprise that passengers have lost trust in the North’s rail network.

"The service provided by the rail network in the north has failed to meet the needs of passengers.

"I am announcing today that from 1 March the Northern Rail franchise will be taken into public ownership and the government will begin operating services through the public-sector operator - the so-called operator of last resort."

Now that PMQs is done, much of our attention this afternoon will turn to the European Parliament where the final sign-off for Brexit will be done later.

We're also expecting farewells, some singing, perhaps a stunt or two as the institution waves farewell to the UK's MEPs.

Our colleague, Pete Saull, is there and soaking up the excitement...

House of Commons
Parliament

Business in the Commons has now moved on to the opposition day debate.

It is focusing on police and crime, and being opened by Labour's shadow home secretary Diane Abbott.

House of Commons
Parliament

As PMQs ends Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle rises to make a short statement which could well be seen as a rebuke to his predecessor John Bercow.

In his statement, he proposes that if he takes a decision as Speaker which the clerk of the House thinks is "a departure for long-established conventions without appropriate authorisation by the House itself" the clerk will be allowed to make a public statement of his own views.

Some of you may remember that roughly this time last year Mr Bercow was accused of breaking with precedent and ignoring the advice of officials when he allowed MPs to vote on Dominic Grieve's amendment to a government motion.

The decision was, to say the least, controversial and the BBC's parliamentary correspondent Mark D'arcy said it drove a coach and horses through accepted normal practice

However, Mr Bercow said he had made an "honest judgement" in the interests of MPs and rejected calls to publish the advice he had received from his clerks - amidst rumours he had gone against the recommendation of the then-Commons Clerk Sir David Natzler.

The PM's statistic on carbon emissions may have been accurate, but independent fact-checking organisation Full Fact points out that he got another one wrong.

BBC Politics Live
BBC2's lunchtime political programme

Over on Politics Live, BBC political editor Laura Kunessberg says she expects the decision on HS2 to be taken tomorrow, Thursday.

She says all the signs are that it will be a yes to carrying on with the huge project - but adds a note of caution that there are very powerful voices critical of it high up in government.

A lot comes down to credibility too, she adds - how can the government, as it has done since the election, talk over and over about "levelling up", spreading prosperity and investment around the country, and then cancel the number one, shovel-ready project aimed at doing just that?

House of Commons
Parliament

"Not everyone will be celebrating on Friday night," says Plaid Cyrmu leader Liz Saville Roberts - referring to the UK's departure from the EU.

She urges the PM to "demonstrate he is listening to all voices" by meeting with her to discuss "how Wales will win the tools to forge a better future".

"I think that Wales voted to leave the EU," replies Boris Johnson.

He urges the MP to view this Friday "as a beginning".

"This is curtain up on a fantastic future," he says.

And that wraps up today's PMQs.

House of Commons
Parliament

Tory MP Keiran Mullan brings up aHS2 yet again...

He says: "Given the prime minister's proven track record in overcoming prevarication, procrastination, dither and delay, will he repeat that success... and get HS2 done to secure jobs across the country?"

Yet again, there are cheers of "yes" and "no", without a clear indication of whether the House backs the rail project or not.

Forced to answer the question a second time, Mr Johnson says: "I just want to reassure all my honorable friends, whatever persuasion they may be across this chamber when it comes to HS2, there will be a decision very shortly."

We wait in anticipation!

House of Commons
Parliament

"Is the BBC the mortal enemy of the Conservative Party or a cherished British institution that will be funded by the licence fee," asks Labour's Mike Amesbury.

That "mortal enemy" line is apparently how a think tank run by the PM's close adviser Dominic Cummings described the BBC.

"It is a cherished British institution and not the mortal enemy of the Conservative Party," replies the PM.

House of Commons
Parliament

The SNP's Ronnie Cowan notes that the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) recently proposed reducing the salary threshold for skilled immigrants coming to the UK.

"It does not go far enough," he says, pointing out that half of Scottish employees earn less than the threshold with the figure rising to 90% in "the vital care sector".

"Protecting Scotland's care sector is more important than his [the PM's] ideological obsession with cutting immigration," he says.

The prime minister replies that: "We do not wish in any way to deprive any part of the UK of the labour that it needs."

"We will respond in due course to the stipulations of the MAC," he adds.