Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Gisela Stuart joins Boris Johnson on the campaign trail as he takes the fight to Labour’s Leave-voting North East heartland Voters in Washington were told that not voting for Jeremy Corbyn “doesn’t make you a Tory” as Boris Johnson paid a visit to the North East. The Conservative leader took part in a question-and-answer session with employees at Ferguson’s Transport in Washington as the final week of campaigning got under way. Mr Johnson was joined on stage by former Labour MP Gisela Stuart who said a vote for the Tories “allows us to get this job [Brexit] done”. “It doesn’t make me a Tory, and it doesn’t make you a Tory,” she told staff. Mr Johnson told voters: “We’ve got to get Brexit done because it’s our democratic duty. We’ve got to take advantage of all the benefits Brexit will bring, whether it’s taking back control of our borders, our money, our laws, our immigration system. We need to do it for the sake of our economy.” – ChronicleLive > WATCH: Boris Johnson speaking to voters in Sunderland yesterday Labour’s Angela Rayner tells Question Time she could back Brexit in a second referendum… Angela Rayner, touted as a future Labour leadership contender, is likely to vote Leave if there is a second Brexit referendum under Jeremy Corbyn, she said on Monday night. The shadow Education Secretary told a BBC Question Time special she would support a new Brexit deal as long as it “protects the economy and jobs”. Ms Rayner is now the most senior member of the shadow Cabinet to suggest she will support Leave in any rerun of the 2016 vote, after other front-runners for the leadership have committed to back Remain under any circumstances. She made the comments during a special episode of the BBC One show for voters under 30. She told an audience of young people on Question Time: “People think we’re trying to stop Brexit, that’s not what we’re trying to do.” – iNews …while Apprentice boss and former Labour peer Lord Sugar urges Labour voters to vote Tory to escape the Brexit quagmire Apprentice boss Lord Sugar today urges Labour voters to fire Jeremy Corbyn for the sake of the nation. Writing in The Sun, the former Labour peer insists backing Boris Johnson is the only way Britain can escape its Brexit quagmire. He also says a vote for the Tories is the best route to save Labour in the long-term — by ousting its hapless leader. The business tycoon warned the party’s spending plans “would create economic chaos”. He said: “Jeremy Corbyn has turned Labour into a negative anti-business party that is clueless on how the economy works. His £1.2trillion spending splurge is complete madness.” – The Sun Nigel Farage says he will spoil his ballot paper on Thursday after being asked if he would back the Tories on Brexit… Nigel Farage has revealed he will spoil his ballot paper at the general election because there is no Brexit Party candidate in his constituency and he refuses to vote for the Conservatives. The Brexit Party is assisting Boris Johnson’s campaign by giving the Tories a clear run in the 317 seats which they won in 2017. But party leader Mr Farage said he could not cast his ballot for the Conservatives, repeating his claim that Mr Johnson’s deal with Brussels was ‘not Brexit’. “I think you should vote, and spoiling your ballot paper is a form of voting,” he declared in a BBC debate on Monday night. Many voters immediately voiced anger at Mr Farage’s decision, asking how he could expect others to back the Conservatives when he refused to do so himself. – Daily Mail …as another Brexit Party election candidate endorses his Conservative opponent A Brexit Party candidate last night announced he was standing down to avoid splitting the Leave vote and letting in a Labour MP. Reece Wilkes, who is standing in marginal Lincoln, urged voters to back the Tory hopeful to make sure Brexit happens. He made his decision after he was deluged by messages from Daily Mail readers who responded to our Letter to Save Brexit appeal. More than 100 people emailed him urging him to help save Brexit by stepping aside. Last night Mr Wilkes wrote to Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage informing him of his decision. He also urged other Brexit Party candidates in marginal seats to ‘put country before party’ and back their local Tory hopeful. – Daily Mail Government to skip next week’s polling day EU summit Boris Johnson will not attend the European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, nor will he send an official or envoy in his place, a spokesperson for the UK government said. Polling currently suggests that the UK prime minister will be returned to Downing Street in a general election which is taking place Thursday. Votes will be counted overnight and the result will become clear in the early hours of Friday. But even if Johnson’s Conservatives win the election, he will not attend the EU leaders’ gathering that is due to tackle issues including climate change. There had been speculation that the UK’s EU ambassador Tim Barrow would attend on behalf of the prime Minister, but a Downing Street spokesperson ruled that out. – Politico DUP leader says Boris Johnson broke his word on Brexit Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster accused Boris Johnson of breaking his promise not to impose a border down the Irish Sea as part of his Brexit deal. The Northern Ireland first Minister, whose party propped the Conservatives up in government under an informal deal after the 2017 general election, said: “Once bitten, twice shy.” Leaked government reports have said goods checks will be needed in both directions between Northern Ireland and Great Britain under the deal Johnson struck with the EU. The DUP has refused to support the agreement, after being promised by Johnson that he would not negotiate a trade border between parts of the UK. – Politico John McDonnell joins Arlene Foster in attack on PM ‘you can’t trust’ – Guardian Nicola Sturgeon suggests another Brexit referendum would be held before a second vote on Scottish independence Nicola Sturgeon has suggested that a referendum on Brexit would be held before a second vote on Scottish independence. Scotland’s First Minister said that Labour’s intention to hold an EU poll within six months of being elected – with a choice between Remain and a deal negotiated by Jeremy Corbyn – would indicate that a Brexit vote would be first on the ballot. Ms Sturgeon reiterated her view that another Scottish referendum should be held towards the end of 2020. Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, the First Minister said: “It looks as if the EU one (referendum) would come first and then an independence referendum towards the end of next year. That’s the sequencing. – Scotsman Conservatives set to make ‘significant gains’ in Wales as a poll show Labour’s lead there is cut… The Conservatives are on course to make “significant gains” in the general election in Wales, an exclusive poll for ITV shows. With just three days to go until polling, the latest Welsh barometer poll conducted by YouGov with Cardiff University shows the Tories closing the gap on Labour and winning eight seats from the party. The poll shows both parties gaining support at the expense of the other smaller parties with the Conservatives being the main beneficiaries of that squeeze. The results put the Tories just three percentage points behind Labour in Wales. It also shows one in ten voters in Wales are yet to make up their minds on who to support. Labour is still ahead overall but is in danger of losing some marginal seats. – ITV News > Jonathan Isaby on BrexitCentral today: The 2019 Election Battleground – Wales …while the pound hits a 31-month high as traders predict a Conservative majority The value of the pound rose to a 31-month high against the euro amid confidence from traders that the Conservative party can secure a working majority in Thursday’s General Election. However, the London markets were subdued throughout the trading session, slipping slightly lower on the back of global trade tensions. The value of the pound increased 0.14% versus the US dollar at 1.315 and rose 0.05% against the euro at 1.188. Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said: “Sterling now just wants Brexit done, a telling about-face considering the plunge it suffered following 2016’s referendum result, which means the Tories are its favoured party. Its current levels suggest it is confident of a blue majority come Friday morning. It also leaves the currency with plenty of room to fall if Britain produces the latest in a string of electoral upsets.” – Belfast Telegraph Jo Swinson insists she will not resign even if the Lib Dems lose seats at the election Jo Swinson has insisted she will not resign from her position as Liberal Democrat leader, even if the party sees a reduction in the number of its MPs in this week’s election. Ms Swinson said she was “here to stay” for the Lib Dems, despite their floundering position in the polls and her low personal approval rating. “I’m technically still a candidate to be prime minister, I’m the Liberal Democrat candidate to be prime minister,” she said. “But clearly things have changed since the beginning of the campaign. What we’ve seen in the intervening weeks is a cosy stitch up between Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson.” Ms Swinson said the Lib Dems had succeeded in attracting nine more MPs since the 2017 election, some of whom joined from the Labour splinter party Change UK, and some who crossed the floor after the Tory whip was withdrawn from them earlier this year. – Telegraph (£) William Hague: Another hung parliament would offer only permanent chaos and instability There is no clearer sign of normal political loyalties being torn up than the calls by many of the country’s former leaders for an indeterminate outcome to this election. Tony Blair, by saying he is voting Labour but understands people supporting the Lib Dems and that voters “will know the best candidates to back” – a rather classic demonstration of his political versatility – has called for tactical voting to achieve a hung parliament. Michael Heseltine has gone further and actively campaigned for the Lib Dems. Sir John Major, one of the people I most respect in the entire political world, has been more restrained, but expressed support for those expelled Tories standing as independents. If the voters take their collective advice, we will wake up on Friday to yet another parliament with no one decisively in charge. – Lord Hague for the Telegraph (£) Nigel Farage: Boris Johnson will not get Brexit done properly without the Brexit Party in Parliament When the election results are in on Friday morning, the influence of the Brexit Party will be clear for all to see – not least in having helped Boris Johnson’s Conservatives. On the surface this is a binary election campaign between Jeremy Corbyn’s hard left Labour Party and Johnson’s Brexit deal. In some ways this makes a refreshing change. No longer can all parties be accused of being the same because this time there are some genuine divides. And yet beneath the surface it could be argued there are in effect a huge number of by-elections going on. More than ever in recent times, voters are thinking very carefully about which party to back in their own constituency. The Brexit Party’s decision to withdraw 317 candidates from the constituencies won by the Tories in 2017 has ensured this is the case. As soon as we announced our plan, Johnson could not lose. Certainly, his party was always guaranteed to take the most seats. – Nigel Farage MEP for the Telegraph (£) Alex Morales: Remainers’ dreams are dying in Boris Johnson’s Brexit election For the past three and-a-half years, campaigners distraught at the UK’s decision to leave the European Union have been fighting to stop Brexit. But with Boris Johnson on course to win a majority in Thursday’s election, it’s a fight they are poised to lose. “This is the end of Remain,” said Anand Menon, Director of the UK in a Changing Europe program based at King’s College, London. “Even if the Tories get a majority of one, then Brexit will happen”… Johnson — who led the Brexit campaign before becoming prime minister — has largely headed off the threat that Nigel Farage’s hard-liners would split the Leave vote. Johnson is now gaining support from Brexit-backing voters in Labour’s traditional heartlands. Polls show the Conservative leader is set to win a majority on Dec. 12 that will allow him to push Brexit through parliament, shaping Britain’s political future for decades. If these predictions are accurate, it won’t just be because a large number of voters backed Brexit or, fed up with three years of turmoil, were receptive to Johnson’s promise to get it done. Johnson’s success in completing Brexit will owe as much to his opponents’ disarray as to his own strategy. – Alex Morales for Bloomberg Lance Forman: Here are Nigel Farage’s six big tactical errors, and what he can do to reverse them all Brexit Party support has drifted from thirty percent, when it won the European elections, to 14 percent when Boris became Prime Minister and now to three percent following his arrival back from Brussels with a renegotiated, and massively improved, deal. Whilst this can be interpreted as a disaster for the Brexit Party, I see it as a success for Brexit. The need for the Brexit Party has diminished as the likelihood of Brexit has tantalisingly come within reach. While the rebalancing of power and influence in favour of the Tories was underpinned by their diplomatic achievements, the process was nudged along by a number of unforced errors on the part of the Brexit Party. – Lance Forman MEP for the Telegraph (£) The Sun: Vote Boris Johnson or Brexit is toast and your referendum win will count for nothing If Brexit is the biggest election issue for you, there is now only one sane choice on Thursday: Boris Johnson’s Tories. It’s not just that the Prime Minister has a deal with the EU ready to go — and can ensure we leave on January 31 once he has a Commons majority. It’s that Labour has finally come off the fence as a Remain party. The Sun predicted long ago they would betray Leave voters and they now have. That’s why some Remainers who detest Corbyn and his foul thugs will vote for him anyway. If he is installed as PM with Lib Dem and SNP help he will guarantee Brexit’s destruction. Labour has vowed to agree a new surrender to Brussels which, unlike Boris’s deal, keeps us in the customs union, obeying EU rules and paying into its budget — with no immigration controls and no trade deals with the wider world. – The Sun says Brexit in Brief Boris Johnson is on the verge of breaking Theresa May’s curse by winning a majority – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) Nigel Farage reveals Brexit Party will change its name if Britain leaves the EU on Jan 31 – Telegraph (£) Brexit Party expels Hartlepool councillor for ‘racist comments’ – BBC News