Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Conservatives’ last-minute climb as ‘Leavers’ lose faith in Labour and turning to the Tories The Tories are pulling away from Labour as the election finish-line approaches, according to an exclusive poll that has the Conservative lead at nine points. A Labour surge throughout May appears to have been reversed in the last week, according to The Telegraph’s election tracker. Some 45 per cent of voters now back the Tories, according to ORB International – up one point. Labour is on 36 per cent – down two points. That means that the Conservative hold a nine-point lead going into the final week of campaigning, up from six points a week earlier. – Telegraph General election will go ahead on 8 June, says May – BBC News UK manufacturing boosted by surge in demand for British goods Britain’s manufacturing industry remains strong, with exports up as UK trade continues to enjoy a boost from a weaker pound and an improving global economy, according to a new survey. The quarterly survey, compiled by EEF, which represents British manufacturers, and accountancy firm BDO, said Brexit-related uncertainty was presenting “less of a drag than previously expected” with firms reporting positive output and new order balances. – Sky News Global recovery drives World Bank triple growth upgrade for UK economy The World Bank has upgraded its forecasts for UK growth over the next three years against a stronger global backdrop that will boost the British economy despite its weak start to the year. Economists at the Bank expect the UK economy to grow by 1.7pc this year. This is only slightly below last year’s expansion of 1.8pc, and up from a forecast of 1.2pc in January. This is only slightly below last year’s expansion of 1.8pc, and up from a forecast of 1.2pc in January. – Telegraph Brexit ushers in more competition for skilled staff Britain’s departure from the European Union is expected to trigger more competition for skilled workers, a study suggests today. Three out of four managers believe competition will intensify in the wake of Brexit, according to the latest Resourcing and Talent Planning Survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) and recruitment firm Hays. – Scotsman Brexiteers are willing to pay a premium for homegrown produce as survey shows many want a good Brexit deal for agriculture Brexit-supporting shoppers are more likely to pay extra for British-grown products than Remain voters according to research by ComRes for British Sugar. Asked whether they would pay “a bit more” for home-grown products, 62 per cent of Leave voters said they would, compared to a figure of just 52 per cent among those who for Remain. – City A.M. Nicola Sturgeon believes Scotland will be independent by 2025 Nicola Sturgeon believes Scotland will have voted to leave the United Kingdom and become an independent country by 2025. The leader of the SNP and Scottish First Minister said her timetable for holding a second vote on Scottish independence remains unchanged and that it should take place at the end of 2018 or in the early part of 2019. She has also insisted that Scotland’s voice must be heard during Brexit negotiations and that she would not accept being told to “shut up” by the rest of the UK. – Telegraph Irish finance minister Noonan attacks strict application of EU fiscal rules Michael Noonan has renewed his criticism of how EU fiscal rules are applied, claiming that their inflexibility has stunted the economy’s growth. The outgoing finance minister, who has repeatedly articulated his support for the rules but has been negative about the manner in which they are applied, said that further scope to deviate was necessary to support investment. Under the restrictions, member states must adhere to strict debt and deficit targets. – Times Dublin poised to create post‑Brexit finance hub Millions of square feet of office space will be filled over the next three years as a “significant” influx of Brexit-related jobs boosts employment in the capital, the head of the National Asset Management Agency has said. Brendan McDonagh said that he was aware of a lot of interest from UK-based companies looking to establish Irish operations following Brexit. He revealed that about 11 million sq ft of office space had planning permission in Dublin, about half of which has sufficient funding to be developed. – Times Daily Express: Vote Theresa May for both a better Brexit and Great Britain we can all be proud of Having campaigned for Britain to leave the EU, this newspaper acutely understands that there is only one way to guarantee the best Brexit deal possible and that is to vote Conservative.The alternative is to allow Mr Corbyn and his confused cohort to ride roughshod over a democratic process that saw 52 per cent of the population vote to leave the Brussels bloc… But if May wins a large Commons majority, the hope that Britain will change its mind will be dashed for ever. There is no going back, despite EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s delusional outbursts, and the only person with a proper vision for Britain moving forward is Mrs May. By declaring that no deal is better than a bad deal, the Prime Minister, a woman with a proven track record as a tough negotiator having orchestrated the extradition of hate preacher Abu Qatada, has already proved she is not for turning. – Daily Express editorial Roger Bootle: Trump is correct: German surplus is bad news for everybody else Most Germans are proud of their surplus and suggest that other countries would be better if they copied Germany, seemingly oblivious of the fact that in order for Germany to be able to have a surplus, someone else has to have a deficit. The problem now extends beyond Germany. The workings of the single currency have turned the whole eurozone Teutonic. The eurozone’s external surplus now exceeds the combined surpluses of China and Japan. Germany and the euro are the source of the world economy’s greatest imbalance. – Roger Bootle for the Telegraph (£) Brexit comment in brief What Brexit, the General Election and foreign demand means for London’s commercial property market – Shruti Tripathi Chopra for City A.M. Brexit reversal and the general election – Letter to the Editor in The Times (£) Merkel and Schulz fight over who’s the better European – Janosch Delcker for Politico Brexit news in brief May’s Brexit shoes talk loudest on campaign trail –The Times (£) Alastair Campbell compares Brexiters to Jihadists – Guido Fawkes Davidson in row over Brussels ‘stitch-up’ if Tory MEP has to quit – The Scotsman