Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Cross-party Brexit talks to continue tomorrow as ministers urge Corbyn to do a deal… Cross-party Brexit talks are set to continue this week as ministers urged Jeremy Corbyn to do a deal with the Government to break the deadlock. Negotiations between Labour and the Conservatives will resume on Tuesday, with reports over the weekend suggesting Theresa May is poised to propose a temporary customs arrangement with the EU. But shadow chancellor John McDonnell accused the Prime Minister of jeopardising the talks, claiming she had “blown the confidentiality” of the discussions. He said he no longer trusts Mrs May, following reports in the Sunday Times that she was prepared to give ground in three areas: customs, goods alignment and workers’ rights. Meanwhile Rory Stewart, the newly appointed International Development Secretary, warned that the Tories could lose four million voters if the party takes a harder line on Brexit and tries to “outdo” Nigel Farage. He said Labour and the Conservatives’ positions were a “quarter of an inch apart”, telling Sky News’ Sophy Ridge of Sunday: “I think a deal can be done, a lot of this rests on… whether Jeremy Corbyn really wants to deliver a Brexit deal. “But I think if he wants to do it, it will be actually surprisingly easy to do because our positions are very, very close.” – ITV News ..with one Cabinet minister saying the parties are ‘very, very close’ to Brexit deal The Conservatives and Labour are “very, very close” on Brexit and so it would be “surprisingly easy” to broker a deal, cabinet newcomer Rory Stewart has told Sky News. But the International Development Secretary, speaking on Sophy Ridge On Sunday, said it depended on whether Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wanted to reach an agreement. Mr Stewart also warned that if the Tories tried to “outdo” Mr Farage then it could lose four million Conservative Remain-supporting voters. The prime minister has faced renewed calls from within her own party to quit, following last week’s drubbing at the local elections, blamed on her handling of Brexit. But Mr Stewart said: “I think that this idea that somehow it’s all to do with an individual is naive. This is about Brexit. – Sky News Brexit deal 99% done: May and Corbyn very close to breakthrough – Express Rory Stewart warns Tories would lose millions of Remain voters by trying to ‘out-do’ Nigel Farage – PoliticsHome > WATCH: International Development Secretary Rory Stewart on Sky’s Ridge on Sunday John McDonnell pours cold water on Theresa May’s customs union plan… The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has poured cold water on Theresa May’s plan to offer a temporary customs union to win Labour over to a Brexit deal, saying the cross-party talks were like “trying to enter a contract with a company going into administration”. McDonnell said his party wanted to do a deal as quickly as possible but would require a permanent customs union to provide stability for businesses, not just an interim arrangement until the next election. He also said he had no trust in the prime minister after details of the talks were briefed to Sunday newspapers. Asked whether he trusted the prime minister, McDonnell said: “No, sorry, not after this weekend when she’s blown the confidentiality I had and I actually think she’s jeopardised the negotiations for her own personal protection.” The negotiations are expected to enter a serious phase on Tuesday, after both leaders expressed a willingness to get a deal done following a month of technical talks. – Guardian John McDonnell: No trust left in PM over Brexit talks – BBC News Theresa May accused of negotiating in ‘bad faith’ as Labour say she can’t be trusted on Brexit deal – Telegraph (£) Labour backlash scuppers Theresa May’s hopes of cross-party deal – Independent John McDonnell says he does not trust Theresa May after terms of potential Brexit deal emerge – PoliticsHome Labour’s John McDonnell says he has no trust in PM as he accuses her of betraying Brexit talks – Evening Standard > WATCH: Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell on BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show …while it is reported she is in secret discussions about a second referendum… Theresa May has held secret discussions over a three-way second referendum ahead of a crunch meeting with Labour this week to agree a cross-party Brexit deal. The Prime Minister has carried out “scenario planning” with aides and ministers in case the Government cannot prevent a Parliamentary vote on a second referendum. John McDonnell, the shadow Chancellor, said it “may well” be the case that any deal would have to be put to a second referendum, adding: “I think the Conservatives have to recognise that if a deal is going to go through there might be a large number of MPs who will want a public vote.” Mrs May and her advisers are understood to have ‘war gamed’ the possibility of giving voters a choice of her deal, no deal and remain, though Government sources insisted it would only become relevant if talks with Labour collapse and Parliament forces a vote on a second referendum. That could happen either through a series of “indicative votes”, which are Mrs May’s plan B if the Labour talks fail, or through an amendment to Brexit legislation. – Telegraph (£) …as Labour MPs say they won’t back a Brexit deal without a “People’s Vote” Jeremy Corbyn will not be able to get enough of his MPs to back a Brexit deal without the promise of a second referendum, even if Theresa May makes a big offer on a customs union and workers’ rights this week, senior Labour figures believe. Senior party sources said they believe two-thirds of Labour MPs, including several shadow cabinet ministers and many more frontbenchers, would refuse to back a deal without a people’s vote attached. Theresa May is preparing to make new proposals of a temporary customs union until the next election, matching EU employment rights in the future and alignment of single market regulations on goods. The prime minister wrote an article in the Mail on Sunday urging Labour to “put our differences aside for a moment” to do a deal when negotiators meet on Tuesday, while Corbyn said after the local election results that voters wanted MPs to “get a deal done” on Brexit. The shadow chancellor made clear that Labour would need changes to the withdrawal agreement and political declaration negotiated with the EU to make sure future Tory leaders could not tear up the agreement after Brexit. More than 100 opposition MPs, including 66 from Labour, said at the weekend they would not tolerate a “Westminster stitch-up” on a Brexit deal without a second referendum. – Guardian Don’t cave in to Labour on Brexit, Tories tell May… Theresa May was warned yesterday that more than 100 of her MPs would try to block a softer Brexit as Labour prepared to reject her offer of a temporary customs arrangement to seek further concessions. Cross-party talks between the Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyn’s party, aimed at breaking the deadlock in parliament over the prime minister’s deal, are due to resume tomorrow. In what would be the first formal offer from the government to the opposition, the Tories are expected to propose a temporary customs deal. Ministers claim this would give Britain the benefits of being in the customs union while allowing some trade agreements to be negotiated but not signed. This arrangement would remain in place until a general election, at which point Labour could campaign for a permanent customs union.The Tories would argue for a harder Brexit that, if successful and an alternative solution were found for the Northern Ireland border, would result in the implementation of the trade agreements. With the prime minister fending off pressure from Conservatives worried that she will further soften her Brexit stance, The Times understands that the government has decided not to offer the full, permanent customs union wanted by Labour. After days of talks it has concluded that the opposition would accept a more temporary deal, avoiding huge ructions inside the Conservative Party. Tory MPs urged her not to cave in if Labour rejects the offer. Nigel Evans, executive secretary of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tories, told Pienaar’s Politics on Radio 5 Live: “If there is a compromise that turns out to be a kind of ‘Brexit in name only’ involving anything close to a customs union, there would be more than 100 Tory MPs who would never support it.” – The Times (£) …but Rory Stewart says a Conservative Party split would be a price worth paying to deliver Brexit and let the UK ‘move on’ A Conservative Party split would be a price worth paying if it meant delivering Brexit and allowing Britain to “move on”, a Cabinet minister has suggested. Rory Stewart, the newly-appointed International Development Secretary, said the Conservatives needed to be willing to accept the “short term pain” of agreeing a Brexit compromise with Labour. His comments provoked an angry response from Tory Brexiteers who believe striking a softer Brexit deal with Jeremy Corbyn will spell electoral doom for their party. Cross-party Brexit talks could reach their conclusion this week when senior ministers meet their Labour counterparts to discuss a deal over customs arrangements, workers’ rights and regulatory alignment. Mrs May has urged Mr Corbyn to “put our differences aside for a moment” and “do a deal” after both parties suffered a difficult set of results at the local elections last week. Mr Stewart, who has said he wants to be the next Tory leader, insisted agreeing a Brexit compromise deal was the “right thing to do” even if it meant damaging the Party. He told the BBC: “I think to get Brexit done and to move this country on is worth an enormous amount and you are right, we may have to take some short term pain to do that. – Telegraph (£) Brexit ‘is worth splitting Tories’ – Minister’s astonishing claim – Daily Mail Nigel Farage challenges Jeremy Corbyn to a Brexit debate… Nigel Farage has challenged Jeremy Corbyn to a debate ahead of the upcoming European elections, claiming a deal between Labour and the Tories would be “the final betrayal”. Speaking on Sophy Ridge on Sky’s Ridge on Sunday, Farage laid down a challenge to Corbyn. The Brexit Party leader said: “There are five million voters out there, Labour voters, who voted to leave, particularly in the Midlands, the north, and south Wales. “I would love between now and polling to have a debate with Jeremy Corbyn about this because people are very confused about what Labour are standing for.” Farage added: “I think if we can dig into the Labour vote, we can surprise even ourselves.” The former Ukip leader said he had given 26 years of his life to the party, but it was now “past its sell-by date”. He said: “It’s done, it’s gone.” – ITV News Nigel Farage challenges Jeremy Corbyn to European election Brexit debate as he vows to ‘dig in’ to Labour vote – Telegraph (£) Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage challenges Corbyn to a debate ahead of European Parliament elections – Evening Standard > WATCH: Brexit Party’s Nigel Farage MEP’s Interview on Sky’s Ridge on Sunday …as Farage warns a ‘soft’ Brexit stitch-up deal would be the ‘final betrayal’ of the British people Nigel Farage has warned that a soft-Brexit stitch-up would be the “final betrayal” of Brits who voted to Leave. The Brexit Party boss also revealed that 85,000 people have signed up and given £25 to his new venture – raising a whopping £2million already. And he’s got his sights firmly on Labour votes for the upcoming EU elections on May 23, where the major parties are set for another drubbing. Mr Farage told the Sunday Telegraph: “If the Tories do a deal with Labour on the customs union they will be going into coalition with the Opposition against the people.” The news comes as it was revealed that a Brexit deal with Labour could be on the cards within days after both parties got a kicking in the polls this week. Mrs May told Mr Corbyn today in an article for the Mail on Sunday: “Let’s listen to what the voters said in the local elections and put our differences aside for a moment. “Let’s do a deal. “I do sincerely believe that – more than 34 long months on from the referendum – what people want is for their politicians to come together in the national interest and get Brexit over the line.” But the former Ukip boss added that if there was such a deal, anger in the country would “explode” under them. He told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday this morning: “I think millions of people would give up on both Labour and the Conservatives. “This would be the final betrayal. “If May signs up to this, I can’t see the point of the Conservative party existing.” – The Sun Record 82 per cent of Conservatives want Theresa May to quit, poll of party members reveals A record 82 per cent of Tories now want Theresa May to quit, according to the latest poll of party members. The survey – the first to be conducted by the ConservativeHome website since the Tories suffered their worst local elections performance in 24 years last week – will increase pressure on Mrs May to set a date for her departure. The proportion of Tory members calling for the PM to quit is up 3 per cent in a fortnight ago – and 11 points higher than a month ago. Tory MPs will again try to change the rules to oust Mrs May on Wednesday. Last month the powerful executive of the 1922 Tory committee that decides the rules narrowly rejected calls to change the 12-month grace period that protects the PM from another attempt to oust her. The PM is due for a crunch meeting with Tory kingmaker Sir Graham Brady on Tuesday, when he will demand she set out a departure date. Yesterday he said he was “waiting her response now that the local elections are over”. If she still refuses to name a date, members of the 1922 executive committee that he chairs could again discuss and vote on a rule change at a meeting on Wednesday that would allow Tory MPs to hold another vote of no confidence. Under current rules the PM cannot be challenged again until December. But in a sign that Mrs May is beginning to lose the support of Sir Graham, who has remained loyal throughout, the senior MP said that the recovery of the Tory party “depends on national leadership”. – The Sun Theresa May must go! Huge number of Conservative voters call on PM to quit now – Express ‘Record number’ of Tory members think May should step aside as PM, poll says – Evening Standard Graham Brady: Bending to Labour would be a catastrophic mistake with unthinkable consequences The frustration that the government has failed to move things forward is palpable – especially among businesspeople who above all want things settled and predictable, whatever the outcome. The temptation for the government now to do whatever is necessary to secure some kind of Brexit agreement is obvious but it must be resisted. To reach an agreement with Labour that locked the United Kingdom into the customs union might pull in enough Labour votes to allow an agreement to limp over the line but the price could be a catastrophic split in the Conservative party and at a time when the Opposition is led by dangerous extremists, the consequences for our country would be unthinkable. If the government is determined to press ahead with a variant of Mrs May’s Withdrawal Agreement, then the only way is to mitigate its worst effects by ensuring that we can’t be trapped in the wrong relationship with the EU for good. The work that has been done to date to prove that the Irish border can flow freely must be included in any legislation brought forward. If there is a silver lining in a set of lousy local election results, it is that numerous Labour MPs across the north and midlands have seen at close quarters how angry their constituents are that they have been standing in the way of Brexit. Any deal with Labour should be one that brings those MPs onboard with Conservatives and DUP, not one that flies in the face of our own promises and increases the chasm between the Conservative party in parliament and its already fractious supporters around the country. We need to move forward rapidly but never forgetting what we have promised the British people: we have been warned. – Sir Graham Brady MP for the Telegraph (£) Bernard Jenkin: An anti-Brexit alliance between the PM and Corbyn will be a catastrophe for the country Labour’s John McDonnell should be wary about a potential Brexit deal with the prime minister. Labour could seize the chance to nail down a Brexit which meets their key demands, exploiting the Government’s new weakness, as it appears ready to compromise anything and everything just to get Brexit “over the line”. However, while Labour will want to string out the talks, they will not want to join what Mr Farage has already branded “a coalition against the people” to help Mrs May’s deal through. Both the main parties are paying the price for failing to deliver Brexit. Don’t be fooled by voter defections to the Lib Dems or the Greens. They have always been vehicles for protest voters, and historically have attracted significant eurosceptic support. Such defections do not express a sudden enthusiasm for staying in the EU or for a second referendum, or (least of all) for Mrs May’s deal. Thursday was a much more significant event for the Conservative Party than expected. It is now unarguable that the Conservative Party must take the UK out of the European Union in order to survive as a viable political force. The only question is whether the Conservative Party is willing to deliver a Brexit which our supporters recognise as leaving the EU. So, unless Brussels can be persuaded to replace the backstop, a WTO Brexit is the only realistic way to achieve Brexit. It will be difficult for many MPs to come to terms with this, but we have no choice, or the Farage bandwagon will roll. – Sir Bernard Jenkin MP for the Telegraph (£) Brandon Lewis: The message from the local elections to all of us is clear. Get a move on – and deliver Brexit We went into these local elections expecting a tough fight – and that’s what we got. We saw many good and hardworking councillors lose their seats despite wins in Walsall, North East Lincolnshire and for the first-time ever, North East Derbyshire. There’s no denying these have been challenging elections for us. I know how much effort has been put into this campaign on the ground. Over the past few months, I’ve seen first hand how hard members, activists, candidates and councillors have been working to get as many Conservative councillors in charge of local services as possible. In the last week alone, I joined activists across the country from Swindon to South Gloucestershire delivering leaflets and knocking on doors, and saw this commitment up close. As the governing party, and after nine years in government, we expected the campaign to be difficult – to put this into perspective, after the same number of years in government, Labour had lost over 4,400 councillors. We were also fighting them off a high water mark of the 2015 general election, when we gained six in ten seats and 32 councils. Local elections give residents the chance to choose a council to deliver high-quality local services and lower council taxes. Conservatives do this consistently but, sadly, the politics of Westminster overshadowed the debate and voters have sent us a clear message at the ballot box – get on and deliver Brexit. – Brandon Lewis MP for ConservativeHome Jack Maidment: How Theresa May is planning three major Brexit concessions to win over Jeremy Corbyn and get deal agreed Theresa May will face her latest “moment of truth” on Tuesday when she presents Labour with a new Brexit compromise plan which she hopes will break the deadlock and deliver an orderly departure from the European Union. Success will be securing Jeremy Corbyn’s support while failure will see the Prime Minister forced to change tack and adopt the plan B of offering MPs votes on different Brexit options. Both ways forward are likely to have nightmarish consequences for Mrs May. The Prime Minister’s new Brexit plan is based on a trio of major concessions designed to win over Labour, but all three will be opposed by large numbers of Tory MPs. The first will be the most controversial. Mrs May will respond to Labour demands for a customs union-based Brexit deal by offering to put in place a comprehensive but temporary customs arrangement lasting until the next general election when both sides would be able to set out competing visions for the UK’s future relationship with the EU. Eurosceptics believe this will be a customs union in all but name and will rob the UK of the ability to have an independent trade policy until at least 2022 and probably much longer. Meanwhile, Labour has been unequivocal that post-Brexit customs arrangements must be permanent in order to give certainty to businesses. That makes the chances of Mr Corbyn accepting the proposal slim. The other two measures – one on goods alignment and one on workers’ rights – are likely to be welcomed by Labour but will prove incendiary for many Tories. For Brexiteers who believe the UK should be free to go its own way on regulations and laws after Britain leaves the bloc, both proposals will represent an unacceptably close relationship. – Jack Maidment for the Telegraph (£) Telegraph: A Brexit deal with Corbyn would blow the Conservative Party apart Theresa May has urged Parliament to “listen to what the voters said” in the local elections in England last Thursday. As is often the case with the Prime Minister, her interpretation of the message from the electorate is not necessarily the one that others draw. Mrs May said the heavy defeats suffered by both the Tories and, to a lesser extent, Labour were a cry of frustration from the country to get Brexit settled. She is undoubtedly right about that; but settled how, exactly? The Prime Minister is determined to deliver something called Brexit without being overly fussed about what it entails. To that end, she is relying on Labour to agree a pact. But to do so she will have to make such concessions, notably on the customs union, that the Tory party would be blown apart. If Mrs May thinks the solution to her difficulties is for the front benches of the two main parties to cobble together a deal that many of their own MPs don’t want and the country didn’t vote for then she will be grievously disappointed. – Telegraph (£) editorial Trevor Kavanagh: Theresa May continues to ignore furious voters by begging Jeremy Corbyn to do a Brexit deal Millions of furious voters last week sent Theresa May a flashing red warning: “Stop treating us like fools.” Not for the first time, she has decided to ignore them. Having led this nation to the brink of Brexit anarchy, the PM will instead connive with her nastiest enemy to stitch up her own party . . . and Leave voters across the country. “Let’s do a deal,” she begs Jeremy Corbyn — who aims to destroy the Tories, undermine the Western way of life and turn Britain into a Marxist state. Talks on her “deal” — Brexit in Name Only, or “BRINO” — have already handed this anti-Semitic class-warrior undeserved status as a responsible political player. An agreement this week might save them both being put to the sword by Nigel Farage in looming European elections. For if Thursday’s town-hall polls were a richly deserved bloodbath, May 23 will be their Armageddon. The idea that Mrs May would rely on hundreds of Labour MPs to ram BRINO through Parliament is poisonous not just to her Brexit-supporting Tories but to voters across all parties. She will never be forgiven, in Farage’s damning words, “if she builds a coalition against the people”. Nor will those Cabinet ministers who believe any old Brexit is better than none. Nobody trusts Mrs May and for good reason. She has broken too many promises. She insisted we would leave the EU customs union which sets our trade policy and our tariffs with other countries.Now she is ready to tear up this pledge, leaving Britain in limbo with no say and no gain. We will also abandon hard-won trade-union reforms and accept the sort of red tape that has seen EU joblessness rates soar. The PM is being pressed to allow a second referendum — rejected, until now, as a total betrayal of the first one. Will she go wobbly on this promise, too? The stark truth is that Mrs May should not even be in charge of talks. – Trevor Kavanagh for The Sun Johnny Leavesley: A donor exodus over this Brexit chaos could kill off the Tories How damaging is bad? Historically the Conservative Party is the great survivor, being the oldest political organisation in the democratic world, with a knack for achieving power and governing responsibly. However, it is undoubtedly in crisis. I am chairman of a group of businesses that was established in 1947 to argue against nationalisation and promote what was then referred to as Free Enterprise. We are not affiliated to the Conservatives but have always been close. Most particularly, at the last General Election our members donated to 78 marginal constituencies, returning 42 Conservative MPs. We might be considered part of the Party’s foundations, but this support must be earned. Each time Tory Treasurers return to their donors for any meaningful amount, their case has to be persuasive. Unlike Labour fundraising, with its constitutionally connected unions donating via their members’ subscriptions. Tory donations can’t be taken for granted and this year CCHQ has found significant fundraising nearly impossible. The Conservatives are at a point of potential rupture comparable to the Corn Laws, Empire Protection and, to a lesser extent, Maastricht – all of which flung them out of office. The situation is not irredeemable, but it is very bad. The internecine factionalism surfaced by Brexit is largely contained within a parliamentary party at odds with its membership and donor base. If the Government does not pass the Withdrawal Agreement very soon Tory MPs will need to acknowledge this failure will end their ability to be a party of government. Members and donors will go elsewhere. – Johnny Leavesley for the Telegraph (£) Charlie Cooper: Can Theresa May reach a Brexit deal with Labour? A Brexit deal on customs between Theresa May’s government and Labour may be doable — as long as both sides are prepared to dish out plenty of fudge. A month of talks between senior ministers, shadow ministers and officials from both sides are approaching their end game, with government officials indicating that the prime minister wants to draw them to a close soon. While some reports have suggested a deal is near, officials on both sides are urging caution and keeping the detailed contents of the discussions under wraps. The prime minister made a direct appeal to her opposite number Jeremy Corbyn in an article in the Mail on Sunday ahead of a resumption of talks on Tuesday. “Let’s listen to what the voters said in the local elections and put our differences aside for a moment. Let’s do a deal,” she wrote, referring to the kicking both parties got — albeit much worse for the Tories — in last Thursday’s poll. “Our positions are about a quarter of an inch apart,” International Development Secretary Rory Stewart told Sky’s Ridge on Sunday program. But Labour’s Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell sounded a lot less optimistic. “It’s trying to enter into a contract with a company which is about to go into administration,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, adding that he did not trust May. “What really matters is the numbers in parliament,” said a Labour official with knowledge of the talks. “We won’t agree anything unless it has the confidence of our MPs. There is no point agreeing to something that gets rejected as soon as it touches parliament.” For many Labour MPs, that confidence is predicated on the deal being tied to a second referendum; something May is all but certain to refuse. Labour have their own problem with a group of several dozen MPs who will not back any deal that is not tied to a second referendum. That is something the government says it will not countenance and which so far has shown no sign of winning a majority in parliament, although McDonnell hinted that it may need to be an element of the deal. “To get any deal over the line, you’ve got to recognize there will be a large number of MPs in parliament who actually do support a public vote,” he said. So while the first building block of a compromise deal — a de facto customs union — looks as though it is potentially achievable, a final settlement that means May’s Brexit deal being ratified any time soon still looks like a very tall order. Charlie Cooper for Politico Dominic Lawson: It’s totally delusional – and cynical – for Labour to claim it has a magic wand to solve Brexit Delusional is the only word for it. I am referring to Labour’s magic recipe for an agreement with the Government to enable Brexit — almost three years after the country voted to leave the EU. Yesterday, on the main TV politics shows (Marr on the BBC and Sophy Ridge on Sky), the Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and the Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon both declared that what they wanted was for Theresa May to agree to sign up to a ‘permanent customs union’ with the EU, in which the UK would ‘have a say’ in any future trade deals that the union makes. The Prime Minister might — to the fury of Brexiteers and yet more Cabinet resignations — agree to make such a proposal to the EU. But here’s the bigger problem: Brussels won’t buy it. This was made clear in an article — largely ignored — written last month for the British press by the EU’s former trade commissioner and ex-director general of the World Trade Organisation, Pascal Lamy. The formidable M Lamy started by observing: ‘At the heart of the Labour proposal is to stay in a customs union and continue to have a say over EU trade policy.’ Then he spelt it out: ‘It is not so simple. Article 207 of the Lisbon Treaty makes clear that a common commercial policy is exclusive to the EU’s direction. ‘Turkey, which is in a partial customs union with the EU, has to follow EU trade agreements with third countries but has no say on them.’ Lamy’s conclusion was brutal: ‘The reality is that in a customs union, all the power would rest with the EU, with the UK as a follower.’ – Dominic Lawson for the Daily Mail Brexit in Brief Let’s hope for a Euro deal to boost Britain – Express editorial Theresa May must now accept the game is up and announce a departure date – The Sun says