Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Labour members handed chance to force Jeremy Corbyn to commit to new Brexit referendum Labour Party members will have the opportunity to force Jeremy Corbyn to commit fully to a fresh Brexit referendum, after the party bowed to pressure to stage a consultation. The grassroots survey will be launched next month and conclude by early August, The Independent can reveal – paving the way for the policy shift as a new hardline Conservative prime minister arrives in No 10, supporters believe. The Labour leader has been resisting calls – led by his deputy Tom Watson – to change his “mealy-mouthed” position on a Final Say vote, by agreeing a ballot of members, or a special conference. The demands grew after Labour crashed to a disastrous third place in the European elections, haemorrhaging votes to the clear anti-Brexit stance of the Liberal Democrats and Greens. Now the consultation will be staged by a branch of Labour’s National Policy Forum, called the International Policy Commission, and reach a verdict long before an expected clash at the annual conference in late September. – Independent Theresa May threatens to block no-deal Brexit ‘by joining forces with Rudd and Hammond’ as friends say she voted for Remainer Rory Stewart in Tory contest Theresa May has privately vowed to thwart any attempt by Boris Johnson to take the UK out of the EU without a deal, her allies have told The Mail on Sunday. The disclosure comes as senior party figures told The Mail on Sunday that Mrs May had voted for ultra-Remainer Rory Stewart in Thursday’s ballot of MPs, which led to a landslide victory for Mr Johnson. Mrs May, who has vowed to stay on as an MP after she leaves Downing Street next month, has suggested she would join forces with pro-Remain Ministers such as Chancellor Philip Hammond and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd to try to stop Mr Johnson from leaving after the October 31 deadline ‘Deal or No Deal’. The scale of Mr Johnson’s victory means that, barring a major Boris blow-up, the race has effectively turned into a battle for second place, with his vanquished opponents deciding whether to fight on or clamber aboard his bandwagon. – Mail on Sunday Boris Johnson surges in Tory leadership poll as rivals Michael Gove and Sajid Javid pitch for cabinet jobs Boris Johnson’s progress towards Downing Street appeared inexorable last night as his most senior rivals began circling for jobs in his cabinet and a new poll showed that voters believe he is the only leadership candidate who can win the next election. Two of Boris Johnson’s rivals — Michael Gove and Sajid Javid — used interviews with The Sunday Times to issue coded job applications. The YouGov poll put the Brexit party in first place on 24%, three points ahead of the Conservatives and Labour, reinforcing Johnson’s case that the next prime minister will need to seize votes from Nigel Farage’s party. Some 47% of voters think Johnson can win the next election and only 22% disagree. Just 15% think his nearest rival, Jeremy Hunt, can win another term in power. The poll also found that Johnson was the only candidate who would persuade voters to turn to the Tories — 22% said they would be more likely to vote Conservative if he was leader. None of his opponents scored more than 8%. He remains a divisive figure, however, with 22% saying he would unite the nation against 48% disagreeing. – Sunday Telegraph (£) Poll boost for Boris Johnson – Sky News Boris Johnson surges in Tory leadership poll as rivals Michael Gove and Sajid Javid pitch for cabinet jobs – Sunday Times (£) Johnson sets out leadership plan as Tory rivals say no to ‘coronation’… The hot favourite to become leader of the Conservative Party has spelled out his plan to the party’s faithful, should he become its leader. In video exclusively obtained by ITV News, Mr Johnson promised he would “get Brexit done, get ready for an election” if he wins the leadership contest. It comes amid plans reportedly being drawn up by senior party figures to let Mr Johnson skip the queue to the head of the party, leaving the other five candidates to be forced to step aside from the race. According to The Daily Telegraph, the scheme was hatched in the Tory whips’ office in an attempt to avoid weeks of damaging “blue on blue” attacks by the rival contenders. It would mean Mr Johnson would be the only candidate to go forward to the final postal ballot of party members, making his election a formality. ITV News Political Correspondent Paul Brand comments: “Is Boris Johnson really suggesting he could call a snap election? Sources close to him say he just means get party structures ready in case of an election, he’s not saying he wants one.” He says the Conservative party is “woefully unprepared for an election”. The plan to crown Johnson leader was strongly condemned by leadership contenders Sajid Javid and Rory Stewart, who both insisted there must be a proper contest. Arriving for a leadership hustings for the party grassroots, Mr Javid said they needed to learn from the last contest when Theresa May was elected unopposed after Andrea Leadsom dropped out. “The party and the country deserve a good choice,” he told reporters outside the event organised by the National Conservative Convention. – Tory rivals say there must be no ‘coronation’ for Boris Johnson – Observer Boris Johnson says unchallenged leadership coronation would be ‘totally wrong’ as contenders vow to stay in the race – Sunday Telegraph (£) …while he wins the backing of former rival Esther McVey… Former Conservative leadership contender Esther McVey has thrown her support behind Boris Johnson’s bid. Ms McVey – eliminated in the first ballot – told the Sunday Telegraph she was backing him because he had promised to deliver Brexit by 31 October. Mr Johnson is the clear frontrunner to replace Theresa May but his rivals have insisted they will not drop out. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Ms McVey said she would “wholeheartedly support” Mr Johnson after he agreed to incorporate aspects of her “blue-collar conservatism” ideas – such as investing money into public services – into his plans for government. She added: “He has promised to deliver Brexit on 31 October, deal or no deal, and has shown time and time again that he is a dynamic leader, capable of building a strong team around him that will deliver on his promises. “Our country is crying out for strong, optimistic leadership and Boris is the man best equipped to take us out of the EU.” – BBC News Boris Johnson gets the support of Esther McVey after pledging to boost schools and public services – The Sun …but Gavin Williamson is accused of ‘bully-boy’ campaign to drive Johnson into No 10 by ‘threatening’ fellow MPs to force them to back him Gavin Williamson was last night accused of mounting a ‘bully-boy’ campaign to drive Boris Johnson into No 10. The former Tory Chief Whip faced claims that he was resorting to ‘threats’ against fellow MPs to force them to back Mr Johnson. That allegedly included telling former Ministers there was no way back into office unless they backed Boris in the first round of voting. Mr Williamson was also accused of trying to scare colleagues into the Johnson camp by showing them dire polling figures showing they would lose their seats at the next General Election unless Boris was their leader. He also warned MPs not backing Boris that they will ‘crash against a wave of inevitability.’ Tellers at the first round of voting last week also reportedly demanded MPs surrender their phones amid reports Mr Williamson asked them to photograph their ballot papers to show they had backed Boris. One MP privately told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Gavin is behaving like a classic playground bully. It might work in the short-term but MPs will remember this.’ Mr Williamson’s emergence as co-chairman of the Johnson campaign alongside former Zac Goldsmith comes just weeks after Theresa May sacked him as Defence Secretary for allegedly leaking information from the National Security Council – a claim he firmly denied. – Mail on Sunday Nigel Farage claims Johnson ‘won’t deliver his promises’ on Brexit as next PM… Nigel Farage has said Boris Johnson will not deliver his Brexit promises as the next Prime Minister. The Brexit Party chief believes Johnson has “been playing the role of Sensible, Dull Boris” in a bid to win the Tory leadership contest. While Farage said he has “little doubt that Boris will win”, he said BoJo might end up letting the British public down like predecessor Theresa May. Writing in the Sunday Express, he said: “When I hear Boris say we will leave on the 31st of October, I am reminded that Mrs May told us 108 times that we would leave on the 29th of March.” He added: “Even if Boris Johnson becomes party leader and prime minister, the best we are likely to get from these Tories is a rehash of Mrs May’s appalling Withdrawal Agreement; a warmed-over version of her worst deal in history. “There seems little chance of the Conservatives delivering on Boris’s firm promise that we will leave the EU on 31st October.” – The Sun …and senior Tories suggest Johnson’s no-deal Brexit plan ‘will trigger an early election’ Boris Johnson’s attempts to appease hardline Tory Brexiters will tilt the party into a “disastrous general election” that could be just months away, senior Conservatives are warning. The runaway favourite to replace Theresa May is being told that the coalition of support set to deliver him Downing Street “won’t survive the autumn”, when he will have to decide whether to accept a deal with the EU or try to force a no-deal Brexit – a move likely to precipitate an election. Senior party figures are already warning of a “wipeout” in some parts of the country, such as Scotland and London, should it go into an election pledging to deliver a no-deal Brexit. They believe that once in office, Johnson will either be toppled by hardline Eurosceptic MPs should he back away from no deal, or provoke an election by pursuing such a policy. With leadership contenders ruling out a coronation on Saturday, Tory critics are demanding increased scrutiny of Johnson’s Brexit plans. David Gauke, the justice secretary, said: “Boris is saying that he will definitely leave the EU by 31 October, but he is refusing to say how he will do this if parliament takes steps to stop a no-deal Brexit. Will he respond by suspending parliament? Will he seek a general election? This lack of clarity is helping him maintain a broad base of support for now but it won’t survive the autumn. This is why his position on Brexit needs to be tested thoroughly now.” Alistair Burt, the former foreign office minister, said: “The risk of a serious confrontation in the party seems to be growing – the only way to avoid this is to get a deal. Jeremy Hunt is the best bet to open up the impasse, otherwise … we seem to be heading for a disastrous general election, with all the risks.” – Observer Now Kenneth Clarke says he’d ‘bring the Government down’ if there’s no other way to stop No Deal Last Wednesday the Tory MP and former attorney general Dominic Grieve said he would be prepared to vote down any government if it tried to act in defiance of parliament’s will. In an emotional statement in the Commons he told MPs that “the only way of stopping that prime minister [implementing a no-deal Brexit] would be to bring down that prime minister’s government… I will not hesitate to do that … Even if it means my resigning the whip and leaving the party.” Clarke told the Observer he, too, would feel bound to do the same and thinks other Conservatives could follow suit, though he does not know how many. Tory MPs bringing down a Tory government? Would that not elevate the political crisis to new levels? “Well, I mean, if there’s no other way … then you’ve got to bring that government down,” Clarke said. “You can’t have somebody saying ‘I’m going to be a dictatorial president for a month or two and fix everything despite parliamentary disapproval. If … some idiot was sailing onto a no-deal Brexit, I’d decide politics had finally gone mad and I was not going to support this.” – Observer Britain will not leave the EU this year – even with No Deal, Brussels claims Britain is unlikely to leave the European Union this year – even in the event of No Deal, Brussels said last night. Eurocrats say they are convinced Boris Johnson will be the next prime minister, but that he will U-turn on his promise to leave on October 31 come what may. Even in the event of a cliff-edge exit, they believe EU leaders would sign off on a short extension for a ‘controlled No Deal’ which would last into the beginning of 2020. However, EU officials are working on the assumption that Mr Johnson will not insist on forcing through No Deal because this would trigger a no confidence vote by MPs and end his premiership. Instead, they expect him to use his ‘charm and charisma’ to sell an amended version of the current deal which Theresa May was not capable of delivering. A senior EU source said: ‘A lot of people are scared about Boris, but I don’t think he is the worst of all. I think Boris can sell things back home that Theresa May probably couldn’t… If people really brief Boris and talk him through the implications of No Deal, I think he will really think twice.’ Another senior source added: ‘Whatever happens, you’ll probably end up with a short-term extension of two or three months. It will either be a short extension for a controlled No Deal, or to allow for getting a deal to pass through the [UK] parliament.’ – Mail on Sunday Britain will not leave the EU this year even with No Deal, Brussels warns amid claims Boris Johnson could delay Brexit – The Sun Leo Varadkar says removing the Irish backstop would be as bad as a no-deal Brexit Leo Varadkar has said that removing the border backstop would be as bad for Ireland as a no-deal Brexit. Some contenders to replace Theresa May as prime minister, including frontrunner Boris Johnson, have proposed changes to the policy. The EU has said the withdrawal agreement – including the backstop – is not up for renegotiation. The Irish premier told RTE’s Marian Finucane programme that the backstop is “a legally operable guarantee that we will never see a hard border emerge again”. “The difficulties we have with a time limit is effectively you are saying there will or could be a hard border once that time limit expires – that isn’t a backstop,” he said. “What we are open to, and always have been open to, is alternative arrangements that perhaps could avoid a hard border, through procedures and technologies and so on. “What we expect – and I don’t think it’s unreasonable – we want to see that fleshed out, we want to see it exist, it demonstrated before we are willing to give up the backstop.” May’s erstwhile Democratic Unionist party backers are adamant they cannot support any EU withdrawal deal that includes a backstop with no time limit. The Taoiseach added: “What people are saying is ‘give up the backstop’, which we know will work legally and operationally, in return for something that doesn’t yet exist but might exist in the future. “I can’t do that to the border communities.” – Observer Nigel Farage: Even if Boris Johnson wins, the best the UK is likely to get is Mrs May’s deal rehashed The Tory leadership contest has been so exceedingly dull, you might even imagine that Theresa ‘the Maybot’ May was running. That seems strangely appropriate. Because even if Boris Johnson becomes party leader and prime minister, the best we are likely to get from these Tories is a rehash of Mrs May’s appalling Withdrawal Agreement; a warmed-over version of her worst deal in history. There seems little chance of the Conservatives delivering on Boris’s firm promise that we will leave the EU on 31st October. And if they follow in Mrs May’s footsteps and betray Brexit yet again, the British public is unlikely to forgive or ever forget. To date, all of the Tory candidates have been playing safe, hiding behind their PR videos and creating not the slightest ripple of public interest or excitement. Even Mr Johnson has been playing the role of Sensible, Dull Boris this time. The only exception is Rory Stewart, whose enterprising and entertaining campaign at least makes it appear that he cares and is enjoying the circus. He looks likely to emerge as a much better-known political figure. For the most part, however, the candidates have been talking to themselves rather than the electorate. There is no post-Brexit vision beyond the tired sounding my-tax-cuts-will-be-bigger-than-yours contest. What of Brexit itself, by far the biggest issue facing our country? Half of the candidates are Leavers and half are Remainers, reflecting the new divide in British politics. – Nigel Farage MEP for the Sunday Express Ruth Davidson MSP and Matthew Elliott: Sajid Javid can reach fresh eyes and ears in a way that other candidates simply cannot Three years ago this month we were on opposite sides in the 2016 EU referendum. We fought our corner passionately throughout the long campaign, from the passage of the Referendum Bill until the fiercely contested Wembley Arena debate two days before polling day. We had thrown this issue to the British people, and they gave us a clear outcome in a free and fair referendum – the largest popular vote in the most important democratic exercise in our history. Despite our disagreements on this issue in 2016, we share three fundamental areas of common ground. One, that is was right for the country to have its say on EU membership, 41 years after the initial referendum in 1975. Secondly, that the result of the vote should be respected and implemented to keep our promise to the British people, and to maintain faith in our democratic system. Lastly, we firmly agree that Sajid Javid is the only person to deliver a clean, orderly Brexit and unite the country through this challenging period to a brighter future. We’ve both known Sajid for a long time and we know he has the negotiating experience and the best plan to get the changes needed with the EU for the Withdrawal Agreement to pass through Parliament. Sajid has always been open about his scepticism of some of the excesses of the European project and its centralising instincts. He was an early advocate for a referendum vote and has consistently argued for wide-ranging and urgent reform of the EU. So much so that Sajid was even once thrown out of Tory party conference for campaigning against joining the ill-fated ERM! – Ruth Davidson MSP and Matthew Elliott for the Sunday Telegraph (£) Esther McVey: Boris Johnson is supporting my agenda – which is why I’m supporting him The Conservative Party needs to become a natural home for voters in hard-working communities who have been abandoned by Jeremy Corbyn’s divisive Labour Party. If we are to win again we have got to deliver for our people in the North, the Midlands and the regions, and we need a leader who can reach out to them. In 2016, 17.4 million people voted to leave the European Union – not because they wanted us to pursue an isolationist future, but because they were filled with hope; hope and optimism that, free from the backward-looking and undemocratic institution that is the EU, the UK would be able to thrive by controlling its own destiny. They wanted us to bring back some basic forms of governance that the majority of countries around the world enjoy: an ability to control our own immigration rules, to choose how we spend our own taxpayer’s money, to have our courts determine how our laws are applied and to be able to agree trade deals with the fastest-growing economies in the world. But the referendum result gave us an opportunity to do something even greater: to bring back trust to our politics. Brexit was our chance to restore faith in our democracy. More people voted for Brexit than have voted for anything in our history – and yet the political class has casually tossed the result aside. They believe that they know better than the people they are here to serve and have spent their every waking hour frustrating the outcome of the referendum and tying Brexit up in knots. If we don’t leave the EU swiftly and decisively, the next few months will form the last chapter in the history of the Conservative Party. – Esther McVey MP for the Sunday Telegraph (£) Richard Tice: Why we must quit Brussels now – the sooner we leave this grotesque temple of excess the better Eurostar carriages were rammed with politicians en route to Brussels, as the EU rolled out the red carpet for newly elected MEPs last week. I was there for just 24 hours, but that was quite enough to get a taste of the extraordinary perks and privileges that go with the job. I left feeling sick — and more determined than ever to ensure that my time as an MEP for the Brexit Party is short. The EU is rotten to the core: We have to get out. After more than 30 years in business, running companies large and small, domestic and multi-national, I know what a lean, well-run operation looks like. I have also seen plenty of waste and extravagance. This week when I was in the belly of the beast at the EU, none of what I have seen in the corporate world prepared me for the nauseating displays of largesse. I have read plenty about the EU’s disregard for taxpayers’ money: The armies of mediocre bureaucrats, PR people, lawyers and lobbyists all getting fat off the oily machine. Hard to imagine British voters are on their radar. I know about the millions squandered on vanity projects, cocktail parties and grants for everything from dog rehabilitation centres to inspiring people to learn languages through “virtual swimming.” I’m not making this up. It is no secret that the EU is a gravy train, but I assumed whoever runs the place would be smart enough not to make it too obvious. I was wrong. – Richard Tice MEP for The Sun Sunday Times: Johnson is the favourite, but he may be three years too late When it comes to finding directions for the challenges the country now faces, you could be forgiven for thinking you wouldn’t start from here. The Tory leadership contest may be turning into a romp home for Boris Johnson, though you can never rule out this particular favourite tripping over his own shoelaces. The question is whether it would have been much better, for the country and certainly for the Conservative Party, if he had been successful in his first tilt at the leadership in the summer of 2016. A successful Boris Johnson-Michael Gove ticket then would have been the natural consequence of a referendum result that put the kibosh on David Cameron’s prime ministerial career. As leaders of the Vote Leave campaign, they were by inclination and force of circumstance more likely to adopt a more conciliatory approach to Brexit to get a deal through a remainer House of Commons. It was the remainer Theresa May who paradoxically took the hardest of hard lines at the start of her premiership. With two years to play with after invoking article 50, they might have had a better chance of delivering an amicable divorce and a future relationship with the EU. While Johnson, as prime minister, would have provided the broad direction for the government, Gove could have been responsible for much of the detail. Between them they could have assembled the kind of team needed to ensure a competent administration capable of delivering Brexit. May’s lack of leadership and secretive approach would be replaced by a more collegiate cabinet government. Brexit, once delivered and moved into the second, trade-negotiating stage, would no longer take up the whole of the government’s bandwidth. Johnson would still have a lot to prove; a sizeable proportion of voters think he is not a serious character and that the pressures of high office will overwhelm him. But he is in pole position. It might have been a lot better had he been there three years ago. – Sunday Times (£) editorial The Sun: Boris Johnson must answer how he’ll deliver Brexit and a better deal in just 100 days Boris Johnson is facing a stark ultimatum from hardline Tory MPs — deliver Brexit by Halloween or we join Nigel Farage. As we reveal today, this startling threat has come from the European Research Group, some of his closest allies on the Tory backbenches. Boris Johnson is facing a stark ultimatum from hardline Tory MPs — deliver Brexit by Halloween or we join Nigel Farage. As we reveal today, this startling threat has come from the European Research Group, some of his closest allies on the Tory backbenches. In his own catch phrase, “If you kick the can, you kick the bucket”. But he has also assured Remainer supporters that he believes that he can secure a bold new deal that will command sufficient support in the House. Meanwhile, EU negotiators believe that there is not enough time for Britain to hit the deadline and are planning for yet another extension. If Boris wins he will enter Downing Street on July 22, exactly 100 days before we are due to leave Europe. So how will he reshape Theresa May’s failed deal and resolve the row over the Northern Ireland backstop in a time-frame which is tighter than his waistband used to be? His answer to this question in Tuesday’s leadership debate will be fascinating. Over to you, Boris. No pressure! – The Sun says Brexit in Brief The Brexit plans of each Tory leadership candidate – and what Brussels will think of them – James Crisp for the Sunday Telegraph (£) House of Commons staff given Brexit bonus totalling £700,000 for late nights and cancelled holidays – Sunday Telegraph (£) Boris Johnson told by Wetherspoons boss: ‘Don’t dare dream of more Brexit negotiations’ – Sunday Express