Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Theresa May focuses on Brexit in pared-back Queen’s Speech… The Prime Minister put forward a Brexit-heavy legislative programme in her Queen’s Speech, with eight bills dedicated to the process of leaving the European Union… The complexity of Brexit has also been underlined as the Government sets out eight bills to deliver Britain’s exit from the EU. In addition to the Repeal Bill to transpose EU legislation into British law is a bill to end freedom of movement and impose immigration controls. Mrs May has excluded the explicit pledge to reduce immigration to the “tens of thousands”, despite saying she wanted to achieve this by the end of this Parliament. There is also a bill to create a standalone UK customs regime given the Government’s promise to leave the EU tariff-free customs union, as well as draft legislature to put in place the framework to strike trade deals around the world. – Sky News Brexit bills dominate government agenda – BBC News What’s in and what’s missing from the Queen’s Speech? – Sky News Britain’s path to “hard Brexit” revealed in Queen’s Speech – Politico Boris Johnson rules out leadership bid until after Brexit in March 2019 – Telegraph What did the Queen’s Speech say, and what did Her Majesty really mean? – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) Queen’s Speech: Weakened Prime Minister’s homage to humility – Faisal Islam for Sky News Battered and bruised, Theresa May limps into enemy territory – Tom McTague for Politico If you think this Queen’s Speech was a sign of weakness, you couldn’t be more wrong – Boris Johnson for the Telegraph (£) > Jonathan Isaby on BrexitCentral: What the Queen’s Speech says about Brexit …as Labour and Lib Dems threaten constitutional crisis by potentially voting down manifesto pledges in the House of Lords… Theresa May is facing a constitutional crisis after Labour and the Liberal Democrats threatened to use the House of Lords to water down Brexit. The Prime Minister is facing a battle to get the crucial legislation through the upper chamber after it emerged that peers may seek to ignore a 72-year convention and block new laws paving the way for Britain leaving the single market and EU customs union. The Salisbury Convention states that manifesto commitments made by a governing party should not be blocked or significantly altered by the Lords. However, within hours of Wednesday’s Queen Speech, which set out the various Brexit bills to be presented before Parliament in the coming months – opposition parties began to argue that the convention does not apply as Mrs May did not win a majority and has not agreed to govern in coalition. – Telegraph (£) Theresa May facing revolt over Brexit laws in Scotland and Lords – The Times (£) Corbyn demands the Brexit deal replicates all the benefits of the EU single market but still does not satisfy dozens of his MPs who insist Britain should stay in – Daily Mail DUP broke off talks with Tories for 36 hours this week as they demand £2billion for Northern Ireland – Telegraph DUP’s Sir Jeffrey Donaldson plays down reports of £2bn request to Tories – BBC News Theresa May’s failure to seize the initiative leaves the Government at the mercy of its opponents – Telegraph editorial Theresa May has a mountain to climb to secure Brexit and keep Marxists from power – The Sun says …as SNP also threatens to derail May’s ‘orderly’ Brexit unless Holyrood gets a mass of new powers SNP ministers have threatened to derail the UK Government’s plans for an “orderly” Brexit unless they are handed a swathe of new powers repatriated from Brussels. Mike Russell, the SNP’s Brexit Minister, warned the Scottish Parliament could withhold consent for a swathe of legislation required to plug gaps in the statute book after EU law ceases to apply… However, creating UK frameworks could require the Scottish Parliament to pass a series of Legislative Consent Motions (LCMs). These are usually needed when Westminster passes laws that cover devolved responsibilities and it would be unprecedented for one to be rejected. Although the UK Government could theoretically press ahead regardless, as they are only a convention, this could create a constitutional crisis with the SNP attempting to whip up anger in Scotland. Mrs May confirmed the Government is considering whether an LCM is required for the Repeal Bill. – Telegraph Theresa May says Scotland could get separate vote on Brexit law – Bloomberg Give us powers or we’ll scupper Brexit, says SNP – The Times (£) Theresa May travels to Brussels today to present citizens’ rights plans to EU leaders UK Prime Minister Theresa May is to address EU leaders on her plans for the issue of expats’ rights after Brexit. Mrs May will head to Brussels for her first European summit since she lost her Commons majority in the general election… Both sides say they want to come to an arrangement to secure the status of about 3.2 million EU nationals living in the UK, and 900,000 Britons overseas, but nothing has been decided so far. UK opposition parties have urged the government to make a unilateral guarantee to the EU migrants – but ministers have insisted a reciprocal deal is needed to ensure British expats are protected. Downing Street did not reveal details of Mrs May’s proposals, but the PM has previously called for the issue to be settled as quickly as possible. Full details of her plans are expected to be published on Monday. – BBC News May will outline what Whitehall officials told POLITICO two weeks ago would be a “big generous offer” designed to get the talks off to a positive start. But far from providing an early win for both sides, the specific proposals on how those rights are guaranteed look set to create an early collision. The EU’s position is that the European Court of Justice should act as the ultimate judicial authority in complex individual cases — but the U.K. has made the ECJ a red line in the negotiations. Ministers insist that “taking back control” — as Brexiteers promised in the referendum — means the court can no longer have jurisdiction over the U.K. They argue it is a natural consequence of leaving the EU. “All I will say is the U.K. will be a third country [after Brexit]. The logic flows from that,” a senior EU diplomat said. Another potential point of disagreement is the cut-off date for who qualifies for the enhanced status. – Politico Italian PM calls Brexit a ‘tough wake-up call’ ahead of EU summit – EurActiv Emmanuel Macron’s Brexit game plan – Nicholas Vinocur for Politico Battle over European agencies threatens to disrupt EU unity Brussels negotiators fear that the “champagne corks will be popping” in London as a battle over who gets European Union agencies based in Britain threatens to crack Europe’s unity at the start of Brexit negotiations… Tonight the race is on to host two prestigious agencies that will leave London before Britain exits the EU in a contest involving slick video promotions and plans for a knock-out vote this autumn. It will not be easy and the EU leaders are deeply divided on the rules of how to run what will be an acrimonious contest for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and European Banking Authority (EBA), both currently based at Canary Wharf in east London. A senior EU diplomat said yesterday: “If we fail to agree on even the rules of how to do this, then we fall at the first hurdle for our unity over Brexit. The Brits will be popping the champagne corks if we can’t agree.” – The Times (£) Relocation of UK agencies to be decided by Eurovision-style vote – EurActiv Britain finds an ally in German liberals With the Brexit negotiations finally underway, Britain is desperately looking for powerful allies in Europe — and it may soon have one in Christian Lindner, the leader of Germany’s liberal Free Democrats… Given the liberals’ long history of alliances with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, there is a significant chance they will be part of the next government — with the charismatic 38-year-old in one of the top ministerial positions… Berlin and Brussels’ tough tone on the Brexit talks to deter other would-be leavers has been wrong, Lindner believes. “Europe and Germany won’t do better if the Brits are weakened — quite the opposite. We have an interest in a strong and economically prosperous Britain,” he said. – Politico Germany’s kingmaker who is set to prop up Merkel says Britain can slash migration while keeping EU trade – The Sun New EU laws make UK’s complex Brexit ever more difficult More than 700 new EU laws have been introduced into the UK since the Brexit referendum, highlighting the scale and complexity of the task facing the government when it begins the process of deciding which European legislation to keep or scrap. On average, 60 EU regulations and directives have been added to the British statute book every month since June 2016, according to research by the legal division of Thomson Reuters. That adds to the estimated 19,000 EU regulations, directives and other rules that are already part of UK law. – FT (£) Daniel Hannan: A year ago tomorrow, Britain voted for freedom. Here are three Remain myths about the campaign that must be debunked. In the days following the referendum, three false assertions became widespread. First, that Leave had won dishonestly. Second, that the country had become more racist. Third, that the 52 per cent had wrecked the economy. The “liars” complaint is levelled by the losers of every vote… The notion that the Leave vote had been “all about immigration” was endlessly repeated in Remain circles and on the BBC. In fact, every opinion poll showed that sovereignty had been the main motivator… Saddest of all, though, was the determination to believe that Britain would become poorer. To be fair, several experts thought there would be an instant crash… We all make mistakes, of course. But an awful lot of people seemed to want the news to be as dire as possible… It was as though they wanted to inflict penury on their fellow countrymen so as to be able to say “I told you so”. – Daniel Hannan MEP for ConservativeHome Robin Niblett: The key task is to achieve a soft transition to a hard Brexit Leaving the EU has one inescapable result. The UK will no longer be a member of the single market. It may be able to negotiate access to the market even on identical terms. But, as a non-EU member, the UK will lose its seat at the EU table and, with it, the right to help set the rules for that access. Here the soft versus hard debate is meaningless. It is about being in or out: it is what Brexit means… Theresa May’s March 29 letter to President Tusk, triggering Article 50, laid out the only politically as well as economically credible long-term option. The UK will no longer be a member of the single market, but will maintain tight regulatory convergence to ensure good access. It will be outside the customs union, but seek low or zero tariffs and frictionless customs arrangements… The task now is to ensure a predictable transition from the withdrawal agreement to the new arrangement between the UK and the EU. – Robin Niblett for The Times (£) Juliet Samuel: Whisper it, but there is a strong majority in Parliament for a Brexit transitional deal Despite appearances, there is a growing consensus on Brexit and if the Government can survive, it should be able to broker a compromise that can get through Parliament. The compromise involves negotiating a transitional arrangement, like several years’ membership of the European Economic Area, that gives Britain and the EU extra time to strike a long-term trade deal. This wouldn’t deliver any Brexit priorities instantly, like immigration controls or an end to massive EU budget payments. But so long as it’s temporary, this approach would deliver Brexit over time while avoiding the economic shock of a chaotic exit without a deal… Many Brexiteers won’t voice their support for this position loudly, but behind the scenes and even occasionally in public, they have always acknowledged its advantages. – Juliet Samuel for the Telegraph (£) Iain Martin: The Tory brand is getting trashed again There is a useful warning from history involving Wellington. After his so-called great betrayal on Catholic Emancipation… the “Tory Ultras” set out to bring him down. It was self-harm that ushered in reform, which ultimately did for the cause of the Ultras. Even the hardest of the Tory hard Brexiteers surely can see the parallel today, now that the electoral landscape has altered. If not, I will spell it out. Bringing down the government because you don’t get everything you want on Brexit means an election, which you could lose, because your party is such a shambles, letting a Marxist into No 10. – Iain Martin for The Times (£) Isabel Hardman: Corbyn regains his confidence – but his Brexit troubles aren’t far away Corbyn’s main weakness before this election was a hopelessly divided Labour party… But Corbyn cannot relax too much about divisions in his party. The party’s main weakness is still a serious one: it does not have a clear position on Brexit that it can unite around. This was highlighted in the Commons, with the Labour leader insisting that his party was clear on Brexit, before saying ‘our position is we need tariff-free access to the European market’. Given the Queen’s Speech is so threadbare and given Brexit will be the dominant issue over the next two years, Labour cannot afford to be vague on its position, no matter how confident Jeremy Corbyn feels in the Commons now. – Isabel Hardman for the Spectator Brexit comment in brief The Conservatives and Brexit: the election and after – Dr Philip Lynch for Election Analysis EU socialists puzzled at Labour’s hostility to Europeans in UK – Denis MacShane for EurActiv Germany’s gas pact with Putin’s Russia endangers Atlantic alliance – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard for the Telegraph (£) Brexit Power Matrix 2.0 – Politico Brexit news in brief A year after the EU referendum, what does the public think about the Brexit negotiations? – Telegraph (£) Business environment and university sector should be key priorities after Brexit, report finds – City A.M. British farmers warn loss of EU workers will see strawberry prices soar – Guardian EU to ‘cross the rubicon’ in march towards euro army as eurocrats praise ‘constructive’ UK – Express Theresa May pledges £75m of taxpayers’ cash to tackle the migrant crisis in the Med – The Sun EU admits hardly any migrants reaching Europe are refugees as it toughens deportation talk – Express