Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Theresa May could abandon talks with Labour and hold a fourth Commons vote on her Brexit deal in the next nine days… Cabinet ministers are urging Theresa May to abandon Labour talks and force a fourth Commons showdown on her Brexit deal next week instead. Time is running out for the PM to avoid having to hold euro elections, with the poll to elect MEP on May 23 – four weeks tomorrow. As cross party talks to pass the EU agreement began again yesterday after the Easter break, frustrated Mrs May accused Labour of dragging its feet. No10 is considering trying to speed up the process by asking Parliament to ratify the Brussels deal anyway by introducing the Withdrawal Agreement Bill that enshrines it in law. Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom were among several senior ministers who lobbied the PM for the emergency move during a meeting of her top table yesterday. It would be high risk without any newly-established majority ready to support it. But one senior minister told The Sun: “We’ve got to do something. Being seen to do nothing and allowing Brexit just to drift is killing us out there on the doorstep. Talks with Labour are going nowhere, and were never going to.” – The Sun May plans Withdrawal Agreement Bill vote next week following leadership reprieve – Sky News …while Senior Tories demand Theresa May sets a ‘clear roadmap’ for her departure as Brexiteer coup against her fizzles out Another Brexiteer coup against Theresa May fizzled out as the party’s senior backbenchers decided not to change the party’s rules to allow an early leadership challenge against her. However, Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the party’s 1922 committee, said that it was time Mrs May set a date for her departure by giving a “clear roadmap” for her exit from 10 Downing Street. Under the party’s rules, Mrs May cannot be challenged until December after winning a no confidence vote last December by 200 votes to 117. Some members the party’s ruling 1922 committee had sought to change the rules to allow another vote after just six months. But in a meeting on Wednesday senior members of the executive of the 1922 committee decided not to change the rules to allow an early vote of no confidence in Mrs May. The decision was reportedly made by nine to seven on a show of hands. Julian Smith, the Government chief whip, joined the meeting after the vote had been taken to brief the MPs on Government business. Speaking after the meeting, Sir Graham confirmed that Mrs May would not face another no confidence vote until December 12 – a year after the last vote. – Telegraph (£) Chancellor Philip Hammond warns that Brexit logjam ‘threatens to slam the brakes on the economy’ Philip Hammond has warned the Brexit logjam threatens to slam the brakes on the economy – and slash business investment. The Chancellor said that his planned three-year Spending Review, which allocates cash to Government departments, may have to be binned entirely if MPs still haven’t passed an EU deal by the start of the summer. And he reiterated that an estimated £27 billion Brexit “dividend” – fuelled by the lowest borrowing for 17 years – could only be pumped into the economy if No Deal is taken off the table. It came as he told MPs business investment is thought to be 20 per cent lower than forecast at the time of the EU Referendum in 2016. Speaking to the cross-party Treasury Select Committee, the Chancellor said: “It’s very clear to me that the sooner we can bring this process to a conclusion the better, both for the state of our politics and for the state of investment in our economy. – The Sun An EU-UK customs union ‘would hamper the UK’s opportunities in the long run’, finds IEA The short-term benefits of Britain remaining in a customs union with the European Union as part of a Brexit deal would be “heavily outweighed” in the long term by higher prices and fewer opportunities on the global stage, according to a think tank. Research from the Institute of Economic Affairs warns ministers that while a customs union may help to preserve supply chains and reduce disruption after Brexit, it would leave the UK unable to strike trade deals with other markets and to develop policies in key areas such as agriculture and state aid. – The Times (£) > Shanker Singham on BrexitCentral today: Remaining in some form of EU customs union is not the answer to the Brexit deadlock Michel Barnier fears Nigel Farage and his aim to destroy the EU as the Brexit Party surges in polls… Michel Barnier fears that Nigel Farage and his Brexit party plan to destroy the EU after winning the European Parliament elections. The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator has issued a string of warnings about Mr Farage since the pair met in Brussels for a 2018 meeting. The European Commission refuses to be drawn into commenting on the seemingly inevitable European Parliament elections, which will be held in Britain next month unless the House of Commons finally backs the Brexit deal. Mr Barnier’s legacy and potential political future will be defined by whether the “orderly Brexit” of the withdrawal agreement prevails over a no deal Brexit. A recent YouGov survey shows the new Brexit Party taking first place in the British vote, with 27 percent. – Telegraph (£) …while Farage says the Brexit Party will use the European election to oust a ‘Remain Parliament’ Nigel Farage has returned to the seaside town where Ukip had its first MP elected five years ago, promising at a rally in Clacton-on-Sea that his new Brexit party will use the momentum of European elections to oust a “remain parliament”. Railing against a “political class” who he said had betrayed the people of Britain, Farage claimed to more than a thousand supporters on Clacton pier that what was at stake was not just Brexit, but whether or not Britain was a democratic country. “Can you imagine in an African country if an election was overturned? There would be uproar and they would be calling for the UN to be sent in … and yet it’s happening in our own country,” said Farage, who was introduced as “the godfather, the ‘guvnor’ of Brexit”. On his latest visit to the Essex town, which has neighbourhoods with some of the highest levels of deprivation in Britain, Farage described it as the most patriotic and Eurosceptic place in the country. – Guardian Annunziata Rees-Mogg: I don’t want to damage the Conservatives… I want to wake them up Annunziata Rees-Mogg, the former Conservative turned Brexit Party candidate, has delivered a blistering warning to Theresa May and her colleagues. The sister of prominent Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg told the Telegraph she could never return to the Tories until they “realise they are ignoring not only their membership but their electorate”. Mrs Rees-Mogg has campaigned for the Conservatives at every election since 1987 but said she couldn’t support them any longer after watching Mrs May handle Brexit and enter negotiations with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Instead, she is teaming up with the likes of Ann Widdecombe and Claire Fox to stand for Nigel Farage’s newly-launched Brexit Party. – Telegraph (£) > Annunziata Rees-Mogg on BrexitCentral yesterday: If MPs don’t deliver Brexit as promised, I fear for the future of our democracy Scottish Tory EU candidate backs No Deal and attacks ‘Remainiacs’ One of the top European election candidates for the Scottish Conservatives is under fire after going against his party’s leadership to demand a no-deal Brexit. Iain McGill from Edinburgh, who has stood unsuccessfully for the Tories at 12 previous elections, also described supporters of staying in the EU as “Remainiacs” on Twitter. The former postman says he is “a big fan of Brexit – looking forwards to leaving EU, customs union, the lot” and tweeted last month: “The public’s not daft.. No deal? Bring it.” The day after the EU referendum result, Mr McGill posted a picture of himself toasting the result with champagne in Epernay in France, where much of the wine is made. – The Herald Second Change UK candidate quits over offensive tweets A second candidate for Britain’s newest political force dropped out of the European election race Wednesday after it emerged that he had previously tweeted derogatory comments about women and minorities. Joseph Russo, who was Change UK’s lead MEP candidate for Scotland, quit the race after screenshots of now-deleted tweets showed him posting, for example, about being afraid of black women… Russo’s departure comes just a day after another Change UK candidate, Ali Sadjady, also quit after reports of his past social media posts, including derogatory comments about “Romanian pickpockets.” – Politico Labour demands changes to Agriculture Bill in cross-party Brexit talks The Prime Minister launched discussions with the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, before the Easter break, in the hope of getting her controversial deal through Parliament and avoiding European elections. The Labour Party is pushing for acceptance of a permanent customs union as the price for its support of the Withdrawal Agreement, but food and farming could also be a key battleground. According to the Huffington Post, a Labour source said the cross-party talks had ‘laid bare’ the need for legislation such as the Agriculture Bill to be changed. Shadow Defra Secretary Sue Hayman told Farmers Guardian she was not able to comment on the detail of the party’s demands, but added: “We are discussing the environment and agri-food. The customs union and single market alignment are part of the broad discussions we are having with the Government, and that cuts across all areas.” – Farmers Guardian Asa Bennett: Nigel Farage is using what he learned from his Ukip revolt to thrash Remainers yet again The Brexit Party’s rise has been remarkable, vaulting soon after Nigel Farage took over in March from third place in the polls for the elections to the European Parliament to a comfortable second, if not first. By contrast, Chuka Umunna’s breakaway group – despite the week of sympathetic coverage it earned when it emerged in February as pundits breathlessly debated whether it would herald a radical political realignment – is floundering in fifth place. Some polls suggest it is even further behind in the share of the vote it can expect to pick up. This might well send Remainers into a panic as they despair about how Mr Farage has been able to go down a storm. But they should have expected this from a veteran of insurgent political campaigning. The man who turned Ukip into a force that topped the European Election results by picking up millions of votes has found another fledgling party. And he is following what he learned from his 2014 electoral revolution in his mission to deliver an even bigger thrashing. – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) James Glancy: Leave voters feel insulted and ignored — the Brexit Party will act for the people I am proud to be British and have been willing to risk my life to defend our values of tolerance, diversity and the rule of law. But our greatest asset — our free and tolerant democracy — is under threat. The failure of our politicians to listen to the people — and their complete lack of leadership — has compelled me to take a stand. I am standing for the Brexit Party on the single issue of democracy. We have assembled a diverse group of candidates from across the political spectrum, from former Tory Ann Widdecombe to left-wing grandee Claire Fox. We are all unified in our desire to pressure Westminster to deliver what the people instructed. It is vital we restore parliamentary democracy. Through my service with the Royal Marines and the Special Boat Service, I witnessed the Arab Spring first-hand and saw the horrors suffered by a people with no representation in their political system. I never thought our political class would deliberately undermine the people. – James Glancy for The Sun Kai Weiss: British MEPs could yet have a key role in the future of the European Parliament A month from now, Europeans will head to the voting booths to decide not only on their representatives in the European Parliament, but indirectly on several other top jobs, including who will fill the various European Commissioner posts. In Britain elections that should have been of only passing interest have taken on renewed importance. The failure to exit the EU on March 29 means the UK looks set to send MEPs to an institution many voters expected to have left on March 29. What future awaits those who do get elected is uncertain. As CapX editor Oliver Wiseman noted.over the weekend: “Britons will cast their votes in a poll we weren’t supposed to have to send representatives to an organisation we were supposed to have left. Those MEPs could serve for a few months, for five years — or never take their seats.” – Kai Weiss for CapX The European Parliament’s big Brexit problem – Charlie Cooper for Politico Brendan O’Neill: Lyra McKee’s murder is nothing to do with Brexit Emily Thornberry reached a new low today. At Prime Minister’s Questions, she turned the Commons’ heartfelt offering of condolences to the family and friends of Lyra McKee into a tirade against a Hard Brexit. In reply to David Lidington — who was standing in for Theresa May, who is attending McKee’s funeral — Thornberry said the murder of McKee by the New IRA is a ‘sickening’ reminder of the violence of the past and evidence why a solution to the Irish border question is necessary. She appeared to land on the argument that in order to avoid a hard border in Ireland – and to avoid the kind of terrorist violence we witnessed on the night McKee was murdered – we ultimately need to keep the UK in a Customs Union. – Brendan O’Neill for The Spectator Martin Kettle: There will be no soft Brexit now. It’s no deal or another vote Ever since the Brexit vote in June 2016, many of us pro-Europeans have had to live with a dilemma. On the one hand, we regarded the vote to leave the European Union as a disaster for our country. On the other, we accepted the galling reality that it was the democratically expressed view of the majority. Three years on, I still think we were right about Brexit. But we still lost the vote. The inescapable tension between these two conclusions has never gone away. But it has certainly evolved. The passage of time and Theresa May’s rigid and error-strewn handling of the Brexit process have reset the options more than once. Until recently, my view could have been summarised as follows: Brexit remains a lamentable event I will always oppose; but, in the absence of public permission to overturn it, a softer version would be less bad than a hard one, and could provide the fragile basis for an eventual form of reintegration with Europe down the line. – Martin Kettle for the Guardian Brexit in Brief Have Remainers lost perspective? – Matthew Goodwin for UnHerd Britain should be turning Japanese for a great Brexit – Tim Newark for the Express European elections – John Redwood’s Diary Racist MMA fighter, indie rock star, sleaze scandal MP and Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s dad – meet the pro-EU rabble standing for Change UK – The Sun Change UK group plots to destroy the Lib Dems and hoover up their members, MPs and donors, leaked memo reveals – Daily Mail Lord Adonis forced to apologise for saying Brexit supporters should not vote Labour – LBC Why you should ask about Brexit on a first date, according to psychologists – Mirror