Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Whitehall sources suggest Britain “must contribute to EU budget until 2020” to secure favourable Brexit terms… Britain will have to pay into the EU budget up until 2020 if it wants Europe to grant the UK reasonable terms on a Brexit transition deal, senior sources in Whitehall have told The Telegraph. The idea, which is being actively discussed by British Brexit negotiators, would require a softening of British negotiation red lines in order to buy leverage and political goodwill in talks with the EU over a future trade deal… However the payments would be only be offered “in exchange” for a “sensible” EU offer on a transition deal – or what Theresa May has called an “implementation phase” – that both sides envisage will be needed for at least two years after Brexit day in March 2019. – Daily Telegraph Brussels says it won’t make UK settle £1.7bn customs fraud case as part of Brexit negotiations – Daily Express …as Theresa May prepares for meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker and Michel Barnier tonight Theresa May is to hold her first major showdown with Brussels chiefs since calling a General Election in a bid to strengthen her hand in Brexit negotiations. The Prime Minister will hold talks at Downing Street with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier… Mrs May is hosting a working dinner in No 10, during what EU officials describe as a “flying visit” to London by the pair, with Brexit the only item on the menu for the talks… The biggest dispute at the Downing Street dinner is likely to be demands by Mr Barnier that the UK should pay a bill of up to £50bn for leaving the EU in two years’ time. – Sky News European Parliament negotiator Guy Verhofstadt says PM’s snap election ‘will not strengthen hand’ in talks – Sky News Confusion over free movement overshadows Labour’s Brexit policy launch… A flagship Labour vow to end free movement has almost immediately unravelled after the party said that EU migrants should be able to come to Britain as long as they have a job offer. Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit Secretary, yesterday appeared to put himself at odds with Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, by announcing “free movement has to go”. However he subsequently said there should be “free movement of labour”, adding that “we must have immigration” for the economy. – Daily Telegraph Labour’s leadership has reached a truce over the party’s immigration policy ahead of the election, with an agreement that free movement of labour across the EU will have to end at the point of Brexit. Jeremy Corbyn is understood to have signed up to the position along with other shadow cabinet members who have long been in favour of free movement, such as the shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott. But while Corbyn has conceded the principle, there will still be a battle over the detail that will appear in the party’s manifesto. – The Guardian Labour takes back vow to end EU immigration just two hours after introducing it – The Sun Labour’s Brexit plans collapse in hours as Keir Starmer admits free movement could continue and Tory MPs accuse him of ‘surrender’ to Brussels – Daily Mail …as Sir Keir Starmer pledges to ditch Government’s Brexit strategy and unilaterally guarantee EU citizens’ rights Labour have pledged to ditch the government’s “rigid” and reckless” Brexit strategy and guarantee the rights of European Union citizens “on day one” if elected. Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer outlined Labour’s vision for Britain’s withdrawal from the EU in a speech, saying: “Brexit doesn’t have to mean whatever Theresa May says it means.” Retaining the benefits of the single market and customs union would also become top priority in Brexit talks if the party is victorious on June 8. The prime minister later dismissed Labour’s Brexit proposals as “nonsensical”, adding: “What we’ve seen today from Labour is, I think, their seventh Brexit plan.” – ITV News ‘Brexit does not mean whatever Theresa May says’ – full text of Starmer’s speech – LabourList Labour’s ‘day one’ pledge to EU nationals – BBC News EU leaders to demand May respect citizens’ residency rights – The Guardian Labour ready to sacrifice new trade deals to retain EU links, says Sir Keir Starmer – Daily Express We won’t leave EU talks without deal, say Labour – The Times (£) Labour could delay Brexit if MPs reject deal with EU leaders – The Independent Labour in chaos as shadow Brexit minister says Britain could stay in the EU – Daily Express Poll shows Britons oppose unilateral Brexit guarantee for EU citizens in UK – Sky News > Hugh Bennett on BrexitCentral today: Sir Keir Starmer’s speech leaves a number of unanswered questions about Labour’s Brexit policy Plot to oust Brexiteer MPs unravels as Tory backers quit pro-EU Open Britain group in protest A plan to oust Brexiteer MPs overseen by Lord Mandelson suffered a serious blow yesterday when Conservatives walked out of the cross-party campaign behind the move in disgust. Open Britain, the pro-European group calling for a soft Brexit, was condemned as a “left-wing front” by the Tory MPs previously involved, after it published a 20-seat hitlist of mostly Brexit-supporting Tories who it wants to oust. The campaign will target Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, Theresa Villiers, the former cabinet minister, and Steve Baker, head of the pro-Brexit European Research Group, among others. Nicky Morgan, Alistair Burt, Anna Soubry, Neil Carmichael and Dominic Grieve quit the group yesterday morning after seeing the names for the first time in newspapers. The group now has no supporters in the Conservative parliamentary party. – The Times (£) Pro-EU Tories quit Open Britain over plans to oust Brexit-backing MPs – The Guardian Emmanuel Macron ‘in favour of a softer Brexit deal’… Conventional political wisdom has it that if Emmanuel Macron enters the Élysée Palace next month he will make Brexit negotiations tougher for the newly elected incumbent of Downing Street… However, those who know him well say there is reason to think that a President Macron would take a softer approach to Brexit in office than he has on the campaign trail — thanks to the influence of his chief policy adviser… Shortly before he took up the role Mr Pisani-Ferry was the lead author of a controversial report that proposed a “continental partnership” between the UK and the EU, similar to that favoured by Theresa May… Matthew Elliott, who ran the Vote Leave campaign in the referendum, also suggested that a Macron presidency could allow the EU to offer a more generous deal to the UK. – The Times (£) Emmanuel Macron for French President is almost a done deal. Almost – Francine Lacqua for City A.M. Nicolas Sarkozy plots return to power by sidelining Macron – The Times (£) Euro survives existential drama, but France remains ungovernable – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard for the Daily Telegraph (£) Emmanuel Macron will find that winning is the easy bit – François Heisbourg for the FT (£) Delighted markets are forgetting that Emmanuel Macron faces three big problems – Matthew Lynn for the Daily Telegraph (£) Franco-German strength is good for Britain – Roger Boyes for The Times (£) …as French diplomats demand that the EU regulates the City of London after Brexit France has insisted that the City remains under EU regulation after Brexit and that banking is excluded from a future trade deal. The new demand will alarm Brexit hardliners, who hope that the City can be unshackled from European supervisors and legislation after Britain leaves the EU. France inserted the condition into European negotiating guidelines at the last minute during talks between “sherpas” for the EU27 leaders on Monday afternoon. Paris fears that the City will have competitive advantages after Brexit… Negotiations had to be stopped on Monday when French diplomats ambushed their EU colleagues with the demand, which had not been circulated in advance in breach of protocol. – The Times (£) Brexit blow as hardline eurocrats move to lock financial services out of future trade deal – Daily Express UK ‘can replace EU trade by picking trade partners wisely’, says Open Europe Britain should focus on trading with countries including Canada, India, China and Israel after Brexit if it wants to make the most of life outside the EU, Open Europe has said. Economists believe that those countries have the best combination of growth, location, and demand for British goods – which the UK has so far failed to fully exploit. Pakistan, Nigeria and Bangladesh are also key growth markets which Britain has not so far properly appreciated, according to the new analysis of export targets by Open Europe. The top 10 targets – which the economists see as those in which British exporters are currently underperforming – will represent £41bn of untapped potential by 2030, unless trade policies are changed. – Daily Telegraph Leaving London post-Brexit will be ‘too impractical’ for many companies, new research shows London’s location, infrastructure and a constantly growing pool of highly-skilled university graduates, means that for many companies it will simply be “too impractical” to move talent elsewhere after Brexit, according to one of the world’s biggest commercial real estate companies… Guy Douetil, the managing director for corporate solutions for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Colliers, said that companies like Goldman Sachs have already made contingency plans for job moves even before Brexit negotiations have properly started, but that there’s a good chance that job moves are more limited than many project. “Despite any initial real estate cost savings, relocation costs would offset this and in reality, no single city in Europe has the capacity to absorb any mass migration of jobs from London at short notice. Initial estimates quoting the potential re-allocation of up to 100,000 jobs seem very wide of the mark at present,” Mr Douetil said. – The Independent Senior judge says Brexit will not affect London’s commercial law strengths The most senior judge in England and Wales has dismissed suggestions that Brexit “makes the law of the UK uncertain”. Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd insisted London will remain “to the fore” as a centre of international dispute resolution. The Lord Chief Justice made the remarks during a speech in Beijing earlier this month. He said a commercial court must be “prepared for political change”, adding: “In London we are having to deal with such a change, given the decision of the UK to leave the European Union.” He continued: “This decision might be seen by some as raising a question of the strength of London as a centre for commercial dispute resolution. In some quarters it has even been suggested that Brexit makes the law of the UK uncertain. This is all quite wrong. Brexit will have no effect on London’s key strengths.” – Daily Express The Guardian view on Labour’s Brexit: out of the EU, but close to it Sir Keir’s position, at first glance, looks very much like the one offered by his Conservative opponents. Both Labour and the Tories now accept restrictions on freedom of movement despite the implications for access to the single market… Unlike the Lib Dems, who have made it their unique selling point, and at best will get a few dozen seats, Labour cannot now offer a second referendum, nor membership of the single market. Tony Blair asks Labour to ensure that Mrs May has no blank cheque on Brexit, and Sir Keir has done what is politically possible. The fact is we are leaving the EU. In doing so Britain must seek the closest relationship with Europe while rebuilding the public finances. – The Guardian editorial So what exactly is Labour’s Brexit policy? Voters still have no clue – David Davis MP for the Daily Express Has Labour found a way to secure a good Brexit deal? – Dan Roberts for The Guardian Gloomy Keir Starmer sums up Labour’s miserable approach to Brexit – Michael Deacon for the Daily Telegraph (£) Labour has a real Brexit alternative. Now it must get the message to voters – Owen Jones for The Guardian Four ways Labour is muddled over Brexit, no matter how hard Sir Keir Starmer tries – Tom Harris for the Daily Telegraph (£) The more Labour MPs elected, the tougher it will be for Theresa May to get her hard Brexit – Chuka Umunna MP for The Independent Labour’s Brexit plan was doomed before Keir Starmer even opened his mouth – Tom Goodenough for The Spectator Coffee House Labour is seeking to be all things to all people over Brexit. The party may find this leaves it being nothing much to anybody – The Times (£) editorial Is Sir Keir really the best Labour can do? – Daily Mail editorial Keir Starmer has reconfirmed that Labour is an incoherent mess on Brexit – Daily Telegraph editorial Gisela Stuart MP: Labour has become irrelevant just as Brexit presents a huge opportunity for national renewal Implementing the decision to leave the EU, even if it is not the defining issue of the election, will be the defining issue of the next parliament. Indeed it is the defining issue for this generation and as a party that aspires to govern Labour needs to understand where we find ourselves. On Tuesday Keir Starmer tried his best to respect the referendum result while putting down some markers for Labour. But while rights of EU citizens are important, this doesn’t amount to an immigration policy. Hinting at further devolution of powers lacks the precision voters will look for. And just renaming the Great Repeal Act still doesn’t show what we will – and will not – vote for. On this and other matters we cannot be all things to all people. It might have worked for the Lib Dems in the past, but it won’t do for Labour. – Gisela Stuart for the Daily Telegraph (£) Edward Faulks: This opportunity to repeal the Human Rights Act, quit the ECHR and bring justice home may not come again One of the key issues post Brexit is the extent to which we should remain subject to the European Court of Justice. It may end up having some form of residual role in a post-Brexit settlement but, for the most part, Brexit surely means reclaiming sovereignty by leaving its jurisdiction. But in the debate about the future role of the ECJ, it is all too easy to forget about our continuing membership of that other European Court – namely, the European Court of Human Rights… A substantial majority after the election would enable the Prime Minister to leave the jurisdiction of the ECHR, just as she said she wanted to do. Such an opportunity may not come again. – Lord Faulks for ConservativeHome Brexit comment in brief Brexit means an end to EU boondoggles – Joseph Hackett for CapX Allow our universities freedom of movement and they will thrive – Neil Carmichael MP for The Times Red Box (£) Back Brand Britain to give firms the confidence to grow – Michael Hayman for City A.M. May’s manifesto should be bold – Mark Littlewood and John O’Connell for The Times (£) We must avoid computer chaos disrupting post-Brexit trade – John Delius for ConservativeHome UK businesses must make the case for EU migration – Ben Wright for the Daily Telegraph (£) Irish smugglers’ Brexit bonanza – Naomi O’Leary for Politico Brexit news in brief Liberal Democrats will struggle to win back most of the seats they lost in 2015, says John Curtice – Business Insider Hammond hits budget deficit target helped by resilient economy since Brexit – Reuters