Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Jeremy Corbyn would be ‘alone and naked’ in Brexit talks, says Theresa May Theresa May told voters that Jeremy Corbyn would be “alone and naked” in Brexit talks as she struggled to get her election campaign back on track yesterday with a full-blooded attack on the Labour leader’s fitness for No 10. Mrs May denied that she was demeaning her own office after her most personal attack on a “weak and unstable” Mr Corbyn “not ready to govern and not prepared to lead”. The prime minister acknowledged that a shock result was possible but did not directly refer to the Conservatives’ falling poll lead in a speech delivered in the party’s target seat of Wolverhampton North East. Instead Mrs May returned to her party’s core claim that only she could deliver a good outcome from Brexit talks. She borrowed from Aneurin Bevan’s condemnation of unilateral disarmament to say that Mr Corbyn would go “alone and naked in the negotiating chamber in the European Union” without a proper plan. – The Times (£) May says Corbyn’s Brexit position would leave him ‘alone and naked in the negotiating chamber’ – The Sun May: Corbyn would be ‘alone and naked’ on Brexit – Sky News Theresa May warns Corbyn would be ‘naked’ in Brexit talks – Daily Mail > WATCH on BrexitCentral’s YouTube channel: Theresa May says Jeremy Corbyn has no plan for Brexit Davis tells ‘naive’ Labour that Brussels won’t play fair on Brexit David Davis today slammed Labour for being ‘naive’ about Brexit as he warned Brussels wanted to guarantee its citizens greater rights in the UK than Britons have. The Brexit Secretary warned Labour’s Angela Rayner she was wrong to think simply taking a ‘nice’ position with the EU would produce a good result. He said instead: ‘We’re going to have to be quite tough with them.’ Prime Minister Theresa May is today turning her election campaign back to Brexit in an attempt to halt a slide in her polling ratings.The Tories have published a series of documents they claim show the EU is set to demand life time rights for its citizens living in Britain that are stronger those of Britons. They will include the right to bring spouses into Britain from non EU countries – something UK citizens cannot do without meeting strict criteria. – Daily Mail George Osborne’s Evening Standard takes the Tories to task on immigration Theresa May’s Cabinet was accused of a “deafening silence” yesterday for failing to say where cuts in immigration should fall. The Evening Standard challenged every member of the Cabinet to name an industry or sector that they believed should take fewer overseas workers. But although Mrs May has set a target of slashing net immigration to the “tens of thousands”, her ministers seemed unable to explain how. None identified a business or sector that should recruit fewer foreign staff. The Prime Minister refused to say who would be allowed into the UK when challenged in a TV interview with Jeremy Paxman. Today she was seeking to move the spotlight onto Brexit talks , her strongest issue, with a speech in the Midlands. – Evening Standard Voters need answers on Britain’s Brexit future – Evening Standard editorial Corbyn adviser’s proposal to let in tens of thousands more migrants is leaked Labour has drawn up secret plans to throw open Britain’s doors to thousands of unskilled migrants after Brexit. An internal policy document leaked to the Daily Mail reveals the party is considering introducing a visa for migrants seeking ‘low-skilled, unskilled or seasonal work’. The document, drawn up this month by Jeremy Corbyn’s domestic policy adviser, Lachlan Stuart, also proposes axing rules which limit foreign spouses living here unless they can show they will not be a ‘burden’ on the taxpayer. Labour’s manifesto made no mention of a plan to allow in more unskilled migrants. Mr Corbyn has repeatedly refused to say whether he thinks immigration levels are too high. – Daily Mail Labour could introduce new post-Brexit visa scheme for unskilled workers, leaked paper reveals – Independent Who can trust Corbyn to speak for Britain? – Daily Mail editorial Emily Thornberry claims we can’t sell food to Australia because it will rot The shadow foreign secretary has claimed that Britain’s food industry will be unable to export to Australia after Brexit because products “will go off”. Emily Thornberry was answering a question about the possible expansion of trade with Commonwealth countries after Brexit during a debate at the Royal United Services Institute, the security think tank, yesterday. “The truth is the majority of our trade takes place with the European Union,” she said. “And things like our food industry, you can’t export it to Australia — it will go off.” Her comments created confusion, not least because of the part that refrigerated food exports played in the economic development of New Zealand and Australia. The first refrigerated shipment of lamb left New Zealand aboard the Dunedin in 1882, enabling the trade in meat and dairy that would transform the country’s economy. Britain continued to buy the bulk of New Zealand lamb and butter until European Community quotas and tariffs forced New Zealand to diversify. – The Times (£) Jeremy Hunt warns of risk to NHS funding ‘if Brexit goes wrong’… The Health Secretary warned that failing to secure a good deal in the upcoming negotiations with Brussels could mean he will be unable to go ahead with recruiting extra doctors. The Government has increased the number of doctor training positions by 1,500 per year starting in 2018. But Mr Hunt warned that would only be achievable with a good Brexit deal, telling the i newspaper: “Every one cares passionately about the NHS. They also know there’s not a magic money tree and in the end the Brexit negotiations will determine whether our economy stays strong and we can carry on putting more money into the NHS, which is what people want. “We’ve increased doctor training places…so the only thing that could upset that is if Brexit goes wrong and we don’t have the resources to put into it, but that’s what we want to do.” His warning is a far cry from the Leave campaign’s referendum claim that withdrawing from the EU would mean a potential extra £350m a week to invest in services such as the NHS. – PoliticsHome …as it is claimed that Brexit expat retirees ‘may cost NHS millions’ Tens of thousands of expat pensioners may return to the UK to use the NHS after Brexit – unless a deal can be done to let them keep receiving care abroad, a think tank has warned. The Nuffield Trust estimates the cost of treating them – on home soil, rather than abroad – could double to £1bn. Currently, the UK gives around £500m a year to EU countries that care for Brits who have retired abroad. Last year, spending on the NHS in England was around £120 billion. The warning from the Nuffield Trust came as Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the i newspaper that the NHS could suffer if Brexit “goes wrong”. – BBC NHS `could face £1bn-a-year bill for expats cared for in Europe´ – Daily Mail Brexit exiles on Costa del Sol fear for their future – Politico SNP manifesto calls for referendum ‘at end of Brexit process’ Opposition to an independence referendum will be “democratically unsustainable” if the SNP wins a majority of Scottish seats, Nicola Sturgeon has said. The SNP leader was speaking in Perth as her party’s general election manifesto was published. The document calls for a vote on independence to be held “at the end of the Brexit process”. The SNP won 56 of the 59 seats in Scotland in the 2015 general election. And the party is widely expected to again finish as comfortably the biggest in the country this time around, despite opinion polls suggesting it is likely to lose some seats. The party’s manifesto also sets out “anti-austerity” plans to invest £118bn in UK public services over the next five years. – BBC > Today on BrexitCentral: What the SNP manifesto says about Brexit Consumer confidence increases despite Brexit Consumer confidence has improved slightly, despite gloomy pre-election and post-Brexit predictions. The GfK Consumer Confidence Index was up by two points in May to minus five but inflation has hit household spending and wages are failing to keep up with the cost of living. It came as separate figures on shop prices from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed food increasing at its fastest rate in more than three years though other retail prices were still falling. Joe Staton, head of market dynamics at GfK, said confidence had shown an “unexpected uptick”. “Consumers report increased confidence in their personal financial situation, the wider economy, and future plans for shopping and saving,” he said. – Sky News Deal or no deal? There’s ‘ample room’ for EU to trade freely with City of London after Brexit, says OECD EU nations have “ample room” to keep trading in financial services with the UK after Brexit even within the current international rules, and there is no need to build any barriers between the continent and its finance hub, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Shutting out Britain, which would risk starving the EU of the capital vital to its economy and breaking up the valuable City of London, is entirely unnecessary, the international group said in its annual business and finance outlook. All 35 OECD members states agree to a Code of Liberalisation and the group argues that, if the members follow this mutual agreement, they can carry on operating smoothly – though that may rely on them staying on good terms. – Telegraph ‘Politically motivated’ EU bank clings to £35bn of UK cash in bid to prop up credit rating Brussels is attempting to block British taxpayers from reclaiming £35 billion in assets from a “politically motivated” investment bank in an attempt to shore up its credit rating. Eurocrats are insisting that the UK cannot withdraw cash from the European Investment Bank (EIB), which has been criticised over risky lending, despite the fact we are leaving the bloc. In a technical paper published yesterday the EU Commission said that instead Britain will only get its money back via a drip feed of repayments on loans handed out by the Luxembourg-based institution. Critics say much of that cash has been lent to hopelessly lost causes, such as more than £5.6 billion handed to Greece, and could now be lost to taxpayers forever. – Express Britain was wrong to block migrant, says Euro judge EU workers with British citizenship can bring in non-EU partners and other family members without meeting income restrictions, according to a court ruling. An advocate-general of the European Court of Justice said yesterday that an Algerian illegal migrant had the right to live in Britain with his wife, who has Spanish and British nationality. Yves Bot said in a non-binding opinion that the Home Office’s application of rules in the case was wrong. His opinion suggests that EU law gives greater rights to a dual EU-British national than a UK citizen on allowing their non-European family members to have the right to reside in the UK. A UK citizen wanting to bring in a non-EU spouse must have a salary of at least £18,600 a year, whereas an EU citizen or a dual national would not have to meet that condition. – The Times (£) UK wrong to deny residency rights in test case, EU judge says – Guardian YouGov Chief: Our method proved a winner in the EU referendum YouGov’s data shows that the huge Tory lead just after the election was called has narrowed notably. So how do the present vote shares translate into seats and what sort of majority — if any — would this give Theresa May if people voted tomorrow? We have produced a new election model that will be updated every day between now and June 8. This is something we tested during last year’s EU referendum campaign and it always had Leave ahead. It works by modelling every constituency and key voter type in Britain, based on analysis of demographics and voting behaviour in the 2015 general election and last year’s EU referendum. Turnout is assessed on voter demographics and is based on analysis from 2010 and 2015 British Election Study data. – YouGov Chief Exec Stephan Shakespeare for The Times (£) Poll firm predicts shock losses for Theresa May’s Tories at general election – The Times (£) SDLP leader calls for post-Brexit referendum on united Ireland Colum Eastwood said the planned withdrawal had made a border poll a lot more winnable.EU leaders have agreed if there is a vote for a united island then Northern Ireland can automatically rejoin the bloc. Mr Eastwood said: “I think there is now a route for actually winning a border poll. “I think that we need to have one after Brexit, when the dust settles.” The nationalist party is a staunch opponent of Brexit, which was rejected by 56% to 44% in Northern Ireland during last year’s vote. Mr Eastwood said unionists were part of his vision for the future of a “reconciled Ireland”. He added: “A border poll is no longer solely the project of Irish nationalism but of pro-European internationalism. “A unity referendum now has a much broader reach, offering us a return to the EU as a sovereign country.” – Belfast Telegraph Telegraph: Brexit is the only issue that matters in this election, and only the Tories can be trusted to deliver it The electoral truce prompted by the Manchester terrorist atrocity is over. Monday night’s appearances by Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn before a television studio audience set the tone for the last week or so of the campaign. The Prime Minister intends to hammer home the message with which she began: that the country would be placed in peril if the Labour leader was installed in Number 10 just as Brexit negotiations begin with the EU. She developed the theme in a speech in Wolverhampton yesterday, seeking to stabilise a campaign that wobbled after the publication of the Tory manifesto and the rapid U-turn over social care costs. Mrs May is on far firmer ground when focusing on the immediate challenge she and the country face: getting a good deal for Britain as it charts a new course outside of the EU. – Telegraph editorial Express: Theresa May is the only person who can deliver proper Brexit Of all the many issues facing the country, leaving the EU remains the one that is the most important and the most pressing. Voters expect to see party leaders address the issue and they have been particularly impressed with Mrs May’s answers so far. This is largely because of her steely determination to ensure the will of the people is delivered. By contrast, Jeremy Corbyn has not once given us a convincing answer about how he would handle Brexit. Every time he is asked about it, he uses a lot of words but says nothing of substance. His failure to produce concrete answers is not limited to Brexit. Yesterday, to give but one example, he could not even tell an interviewer how much his plan to extend free childcare would cost. Whenever he is put under pressure, he crumbles. If he falls to pieces in a straightforward radio interview, how can we trust him to take part in the Brexit talks? We need a strong leader who is ready to stand up to Brussels, who has a credible vision for post-Brexit Britain and who will deliver on the promise to “take back control”. – Express editorial John Redwood: No deal is better than a bad deal Those simple eight words mean the UK has a good negotiating position when it comes to sorting out our future relationship with the EU. Without them the UK would be in a very weak position. There are those in the EU who talk darkly of a punishment deal, seeking to make the UK pay for daring to leave. There are those who want to send us a large bill with no legal backing to it and expect the UK to pay. There are those who think it a clever idea to volunteer continental farm products up for high WTO tariffs in order to make a political point. That is why the UK has to make it clear we will not accept any such deal. None of this means the UK negotiators should walk out in a huff at the first available opportunity if the EU’s demands are silly. There is still a good prospect of reaching sensible conclusions. The UK intends to take back control of our borders, money and laws. It is happy to have extensive agreements on free trade, security sharing, academic collaborations, transport rights and the rest. – John Redwood’s Diary Asa Bennett: U-turning on social care has freed Theresa May to focus on her Brexit revolution Jeremy Paxman did all he could to unsettle Theresa May last night. He accused her of being a “blowhard”, he ridiculed her for being a belated convert to the Brexit cause, and sniffed that she didn’t really believe in it anyway. But the famed rottweiler could not shake her resolve on this issue. The rest of the inquisition was not quite so easy for the Prime Minister. Social care proved to be a stumbling block. Paxo tried to find out what her proposed cap on care costs would be, and she offered this less than assured answer: “I’ve, err, as I’ve just answered, I’m not going to give you a different answer to what I gave [during the public Q&A]”. That previous answer, in case you missed it, was that she would not “pull out a figure”. – Asa Bennett for The Telegraph Brexit comment in brief Donald Trump is right about Germany – and Angela Merkel knows it – Harry de Quetteville for The Telegraph How generous of Theresa May to take responsibility for Jeremy Corbyn’s Brexit shambles – Tom Peck for the Independent Admit it, Theresa May: ‘no deal’ is not an option in the Brexit talks – Rafael Behr for The Guardian Brexit news in brief Germany pushes for post-Brexit EU trade deal with India – Politico Dutch senators overturn referendum result – Express Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay boosts restaurant revenues despite Brexit uncertainty – City A.M. U.S. insurer FM Global approved for EU hub despite Brexit – Reuters Experts ridicule EU’s ‘aggressive’ demands on citizens’ rights – Express ‘We’re heading for an ugly divorce’ Ryanair chief warns of no flights between EU and UK – Express Canada pledges swift trade deal with UK after Brexit – The Times (£) Polish MP savages EU free movement over high migration to Britain – Express Space chief urges UK firms to set up EU subsidiaries – FT (£) European shares fall on political worries over Greece and Italy, as JP Morgan says hung parliament could be positive for pound – Telegraph Brits applying for Irish passports surge by 70% after Brexit vote – Evening Standard ‘Dramatic’ surge in UK applications for Irish passports in wake of Brexit, says ambassador – Independent Ryanair posts rise in profits but warns of ‘Brexit developments’ – Irish News