Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Tory eurosceptic rebels set up whipping operation to thwart Theresa May’s Brexit plan… Eurosceptics have set up a “party within a party” with a highly organised whipping operation among Tory Eurosceptic MPs to try to frustrate Theresa May’s Brexit plans. The news threatens to blow wide open the frustrations within the Conservative Party about Theresa May’s Chequers plan for trading with the European Union after Brexit… More than 100 Eurosceptic Tory MPs are now on a WhatsApp group co-ordinated by former Brexit minister Steve Baker who is giving them voting instructions. – Telegraph (£) …as they aim to show their parliamentary strength in Customs Bill votes later… Theresa May faces a concerted rebellion from the hard Brexit wing of the Conservative party on Monday, as MPs unhappy with her Chequers compromise prepare to mount a show of strength by voting for their amendments on the customs bill… The most talked-about of the four amendments proposes to make it illegal for HMRC to collect duties for the European Union without reciprocal arrangements, after May proposed that the UK would collect tariffs on goods heading for the EU after Brexit. It has been signed by 11 Tory MPs including former leader Iain Duncan Smith, former cabinet minister Priti Patel and Rees-Mogg. The report stage of the bill will also see MPs debate a long-awaited amendment that would keep the UK in the EU customs union post-Brexit that is supported by Labour, the SNP, the Lib Dems and two Tory Remainers, Anna Soubry and Ken Clarke. – Guardian Tony Blair urges Brexiteers and Remainers to vote against Theresa May’s ‘mush’ Chequers plan – PoliticsHome The government’s Brexit white paper is in danger of provoking a coalition of dissatisfied Remainers and Leavers to sink it in parliament – Times leader (£) …while May is hit by her eighth resignation over Brexit in nine days… Theresa May faced a fresh blow with another resignation – bringing the total number of Government members or senior Conservative party officials who have quit since she unveiled her Brexit plans up to eight. Robert Courts, a junior ministerial aide, said he could not look himself in the mirror if he had stayed on in Government. Mr Courts was a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) at the Foreign Office, which until last week was led by Boris Johnson. The MP, who represents David Cameron’s former seat of Witney in Oxfordshire, announced his decision to quit via Twitter on Sunday afternoon, saying he planned to vote against the Government over Theresa May’s Brexit proposal in the Commons this week. – Telegraph May hit by another Brexit walkout amid claims of establishment coup – The Times (£) …as Jacob Rees-Mogg says Theresa May ‘is a Remainer who has remained a Remainer’… Jacob Rees-Mogg has blasted Theresa May’s Brexit plan and labelled her “a Remainer who has remained a Remainer”. The Tory backbencher delivered a stinging rebuke of her proposals for trade talks with the EU, saying she her strategy was a “hopeless way to negotiate”. He suggested that her heart wasn’t really in it to get Britain a good deal, and criticised her for suggesting Brexiteers like him “voted with their heart” and not their head… Mr Rees-Mogg said: “The government unfortunately believes that Brexit is not a good thing in itself. It seems to think it has to be tempered with non-Brexit.” He told the BBC’s Sunday Politics: “And that was when the Prime Minister said people voted with their hearts – and she was doing something with her head. In my view of most Brexiteers head and heart come together. Brexit is enormously positive, a huge opportunity for the country – and I’m afraid the Prime Minister doesn’t see that.” – The Sun May’s big new problem is the loss of trust which she has inflicted upon herself – Mark Wallace for ConservativeHome > WATCH: Jacob Rees-Mogg: Prime Minister is a Remainer who has remained a Remainer …and the Tory Party Chairman is accused of threatening to cut funding from Brexiteer opponents of the Chequers deal When Andrea Jenkyns received a call from Brandon Lewis, the chairman of the Conservative Party, she knew it was unlikely to be good news. The 44-year-old Tory MP has rapidly emerged as one of the most vociferous opponents of the Prime Minister’s Brexit plans and was one of the first Tory MPs to publicly call for Theresa May to go. The Telegraph has learned that on Saturday last week Mr Lewis called Ms Jenkyns and allegedly “hinted” that funding for leaflets in her marginal, Brexit-backing seat of Morley and Outwood in Yorkshire could be cut. In an interview Ms Jenkyns confirmed that she had been contacted by a “senior figure” at the Conservative Party as the party attempted to retain discipline over Mrs May’s Chequers compromise. “On Saturday alone I got three calls,” she said. “Not directly saying this but hinting that we’ve really supported you over the years and you’re meant to be having funding for these leaflets, do you realise, and hinting that the funding could be removed. “My response was that back benchers shouldn’t be silenced. If you want to [cut my funding], just do it, but I’m sure you want a Conservative in that seat, whether it’s me or somebody else.” – Telegraph (£) Boris Johnson prepares to target Theresa May in ‘devastating’ resignation speech to the Commons on Wednesday… Boris Johnson has urged Britons to ‘believe in themselves’ as he weighs up whether to make a ‘devastating’ resignation speech in the House of Commons… Sources close to Mr Johnson said he was considering whether to use his right to make a so-called ‘personal statement’ in the Commons on Wednesday, setting out the reasons for his resignation last week. Mr Johnson, who has been silent since he quit, could speak after Prime Minister’s Questions, while Mrs May is still in the chamber… Sources were tight-lipped about the likely contents of Mr Johnson’s speech last night, but one senior Eurosceptic said he was determined to take revenge on Mrs May, adding: ‘There is a cold fury about Boris, which is unusual for him. He is totally fed up with Mrs May because he feels he’s been tricked. No10 have put it about that David Davis’s resignation forced him to follow suit. But that isn’t the case. He felt she hadn’t been a straight dealer and he had to go.’ – Daily Mail Johnson’s reset moment. He should tour Brexit Britain to defend the referendum result – Paul Goodman for ConservativeHome …as he uses his revived Telegraph column to issue a positive rallying cry: ‘It’s time to believe in our Great Britain’… Britain must believe in itself after Brexit, Boris Johnson says in a call to arms for a more positive vision of leaving the European Union. In an article for Monday’s Telegraph – his first public comments since resigning as foreign secretary – Mr Johnson attacks the “lack of self-confidence, in the current debate on the EU, about whether we can do things for ourselves”. He adds that Britons should use the 2016 referendum result to “rediscover the spirit of dynamism” of the Victorian age and “go back out into the world in a way that we had perhaps forgotten”. Britain should “militate ceaselessly for free trade deals” after Brexit, he adds. – Telegraph Boris Johnson makes first Brexit rallying cry since Cabinet resignation telling Theresa May to ‘believe in ourselves and British people’ – The Sun The rest of the world believes in Britain. It’s time that we did too – Boris Johnson MP for the Telegraph (£) …while David Davis slams May’s Brexit plan British Prime Minister Theresa May’s latest Brexit proposal is “profoundly dangerous” and will “stifle innovation and stymie economic growth,” former U.K. Brexit minister David Davis said in an opinion piece for the Financial Times Sunday. Davis, who resigned as Brexit minister six days ago, said May’s plan to commit to following EU rules when trading goods would put British democracy “at stake,” and kill any chance of a trade deal with the U.S… Davis reiterated his proposal for “mutual recognition” of rules that was advanced by his department under his leadership, which would allow “low-friction trade” while managing divergence in rules. He said if a sector prefers to follow EU rules, it “can and should,” but should still have the freedom to not to. – Politico Britain must be able to control all regulations after Brexit – David Davis MP for the FT (£) Theresa May tells Brits to wake up and accept a soft Brexit in another bitter backlash… Theresa May told Brits who voted with their hearts to leave the EU to wake up and accept a soft Brexit yesterday. In comments that threaten another bitter backlash in Tory heartlands, the PM said she had to be “hard-headed and practical” about Britain’s divorce from the European Union. Issuing a back me or face chaos plea, she insisted her controversial White Paper would protect jobs –and solve the Irish border crisis. And she said it was vital Britain “compromise” to get a deal. – The Sun ‘It’s fake sovereignty!’ Marr dismantles May’s Brexit plan pointing out simple flaw – Express May promises to protect planemakers’ supply chains in Brexit – Reuters A bad Brexit is the greatest threat to Britain’s rising aerospace industry – Paul Everitt for The Times (£) Tory rebels risk derailing Brexit entirely if they fail to compromise – The Sun says > WATCH: Theresa May defends her Chequers Plan on Andrew Marr …as her allies launch bid to keep her in power Theresa May’s allies launched a frantic bid to shore up her premiership yesterday as furious Tory Eurosceptics threatened open rebellion over her “soft” Brexit plans. Panicked party chiefs rang grassroots activists and Tory members livid with the PM for “selling out” the UK in Brussels. And Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan pleaded with Eurosceptics to unite behind No10 or watch the Tory party “go down the plughole”. At least 20 Eurosceptic Tory MPs said they were ready to flout Downing Street and back four “rebel” amendments to the Government’s Customs Bill in the Commons today. – The Sun May urges Brexiteers to choose head over heart, as Tory supporters switch to Ukip – Telegraph No Theresa May is better than a bad May as Britain is careering towards a cliff edge – Trevor Kavanagh for The Sun Will Theresa May make it to the summer recess? – Katy Balls for the Spectator Theresa May is steering a dangerous course. How long does she have left? – Telegraph editorial (£) Britons will look back in ten years and ask ‘why were we so negative about our future?’, says Chief Trade Negotiator Britons will look back in a decade’s time and wonder “why were we so negative about our future?”, the UK’s chief trade negotiator has said. Crawford Falconer, who serves as the second permanent secretary at the Department for International Trade, said the world is “begging” to trade with the UK. He said the EU “travels as fast as the slowest carriage in the train” and Britain can now “move faster and further with our trading partners”. “Keep your eye on the endgame” he told The Sunday Times this weekend. “The opportunities are enormous. There are so many, where do I start? In 10 years, maybe even quicker, people will look back and say, ‘Oh, why were we so negative about our future?’” – Telegraph Donald Trump told Theresa May to sue the EU, PM reveals Donald Trump told Theresa May to sue the European Union, she revealed today. Much was made by the American President about “advice” he gave the Prime Minister when they met at Chequers on Friday. At their joint press conference, Mr Trump repeatedly referred to “brutal” suggestions he gave Mrs May. Two days later, Mrs May disclosed that his advice was in fact to “sue the EU”. Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, Mrs May said the US President also advised her not to walk away from negotiations. “I did give her a suggestion, I wouldn’t say advice, and I think she found it maybe too brutal,” the President had said.”Maybe someday she’ll do that.If they don’t make the right deal she might very well do what I suggested she might want to do.” – Telegraph Trump to May: ‘Sue the EU’ – Politico Theresa May defends Brexit plan and reveals Trump told her to sue EU – The Times (£) Theresa May could sue the EU to get a better Brexit deal just like Trump said – and here’s how – Telegraph (£) Donald Trump tells Piers Morgan UK will get a ‘tremendously big’ US trade deal after Brexit – despite previously claiming PM’s Chequers deal would ‘kill’ it – The Sun Pro-EU Tory MP Justine Greening calls for second Brexit referendum amid rebellion over final deal Theresa May’s former Education Secretary has demanded Brits be given the choice to STAY in the EU in a second Referendum. Piling pressure on the beleaguered PM, top pro-EU Tory veteran Justine Greening labelled the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal a “fudge” and said a vote was needed to break the deadlock. Writing for The Times she said: “The only solution is to take the final Brexit decision out of the hands of deadlocked politicians, away from the backroom deals, and give it back to the people.” … Ms Greening – who quit the Cabinet in January after being moved from her Education brief – has sided with pro-EU Tories such as Nicky Morgan and Dominic Grieve in the Commons in recent months… Ms Greening is said to have the support of other Remain-backing Tories including Amber Rudd, the former home secretary. – The Sun Justine Greening backs second Brexit referendum as Theresa May battles ‘party within a party’ – Telegraph Justine Greening endorses second Brexit referendum – Guardian Give the British people the final decision on Brexit – Justine Greening MP for The Times (£) Once again, we split over Europe. Once again, we undermine our leader. We Conservatives are set to repeat the same failed cycle. Will we never learn? – Nicky Morgan MP for ConservativeHome Goldman Sachs to fill new London HQ (despite Brexit)… Goldman Sachs plans to almost fully occupy its £1bn under-construction London headquarters, despite starting to move around 500 City bankers to the EU due to Brexit. The US investment bank intends to fill all but half a floor of the 10 storey “groundscraper” on Farringdon Road when its bankers move in from three older properties nearby next year, it is understood. Doubts had been raised about Goldman Sachs’s commitment to the project and to the UK more generally – where it currently has 6,500 staff – after Lloyd Blankfein, the bank’s outgoing chief, took repeated pot shots at Brexit on Twitter over the past year. – Telegraph (£) …as confidence hits two-year high in British firms Confidence from businesses in London and across the UK has hit its highest point since before the EU referendum two years ago, according to new data to be published today. A long-running index tracking the outlook of more than 1,500 firms from across the country rose further above the long-term average to a reading of 25 per cent in the second quarter, Lloyds Bank said. The figures tally with other confidence data, with prospects improving following a weak first quarter for the UK economy in which GDP only grew by 0.2 per cent, according to government data. – City A.M. David Davis: Britain must be able to control all regulations after Brexit Last week, the government’s Brexit white paper told the country it could look forward to a “common rule book” with the EU. We now face continued harmonisation with the bloc’s rules on goods… Not controlling our own regulation is far from an arcane technicality. It would mean that the UK is simply not running its own economy. How laws are made is also a central indicator of whether we have a functioning democracy. If parliament determines laws, we have one; otherwise, we do not. If British democracy is now at stake, so too is our future prosperity. Much of the regulation that emerges from Brussels favours incumbent firms — keeping smaller, innovative entrants out of the marketplace. That is why the EU fails to create rivals to the great innovative companies such as Microsoft and Facebook that were born in the US. – David Davis MP for the FT (£) Boris Johnson: The rest of the world believes in Britain. It’s time that we did too It was almost exactly two years ago that I went into the Durbar Court in the Foreign Office. It was my first day as foreign secretary, and I stood within that vast marble atrium adorned with the busts of explorers, and I announced a vision… It meant taking the referendum and using it as an opportunity to rediscover some of the dynamism of these bearded Victorians; not to build a new empire, heaven forfend, but to use every ounce of Britain’s power, hard and soft, to go back out into the world in a way that we had perhaps forgotten over the past 45 years: to find friends, to open markets, to promote our culture and our values. – Boris Johnson for the Telegraph (£) Mark Littlewood: Shadowing EU regulation cripples hopes of being a global free trader On one side of the argument are those who fear that divergence from the EU27 will act as an impediment to trade… While all sorts of computerised checking systems and agreements over recognition of standards could go a long way to mitigating this, advocates of a soft Brexit are adamant that if we wish to guarantee the least disruption with our most significant trading partners, it would behove us to stay as close as possible to the status quo. The flip side of this argument at the time of the 2016 referendum was that a vote to leave was a vote to take back control. Since Britain’s accession to the European Economic Community almost half a century ago, red tape — estimated to cost the UK economy £33 billion a year — has poured out from the Brussels machine and placed an unnecessary and expensive burden on British companies, the overwhelming majority of whom only serve the domestic market. What has been brought to the fore in recent days has been the key link between control over regulation and an ability to trade more effectively with the 93 per cent of people on Earth who don’t live in the EU. – Mark Littlewood for The Times (£) Freedom to Flourish: UK regulatory autonomy, recognition, and a productive economy – Shanker Singham, Radomir Tylecote and Victoria Hewson report for the Institute of Economic Affairs > Radomir Tylecote on BrexitCentral today: Regulatory autonomy from the EU is vital for independence and for growth Greg Hands: As a former Remainer, and an ex-Trade Minister, I know that joining a customs union would deliver Britain the worst of all worlds There are at least three principled arguments against being in a customs union with the EU. First, the only other country which does this, Turkey, shows the huge disadvantage. Second, that the UK would no longer have an independent trade policy, including the ability to have its own trade defences. Third, that being in a customs union could mean surrendering some aspects of the control of our NHS and other public services to the European Union, whilst having no voice… Even worse, when the EU negotiates in a Trade Agreement with a third party to reduce an EU tariff in return for some tariff reductions or other market access preferences with the third Party, Turkey must reduce its own tariff (as part of the EU Common External Tariff), but does not necessarily gain the market access pledged by the third country in return (because it is not an EU member, and therefore not a party to the Free Trade Agreement). – Greg Hands MP for ConservativeHome As a convinced Brexiteer, and an optimist about Britain, I see that joining a customs union would lock us into decline – Simon Clarke MP for ConservativeHome Roger Bootle: Deal or no deal? May chose an uninspiring fudge instead Theresa May’s Chequers proposal, spelt out in last week’s White Paper, represents an enormous climbdown from what she initially appeared to be aiming for, laid out clearly in her Lancaster House speech in January 2017. In particular, by tying us in to EU regulatory standards on goods, it would make it difficult to secure Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with other countries, including the United States… The argument that we must accept the Chequers fudge just does not add up. Who do they think they are kidding – us or themselves? “There are none so blind as those who will not see.” – Roger Bootle for the Telegraph (£) Julian Harris: Chequers Brexit plan puts the Tories in a perilous position as Theresa May’s party sinks in the polls Theresa May’s ongoing survival as Prime Minister is fascinating for the fact that it rests so heavily on the lack of a politically-viable, workable alternative… May’s plan to push Brexit through parliament also, somewhat perversely, rests on this stalemate. Each time she is presented with a challenge, she manoeuvres just enough for the majority of MPs to view the government’s position as the lesser of two immediate evils… A hat-trick of opinion polls conducted since 10 July show Labour out in front, reversing a long string of surveys dominated by Tory leads. One shows the Conservatives plummeting six points in the wake of the Chequers deal, with another reflecting a four-point drop… While the PM’s attempt to steer Brexit through a largely Remain-backing parliament is entirely understandable, the weekend’s polls are a bleak reminder of the dangers of focusing policy on Westminster rather than the wider electorate. Brexit has put the Conservatives in a perilous position, and with Jeremy Corbyn waiting in the wings, it is a peril that threatens the UK as a whole. – Julian Harris for City A.M. Comment in brief In a week of treachery, the Chancellor’s U-turn on EU rules for the City was the most shameful yet – Alex Brummer for the Daily Mail Brexit white paper recognises the limits of ‘equivalence’ regime – Catherine McGuinness for City A.M. Migration is falling – so why is the number of EU-born agency workers rising? – Lindsay Judge for The Times (£)