Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Theresa May vows she won’t bow to Remainers’ demands we stay in EU’s Customs Union… Leaving the Customs Union is a Government “red line” which will not be crossed, Downing Street sources insist. And Prime Minister Theresa May will refuse to cave in over the policy vow, they declared. Cabinet ministers rallied round Mrs May yesterday, following weekend reports which suggested her team had admitted she may accept permanent membership of the Union if Parliament forces her hand. Communities Secretary Sajid Javid urged Tory Remain rebels to look ahead to the future. He said: “Some see the Customs Union as some kind of post-Brexit comfort blanket. “But they’re thinking about the past referendum not the UK’s future. Let’s look forwards with confidence.” Ex-Development Secretary Priti Patel demanded the UK get a trade policy “made in Britain” ahead of a Parliament vote on the union. – The Sun Downing Street has insisted there will be no backtracking over leaving the customs union, but Theresa May faces pressure – Sky News Brexiteers fury over fears Theresa May might be forced to keep Britain in the Customs Union after we leave the EU – The Sun The government is under pressure in parliament over its Brexit policy. Theresa May has done little to explain why she opposes a customs union with the EU – Times editorial (£) > Priti Patel MP on BrexitCentral today: Here’s why we need out of the protectionist racket that is the EU’s Customs Union …as she faces a showdown at Cabinet sub-committee later this week… Theresa May will face calls from senior Brexit-supporting ministers to ditch her favoured option for a customs deal with the EU at a meeting this week. David Davis, Liam Fox and Boris Johnson are to press the prime minister to abandon the plan as fears grow that she is paving the way for a compromise on the issue. They will confront her at a meeting of the cabinet’s Brexit sub-committee, scheduled for Wednesday. The ministers believe that the so-called customs partnership is unworkable and is encouraging Brussels to press for Britain to stay in a customs union after Brexit. – Times (£) May could face Cabinet revolt – Guardian …as Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss outlines why the Customs Union plot betrays Brexiteers… Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss spelled out exactly why remaining in the customs union would betray Brexit voters who want to seize post-Brexit “opportunities”. The Conservative MP rejected claims Brexit Britain could remain in the customs union after the House of Lords defeated the Government over the Withdrawal Bill. Theresa May has repeatedly said the UK will be leaving the customs union, and remaining in the institution would decimate Britain’s chances of striking trade deals with countries like the US and Australia after Brexit. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Pienaar’s Politics, the Conservative MP outlined why the UK had to leave the customs union. She said: “The people have made a decision about what will happen. That is the important thing here. – Express …while Tory rebel Nicky Morgan calls for ‘rational debate’ on UK’s customs plans… Former education secretary Nicky Morgan has warned pro-Brexit Tories against “sabre-rattling” over the UK’s future customs arrangements with the EU. She said speculation that Theresa May could face a challenge if MPs ended up backing some form of post-Brexit customs union was “deeply unhelpful”. MPs will hold a symbolic vote on the issue on Thursday as pressure grows on the PM after a Lords defeat last week. Labour say a union of sorts is the way forward but ministers reject this. Downing Street’s position is that staying within the EU customs union or joining some new form of union would restrict the UK’s ability to strike trade deals with other countries and therefore be unacceptable. – BBC News How Parliament should handle Brexit over the next few months – and how Ministers should listen to it – Nicky Morgan for ConservativeHome …but Jacob Rees-Mogg urges May not to back down in Irish border dispute The chairman of the influential European Research Group of Eurosceptic Tory MPs said the EU’s refusal to accept either of Britain’s proposed new customs arrangements should only serve to strengthen preparations for a no deal. On Friday, it was reported that the EU’s chef negotiator Michel Barnier was not willing to consider the UK either accepting tariffs on the EU’s behalf at the border or operating a technology-based “trusted trader” scheme to solve the ongoing issue. Jacob Rees-Mogg said: “Ireland has said it doesn’t want a hard border, the UK has said it doesn’t want a hard border and the EU itself has said it doesn’t want a hard border – so frankly it’s up to Brussels if it wants to start putting up border posts. We should call their bluff.” – Express > Hugh Bennett on BrexitCentral: The EU is cynically exploiting the Irish border to try to keep Britain under the thumb Liam Fox to trumpet the scrapping of EU red tape and bureaucracy… The staunch Brexiteer said “unnecessary regulation” will be removed to ensure the nation can enjoy a “a new degree of economic agility”. His comments come after it emerged exports of UK goods and services to the rest of the world have rocketed by 10 per cent as the nation prepares to exit from the EU. In a speech to the financial industry today, Mr Fox is expected to tell countries across the world that Britain is open for business with a “diplomatic prowess to forge new trading relationships”. He is expected to say maintaining the UK’s service offer will be at the forefront of international trade. – Express …as he also promises a City audience the UK will push for global free trade in financial services post-Brexit… Trade secretary Liam Fox will tell a City audience today that Britain can lead a global push for greater free trade in services. Speaking at City Week in Guildhall, Fox will paint an optimistic picture of the UK’s post-Brexit financial services sector. “Increasingly, the world not only wants what Britain makes, but also to tap into the vast pool of knowledge, talent and expertise that we boast across a vast range of industries,” he is expected to say. – City A.M. …and asks businesses not to neglect the Commonwealth Liam Fox has told businesses that the Commonwealth “must not be neglected” as Britain leaves the European Union. At last week’s London summit, ministers unveiled measures designed to increase trade within the 53-nation bloc, including more funding for exporters and an attempt to harmonise standards. Those who campaigned for Brexit have urged the government to focus on boosting trade with Commonwealth countries including India, Canada and Australia, citing a shared language, common laws and cultural interests. Trade experts have disputed the suggestion from some Eurosceptics that the organisation could fill the void if British trade with the EU were to fall sharply after Brexit, pointing to vast economic and geographical disparities between Commonwealth members. – Times (£) Brexiteer Mayor reveals why the future of the North-East depends on quitting customs union Ben Houchen, who is the Tory Mayor of the Tees Valley, criticised the London-centric infighting that tries to stop Brexit and soften the terms of exit. Appearing on the paper review of Sky News’ Paterson on Sunday, Mr Houchen blasted the possibility that Theresa May may “surrender” to Remainer MPs over the customs union. He claimed that the recent attempts in the House of Lords to tie Britain to the EU’s custom union was a flagrant disregard of “the people’s mandate”. Reports today suggest that the Prime Minister may “cave in” to demands that include a customs union in the final Brexit deal – a previous red line in the cabinet. – Express Dealmaking involving British firms hits highest since the millennium A spate of large deals drove the strongest start to the year for British merger and acquisition (M&A) volumes since the millennium, according to new data. M&A activity with UK involvement rose to $274.9bn ((£196.4bn) in the first quarter, its highest since the year 2000, figures from Thomson Reuters shown to City A.M. reveal. Deal numbers in the first quarter fell by a fifth year-on-year, but big-ticket tie-ups between GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis, GKN and Melrose, and UBM and Informa helped to boost total activity to an 18-year high. – City A.M. Government says Brexit is a “golden opportunity” for UK food and drink sector The government has hit back at a select committee report on food and drink after Brexit, insisting that leaving the EU is a “golden opportunity” for the sector. A spokesperson from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the UK could secure free trade deals while supporting farmers. “We are clear that any future deals must work for UK farmers, producers and consumers,” they said. – City A.M. The Sun: Britain must leave the EU customs union after Brexit — and Theresa May should stand firm It is welcome news that Theresa May has reiterated Britain will leave the customs union — and The Sun will hold her to it. It is simply a red line that cannot be crossed. Brexit without leaving the customs union, or “a” customs union, is worse than meaningless, though meaningless it would be. Some in Downing Street reportedly believe we may have to accept permanent membership of it. But, make no mistake, that would be a catastrophic national humiliation, Britain’s gravest in generations. It would mean us, having voted to leave the EU with the biggest democratic mandate in our history, pathetically failing to do so in full — yet still paying £39billion to pretend we have. It would be an insane decision. – Sun editorial Juliet Samuel: Staying in the EU’s customs union would leave Britain a sitting duck Most voters have little idea what a customs union is, but they probably would have a view on these questions. Now that we’re leaving, is it a good idea to outsource most of our trade policy to the EU? And is it consistent with the referendum result? The answer to both questions is surely no. The best way to think of the customs union is as a fence between the EU’s common market in goods and the rest of the world. The fence consists of tariffs, quotas and goods regulations. For all its many continuing flaws, and for all our moaning, the design of the fence has been heavily influenced by Britain. – Juliet Samuel for the Telegraph (£) Trevor Kavanagh: Staying in the EU’s Customs Union will be kiss of death for the UK’s future When Theresa May flew home last month from Brussels, waving a piece of Brexit paper, I warned the deal was too good to be true. Ruthless EU leaders would still try to punish Britain to make sure we were worse off outside. BBC Europe editor Katya Adler agreed: “They want to keep the UK locked in.” What I didn’t predict was the implacable determination of Remainers to back Brussels, betray their own country and sabotage Brexit. Now Mrs May, having apparently risen from the ruins of her election catastrophe, may be turning her own “breakthrough” deal into ashes. – Trevor Kavanagh for the Sun Dominic Lawson: This shabby plot to keep Britain a captive state of the vengeful EU must be crushed Plots are meant to be secret. But just because some political manoeuvres are in plain sight, it doesn’t make them less insidious. That is true of the co-ordination between those members of Parliament who want to turn Brexit into a sham and the European Commission’s negotiating team, who have the same purpose. The way pro-Remain MPs have set out their determination to force the UK to remain in a customs union with the EU, at exactly the same time as Brussels has rejected Theresa May’s plans for a frictionless border between Ireland and the UK post-Brexit, has all the precision of dressage. And it is Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, who is holding the reins. Last December the Prime Minister broke the negotiating deadlock with the EU by agreeing that, come what may, there should be no hard border between the North and South of Ireland. – Dominic Lawson for the Daily Mail Baroness Falkner: I was shouted down when I tried to speak up for Brexit Our overall trade with the EU is on a declining trajectory, from around 55 per cent in the 1990s to 43 per cent in 2016. Once the goods ‘exported’ to Rotterdam are taken out of the 43 per cent figure, it comes down to around 40 per cent. So the bulk of UK trade currently is with the rest of the world, and its biggest component, by a country mile, is in services which would not be protected by ‘a’ or ‘the’ customs union. The UK needs to protect both kinds of trade – goods and services – both with the EU and elsewhere, which needs it to be as unconstrained in the current negotiations as possible, not tied in to a relatively small gain at the expense of the bigger and more profitable sectors which actually provide the trade surplus to the UK economy. – Baroness Falkner for the Telegraph Roger Bootle: After Brexit, the UK should explore the ‘Commonwealth advantage’ Many Commonwealth countries look with optimism and enthusiasm on opportunities for increased UK trade and co-operation post-Brexit. Indeed, I expect a far-reaching UK/Australia free trade agreement (FTA) to be signed very soon after Brexit. Contrast this with the tortuous negotiations that the EU went through over its deal with Canada and the fact that it still hasn’t signed a deal with the US. Contrast this also with the stone-walling, hostile timetable and haggling of the EU Commission over Brexit. – Roger Bootle for the Telegraph (£) Liam Fox and Esther McVey: Our workplace is ready for Brexit More than 3.2 million more people have moved into work over this period – that’s over 1,000 people entering employment a day, every day. We now have the lowest unemployment rate for 42 years at 4.2 per cent, and wages are outpacing inflation. This reality is a far cry from the predictions made at the time of the Brexit vote. A job provides for career progression and with it wage progression. It is therefore important the Government grasps the opportunities Brexit brings. And this is exactly what we are doing as we move forward in our progress to leave the European Union, positioning ourselves as a global country that is open to working with the world. This week we welcomed 52 Commonwealth leaders to London – where we discussed the importance of free and fair trade. – Liam Fox MP and Esther McVey MP for the Express Brexit in brief Ignore the straw men, the Commonwealth can still be a big part of our post-Brexit settlement – Policy Exchange Take heart from Latin American capitalists showing the way – Liz Truss for Reaction Eurozone downturn and lack of reform presage existential crisis – Wolfgang Munchau for the FT (£) Windrush should be the cue for a rethink on immigration policy – Mark Littlewood for the Times (£) Can Emmanuel Macron convince Donald Trump he’s the new power in Europe? – Telegraph editorial (£) From Shell to Aston Martin: The UK’s most valuable brands ranked – City A.M.