Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Theresa May insists customs Brexit ‘backstop’ will be in a ‘very limited set of circumstances for a limited time’ A “backstop” plan to keep the UK aligned with the EU’s customs union after 2020 would only apply “in a very limited set of circumstances”, Theresa May has said… But some Brexiteers who want a clean break from the EU fear it could turn into a long-term arrangement – last week backbench MP Jacob Rees-Mogg warned that people did not vote for a “perpetual purgatory”. Speaking in Macclesfield, Mrs May said the EU’s own “backstop” – keeping Northern Ireland in the customs union – had been unacceptable so the UK had drawn up an alternative. “Nobody wants this to be the solution that is achieved,” she said. “If it’s necessary it will be in a very limited set of circumstances for a limited time.” The prime minister said she wanted to solve the customs issue “through our overall relationship with the European Union”. – BBC News May: customs backstop to only apply in ‘very limited’ circumstances – Guardian May says customs backstop plan would be time-limited – Bloomberg Theresa May says ‘backstop’ customs deal with EU must be for ‘a limited time’ in new Brexit red line – Independent Irish PM is plotting to take control of Northern Ireland after Brexit, suggests Arlene Foster The leading unionist accused Irish president Leo Varadkar of being “very, very aggressive” in talks with Britain. And she suggested they are hoping to split up the UK, under the guise of trying to cut a good Brexit deal. Speaking at a think-tank event in London, Mrs Foster said the Irish government had been more unhelpful ever since Mr Varadkar took power last year. She told the Policy Exchange conference: “Our worry as Unionists has been the very, very aggressive nature of the Irish government. That has been a change, it has to be said, from the last government, from Enda Kenny’s government… The only people stirring up the myths of border checkpoints are those who are committed to unpicking the Union.” … Mrs Foster, the former First Minister of Northern Ireland, also insisted that a “backstop” which could keep the UK in the customs union after Brexit must be strictly time-limited. She said: “There has to be a backstop on the backstop.” – The Sun Corbyn provokes fury over plans to visit Northern Ireland despite past sympathies for the IRA – Express Ministers unveil concrete ‘no deal’ plans which could turn thirteen miles of M20 into lorry park to avoid post-Brexit jams Ministers last night unveiled the first concrete “no deal” disaster plan – turning 13 miles of motorway into a lorry park – in a bold bid to pile pressure on Brussels. Transport chiefs have outlined how the M20 in Kent could be used to stack 2,000 HGVs if they were held up at ports after any collapse of Brexit negotiations… The new Operation Brock will keep two lanes of the vital lifeline between London and the Dover open if implemented, unlike predecessor Operation Stack that wrought chaos on the South East. Highways England have earmarked £25million for preparation, including buying tens of thousands of orange cones to set up a “contraflow system” between Junction 8 near Maidstone and Junction 9 of the near Ashford. – The Sun Part of M20 to be used as lorry park to counter Brexit jams at Channel – Guardian DfT unveils plan to avoid post-Brexit chaos on roads to Channel – FT (£) UK willing to pay to avoid being frozen out of EU-backed science programmes after Brexit, says Theresa May The UK will continue to hand over money to Brussels after Brexit to stay involved in EU scientific research and development programmes under plans unveiled by Theresa May. The Prime Minister announced she wanted Britain to “fully associate ourselves” with European R&D programmes including the successor to Horizon 2020 and the research and training arm of Euratom, Europe’s nuclear agency. Mrs May said the UK would “willingly make” financial payments in order to continue its participation in European science projects. However, she insisted Britain would have to “maintain a suitable level of influence” over the initiatives as she said she wanted to discuss her plans with the European Commission during Brexit negotiations. – Telegraph May’s speech on science: ‘The UK’s ingenuity and creativity will be what drives our progress as a nation’ – ConservativeHome Michael Gove says Brexit has made the UK more welcoming as he attacks the SNP’s ‘identity politics’ Britain has become more welcoming to migrants since the Brexit vote and the Union has been strengthened while the “identity politics” of the SNP and Ukip has been “diminished and eclipsed”… He said that the SNP in Scotland is driven by a “desire to exclude”, adding that support for Scottish nationalism has declined significantly since the vote to leave the European Union… Mr Gove said that Brexit can be used to “redistribute opportunity across our nation” and “bridge gaps and heal divisions” between the old and young, rich and poor and north and south. He suggested that after Brexit the Government could address divisions by reforming corporation tax, making it easier for businesses in poorer areas to borrow money. He said that the Brexit vote was not “nostalgic” or “backward-looking” but an attempt to ensure that Britain can play its role in the affairs of other nations “as an equal”. – Telegraph Brexit has allowed UK to be more ‘welcoming’ to migrants, Michael Gove claims – The Sun Ruth Davidson: UK immigration target should be reviewed – Politico Brexit must benefit Scotland to avoid ‘complacency’ over independence, says Ruth Davidson – Guardian Gove has rare ability to appeal to both sides – Henry Zeffman for The Times (£) Meghan Markle and the myth of ‘racist’ Britain – Douglas Murray for the Spectator Shanker Singham: Brexit is a golden opportunity to reshape the way the world trades The UK, by voting to leave the EU has made itself a global regulatory battleground in this struggle between cronyism, and competition… It is critical that our negotiations with the US and the EU are concurrent, or else there is a risk that the UK will be forced into the regulatory orbit of the EU in some fashion and there will be no serious trade deals in the future… If the US and UK can agree a free trade agreement that pulls the UK out of the EU’s regulatory rotational orbit, then this will be enormously beneficial to global supply chains. Such an agreement is very much in the interests of the world as well as the UK… Together, the UK and US can push back on the tide that threatens to swamp the wealth creation efforts that have lifted so many out of poverty in the post war period. Given the direction of travel of the EU’s regulatory system towards ever more anti-competitive, prescriptive regulation, such a goal will not be achievable with the EU. – Shanker Singham for Reaction The definitive story of how Shanker Singham became “The Brexiteers’ Brain” – Alex Spence for Buzzfeed Express: Remember, Mrs May, you said Brexit means Brexit The Foreign Secretary has warned Theresa May that she must not let her customs plans betray the British people over Brexit. It was the PM, after all, who told us that Brexit means Brexit. She must stick to her guns… Yet fears about the future still cast a shadow and that is why some want to stick within the old customs union. They are wrong. Johnson understands this which is why he is constantly and publicly reminding the PM what the people voted for. And he is right to do so. Boris was one of the leading lights in the campaign to leave the EU. He is now proving to be the conscience of the current incumbent of No 10 and we should all be grateful for that. – Express editorial Janan Ganesh: Another UK election would tip the balance towards Tory Brexiteers At the risk of riling Brenda of Bristol, the voter whose fatigue at hearing the news of last year’s general election became a viral hit, the best hope for Tory Leavers is another election, and soon. A plan leaked over the weekend envisages a vote of no-confidence in prime minister Theresa May, before an autumn date with the electorate, perhaps under the leadership of Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary and committed Leaver. A new election is not certain to fix the Leavers’ central problem, which is the shortage of parliamentary numbers for their preferred exit. But the potential is there. Two favourable circumstances obtain right now that might not in a few years. One is material. The economy is still growing, with wages rising ahead of inflation… The other tailwind is political. The opposition Labour party still wants to leave the single market. As stable as this seems, Leavers cannot treat it as an immovable fact of politics. They are in parliamentary trouble because the opposition line is already softer than it was at the turn of the year. If it softens much more, a hard exit becomes a fringe prospect. – Janan Ganesh for the FT (£) Boris Johnson warns May against calling another snap election – Bloomberg Pound could weather another UK snap election, analyst says – Bloomberg Tony Connelly: How Theresa May’s customs backstop somersault is fraught with danger for Dublin – and why the EU will not wear the customs partnership proposal If goods coming into the UK were destined for the EU27, then British customs officials would work out the difference between the EU tariff and the UK tariff that importers would have to pay, they would collect the difference and pass it on to the EU, or they would reimburse importers if they had to pay a higher tariff than was warranted. EU officials looked with horror at such a scenario. They would have to trust the customs officials of a third country (the UK) to act as their agents. If there was a complaint by an importer or exporter then, technically, they could not refer the case on to the European Court of Justice because that would cross one of Theresa May’s red lines. – Tony Connolly for RTE William Hague: As Italy has shown, the euro is a far bigger threat to Europe than Brexit Most crucially of all, when Italians blame the euro for many of their problems they are actually right. Matteo Salvini, the leader of the the League, might be wrong about many things but when he said in March that joining the euro had been a mistake and that it was a “bad currency” that was “destined to fail” he was spot on. Joining the euro in 1999 imposed permanent stagnation on Italy, with a huge human cost of high unemployment and struggling businesses. It has meant no devaluation of its currency against the highly efficient German economy is possible, and made it harder to export to the rest of the world. For nearly 20 years, the economy has barely grown at all, while Germany has forged ahead. Unless Italian workers somehow become as productive as Germans, this is always going to be the case. There are formidable political obstacles to leaving the euro – such as Italy having no provision for a referendum on international treaties – but having a government that can envisage doing so is a first and vital step. – Lord Hague for the Telegraph (£) Little-known law professor Giuseppe Conte put forward as Italian prime minister – Politico Italy’s coalition agreement explained – Politico Europe’s Italian problem is bigger than Brexit – Clive Crook for Bloomberg Comment in brief Jacob Rees-Mogg: We’re getting to the point where you wonder whether the Government really wants to leave at all [podcast] – ConservativeHome Whisperings in Westminster tell me that both parties are about to change their Brexit strategies – Chuka Umunna MP for the Independent Let’s leave the EU first and get a better Brexit later. What some Leave supporters are saying – Paul Goodman for ConservativeHome Corbyn holds the trump card over Brexit – Rachel Sylvester for The Times (£) We know about Corbyn’s values – but on Brexit he must do detail too – Nesrine Malik for the Guardian Unionists must beware the prospect of a hard border – Matthew O’Toole for The Times (£) A survival guide to the EU’s new data protection rules, GDPR – Mark Scott for Politico News in brief Blair: Labour will pay price for Corbyn’s ‘closet’ Euroskepticism – Politico Fix economy to make a success of Brexit, British Chambers of Commerce tells Prime Minister – Telegraph And finally… The Who frontman Roger Daltrey blasts Brussels bureaucrats for undermining democracy across Europe The Who frontman Roger Daltrey has let rip at Jeremy Corbyn – saying the Labour boss is a “communist”. The singer accused Mr Corbyn of trying to trick voters by posing as a more moderate left-wing figure. And he also blasted Brussels bosses, saying the unelected Eurocrats are destroying democracy… Mr Daltrey, 74, insisted he has nothing against Europe but lashed out at the EU’s lack of democracy. He told Event: “What I’m against is Brussels, not the EU. I can’t live with that because we lost people in my family fighting for our right to be democratic.” – The Sun