Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Leak suggests Theresa May will breach her red lines and propose ‘softest possible Brexit’ at Chequers… Let’s start with the PM’s putative third way on a customs arrangement with the EU… the new proposal of the PM and her officials, led on this by Olly Robbins, retains the NCP’s most controversial element, namely that the UK would at its borders collect duties on imports at the rate of the European Union’s common customs tariff. The UK would in that sense be the EU’s tax collector, and although the UK would have the right to negotiate trade agreements with third countries where tariffs could be different from the EU’s or zero, companies in the UK importing from those countries would have to claim back the difference from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), much in the way they currently claim or pay different VAT rates when trading with the EU… Frictionless trade and an open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic cannot just be achieved by aligning customs collection rates. It also requires alignment of product standards, for goods and agricultural products. Or at least that is what the PM will insist on with her Cabinet colleagues. And that alignment would in effect replicate membership of the single market for goods and agri-foods. This would see European standards and law continuing forevermore, to hold sway over British manufacturing and food production – though the ultimate court of appeal in commercial disputes would, in May’s and Robbins’s formulation, be an extra-territorial international court, like the European Free Trade Area’s EFTA court. – Robert Peston for ITV News May picks Philip Hammond to warn cabinet on perils of hard Brexit – The Times (£) Hammond to brief Cabinet on cost of Brexit options this friday – City A.M. Don’t push PM too far, Tory MPs warned – BBC News Theresa May is warned not to revive plans for a controversial ‘customs partnership’ at this week’s Brexit showdown – Daily Mail Theresa May faces ‘almighty row’ at Chequers as Eurosceptics fear ‘softest possible’ Brexit – Telegraph (£) Tory Brexiteers’ fury at Theresa May’s softer Brexit plan in a bid to break the negotiations deadlock with Brussels – The Sun Brexiteers may have to wait longer in purgatory before they get a taste of heaven – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) …after she reportedly backed plans preparing for delayed Brexit at EU summit Theresa May and European Union leaders backed plans at a late night Brussels summit to keep British MEPs in the European Parliament if Brexit is delayed past the March 29 2019 deadline, The Telegraph can reveal. The revelations risk destabilising an already divided Cabinet ahead of a crunch Chequers meeting on Friday to hammer out a British Brexit vision. At a Conservative fundraiser on Monday, Mrs May issued a desperate pleas for unity. The EU contingency clause, buried in a seven-page document published at 5am last Friday morning, has raised fears among Brexiteers that, amid deep Cabinet divisions and growing time pressure to finalise a deal by October, plots are being laid to delay Brexit. – Telegraph (£) Britain to ‘own’ the sea and fish in it up to 200 miles from the coast for the first time in decades under Michael Gove plan Britain will ‘own’ the sea and the fish in it up to 200 miles from the coast for the first time in decades after the UK leaves the European Union, under plans set out today. The Government is proposing a new “zonal attachment” way of deciding which country owns the fish and how they should be shared out. A new fishing white paper is sets out ways for “fairer” allocation of fishing opportunities based on the distribution of fish stocks and moving away from a system based on fishing patterns from the 1970s. The “zonal attachment” scheme will replace the current European Union fishing quotas which gives EU trawlers the rights to fish 60 per cent of the fish in UK waters up to 12 miles from the UK coast. EU Member States currently land around eight times as much fish in UK waters than the UK does in EU Member States’ waters. – Telegraph (£) Post-Brexit fishing plans to be set out by UK government – BBC News Theresa May launches bid to take back control of UK’s fishing waters post-Brexit – The Sun Regaining control of our fisheries is a great opportunity for Britain – Michael Gove for The Times (£) > Listen on the Today Programme: Scottish Fishing Federation says UK will return to international law of the sea Vote Leave challenge Electoral Commission’s one-sided investigation into referendum campaign The official Brexit campaign is expected to be found guilty of four charges of breaking electoral law, the BBC has been told. The draft of an investigation into Vote Leave concludes it broke spending limits and failed to comply with some of the rules… But the group’s former chief executive claimed the Electoral Commission had not followed due process. Matthew Elliott has submitted a 500-page dossier to the Electoral Commission rebutting the claims… Speaking to the BBC, Mr Elliott said the commission had “listened to one side of the story”. “We offered to go in for interviews, both at board level and at staff level,” he said. “They haven’t accepted any interviews from our side.” Mr Elliott said he thought Vote Leave had “acted both within the letter of the law and also the spirit of the law”, and that it was perfectly legitimate that they would “work alongside other groups and encourage them and encourage their activities”. – BBC News Matthew Elliott has told Sky News that Vote Leave faces a possible fine over allegations that they overspent during the EU referendum campaign in 2016. But Mr Elliott accuses the EC of a “huge breach of natural justice” by only listening to “the fantasists” without interviewing the directors of Vote Leave for their side of the story. He also says that a Leave campaign whistleblower who has given evidence to the commission was “completely lying” and was motivated by the desire for a second referendum. – Sky News Vote Leave accuses Electoral Commission of false accusations – City A.M. > WATCH: Matthew Elliott’s interview with Laura Kuenssberg Donald Trump’s ambassador to the UK says Britain needs to ‘hold its nerve’ to make the most of Brexit Britain needs to ‘hold its nerve’ to make the most of Brexit, Donald Trump’s ambassador to the UK says today. In a rallying call, Robert ‘Woody’ Johnson insists Brexit will be a success provided politicians are not allowed to ‘talk yourselves down’. Writing in the Daily Mail, the billionaire businessman urges the UK to stay the course on Brexit despite the difficulties thrown up by negotiations with Brussels. ‘This isn’t a time to panic,’ he says. ‘It isn’t a time to fall into defeatism or to talk yourselves down. ‘Take a leaf out of the book of America’s revolutionary heroes. Hang together. This is a big moment in British history. – Daily Mail IoD claims businesses reject Brexiteers favoured option for customs UK businesses have roundly rejected Brexiteers’ preferred option for a future customs relationship with the EU, new research has found. The finding comes ahead of crunch talks between Theresa May and her Cabinet at Chequers on Friday. The so-called ‘MaxFac’ option, already discounted by Brussels for failing to avoid friction on the Irish border, was dismissed by businesses of all sizes, across industries, and even among those which do not trade internationally, the research from the Institute of Directors (IoD) found. – Telegraph (£) Unite union aiming to force election over Brexit deal The Unite union has said it will try force an early general election later this year if it does not like the government’s Brexit deal. In a motion backed by delegates, Unite also says it remains “open to the possibility” of another EU referendum “depending on political circumstances”. Campaigners for a referendum on the Brexit deal are hoping to pressure Unite – Labour’s biggest backer – into supporting a referendum on the deal. Labour and Tories do not back the idea. The motion backed at the policy conference in Brighton states that it is unlikely the deal struck between the UK and the EU will satisfy Unite and the Labour Party’s criteria. “Our priority will be to force an early general election which can lead to the election of a Labour government which would, among other things, reach a better deal with the European Union and improved relations with Europe all round.” – BBC News UK’s biggest trade union ‘open’ to new Brexit vote – Sky News Tory backbencher Andrea Jenkyns reminds May that “Prime Ministers keep their jobs if they keep their promises” At the end of last week, Andrea Jenkyns and 32 other Tory MPs told the Prime Minister “the time has now come to get tough in your negotiations with the European Union”. Jenkyns, who in 2015 defeated Ed Balls in Morley and Outwood, had earlier resigned as a PPS so she could concentrate on fighting for Brexit. In this interview she conveys the strength of feeling among Brexiters on the Tory benches who will be dismayed if Britain ends up “half in, half out” of the EU. According to Jenkyns, “Prime Ministers keep their jobs who keep their promises,” and there will be a “catastrophic” loss of faith in the Conservative Party if it breaks its word on Brexit. – ConservativeHome > On Brexit Central earlier in the week: Full text of the ‘Get tough on Brussels’ letter sent to Theresa May by more than 30 Tory MPs Brexiteer stands for Green Party leadership A Brexit supporter and long-standing Green Party member is standing to be the leader of the Green Party, saying “patriotism isn’t a dirty word”. Leslie Rowe, who was Treasurer for the eurosceptic campaign Green Leaves during the referendum, said Brexit gives the UK ‘huge opportunities’ and criticised the previous Green leadership for failing to articulate why they support the EU. He said: “The Green Party has been accused of being a single issue party on the environment, but it’s in danger of becoming a single issue party over the EU. The current leadership have not explained why they want to stay in a corporatist union, which is partly the reason why I’m standing.” The retired accountant successfully managed to amend a party vote last year to be more favourable to Brexit. – BrexitCentral Eurocrats block bid to expose how they spend their £47k-a-year expenses – saying it should remain a secret Euro MPs have been blasted after voting to keep how they spend their £3,900-a-month allowances secret from voters. Anti-corruption campaigners tore into the EU Parliament for refusing to open up its secretive £35 million expenses bill to scrutiny. Currently MEPs are entitled to bumper payouts for hotels, restaurants and travel but do not have to file receipts or undergo audits. In a behind-closed-doors vote this week they decided to carry on with the heavily criticised system for at least another five years. Campaign group Transparency International blasted the decision as “absolutely scandalous”. In a furious statement the group added MEPs had “failed to bring even a modicum of transparency and accountability” to their expenses system. – The Sun Angela Merkel’s migration deal’s domino effect Angela Merkel struck a deal on migration that saved her own skin but threw the EU into disarray. Within hours of the German chancellor announcing that she and her harshest domestic critic on migration — Interior Minister Horst Seehofer — had reached a compromise to end a standoff that threatened to bring down the government, her neighbors were up in arms. Austria and Italy said they plan to reintroduce border controls if Berlin goes ahead with plans to establish so-called transit zones along Germany’s southern border to allow for accelerated deportations of refugees not entitled to seek asylum in the country. If they do so, it would put the survival of the EU’s cherished Schengen area of border-free travel at risk. – Politico City bosses urge Theresa May to keep worker travel rights flexible post-Brexit Theresa May has been urged by professional services business leaders not to accept a Brexit deal that limits UK workers’ ability to travel or hire in the EU, as patience in the City wears thin. The UK’s ‘big four’ audit firms as well as some of the country’s top law firms and consultants have written to the Prime Minister urging for a mutual recognition deal with Brussels that will protect professional services. – Telegraph (£) Michael Gove: Regaining control of our fisheries is a great opportunity for Britain Now we have a chance to put that right. To benefit both our economy and the environment. Outside the CFP we can take back control of our waters and manage the fish in them in a more enlightened way. And today I’m launching a white paper on how we can make the most of those opportunities. Economically, we know that our coastal communities have suffered more than many other parts of the country over the last two decades. The new fishing opportunities we can enjoy outside the CFP should, according to the Scottish government’s own analysis, create thousands of new jobs in Scotland alone. – Michael Gove MP for the Telegraph (£) Owen Paterson: Leave MPs are democrats, not extremists. Denying the people’s vote would be a fatal mistake Those now advocating for a swift, full Brexit are not “extremists”, “ideologues” or “hard Brexiteers”. We are democrats, who understand that it is our duty to implement the verdict of the British people. This is all the more important as the vote went the “wrong” way in the eyes of many in the Establishment. Failure to deliver the result would do catastrophic damage to the integrity of our institutions. How could we ever expect anyone to trust in our constitutional processes again if their express wishes can be ignored? This is the key point. Brexit must be delivered in full to return decision-making to elected politicians and reshape the UK as a powerful advocate for global free trade. Our independent policies can maximise competition – improving quality and driving down prices for consumers by using our new freedom to remove all tariffs. – Owen Paterson MP for the Telegraph (£) Tory Brexit wars: Ed Vaizey vs Owen Paterson – Steerpike for The Spectator Jane Moore: James Dyson is right about Brexit — just tell the European Union ‘so long, suckers’ This week, the hugely successful British inventor Sir James Dyson said: “I would just walk away. We’ve offered lots. They’ve offered nothing. If you want to sell your cars and washing machines and your wine and champagne to us, we’ll talk. But when you behave like this, we will not talk to you.” A delightfully simple slice of common sense wrapped up in the self-belief of this small nation that made a huge impact on the world stage long before the EU even existed and, without doubt, will continue to do so. Yet a democratic vote with a crystal clear outcome to leave is still being wilfully disregarded by a metropolitan elite hell-bent on getting the Remain result they want. Hence, much Project Fear talk of “chaos” and “instability” in the hope of destabilising our already perilously slow progress towards the exit. Chaos and instability might worry the financial institutions (though hedge fund managers can still make a killing) because their annual bonus might not be as obscenely large for a couple of years, but other than that, both are surely the engines of change that could modernise the way we trade and rejuvenate our economy? – Jane Moore for The Sun Nigel Farage: The will of the people deserves respect, not sneers, from Sir Alan Duncan and the liberal elite Let’s get down to brass tacks. Sir Alan Duncan is an Establishment man. From Merchant Taylors’ private school he went to Oxford University, then to Harvard University, and he followed this up by embarking on a lucrative career in the hugely profitable oil business. He’s been a Tory MP since 1992 and has been in government since 2010, first at DfID and now at the Foreign Office. I object to none of this, of course, but to say that the diehard Remainer Sir Alan is anything other than a fully paid-up member of the liberal elite is poppycock. – Nigel Farage MEP for the Telegraph (£) > Watch on BrexitCentral’s YouTube Channel: Farage tells Juncker we’re seeing the rebirth of the nation state John Redwood: There should only be two options: Free Trade or WTO There should be two options on the table for the discussions on Friday. There is the World Trade option, which does not require consent from the EU. This allows us to take back control of our laws, our money, our borders and our trade policy as promised on 29 March 2019. It avoids the uncertainty of a long transition and saves us a lot of money. I would advise that the extra £13bn of tax collected as tariffs on EU goods – prior to trade adjusting to more home production and non EU sourcing – should be given back to UK consumers as a tax cut. Then there is the Free Trade Agreement option. This is much in the EU’s interest. If they thought it was a simple choice of a Free Trade Agreement or WTO, they would be likely to choose the Free Trade Agreement. Whether they do or not depends on how sensible they are, and on whether they believe we will otherwise simply leave with no agreement. – John Redwood’s Diary Comment in Brief The Government should ignore the special pleading from business – John Longworth for Briefings for Brexit Theresa May can’t deliver Brexit, but a new leader can – Ken Worthy for CapX How is Theresa May’s NHS funding boost landing with voters? .- Katy Balls for The Spectator Want tomorrow’s tech titans to be British? Here’s how to do it – Nicole Martin for City A.M. EU copyright reform will break the internet – Sam Dumitriu for City A.M. Relations between businesses and politicians are made worse by the fact each misunderstand the other – James Frayne for ConservativeHome Brexit isn’t the end for the environment – Stanley Johnson for The Times (£) What kind of Brexit do voters want? – John Curtice for BBC News One of us was a Remainer, the other a Leaver. We come together now with most Conservative MPs to back the Prime Minister. – Nick Boles MP and Robert Syms MP for ConservativeHome Our survey panel. It’s record Party member backing for May leaving Downing Street before the next election – Paul Goodman for ConservativeHome Rees-Mogg’s Brexit history lesson is bunkum – Daniel Finkelstein for The Times (£) Yes, we have proposed a voluntary managed alignment in goods. But direct ECJ jurisdiction must end. – Henry Newman for ConservativeHome News in Brief Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith hints he agrees with Danny Dyer that David Cameron is a ‘t**t’ – The Sun UK construction recovery extends into third month – PMI – Reuters Senior Tories admit ‘wild west’ infighting as Theresa May’s plea for unity torn up as her Brexit peace offer sparks fresh chaos – The Sun Whitehall prepares for big shake-up after Brexit – FT (£) MPs ask Hammond and Carney for Brexit impact studies – Reuters Brexit: We won’t let Britain split the EU member states’ united front in talks, Austrian PM says – Independent Dutch PM joins calls for ‘urgent Brexit clarity’ – Sky News UK companies prepare EU bases in the lead-up to Brexit – FT (£) N Ireland ‘unsupportive’ of ‘no deal’ Brexit – Sky News New customs system ‘could take five years’ – Sky News