Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Theresa May ‘could bypass Brexit war Cabinet to force through customs partnership plan’… Theresa May could bypass her Brexit “war Cabinet” by asking the full Cabinet to back her controversial plan for a customs partnership with Brussels, Eurosceptic ministers fear… As she considers her next move, Brexiteers have warned her she could face a revolt – and even a leadership contest – if she tries to steamroller opponents of the plan… One Cabinet source said: “There is a growing feeling that the Prime Minister is going to avoid another confrontation with the Brexit sub-committee on a customs partnership, which she would lose, and just put the matter to a full Cabinet meeting where she has the numbers to win. But it would only get through Cabinet because people haven’t yet grasped just how much of a sell-out it would be.” – Telegraph (£) Boris Johnson pressures PM to abandon ‘crazy’ customs partnership plan as Downing Street claims Johnson previously backed plan – Sky News Johnson dares May to fire him over customs – The Times (£) Brexiteers hail Boris Johnson as Theresa May pressured to drop her customs plan with EU – The Sun Downing St overlooks Johnson’s ‘crazy customs plan’ outburst as Prime Minister focuses on how to win over and unite a sceptical cabinet – FT (£) Soubry and Grieve hint at support for customs partnership plan – Guardian Varadkar indicates support for customs partnership plan – Bloomberg Boris Johnson and the politics of Brexit – Laura Kuenssberg for BBC News Boris Johnson risks crying wolf with ‘crazy’ comment – Annabelle Dickson for Politico Cabinet Remainers took the customs war into the open, so Brexiteers had to return fire – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) Theresa May is making Cabinet unrest on the customs partnership worse – Isabel Hardman for the Spectator Brexit is testing Johnson’s policy-lite mantra that ‘where there is a will, there is a way’, but beneath this offensive nonchalance is a streak of prudence – Andrew Gimson for The Times (£) The consequences of Customs Union indecision. How Britain could end up with EEA-lite – formally or informally – Paul Goodman for ConservativeHome Time is running out to decide how we want to trade – Telegraph editorial (£) Boris Johnson and Brexit: crazy is as crazy does – Guardian editorial > Henry Newman on BrexitCentral today: The Customs Partnership proposal is bad politics, bad policy and a bad plan …as Brexiteers fear Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson will back down on his vow to torpedo the PM’s customs partnership… Cabinet Brexiteers fear Gavin Williamson will “rat” on a promise to torpedo Theresa May’s customs partnership in return for getting more cash for the Defence budget, The Sun can reveal. Despite the Defence Secretary telling the Prime Minister he had “grave concerns” about her Brexit border plans, colleagues believe he is the “weakest link” in opposition to the complex tariff structure. They fear that his bitter battle with the Treasury to increase the Ministry of Defence’s £36billion budget makes him most likely to back the PM on a compromise if he can cut a new funding deal… One [Cabinet] member told The Sun: “Gavin hasn’t got to where he is so quickly without being canny, but I’m not sure he would find himself in a good place with the party if his ‘grave concerns’ disappeared in a week.” – The Sun …while a Cabinet minister says May risks ‘broken compromise’ on customs union because she has got her numbers wrong Theresa May’s proposal for a customs partnership is a “broken compromise” that risks “pleasing no one”, a Cabinet source has warned as they claimed that Downing Street may have got its numbers wrong on support for remaining in the customs union. An unnamed Cabinet minister has claimed that the Government’s fears over support for a customs union has forced Mrs May and her team to draft proposals that they believe MPs can be persuaded to vote for. However, the source argues that support for a customs union has been overstated, and that Mrs May should instead focus her efforts on a light touch arrangement, such as the maximum-facilitation (max-fac) proposal. – Telegraph At least one Cabinet Minister believes that a pro-Customs Union majority may not exist in Commons, telling this site yesterday that some of these MPs would “probably” abstain. “Personally I am not convinced of a CU majority,” the Minister said. “I think we can burn off a few of ours plus get a few Labour votes and, equally important, abstentions… We have managed to let this narrative establish that the Commons doesn’t support Customs Union exit and frankly we have only ourselves to blame. I think we will need to vote on it, and we have a very decent chance of winning, but it will be tight. The danger is that Number Ten will take a bigger gamble by avoiding the inevitable, and you end up pleasing no-one by trying to get a broken compromise.” – ConservativeHome Labour’s Brexit policy plunged into fresh chaos as Emily Thornberry says UK should ‘remain in the customs union’ Emily Thornberry has plunged Labour’s Brexit policy into fresh chaos after she said she wanted the UK to stay in the customs union after Britain leaves the European Union. The shadow foreign secretary said “we want to remain in the customs union” despite Labour’s official position being that the UK should strike a customs union deal which would give Britain a say over future trade deals. Meanwhile, Ms Thornberry suggested Labour wanted the UK to “end up in the same place” as Norway in terms of its future relationship with Brussels… She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “What we want to do is we want to remain in the customs union. We don’t want any faffing around with any of the nonsense that the Government is coming up with in relation to alternatives to the customs union. We want to remain in the customs union and we want to be able to negotiate a bespoke British deal when it comes to our relationship generally with the European Union which will mean that we will remain as close as we possibly can to the single market.” – Telegraph Government suffers further Brexit defeats in the House of Lords as peers vote to scrap formal March 2019 divorce date… The Government had defined the point of Brexit as 11pm on March 29, 2019 in its European Union (Withdrawal) Bill. But peers voted 311 to 233, a majority of 78, to remove the date in a move likely to spark fears among Brexiteers of a bid to delay or even thwart the UK’s withdrawal from the bloc. The Government will now have to decide whether to fight to reinsert the Brexit date onto the face of the Bill when it returns to the House of Commons for further debate. – Telegraph …and dozens of Labour peers defy their frontbench to back pro-Single Market amendment The House of Lords voted to keep Britain in the single market last night, causing headaches for both Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn. The government was defeated on an amendment that would have forced Britain to remain a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) by 247 votes to 218, with rebels from both parties. Mr Corbyn had ordered his peers to abstain but 83 ignored him and 17 Tories abstained to deliver one of four defeats last night on the government’s Brexit legislation, amid signs of growing discord in the Lords. – The Times (£) Shock defeat on single market rounds off series of Brexit reverses in House of Lords – Sky News House of Lords backs UK remaining in EEA – BBC News Theresa May forced to give MPs single market vote after shock defeat – Guardian With the EEA vote, the Lords can set Theresa May on the right Brexit path – Stephen Kinnock MP for the Guardian > Today on BrexitCentral: House of Lords defeats Government 14 times on the EU Withdrawal Bill at Report Stage – full details Liam Fox to unveil £100 million deal with Dubai which will see British exports rocket Trade boss Liam Fox will today hail a £100 million deal with Dubai that will see British exports rocket. Nearly half of the supplies and services for the new Dubai World Trade Centre are expected to come from the UK. The Cabinet minister will set out how the UK’s export credit agency is boosting trading relations as he hails Britain’s reputation for high-quality manufacturing. UK Export Finance (UKEF) support of more than £100 million for the construction of the fourth phase of the Dubai World Trade Centre has been agreed. – The Sun Liam Fox’s trade department to receive emergency cash injection as Treasury agrees up to £10m to safeguard trade promotion staff jobs – FT (£) Security firms face ban on helping EU in row over satellite The government is investigating ways to ban technology companies from transferring sensitive information to Europe if Brussels carries out its threat to block the UK from the Galileo satellite navigation system… It has prompted the Treasury to look into how it can change the licences of UK-based companies that specialise in satellite and encryption technology to halt the use of intellectual property overseas, The Times has learnt… Plans for Galileo rely on ground bases in the [British Overseas Territories of the] Falklands, Ascension Island and Diego Garcia in order to ensure that the positioning system has global reach… A Whitehall source said: “There is concern about what this means for the future of our security partnership. The government said we were not going to make it a bargaining chip but the commission turning round and branding the UK a security threat has left us with concerns about what that means.” – The Times (£) UK must ‘blur’ European Court of Justice red line to get EU data deal on GDPR, industry figures claim The UK could struggle to secure a critical Brexit agreement on data, despite firms spending millions on compliance ahead of a EU legal deadline this month. Even if it does, it will have to accept ongoing deep levels of oversight by the European Court of Justice, potentially breaching one of the UK’s negotiation “red lines”. Data held in the UK will still be subject to rulings from Brussels following Brexit if it includes EU citizens’ information, even if the both the EU and UK achieve mutual agreements on data. – Telegraph (£) Eurocrats launch £8m propaganda blitz to boost bloc’s popularity among young people Brussels has splashed the cash on a new PR campaign to show “how the EU gives every person the power to do what they love”. The money has been used to produce five arty videos which will be shown at cinemas across Europe this summer. They are aimed at people aged 17-34 and will also be trailed across the EU’s social media accounts from today. However the series of films, featured on the new ‘EU and Me’ website, will raise eyebrows for their unusual content. In one of the films a young girl gets lost in a forest, only to be escorted home by a brown bear. In another a “loner” uses EU funded internet access at his remote Polish home to order products with the aim of chatting up a delivery girl. – The Sun Lord Trimble: True friends of Northern Ireland must end the scaremongering Thirty years ago the communities of Northern Ireland made an historic decision to end violence and pursue a democratic, peaceful future… This achievement was delivered through a will to see things change, through confronting our own prejudices and through tireless efforts of imagination. It is in this context that I have been so dismayed at the attempts by some to use the issue of the Northern Irish border as a tool by those seeking to influence the Brexit negotiations. In recent months senior politicians — some of whom were partners in the peace process — have sought to spread fear about a return to violence. They have warned about a breakdown in community relations and talked-up threats to the Good Friday agreement. Yet, as a new paper published today by Policy Exchange shows, those seeking to alter the position of the democratically elected UK government in delivering the result of the Brexit referendum with such scare tactics cannot appreciate the strength of peace — nor the facts of how a modern border can operate… It is sad then that some have sought to disregard the facts for the sake of temporary political advantage in what should be a mature negotiation. Anyone interested in the welfare of the people of Northern Ireland, and indeed the welfare of those in the Republic and EU, should be urging Brussels to seek a free trade agreement with the UK and develop a smart border process. – Lord Trimble for The Times (£) Getting Over the Line: Solutions to the Irish border – Dr Graham Gudgin and Ray Bassett for Policy Exchange Shanker Singham: Without free trade, Brexit will be nothing more than a damage limitation exercise The Prime Minister has previously made it clear that the UK must be able to execute an independent trade policy post-Brexit. She is right. If Britain is unable to do so, then all the benefits of leaving the EU will be lost and Brexit itself will only be a damage limitation exercise. The danger, as the Government stumbles along without seeming to make any decisions, is that we will collapse into the arrangement that the EU prefers: inside a customs union, abiding by single market rules while having no say in how they are devised, and paying financial contributions forever. If Brussels were to engineer such an outcome, it would signal that even the UK, with the world’s financial capital, is not able to leave the EU and so no other country should try. We are sliding towards this and any delay in coming up with an alternative itself risks becoming a decision. – Shanker Singham for the Telegraph (£) Norman Blackwell: The real divide over the UK’s post-EU future is hope and despair With less than a year to go until the UK leaves the EU, the real divide is no longer between former Leavers and Remainers. Rather it is between those who, whichever way they voted, now take an optimistic view of Britain’s future and those who are entrenched in a negative outlook. While the pessimists are entitled to their view, the danger is that their continued disparagement of Britain’s prospects is itself a source of damage — reducing economic confidence and raising doubts for foreign investors. It is time we all embraced a realistic but positive stance on long-term opportunities. A comprehensive free trade agreement between the UK and Europe is clearly desirable. However, whatever the short term uncertainties, the UK has enduring strengths that means it can prosper as a trading nation under any scenario… While the concerns are valid, the case for optimism is in recognising that these short-term uncertainties will become increasingly less relevant compared to the emerging new opportunities… Europe’s structural weaknesses mean it is likely to remain one of the slowest growing regions, rapidly overtaken by the dynamism of the economic powerhouses in Asia and other emerging nations. – Lord Blackwell, Chairman of Lloyds Banking Group, for the FT (£) Peter Gitmark: Britain is looking for a Brexit model that can work, but should they copy Norway? Absolutely not! One potential scenario being discussed is whether the UK can be granted the same status as Norway has today – as a European Economic Area (EEA) state, without any voting rights. The deal is best the Norway was able to negotiate after Norwegian voters rejected EU membership – not once, but twice, in separate referendums… Norway is a small, tranquil country that is blessed with large natural resources in oil, hydropower, minerals and fish, so the deal has been an acceptable one for the EU. The UK’s situation is entirely different. Many industries in the UK compete directly with industrial players in EU countries. And would the Brits accept an agreement that would bind them to legislations passed by the EU without having the power to construct the laws they must conform to? I doubt it… And yet the reality is that British civil servants seem to be trying to arrange a deal that keeps the UK as closely connected to the EU as possible. The only real way forward for Britain now is to stand on its own. ‘No deal’ is better for the UK as opposed to committing to a position where the EU’s interests will come first. – Former Norwegian MP Peter Gitmark for PR Week Comment in brief Step one in showing provincial English voters more respect. Clear up this Customs Union mess – James Frayne for ConservativeHome The world agrees: Post-Brexit Britain can win big on trade – Get Britain Out’s Joshua King for the ConservativeOnline Deluded Remainers are still clinging on to Project Fear – Stephen Pollard for the Express Wetherspoons sales slow – but Tim Martin is more focused on the customs union – Catherine Neilan for City A.M. What does Brexit mean for the UK’s wildlife? – The World Weekly Local elections have brought a focus to the political debate – Jacob Rees-Mogg MP for the Express News in brief Record profits for UK firms – Guido Fawkes ‘The UK would lose control forever’: Anger over EU plot to tighten grip on member states – Express British workers need to lose ‘Victorian’ attitude towards hospitality industry post-Brexit, say hotel bosses – Telegraph (£) New EU regulations ‘could shut down UK theatres’ and ‘ban stage lights’ – Express Dearth of skilled workers pushes up wage growth – Telegraph No Windrush arrivals forced out of Britain – The Times (£) Campaigners call for all British citizens living in Belgium to be granted EU citizenship – Parliament Magazine Support for Ireland staying in the EU hits record high of 92%, latest poll shows – Independent Prince Charles expresses sympathies for Greece’s economic woes before landmark royal visit – The Times (£)