Theresa MayLondon: Prime minister Theresa May on Monday said the UK will be leaving the European Union single market within two years, but implementation of any Brexit deal would be 'phased' to avoid a "cliff edge", while revealing that talks on new trade deals with countries like India are in the works.
In her much-anticipated Brexit speech in London, May also said that the both houses of the British parliament will vote on any final Brexit agreement, amid pressure from lawmakers to have more say over leaving the 28-nation economic bloc.
She set out 12 negotiating objectives for Brexit, which stated that the UK would pursue a fresh tariff-free trade agreement with the EU.
"I want to be clear. What I am proposing cannot mean membership of the single market. It would to all intents and purposes mean not leaving the EU at all. And that is why both sides in the referendum campaign made it clear that a vote to leave the EU would be a vote to leave the single market," she said in her address at Lancaster House to senior officials working on Brexit and representatives from around the world, including Indian High Commissioner to the UK Y.K. Sinha.
"We want to get out into the wider world, to trade and do business all around the globe. Countries including China, Brazil, and the Gulf States have already expressed their interest in striking trade deals with us.
"We have started discussions on future trade ties with countries like Australia, New Zealand and India. And President-elect (Donald) Trump has said Britain is not 'at the back of the queue' for a trade deal with the United States, the worlds biggest economy, but front of the line," May said.
Her 12 objectives broadly covered aspects of certainty; control over own laws; strengthening the union; maintaining the common travel area with Ireland; control of immigration; rights for EU citizens in Britain and British nationals in the EU; protecting workers rights; free trade with European markets; new trade agreements with other countries; making UK the best place for science and innovation; cooperation in the fight against crime and terrorism; and smooth and orderly Brexit.
"We seek a new and equal partnership between an independent, self-governing, global Britain and our friends and allies in the EU. Not partial membership of the European Union, associate membership of the European Union or anything that leaves us half-in, half-out," she said.
"We do not seek to adopt a model already enjoyed by other countries. We do not seek to hold on to bits of membership as we leave. The United Kingdom is leaving the European Union. My job is to get the right deal for Britain as we do," she added.
The approach has been widely characterized as a "hard Brexit", which would take the UK out of the current tariff- free EU single market and the customs union it shares within the economic bloc.
On the free movement of people within the EU, May was clear that Britain would not be willing to compromise on the issue to be able to control immigration figures.
"Britain is an open and tolerant country. We will always want immigration, especially high-skilled immigration, we will always want immigration from Europe, and we will always welcome individual migrants as friends. But the message from the public before and during the referendum campaign was clear: Brexit must mean control of the number of people who come to Britain from Europe. And that is what we will deliver," she said in the landmark 40-minute long speech.
On a tough note, she also warned the remaining 27 EU member states to not resort to a "punitive" approach, which would harm their own citizens.
She said: "We will continue to be reliable partners, willing allies and close friends. We want to buy your goods, sell you ours, trade with you as freely as possible, and work with one another to make sure we are all safer, more secure and more prosperous through continued friendship.
"I must be clear. Britain wants to remain a good friend and neighbour to Europe. Yet I know there are some voices calling for a punitive deal that punishes Britain and discourages other countries from taking the same path. That would be an act of calamitous self-harm for the countries of Europe. And it would not be the act of a friend.
"Britain would not indeed we could not accept such an approach. And while I am confident that this scenario need never arise while I am sure a positive agreement can be reached I am equally clear that no deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain."
On another aspect of hard Brexit, the Customs Union, May appeared more open to thrashing out a new deal.
"I want Britain to be able to negotiate its own trade agreements. But I also want tariff-free trade with Europe and cross-border trade there to be as frictionless as possible. That means I do not want Britain to be part of the Common Commercial Policy and I do not want us to be bound by the Common External Tariff. These are the elements of the Customs Union that prevent us from striking our own comprehensive trade agreements with other countries. But I do want us to have a customs agreement with the EU," she said.
Admitting that Britain was at times seen as an "awkward member state", May, however, stressed that the EU itself has struggled to deal with the diversity of its member countries and their interests.
Indicating that it was important for the economic bloc itself to be open to reform, she said: "It bends towards uniformity, not flexibility the blunt truth, as we know, is that there was not enough flexibility on many important matters for a majority of British voters.
"I believe there is a lesson in Brexit not just for Britain but, if it wants to succeed, for the EU itself. Because our continent's great strength has always been its diversity. And there are two ways of dealing with different interests.
"You can respond by trying to hold things together by force, tightening a vice-like grip that ends up crushing into tiny pieces the very things you want to protect. Or you can respect difference, cherish it even, and reform the EU so that it deals better with the wonderful diversity of its member states."
Addressing the media directly, May urged a balanced approach in coverage of Brexit to ensure the best deal for Britain.
She noted: "Every stray word and every hyped up media report is going to make it harder for us to get the right deal for Britain. Our opposite numbers in the European Commission know it, which is why they are keeping their discipline. And the ministers in this Government know it too, which is why we will also maintain ours.
"So, however, frustrating some people find it, the Government will not be pressured into saying more than I believe it is in our national interest to say. Because it is not my job to fill column inches with daily updates, but to get the right deal for Britain. And that is what I intend to do."
Her central message was that she wanted the UK to emerge from this period of change "stronger, fairer, more united and more outward-looking" than ever before.
"I want us to be a truly Global Britain the best friend and neighbor to our European partners, but a country that reaches beyond the borders of Europe too. A country that goes out into the world to build relationships with old friends and new allies alike," she said.
Her speech has been widely welcomed as the most detailed view on what a post-Brexit Britain would look like and the Pound Sterling jumped upwards indicating a positive reception of the plans so far.
