UK seeks clean break with EU, to leave single market

British Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a speech

More than six months after Britain voted to leave the European Union, British Prime Minister Theresa May finally spelled out what it means: The UK will make a clean break from the EU and leave its single market of around 500 million people.
In her most detailed remarks since the June 23 vote, May said on Tuesday that Britain must regain control of its laws and borders, while she called on the bloc to negotiate a free-trade agreement that will benefit both sides.
"We do not seek membership of the single market," she said in her speech, which had been highly anticipated. "Instead, we seek the greatest possible access to it through a new, comprehensive, bold and ambitious free-trade agreement."
May promised for the first time that Britain's Parliament will be able to vote on the final divorce deal reached between the UK and European Union - likely in 2019. However, she didn't say what would happen should Parliament reject the agreement.
The British pound rallied on having some clarity at last. The currency was recovering from steep losses earlier in the week, trading 2.2 per cent higher at $1.2309. On Monday, it was as low as $1.20, a near 31-year low.
Currency traders liked that the matter would be put to Parliament, giving May a chance to tame the excesses of the more fervent Brexiteers, said Kathleen Brooks, research director of City Index.
"But, even this concession cannot hide the fact that the UK wants the best parts of the EU, with a cherry on the top, which could make the next two years extremely tense," she said. "So, the pound is not out of the woods yet."
The plunge in the pound has started to hit the consumer. Inflation in Britain has soared to its highest level in 2½ years, hitting 1.6 per cent in December, from 1.2 per cent in November.
The pound's plunge earlier this week was sparked by fears of an economy-roiling "hard Brexit."
May rejected both the "hard Brexit" label and its opposite, a compromise "soft Brexit." She said she wants a new relationship based on free trade between the UK and the EU.
"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," May said.
That includes a customs agreement, though May said she has an "open mind" about whether that means staying in the EU Customs Union, which currently prevents Britain from striking trade deals with other countries. Alternatively, Britain could leave that too and try to forge a new deal with the EU.
In a bid to alleviate fears that Brexit will mean a more insular Britain, May said she wants the country to be "stronger, fairer, more united and more outward-looking than ever before."
In a symbol of the UK's outward-facing aspirations, May spoke before an audience of British civil servants and international diplomats at London's Lancaster House, a Georgian mansion that has hosted international summits.
The speech received a mixed reaction from the EU, whose leaders largely lament Britain's decision to leave.
German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the speech had "created a little bit more clarity about the British plans" and noted May's willingness to engage in a constructive and positive partnership with the EU.
European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted that it was a "sad process, surrealistic times but at least more realistic announcement" on Brexit. He said the 27 other EU nations are "united and ready to negotiate" once Britain formally starts the two-year process of talks by invoking Article 50 of the EU's key treaty.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said she appeared to be warning that she was ready to turn the UK into a "low-corporate taxation, bargain-basement economy off the shores of Europe" if the EU didn't give her everything she wanted.
British prime minister wants ...
Greatest possible access to European single market through a new, comprehensive, bold and ambitious free-trade agreement.
No 'hard Brexit' label and its opposite, a compromise 'soft Brexit.'
A new relationship based on free trade between the UK and the EU.
Work with one another to make sure we are all safer, more secure and more prosperous through continued friendship.
To make Britain "stronger, fairer, more united and more outward-looking than ever before.
Britain to guarantee the right to remain of EU citizens already in Britain, and British citizens elsewhere in the bloc.