May to tell G-20 her Brexit deal is good for world economy
BUENOSAIRES: UK Prime Minister Theresa May headed to the Group of 20 summit in Argentina with a message for world leaders - her Brexit deal is good for the global economy.
The claim is at odds with analysis by May’s own economic advisers, who say Britain’s best option would be to stay in the European Union. But it is a variant on her sales pitch since sealing a deal with the EU at the weekend on the terms of Britain’s departure and a political framework for its future relationship.
In Buenos Aires, she’ll set out what Brexit means for Britain’s trading relationships around the world, her office said.
“For the first time in more than four decades, the UK will have an independent trade policy,” May will tell leaders, according to remarks emailed by her office. “We will play a full and active role in trade on the global stage, working with friends new and old, at a time of unprecedented global interconnectedness.”
The timing of the summit is tricky for May. The people she most needs to persuade of the merits of her deal are back in the UK: the 650 members of the House of Commons who on December 11 will vote on whether to give it their support.
There’s every sign they won’t, and that would leave May with a set of unpalatable options that range from going ahead with Brexit without a deal - with disastrous consequences - to holding a second referendum.