May: I’ve succeeded despite doubters

BRITAIN: Theresa May says she has silenced the doubters by securing Britain a deal in the first phase of Brexit negotiations.

After a turbulent six months in which her leadership has been questioned repeatedly, the prime minister takes personal credit for convincing European leaders to move on to the next phase of talks.

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, May strikes a defiant tone by insisting that she succeeded in spite of those wanting to ‘‘talk Britain down’’. She says she will not be ‘‘derailed’’ as she tries to negotiate the crucial terms of the country’s final departure from the European Union.

May’s article comes ahead of a ‘‘crunch’’ week for the Government as the Cabinet prepares to discuss for the first time what the terms of that deal should be.

This newspaper understands that, in a significant shift, Philip Hammond is preparing to throw his weight behind plans by Brexiteers for a bespoke trade deal with the EU, having previously favoured an ‘‘off-the-shelf’’ model closer to arrangements in place with Norway. But the Chancellor separately came under fire from Tory backbenchers yesterday after suggesting that Britain’s transition deal with the EU would ‘‘replicate the status quo’’, including remaining subject to the European Court of Justice.

Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, accused Hammond of ‘‘undermining the prime minister’s negotiations with the EU’’, while Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Eurosceptic backbencher, said: ‘‘We cannot be a colony of the European Union for two years.’’

The details of the transition period are still considered to be up for negotiation, and May’s article states: ‘‘Talks will now begin immediately on agreeing the implementation period.’’

May’s declaration follows months of growing questions about her ability to lead the country through what has been described as its biggest challenge since World War II.

‘‘Amid all the noise, we are getting on with the job. In the face of those who want to talk Britain down, we are securing the best and most ambitious Brexit deal for our whole United Kingdom,’’ May writes. ‘‘And my message today is very clear: we will not be derailed from this fundamental duty to deliver the democratic will of the British people.’’

May says that she ‘‘stuck resolutely’’ to the task of protecting the rights of British citizens abroad as well as meeting demands over the rights of EU citizens.

‘‘Brexit allows us to seize the exciting opportunities outside the EU - with Britain in control of our borders, and setting our own laws while building the new European economic and security relationship that I have proposed,’’ she adds.