British PM gets royal approval to start Brexit

Theresa May is expected to trigger Article 50 by April

LONDON // Queen Elizabeth gave royal assent yesterday to a bill empowering British prime minister Theresa May to trigger Article 50 of the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty and begin the process of leaving the EU.

Mrs May has said she will send a letter to the European Council by the end of this month informing them of Britain’s decision to leave the bloc, following a vote for Brexit last year.

“The legislation now has royal assent,” Mrs May’s spokesman said.

Members of the prime minister’s ruling Conservative Party cheered when news of the royal go-ahead was announced in the lower house of parliament.

The queen’s signature on the bill allows Mrs May to invoke Article 50 at any time, starting a process that will take a maximum of two years unless Britain and its EU partners agree to extend the deadline. Mrs May has said she will address parliament to inform politicians that she has triggered Article 50, and an initial response is expected from the European Commission within 48 hours.

Full negotiations, however, are not expected to start for several weeks or months as both sides prepare.

Mrs May had been expected to trigger Article 50 this week, but the plan appears to have been derailed by an announcement by Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon on Monday that she would seek a new independence referendum. The previous referendum on independence for Scotland was held in 2014, when 55 per cent voted against it. Yesterday, Mrs May rejected Ms Sturgeon’s call for a referendum before Britain leaves the EU. “Now is not the time” to reopen Scotland’s independence debate, Mrs May said, although she did not rule out a referendum in the future.

She said holding a referendum while EU exit talks were under way would “make it more difficult for us to get the right deal for Scotland and the right deal for the UK”.

Britain as a whole decided in a June 23 referendum last year to leave the EU. But Scotland voted 62 to 38 per cent to remain.