We will get a good deal, insists Theresa
THERESA May yesterday insisted she can get a “good deal” for Britain in the negotiations over exit from the EU.
A day after unveiling her historic Brexit plan, the PM was looking forward to “positive and optimistic” talks with Euro counterparts.
Mrs May, who hopes she does not have to activate her threat to walk away without a new trade agreement, told MPs: “We want to get that good deal and we expect to be able to get that good deal.”
Her remarks followed a concilia-
tory response from many EU leaders to her keynote Brexit speech, making clear that the country will give up membership of the European Single Market.
Tories roared their approval as she arrived in the Commons to take her seat on the Government front bench a day after her address about Britain’s post-EU future.
In the speech at Lancaster House in central London on Tuesday, she starkly warned EU leaders that she would rather have no trade deal with the bloc than a bad deal.
But in a softer tone yesterday, she insisted she did not expect to be forced to walk out of the negotiations. Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, she said: “We want to get that good deal and we expect to be able to get that good deal.
“It is through good will and a positive approach on both sides that we will achieve it.
“I am very clear about the fact that the UK wants to see a continuing, strong European Union of 27 member states. We want a strong strategic partnership with that European Union, and we want to continue to work bilaterally with individual states.
Positive
“I made that point to a number of European leaders yesterday.
“I said we wanted to approach this in a positive fashion, because I believe that a deal that is good for the UK will be a deal that is good for the European Union.” Mrs May was responding to a question from former Tory Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt, who wanted to know if the “constructive tone” of her speech would be continued.
Earlier she had attacked Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for claiming her speech failed to give “certainty and clarity” about Brexit.
Accusing Mr Corbyn of failing to understand her vow to leave the Single Market, she said: “I’ve got a plan – he doesn’t have a clue.”
IN THE wake of the Brexit vote last summer, a wave of panic swept through the political establishment. The prospects for the Government appeared to be grim amid wild talk of economic meltdown, parliamentary chaos and civil war in the Tory party. But today the landscape of Westminster has been transformed. Among the Conservatives, the fear of conflict has been superseded by the reality of unity. In place of the predicted confusion and division, Brexit has actually brought clarity and direction.
A key factor in this remarkable change has been the leadership of Theresa May, who has demonstrated a growing authority since she entered Downing Street. Stern, determined and purposeful, she is now the dominant figure of British politics.
Her stature was confirmed by her powerful speech on Tuesday, when she outlined the Government’s strategy to achieve full British independence from the EU. There was no flowery rhetoric, just ruthless logic and compelling argument. In unanswerable terms, she spelt out how the wishes of the British people on Brexit would not be met if our country were to remain a member of the EU single market, since that would entail continued free movement, jurisdiction by the European courts and an inability to reach our own trade deals.
BUT this was no insular, reactionary speech. On the contrary, the tone was pragmatic and optimistic with an emphasis on the creation of new global relationships. Her commanding performance demoralised her opponents and banished the doubts about her suitability for the highest office.
Ever since she took over from David Cameron in July there has been criticism that she was not really up to the job of the premiership. She was said to be too wooden a speaker, too limited a thinker, too indecisive a leader.
The influential Economist magazine nicknamed her “Theresa Maybe” because of her supposed hesitancy. Others said that she was an insecure control freak, unable to delegate and excessively reliant on her two trusted aides, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy. Added to all this carping was the fact that she had been in the Remain camp, which caused concerns about her commitment to Brexit.
But the critics have been proved wrong. Her resolve and capacity to bring back our national sovereignty are clear. Her speech at Lancaster House displayed all those qualities that make her the ideal leader to implement Brexit. A primary one is her political toughness. As the longest serving Home Secretary since the 1950s, she oversaw the deportation of the Islamic extremist Abu Qatada, led a crackdown on drugs and heroically challenged the vested interests of the Police Federation. She is now bringing that same strength of character to the process of EU withdrawal, telling Brussels she would rather have “no deal than a bad deal” for Britain. Already her courage is achieving results. Initially other European leaders were dismissive. But suddenly, confronted with the truth that she really means business, they now sound more co-operative.
Yesterday the high priest of federalism, EU President Jean Claude Juncker, struck a conciliatory note when he said that he “will do everything so that this negotiation ends with a balanced solution while fully respecting our rules”.
Another of Mrs May’s virtues is that she instinctively understands
AGAIN in contrast to Blair and Cameron she has shown no desire to fill the airwaves with her utterances on every public controversy. She does not see politics as a branch of entertainment, nor herself as a celebrity. As she once put it, “I know I’m not a showy politician. I don’t tour the television studios. I just get on with the job in front of me.”
But that restraint means that the impact of her speeches is all the greater when she makes them. Like her cricket hero Geoff Boycott, who was renowned for his stonewalling, she knows that patience brings its own rewards.
Her restraint also makes an acute political tactician. Against the wishes of some allies, she has not been rushed into an early general election despite the huge Tory lead in the polls, rightly thinking that her power to call one should be held in reserve and used only if the Remoaners in Parliament try to obstruct Brexit.
Some might argue that she has been lucky in the uselessness of her opponents such as Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn. But good generals make their own luck through their vision and bravery. With her defiant stand, Theresa May has called the bluff of Brexit’s enemies. Politicians previously brimming with arrogance, such as the EU bosses or Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, are now on the defensive.
There is a long road ahead but the cause of British freedom looks to be in safe hands.
‘She has demoralised her opponents’