Unite behind Brexit, says May
Prime Minister tells Britons to put aside differences as she dispatches Article 50 letter to Brussels
THERESA MAY today calls on Britons to put their Brexit disagreements behind them and join forces on the “momentous journey” to freedom from the European Union.
On the day she formally sets Brexit in motion by triggering Article 50, the Prime Minister will lay out her “fierce determination” to get the right deal for “every single person in this country”.
Last night, with a Union flag by her side and beneath a portrait of Robert Walpole, Britain’s first prime minister, Mrs May sat at the Cabinet table and signed the historic letter to give notice of Britain’s decision to leave the EU.
Today it will be hand-delivered to Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, and when he opens it, the clock will start ticking on two years of negotiations to agree the terms of Britain’s withdrawal.
Yesterday Mrs May was given a foretaste of the rocky road ahead when European leaders went on the attack, telling her they will veto any attempt to curtail migrants’ rights before the withdrawal takes place in 2019.
Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator, warned Mrs May that any “unilateral decision” to limit the rights of EU citizens in the UK “would be contrary to EU law” and would be “vigorously” opposed.
However, The Daily Telegraph understands that while Mrs May’s letter to Mr Tusk will include a broad outline of her negotiating position, it will not contain any mention of a cut-off date for migrants’ rights.
Several Government ministers had suggested today would be the cut-off for migrants to come to Britain and claim full rights, but Mrs May went against them, insisting the deadline date had to be part of the negotiations.
Instead, Mrs May will tell the House of Commons today that she will fight as hard for EU migrants as she will fight for everyone else in the UK. She will say: “When I sit around the negotiating table in the months ahead, I will represent every person in the whole United Kingdom – young and old, rich and poor, city, town, country and all the villages and hamlets in between.
“And, yes, those EU nationals who have made this country their home. It is my fierce determination to get the right deal for every single person in this country.”
Mrs May will try to unify the country behind her by talking of “shared values, interests and ambitions” that “can, and must, bring us together … ambitions that unite us, so that we are no longer defined by the vote we cast, but by our determination to make a success of the result”.
She will add: “We are one great union of people and nations with a proud history and a bright future. And, now that the decision has been made to leave the EU, it is time to come together.”
Mrs May will announce to the Commons at 12.30pm that the Article 50 letter has been delivered to Mr Tusk by Sir Tim Barrow, Britain’s permanent representative to the European Union. Its contents will be published before the Prime Minister and her Cabinet get the negotiating process under way with a round of phone calls to their European counterparts.
Mrs May made “good will” phone calls to key European leaders last night. Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, said he had a “good and constructive” phone conversation with the Prime Minister. Mrs May also called Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and Mr Tusk.
Downing Street said the leaders “agreed that a strong EU was in everyone’s interests and that the UK would remain a close and committed ally”.
A spokesman added: “They also agreed on the importance of entering into negotiations in a constructive and positive spirit, and of ensuring a smooth and orderly exit process.”
Once the hard talking begins, however, Mrs May will face considerable obstacles in her path. While Mr Verhofstadt was wagging his finger at her over migrants, Michel Barnier, the European chief negotiator for Brexit, made it clear that talks on a trade deal cannot begin until the UK has agreed to settle its multi-billion pound “divorce bill”.
Mrs May, however, will insist on simultaneous negotiations over the trade deal and the divorce bill, arguing that she cannot agree to pay anything until British businesses have a guarantee that they will have privileged access to the European market.