Launching Brexit

The countdown begins

On Tuesday afternoon, Theresa May signed a letter officially declaring Britain’s intention to leave the European Union. The following day the six-page document was delivered by Sir Tim Barrow, Britain’s ambassador to the EU, to Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council – triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, and beginning two years of talks on the terms of withdrawal. A sombre-looking Tusk held up the letter, saying: “We already miss you. Thank you and goodbye.”

In the Commons, May told MPS that the triggering of Article 50 marked a “historic moment from which there can be no turning back”. “It is my fierce determination to get the right deal for every single person in this country,” she said – including EU nationals living here. She added that she wanted a “new, deep and special partnership” with the EU. Diplomats expect a difficult start to the negotiations. The EU’S chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, insists that Britain’s “divorce bill” – which Brussels puts at s60bn – must be settled before a trade deal can even be discussed.

What the editorials said

“This is a historic day for Britain,” said The Daily Telegraph. These negotiations are likely to be “tough, even acrimonious”. But it will be worth the effort. “Britain is seeking to restore its sovereignty.” The EU can choose, if it wishes, to be obstructive, as it was during David Cameron’s attempt to renegotiate our membership; but it “amounts in the long run to self-harm”. The “Europhile” Establishment has tried everything to stop Brexit, said the Daily Mail. It has failed. “Is it asking too much that we should eschew the doom-mongering and pull together to ensure the best deal for the benefit of all Britons?”

“Britain is poised to embark on a fraught and uncertain course,” said The Guardian. “Leaving the European Union will weaken the remaining 27 members, and it is likely to set this country on a decade or more of instability.” Now the “huge, arduous process begins” of unpicking the measures that have bound Britain to the union since 1973. “Divorce hurts,” said Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. There is “little chance of a trade agreement by 2019”, and it’s likely that British citizens will be substantially worse off after Brexit; to the tune of some £4,000 a year each.