British PM: Brexit to be full break from EU
Speech to lay out plans
LONDON — Britain will make a clean break from the European Union and not seek to remain “half-in, half-out,” Prime Minister Theresa May will say today, disappointing businesses and voters who want the country to stay in the bloc’s single market.
In her most detailed speech on the U.K.’s exit strategy, May will promise to forge “a new and equal partnership” with the EU.
“Not partial membership of the European Union, associate membership of the European Union, or anything that leaves us half-in, half-out,” she plans to say, according to excerpts released by her office. “We do not seek to adopt a model already enjoyed by other countries. We do not seek to hold on to bits of membership as we leave.”
May’s speech appears to rule out the sort of close ties adopted by non-EU members Switzerland or Norway. It’s likely to be another shock for the beleaguered pound, which hit a three-month low below $1.20 yesterday amid hints that May would signal an economy-roiling “hard Brexit.”
Sterling has lost about a fifth of its value since Britain voted in June to leave the EU.
May has said she rejects both the “hard Brexit” label and its opposite, a compromise “soft Brexit” — but wants a new relationship in the interests of both Britain and the EU.
“We want to buy your goods, sell you ours, trade with you as freely as possible, and work with one another to make sure we are all safer, more secure and more prosperous through continued friendship,” she’ll say.
In an attempt to symbolize the U.K.’s outwardfacing aspirations, May will deliver her speech to an audience of British civil servants and international diplomats at London’s Lancaster House, a Georgian mansion that has hosted international summits over the decades.
May’s speech signals that Britain will quit the EU’s single market in goods and services in order to gain control over immigration — a key issue for many voters who backed Brexit. EU leaders say Britain can’t stay in the single market without allowing free movement of people from the bloc.
The pound recovered to above $1.20 yesterday after President-elect Donald Trump’s comment in an interview with The Times of London that a U.S.-U.K. trade deal could be done “very quickly” once he takes office this week.
May will also use her speech to appeal for reconciliation between the 48 percent of British voters who wanted to stay in the EU and the pro-Brexit 52 percent.