May to tell Cabinet of duty to make success of Brexit ‘for all in UK’

THERESA May is due to tell her Cabinet that each has a duty to ensure Brexit is a success for Britain as Downing Street made clear Scotland would not be afforded a veto on the deal to leave the European Union.

Addressing colleagues at her first Cabinet as Prime Minister, Mrs May will insist the UK Government must seize the global opportunities offered by exiting the European Union and ensure Britain remains open for business.

Speaking ahead of the Downing Street meeting, the PM said: “Brexit means Brexit; and we’re going to make a success of it. It will be the responsibility of everyone sitting around the Cabinet table to make Brexit work for Britain.

“And it will also be their duty to deliver success on behalf of everyone in the UK, not just the privileged few. That is why social justice will be at the heart of my government.

“So we will not allow the country to be defined by Brexit but instead build the education, skills, and social mobility to allow everyone to prosper from the opportunities of leaving the EU,” she added.

On Friday, Mrs May on her first official trip as Prime Minister spoke of wanting a “UK approach” to negotiating the deal for Brexit. She was clear that she wanted Nicola Sturgeon and her colleagues in Edinburgh to play a full part in the process.

The First Minister said this suggestion of a unified approach to Brexit was being interpreted as handing the SNP administration a veto over any putative deal with Brussels, which placed her and her government “in a strong position”.

But over the weekend, David Davis, the Brexit secretary, made clear Scotland would not be able to stop any deal negotiated by the UK.

Yesterday, the PM’s spokeswoman, when asked to clarify what a UK approach meant, pointed out that the UK Government would adopt a “constructive mindset”.

“This is a government that is committed to delivering that, of respecting the will of people across the UK and, therefore, it should not be interpreted that she was suggesting Scotland had some kind of block on this,” she added.

Meanwhile, the £24 billion takeover by Softbank of ARM Holdings in Cambridge, the largest ever investment from Asia into the UK, was hailed by the PM as a vote of confidence following the Brexit decision and showed “Britain is open for business”.