In one of the most important speeches of her premiership, British Prime Minister Theresa May said that she would put the final Brexit deal to a vote in Parliament, but it would have no say in Britain leaving. She also insisted that if she failed to get what she wanted from the EU then a ‘no deal would be better than a bad deal’.
On Tuesday, Theresa May, during her address in Parliament, stated that she would seek an equal partnership with the EU but she would not adopt models already used by other countries that have free trade agreements with the bloc.
Theresa May delivers her anticipated Brexit speech
“I must be clear. Britain wants to remain a good friend and neighbor to Europe but I know there are some voices calling for a punitive deal. That would be a case of calamitous self-harm for the countries of Europe and it would not be the act of a friend. Britain could not, indeed we would not accept such an approach.” She added.
Courtesy: Euro News
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She made it clear that UK won’t use any backdoor to seek any kind of membership in EU, she said: “We do not seek to hold on to bits of membership as we leave. The United Kingdom is leaving the European Union. My job is to get the right deal for Britain as we do.”
Mrs May, who backed the Remain camp during the referendum, has called for a “new and equal partnership” with the EU, and “not partial membership of the European Union, associate membership of the European Union, or anything that leaves us half-in, half-out”.
Labour Party reaction
The Labour party has warned of “enormous dangers” in the prime minister’s plans after she clarified she would invoke leaving the EU under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by the end of March.
.@Theresa_May has made clear that she is determined to use #Brexit to turn Britain into a bargain basement tax haven pic.twitter.com/M91EId7IVt
— Jeremy Corbyn MP (@jeremycorbyn) January 17, 2017
Stringent reaction from Scotland
Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, has given her own verdict on Theresa May’s speech saying that Scotland interests were not being cared for by the British PM, therefore her party must rethink what it needs to do to stay inside the EU.
First Minister of Scotland @NicolaSturgeon‘s response to the Prime Minister’s speech on #Brexit. pic.twitter.com/VnL7KGKON3
— Ross Colquhoun (@rosscolquhoun) January 17, 2017
The UK had decided to leave EU as a result of a referendum on its membership in the EU held in June 2016. An interesting debate emerged in the country over the nature of Brexit; whether it will be a ‘hard Brexit’ or a ‘soft Brexit’. However, Theresa’s speech has put an end to speculations that UK might try to seek a soft Brexit.
