Theresa May to spell out list of 12 demands for Britain’s clean break from EU as two year ‘hard Brexit’ begins

THERESA May will declare Britain will make a clean break from all of the EU’s institutions - as she lays down the gauntlet for a hard Brexit.

After six months of painstaking deliberations, the PM will finally spell out a list of 12 negotiating demands  for our EU departure.

In a speech at Lancaster House - the biggest of her Premiership so far – will fire the starting gun for two years of high stakes brinkmanship.

In a move that Brexiteers will hail as a major victory, she will pledge to build a “truly global Britain” of new trading deals “with old friends and new allies alike”.

And to deliver on that vision, senior Government sources have revealed that Mrs May will  reveal she has made two new major decisions;

* she will confirm for the first time today that Britain will leave the EU’s single market,

* Mrs May will also say the only way the UK could stay in the EU’s customs union will be if we are liberated to strike free trade deals elsewhere, signalling the need for a fresh customs deal instead.

Revealing her intention to carry out the clean break departure, Mrs May will insist: “The United Kingdom is leaving the European Union.

“Not partial membership of the European Union, associate membership of the European Union, or anything that leaves us half-in, half-out.

“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.”

But at the same time, the PM will also insist she also still has a major hope to trade as “freely as possible” with the EU as “the best friend and neighbour to our European partners”.

The PM will tell an audience of EU ambassadors invited to Lancaster House today that she has “no desire to become more distant to you, our friends and neighbours”.

She will add: “We seek a new and equal partnership – between an independent, self-governing, Global Britain and our friends and allies in the EU”.

But yesterday, Downing Street also confirmed the government was making plans for a ‘Brexit Plan B’ if Mrs May’s hopes are dismissed and the EU closes ranks.

No10 gave the PM’s full backing to Chancellor Philip Hammond’s warning that he will unleash a tax and red tape war to compete with the EU for business if there is no satisfactory Brexit deal.

Putting the 27 other EU members on warning, the PM’s official spokeswoman said: “We would want to remain in the mainstream of a recognised European-style taxation system.

“But if we are forced to do something different, we stand ready to do so.”

Also on Mrs May’s 12-strong list of objectives will be confirmation that Brexit will mean withdrawing from the EU’s founding principle of free movement so she can deliver on the Brexit’s vote message to get immigration under control.

The PM will share no further details on the new system to manage new arrivals, based on a visa system that the Home Office is drawing up.

But she will make it clear that the world’s best will always be welcome, saying she wants Britain to be “a magnet for international talent and a home to the pioneers and innovators who will shape the world ahead”.

Ending the European Court of Justice’s jurisdiction over Britain’s laws will be another objective that she will confirm.

And the PM will also declare the need for a transition period when Britain leaves in 2019 to take away the cliff edge threat to businesses – but she will brand it an “implementation phase” instead.

She will also offer a clear sop to worried businesses as well as MPs who have demanded details of her Brexit plan.

Once she triggers Article 50 exit talks by the end of March, Mrs May will pledge to “provide as much certainty and clarity as we can at every stage”.

One of the four key principles driving her plan is “Certainty and Clarity”, Mrs May will add, along with the three themes of A Stronger Britain, A fairer Britain and A truly Global Britain.

Meanwhile, cracks began to appear across the EU yesterday over what the remaining 27 states’ response to Britain’s demands will be.

The powerful head of Poland’s governing right-wing Law and Justice party attacked German leader Angela Merkel’s hardball negotiating stand.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski said: “Germany wants the terms on which Britain will leave the EU to distance
London from the bloc.

“We want Britain to stay as close as possible to the European Union and even for it to return to the bloc in a relatively short time.”

A YouGov poll yesterday revealed only 39% of Brits want to take the risk of a hard Brexit clean break from all of the EU’s institutions, while 48% back either keeping in some like the single market or staying in the whole of the EU.

Pro-EU Lib Dem leader Tim Farron lashed out the PM’s plans last night, accusing her of having been captured by the Tory Brexiteer MPs.

Mr Farron said: “This speech could have been written by Peter Bone, delivered by Nigel Farage and will no doubt be cheered on by Jeremy Corbyn.

“You can call this Brexit clean, red, white and blue, or whatever you want.

“But this doesn’t disguise the fact that it will be a destructive, Hard Brexit and the consequences will be felt by millions of people through higher prices, greater instability and rising fuel costs.”

Mrs May will also warn Brits today that “the road ahead will be uncertain at times”, as negotiating a good exit deal will not be easy.

Yet voters knew that at the time of the referendum, backing Brexit with “their eyes open”, she will argue.

As City fears mount over a hard Brexit, business bosses also warned Mrs May that it would be a disaster for the economy if the EU calls her bluff and refuses her a trade deal.

CBI chief Carolyn Fairbairn said the UK faces a “disorderly crash landing” if exporters are forced to pay tariffs set by the World Trade Organisation.

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