Theresa May has outlined the government’s 12 priorities for Brexit negotiations with the EU. In a pitch that envisioned a “truly global Britain”, May said that “what I am proposing cannot mean membership of the single market”, as well as confirming that parliament would vote on a Brexit deal. May also said that “no deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain.”
Below, we hear from some of our readers on the implications of May’s speech – and their concerns and predictions for what happens next.
‘At least we know the general strategy now’
‘Shocking and pathetic’
I'm just appalled. I'm a UK citizen but I live in Austria with my British wife and our two children who were born in Austria. I'm scared, confused, unsettled, bewildered, angry, upset, agitated and sick to my stomach. What on earth is going on? May campaigned for Remain but is siding with Farage, Johnson and Davis and making threats to the rest of Europe and cosying up to Trump (I hope she wears a cricket box for that first meeting). It feels like I'm living in an alternate reality and I'm the only one who can see that everything she said is a bad idea. My children's future is at stake and I'm furious. It's the sheer arrogance of the current government to say it's all about taking back control of our borders and laws. For them it's about making sure the people who voted leave vote for them. Shocking and pathetic.
‘May was shadow boxing’
Lovely bit of shadow boxing. It won't look anywhere near as good when there is a live opponent in front of them.
She has told us what they want, obviously there's a fair amount that the EU that Theresa wants. Also, she has admitted there will be 'give and take' and she will have to concede certain things. Her words - hardly 'having her cake and eating it'.
But there will be what the EU want and you can bet your life they have their demands waiting for us, and if she isn't going to have her own way - and for the 'no deal is better than a bad deal' yeah - try and get those FTA's if they know you'll walk out of them when your toys thrown out of the pram - that means anything she signs isn't worth the paper it's written on.
She hasn't got a leg to stand on really. She can't walk away like she is threatening, not if she wants to sign 70 odd individual FTA's over the next five years.
‘The cleaner the break the better’
If it was going to happen then I think this is the best approach. And to be honest with the signals coming from the EU I think this was pretty much the only choice for the UK, not as if they were simply going to go along with any plans to "punish" anyone who was looking to leave the EU. Pretty much forced the UK's hand to be honest. I think the cleaner the break the better. And hopefully something new can now be put in place that benefits all involved (or at least limits the damage to both parties).
‘I feel sorry for expats’
After recessions and financial crashes, here we have the next wave or rough times for the UKs misinformed population. I don't expect the government to come away with much from the EU negotiations, their delusions and arrogance is embarrassing.
I feel sorry for expats living both in the UK and the EU before the referendum. These people who are already settled with families, jobs, homes could face years of anxiety and uncertainty. It should be the very first deal the government makes. How would border control differ between UK migrants living before article 50, to people entering the country, is another matter.
‘I’m worried about my German wife’s rights’
I am still worried about how my wife has rights in this country. I am English born and bred, my wife is German and been in this country for 30years now. She has worked all her working life, paid tax and her stamp. Like anyone else she has her native insurance number. But still has a German passport. She is now my full time carer as well as my wife. Does what has been said by May mean my wife will need a work permit?
John B
‘We can no longer have our cake and eat it’
Well at least the government has stopped pretending (notably in the person of Boris Johnson) that it's possible to have our cake and eat it as far as single market membership and freedom of movement is concerned. However Pro European and commercially minded conservative voters may now wish to consider where their support of this government has got them. In effect they have been sold down the river. Perhaps it's time to change their vote and abandon a party driven by ideologues with a fanatical Little Englander mentality. No longer is the Tory party the friend of business.
‘My life has now been designated “negotiation capital”’
I read with interest about EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU, for obvious reasons since my life has now been designated as "negotiation capital".
Being negotiation capital turns out to be scary and tiring and a bit sad. I've felt that way since June 23rd, although it's now settled down into a kind of low hum of anxiety that you can almost but never quite tune out. Will I be asked to leave? If so, when? What would I do at 'home'? Will I be able to stay with restrictions, and if so, which? What kind of work visa will I need, and how will I be able to get it?
I know we are not the most important or only issue at stake, but my thoughts are with all the EU citizens in Britain and all my fellow Brits in the EU, and hoping for the day we have an answer, one way or another, about what's coming.
‘At best delusional’
The speech was at best delusional and at worst threatening to the other EU members . The arrogance of it was breathtaking . She has already been told there can be no cherry picking by numerous EU leaders and EU apparatchiks but chose to ignore them . There was too much flummery about this great trading nation pulling together , ignoring the fact that we have schools and hospitals struggling with budget cuts , a pound worth 20%less than it was in June 2016 and a Scotland that would appear to be now set yet again on the road to independence . Well done Mrs May. Not.
There is not a huge amount of substance here. If you strip away the tough, hard nosed rhetoric about a clean break with Europe, the details show that she actively wants a close trading relationship with the EU.
At least we know what the general strategy is now: talk tough to appease the Brexiters, maintain the appearance of threats against the EU as a negotiating chip, but ultimately try to achieve the "soft brexit" deal that powerful forces both here and on the continent desire. I can see the rationale behind this but it is a risky strategy. Ultimately it seems she wants a similar Brexit deal to the one that Keir Starmer is advocating, but will dress it up in all sorts of "hard brexit" clothes for her own political gain.