That’s all from the blog today, thanks so much for your comments. You can read the full story here:
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has described May’s statement as “dreadful” and her tactics “hugely damaging”.
“The Prime Minister’s statement was dreadful. The EU’s view of the Chequers plan was bluntly and clearly expressed in Salzburg yesterday, but should not have come as a surprise to the UK Government, given that it was not a new position.
Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the Guardian
“Clearly, the Prime Minister has not been listening – Chequers is a dead duck but if her tactic now is to try and double down on those proposals and then seek to blame the EU for a no-deal outcome, then she will do huge damage to all of those she is supposed to serve.
“It would be an abdication of responsibility of huge and historic proportions and an approach for which Theresa May and the Tory party would pay a very heavy political price, especially in Scotland, which overwhelmingly rejected Brexit and whose interests in this process have been ignored at every turn by the UK Government.
“What the latest development shows more clearly than ever is that the only remotely workable way for Brexit to happen is for the UK to stay in the single market and customs union. If the Prime Minister is not prepared to do that, then Brexit shouldn’t happen. A ‘No deal’ or ‘no detail‘ Brexit are simply not acceptable – particularly for Scotland, where we did not vote for any of this.”
Yesterday, Sturgeon wrote to the leaders of the UK’s opposition parties asking them to join her in pressing for an extension to next March’s deadline for leaving the EU to avoid “an economic cliff edge”.
Cabinet ministers have been responding on Twitter, including some warning the EU in stronger terms.
Speaking to constituents today, it is clear that EUs behaviour in recent days is increasing support for us leaving the EU. Ppl still want a deal but content to go without one, even folk who voted remain. Important statement from PM re rights for EU migrants in a no deal scenario.
— Penny Mordaunt MP (@PennyMordaunt) September 21, 2018
The Prime Minister has negotiated in good faith - respecting the result of the referendum to leave the EU, and keeping the country united. @theresa_may stands ready, and I stand with her. https://t.co/nemNSAgvuP
— Andrea Leadsom MP (@andrealeadsom) September 21, 2018
The Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who has been an advocate for a soft Brexit, said she has spoken to May this afternoon and been reassured of her commitment to get a negotiated deal.
The Prime Minister is right to reaffirm her commitment to the integrity of the United Kingdom and to seek to continue intensive negotiations ahead of October's European Council. A deal can still be achieved. Statement here: pic.twitter.com/ObIXBuJg31
— Ruth Davidson (@RuthDavidsonMSP) September 21, 2018
Business leaders have reacted with some alarm to the comments by the prime minister on the distance between the two sides.
CBI director Carolyn Fairbairn said negotiators on both sides must change tack. “Rejection of Chequers helps nobody,” she said. “Pragmatism must come before politics. Every day lost in rhetoric is lost investment and lost jobs.”
Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), also reproached both sides for the impasse. “While the Prime Minister’s determination to reach a deal is appreciated, businesses tell us over and over that the time for posturing from both sides is over,” he said.
“Many firms are hugely worried about a messy and disorderly outcome, and the potential impact on their ability to trade and grow. Others could be caught flat-footed. Both sides must make every effort to avoid this scenario.”
Updated
Rees-Mogg: PM has shown 'steely resolve'
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the chair of the European Reform Group of hard Brexit Tories, said the summit was a “failure” and that the EU was not acting in good faith. However, he praised the prime minister, saying she had showed “steely resolve.”
He said it was time to admit the Chequers plan would not work for both the EU and the UK and start making plans for a Canada-style free trade deal. May made it clear in her speech that the EU has said it cannot countenance such a deal without Northern Ireland remaining in the customs union to prevent customs checks on the border.
“It is time for the government to start putting forward as its plan a Canada-style free trade agreement for the whole of the UK. This is the most realistic approach and similar to the EU’s proposal,” he said. “Moreover, as every vote in parliament has so far shown, it is the one way which could command a majority in the House of Commons.
“On the matter of the UK’s border with Ireland, the EU can have the solutions proposed by the ERG that respect the integrity of the Single Market and which have been supported by the DUP,” he said.
“The Prime Minister has shown steely resolve at the eleventh hour and is standing up to the EU bullies. The next step is to say to the EU £40 billion and free trade or World Trade terms.”
Updated
The pound is on course for its biggest one-day drop in 2018 against the dollar, after Theresa May said Brexit negotiations with the EU had reached an “impasse”.
Traders took fright as May’s comments were taken as a sign that a no deal Brexit is an increasingly likely outcome of talks, creating uncertainty which unsettles traders.
Sterling’s losses accelerated as the prime minister spoke and the pound is now down 1.5% or two cents against the dollar at $1.3062 and down 1.2% against the euro at €1.1131.
Corbyn: No deal is not an option
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that “no deal is not an option” and slammed the government’s negotiating tactics. However, his response does not include a demand that May drop her current plans and, interestingly, also calls on the EU to end the “political games.”
Theresa May’s Brexit negotiating strategy has been a disaster. The Tories have spent more time arguing among themselves than negotiating with the EU.
From day one, the Prime Minister has looked incapable of delivering a good Brexit deal for Britain. The political games from both the EU and our Government need to end because no deal is not an option.
Updated
EU sources were relaxed about May’s speech. They see it as as a “positioning” ahead of the Tory party conference after what they see as a self-inflicted wound in Salzburg.
Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May arrives for a family photo during the European Union leaders informal summit in Salzburg, Austria, September 20, 2018. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner - RC195D1F0F70 Photograph: Lisi Niesner/Reuters
They say Chequers is not entirely dead as elements within it, such as security, are doable and point out that “90 to 95%” of the withdrawal agreement is complete.
May’s demands that the EU come up with alternative proposals are seen as domestic politicking as the EU’s position in Brexit has been clear from the outset.
While May’s failure to come with a proposal on the Irish border nine months after agreeing to one incensed EU leaders, it is said that it was Downing Street’s briefing to British journalists that some member states were being more sympathetic to the UK than others that prompted Macron to intervene.
Updated
Nigel Dodds, deputy leader of the DUP who back up May’s minority government, said there was “utter inflexibility and bullying tactics” from the EU.
He said the EU was not negotiating in good faith or within the parameters of the Belfast agreement. “It seems to be their way or no way,” he told the BBC. He said there would be no regulatory barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK that the DUP could accept.
Dodds said the issue of Northern Ireland had been “abused” by remainers and EU leaders. “The border issue has been elevated to a far greater extent than it should,” he said.
Updated
The Lib Dems are the first out of the traps to comment on the prime minister’s statement. The party’s Brexit spokesman Tom Brake says May should recall parliament, an idea unlikely to be popular with Labour who have their party conference next week.
Two years down the line and the only consensus the PM has made across Parliament and the EU is that Chequers is unworkable,” he said.
Instead of pontificating to television cameras, May must now recall Parliament to explain how she got the country into this terrible mess, what her plan is to get us out of it, and when we can have a people’s vote and an exit from Brexit.
Here’s some more of the reaction:
From the New Statesman’s Stephen Bush
Quick take: an astonishing, at times barely reality-adjacent speech that leaves the UK very close to leaving without a deal: https://t.co/AElKcgxJoJ
— Stephen Bush (@stephenkb) September 21, 2018
From the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg:
1. Stern tone, strong words, demanding respect - not sure rhetoric will do much to change the situation with the EU, but tougher tone will please some in her party, who've been demanding more leadership
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) September 21, 2018
From the Guardian’s Jennifer Rankin:
The EU, I expect, will be angry and frustrated that Theresa May just demolished any compromise on Michel Barnier's de-dramatised Irish back-stop.
— Jennifer Rankin (@JenniferMerode) September 21, 2018
From columnist Gaby Hinsliff:
Something very Theresa May about calling urgent news conference to announce that we're stuck, nobody will move, nothing can happen, there will be no news till further notice
— Gaby Hinsliff (@gabyhinsliff) September 21, 2018
From the WSJ’s Bojan Pancevski:
Elegant: to show she's ready to face a no-deal, @theresa_may makes no threats re taxation, agri tariffs, race to bottom: she says rights of EU citizens will have their rights unilaterally protected no matter what. Classy. But does EU believe she is ready?
— Bojan Pancevski (@bopanc) September 21, 2018
Here are some of the key quotes from May’s statement in Downing Street.
On the progress of the negotiations:
I have always said that these negotiations would be tough - and they were always bound to be toughest in the final straight. While both sides want a deal, we have to face up to the fact that - despite the progress we have made - there are two big issues where we remain a long way apart.
On a Norway-style trade arrangement:
In plain English, this would mean we’d still have to abide by all the EU rules, uncontrolled immigration from the EU would continue and we couldn’t do the trade deals we want with other countries. That would make a mockery of the referendum we had two years ago.
On a Canada-style free trade deal and a customs border down the Irish Sea:
It is something I will never agree to - indeed, in my judgement it is something no British Prime Minister would ever agree to. If the EU believe I will, they are making a fundamental mistake.
On the Irish backstop:
The EU is proposing to achieve this by effectively keeping Northern Ireland in the Customs Union. As I have already said, that is unacceptable. We will never agree to it. It would mean breaking up our country. We will set out our alternative that preserves the integrity of the UK.
On red lines in the negotiations:
As I told EU leaders, neither side should demand the unacceptable of the other. We cannot accept anything that threatens the integrity of our union, just as they cannot accept anything that threatens the integrity of theirs. We cannot accept anything that does not respect the result of the referendum, just as they cannot accept anything that is not in the interest of their citizens.
On her treatment in Salzburg
Throughout this process, I have treated the EU with nothing but respect. The UK expects the same. A good relationship at the end of this process depends on it.At this late stage in the negotiations, it is not acceptable to simply reject the other side’s proposals without a detailed explanation and counter proposals.
On the referendum result:
The referendum was the largest democratic exercise this country has ever undergone. To deny its legitimacy or frustrate its result threatens public trust in our democracy. That is why for over two years I have worked day and night to deliver a deal that sees the UK leave the EU. I have worked to bring people with me even when that has not always seemed possible.
On the prospect of no deal:
No one wants a good deal more than me. But the EU should be clear: I will not overturn the result of the referendum. Nor will I break up my country. We need serious engagement on resolving the two big problems in the negotiations. We stand ready.
Snap analysis: Theresa May's statement
The prime minister made clear she is bruised by her treatment in Salzburg. Her comments that she has treated the EU with respect and expects similar treatment were particularly pointed.
Her guarantee to EU citizens that their rights will be protected is a officially new development, although one that has long been a tacit understanding.
Nowhere in the speech did the prime minister mention the word “Chequers” - a sign the speech is intended for domestic consumption and much of it was explained in very plain language. It is also a sign that the word now has toxic connotations.
However, there’s relatively little that has changed on substance. May defended her plan for a common rulebook on goods and a facilitated customs arrangement as the only path to respecting the referendum result and avoiding a hard border in Northern Ireland.
Those were the two issues that she said there was still considerable distance between the two parties.
Neither of the two options on the table from the EU could ever be acceptable, she said. A Norway-style arrangement where the UK remained in the single market would not respect the referendum result, she said, because it would mean continued free movement and leave the UK as a “rule taker.”
May said a Canada-style FTA, the other option on offer, would only be offered if Northern Ireland remained in the customs union and parts of the single market, something that risked a border down the Irish sea and the break up of the UK.
She ended with a good faith offer both to people in Northern Ireland and EU citizens, saying she would protect their rights. But she issued a veiled warning to EU leaders that there was no prospect of the UK reversing its decision, or calling another referendum.
Updated
May says she wants to clarify several issues. She says she wants to be clear that the rights of EU citizens will be protected in the event of no deal.
She says to the people of Northern Ireland that they will do everything to prevent a hard border with the Irish republic.
She also says the EU referendum was the biggest democratic exercise in the country’s history and said for over two years she has worked “day and night” and worked to “bring people with me.”
The EU should be clear, I will not overturn the result of the referendum nor will I break up my country. We need serious engagement in resolving the two big problems in the negotiations and we stand ready.
May says that both options would be “a bad deal... I have always said no deal is better than a bad deal.”
She says she has treated the EU “with nothing but respect” and says that she expects the same.
“We now need to hear from the EU what the real alternative is and we can discuss them.”
May says one option is the EEA - which means abiding by all EU rules, “uncontrolled immigration from the EU” and no trade deal with other countries. She says it would “make a mockery” of the EU referendum result.
She says the second option was a basic free trade agreement for Britain and Northern Ireland remaining in the customs union, permanently separated from the rest of the UK.
She says a customs border would not respect that Northern Ireland is “an integral part of the United Kingdom... it something I will never agree to.”
May gives statement in Downing Street
The prime minister is speaking now in Downing Street. She says both sides want a deal but there are two areas where the UK and the EU are “a long way apart.”
She says the EU is still only offering two options on the future economic relationship.
The BBC is reporting that May will restate that she is committed to the Chequers plan for the Brexit negotiations. She is likely to make an appeal to EU leaders to engage on the details. Here’s the BBC’s story.
Plus the BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg has an update on the power situation in Number 10 (I can’t quite believe I’m typing that).
Statement being delayed by technical, not political issues - can't quite believe it but apparently the power isn't working properly in Number 10
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) September 21, 2018
The statement is supposed to be at 13.45 - but Sky News’ political news editor reveals there are a few technical problems.
Metaphor alert: there’s currently no power in the room at No 10 where the PM is going to make her speech. Might delay things a bit.
— Tom Larkin (@TomLarkinSky) September 21, 2018
Earlier the Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab suggested the UK would hold firm on the Chequers proposal.
He said it was now for the EU to engage seriously, accusing leaders of putting “the handbrake” on negotiations.
We’ve been rebuffed on our plans without any coherent explanation as to why, there’s these sort of rather dogmatic pleas to the single market unity but our plans were very carefully crafted around that.”
We’re going to hold our nerve, stay calm and keep negotiating in good faith.
We’ve revved up the motor of these negotiations, I’ve been out there a lot more frequently to get motoring, to make progress and the EU have just yanked up the handbrake and for the negotiations to go forward they’re going to have to take their hand off the handbrake.
Raab also criticised Tusk for his social media post, saying it “didn’t feel like very statesman-like behaviour.”
There’s a big question mark about whether the EU is really serious about the substance of these negotiations.
Downing Street has insisted the statement will be an update on the negotiations. It is highly unlikely that May is announcing her departure or announcing a general election, Number 10 sources have already categorically denied this.
The real interest will be whether the prime minister uses the statement to double-down on her Chequers plan or hint that there is longer a no path for the offer, which involves a free trade area for goods, governed by a common UK-EU rulebook. The former is far more likely than the latter.
We’re also likely to see some red meat thrown to the hard-line Brexiters who will want to see the prime minister hit back at some of the humiliating language used by EU leaders in Salzburg, including being openly mocked by Donald Tusk on his Instagram.
Many of her MPs, and some of her cabinet, would prefer to see her dump Chequers and seek a Canada-style free trade agreement, but the problems that would cause for the future of the Northern Irish border seem near insurmountable.
May to give Brexit statement in Downing Street
Theresa May will give an unplanned update on the state of the ongoing Brexit negotiations in the wake of the unexpectedly sharp rejection of her Chequers plans by EU leaders in Salzburg.
We’re expecting it to be a statement to cameras at 10 Downing Street. Inevitably, the Westminster rumour mill is swirling but at the moment all indications are that she will say the government intends to press ahead with its current offer and continue negotiations.
European Council President Donald Tusk said her proposal for a common rulebook for goods and agri-foods risked the integrity of the EU single market and French president Emmanuel Macron also attacked the proposal.
Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel have also said significantly more progress is needed by the European Council summit on October 18 if agreement on the UK’s withdrawal deal is to be reached.
