From BBC

Theresa May has said the UK “cannot possibly” remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean “not leaving the EU at all”.

But the prime minister promised to push for the “greatest possible” access to the single market following Brexit.

In a long-awaited speech, she also announced Parliament would get a vote on the final deal agreed between the UK and the European Union.

And Mrs May promised an end to “vast contributions” to the European Union.

The prime minister used the speech to announce the 12 objectives the UK has set for its negotiations with the EU, including:

The final Brexit deal agreed between the EU and the UK would be voted on by both Houses of Parliament before it comes into force

The government would work to maintain the “common travel area” between the UK and Irish Republic

Ministers would work for the “freest possible” free trade

She wanted a customs agreement with the EU, but had no “preconceived position”

EU citizens would still be welcome in the UK

Mrs May said there would not be a “blow-by-blow” account of negotiations, set to get under way after Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty is invoked by the end of March. It was not her intention to “undermine” the EU or the single market, she added.

The government has so far revealed few details about what it wants to secure from the Brexit talks, which it is promising to trigger by the end of March. Labour has urged Mrs May to push for a “deal that works for trade”.

EU leaders have said the UK cannot “cherry pick” access to the single market while restricting the free movement of people.

Addressing an audience including foreign ambassadors in central London, Mrs May said the UK had “voted for a brighter future for our country” and would become “stronger, fairer, more united” after Brexit.

She said the UK’s history was “profoundly internationalist” and would remain so.

The prime minister said the UK had often been seen as “an awkward member state”, but the EU had not demonstrated “enough flexibility on many important matters for a majority of British voters”.

She told the remaining 27 EU member states: “We will continue to be reliable partners, willing allies and close friends. We want to buy your goods, sell you ours, trade with you as freely as possible, and work with one another to make sure we are all safer, more secure and more prosperous through continued friendship.”

Analysis

By Laura Kuenssberg – BBC political editor

Essentially, ministers have taken more than six months to work out what they really want to do. And part of the problem has been that they don’t all agree.

Now, as one of those on the Eurosceptic side of the argument describes it, the prime minister is about to make her speech and “people like me will not be upset with it”.

But it is not the case that Mrs May has suddenly clicked her fingers and made up her mind about everything.

Indeed, while she has been accused of dithering and delaying, lacking vision and the ability to make swift decisions, those who defend the prime minister suggest that something else has been going on – it’s not just that she has been taking a long time doing her homework.

Arguably, she has followed a decades-old political technique of “constructive ambiguity”.

Mrs May, who backed Remain in the referendum, called for a “new and equal partnership” with the EU, “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.”

People who voted Brexit “did so with their eyes open”, the prime minister said, calling the vote a “great moment of national change”.

She said the country was “coming together” after June’s referendum, adding: “Now we need to put an end to the division and the language associated with it – Leaver and Remainer and all the accompanying insults – and unite to make a success of Brexit and build a truly global Britain.”

Since becoming prime minister last July, Mrs May has faced repeated calls to provide more detail on her Brexit strategy, but has refused to offer a “running commentary”, saying to do so would weaken the UK’s negotiating hand.

Europe awaits May’s speech – from BBC Monitoring

Several German and French newspapers trail details of Theresa May’s speech.

“Theresa May and Brexit: The moment of truth”, reads a headline on the website of France’s Le Monde.

A commentary in Paris’s Le Figaro says the prime minister is putting “politics before economics”

“May risks showdown with the EU,” warns Germany’s Die Welt.

The promised Brexit plan still appears “surprisingly vague” and is likely to “disappoint many listeners,” predicts Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

In Spain, El Pais believes that Mrs May is going “on the offensive in pursuit of a clean and hard Brexit”, while Italy’s La Repubblica has “May chooses hard Brexit”

Downing Street said her 12 negotiating priorities would be driven by the principles of certainty and clarity and the aims of making Britain stronger, fairer and “truly global”.

Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, said the UK should stay in the customs union, telling BBC Newsnight: “We have to decide how we front up to these negotiations. We need to aim for the best deal for the UK.

“That’s the deal that works for trade. It’s a deal that accepts there has to be change on freedom-of-movement rules. That’s the starting position.

“Preserving our ability to trade successfully in Europe has to be the priority for business. Staying in the customs union is the best way to achieve that.”

Ahead of the speech, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged the business community in her country to back her stance on Brexit, saying: “I’m asking you as representatives of the business world to act together with us, because should it become apparent that you can get full access to the single market even if you can choose certain things then we risk that every country cherry picks. That’s why politics and business need to act together.”

Conservative MP Dominic Raab, who campaigned for a Leave vote, said it was “highly likely” the UK would leave the formal structures of the single market and the customs union, and it was vital for Mrs May to argue a “positive case” for Brexit.

But Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: “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.”

Rupert Harrison, former chief of staff to ex-Chancellor George Osborne and previous chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the UK Treasury, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it was “inevitable” the prime minister would aim to leave the single market.

IMAGES:

Media caption: Theresa May sets out her plans for the UK to leave the EU

Media caption Lord Peter Mandelson tells Today Theresa May is pretending difficult choices don’t exist

Newspapers Image copyrightAP

Media caption Many have heard of hard brexit and soft brexit, but what about grey and clean versions?

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