AFTER PM May’s Chequers deal was blown out of the water by the EU on Thursday evening, yesterday May ‘addressed the nation’ and said she was prepared to walk away from negotiations and break with the EU without a deal.
‘Despite the progress that we have made, there are two main issues where we are a long way apart. ‘The first is our economic relationship after we have left. ‘Here, the EU is still only offering us two options.
‘The first option would involve the UK staying in the European Economic Area and a Customs Union with the EU.‘In plain English this would mean that we would still have to abide by all the EU rules. ‘Uncontrolled immigration from the EU would continue and we couldn’t do trade deals we want with other countries.
‘That would make a mockery of the referendum that we had two years ago.
‘The second option would be a basic free trade agreement with Great Britain, which would introduce checks at the Great Britain/EU border. ‘But even worse Northern Ireland would effectively remain in the Customs Union and parts of the Single Market, permanently separated economically from the rest of the UK by a border down the Irish Sea.
‘Parliament has already unanimously rejected this idea. ‘Creating any form of customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK would not respect that Northern Ireland is an integral part of the United Kingdom in line with the principle of consent as set out clearly in the Belfast Good Friday Agreement. It is something that I will never agree to.
‘Indeed in my judgement it is something that no British Prime Minister would ever agree to. ‘If the EU think I will, they are making a fundamental mistake.
‘Anything which fails to respect the referendum or effectively divides our country in two would be a bad deal.
‘And I have always said no deal is better than a bad deal.’
In concluding her address, she said: ‘No one wants a deal more than me but the EU should be clear. I will not overturn the results 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.’
