[dropcap]UK[/dropcap] cannot possibly remain within the European single market as staying in it would mean “not leaving the EU” this has been said by the Prime Minister of Britain, Mrs Theresa May, recently. She promised to push for the “freest possible trade” with European countries and warned the EU that to try to “punish” the UK would “an act of calamitous self-harm.” The Prime Minister speech dealt with the UK’s post-Brexit trading relationship with the rest of Europe.
This key note speech of UK’s Prime Minister invited much criticism both within the circle of government ministers, opposition and by other personalities.
As she also said Parliament would vote on the final deal that is agreed. Labour warned of “enormous dangers” in the Prime Minister’s plans. And the European Parliament’s lead negotiator said there could be no “cherry-picking” by the UK in the talks.
Mrs May used her much-anticipated speech to announce her priorities for Brexit negotiations, including maintaining the common travel area between the UK and Irish Republic and “control” of migration between the UK and the EU.
Negotiations are set to begin after notice under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty is served by the end of March. For the UK to leave the EU it has to invoke an agreement called Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which gives the two sides two years to agree the terms of the split. Theresa May has said she intends to trigger this process by the end of March 2017, meaning the UK will be expected to have left by the summer of 2019, depending on the precise timetable agreed during the negotiations. The government will also enact a Great Repeal Bill which will end the primacy of EU law in the UK. It is expected to incorporate all EU legislation into UK law in one lump, after which the government will decide over a period of time which parts to keep, change or remove.
UK does not want to be bound by the shared external tariffs. Instead, the UK would strike own comprehensive trade agreements with other countries. To the 27 other EU member states, UK would continue to be reliable partners, willing allies and close friends.
It will buy other European goods, sell its own. Trade with other European countries will be as freely as possible. It will work with one another to make sure that all are safer, more secure and more prosperous through continued friendship.
Mrs May 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 UK half-in, half-out”.
UK to deal that ensures to have access to the market that have British jobs dependent on that market. Prime Minister’s promised of a Parliamentary vote following Brexit negotiations.
Until now, Mrs May had revealed little of her strategy for the talks, which could last up to two years – or go on longer if all 28 EU members think this is necessary.
The European Parliament’s chief negotiator welcomed Mrs May’s “clarity”. In a reference to Mrs May’s warning that the UK could “change the basis of Britain’s economic model” if denied single market access – taken to mean lowering corporation tax to attract businesses.
The Prime Minister still needed to “be clearer” about her long-term objectives, and that she wanted to “have her cake and eat it” over the single market.
The PM’s speech was about an “extreme version of Brexit” says the Liberal Democrat leader.
After Mrs May’s speech, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: “Ripping us out of the single market was not something proposed to the British people. This is a theft of democracy.” UKIP leader Paul Nuttall said he feared a “slow-motion Brexit”, adding: “We want this done quickly.” Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon claimed leaving the single market would be “economically catastrophic”. She hinted at a second independence referendum, saying Scotland which voted against Brexit should have “the ability to choose between that and a different future”.
In a statement, the Irish government said the UK’s “approach is now firmly that of a country which will have left the EU but which seeks to negotiate a new, close relationship with it”. It added it was “acutely aware of the potential.
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BRITAIN’S ECONOMIC STANDING
Many economists prior to the referendum had been predicting an immediate and significant impact on the UK economy and consumer confidence should the country vote to leave the EU. But so far these predictions have not come to pass.
The UK economy appears to have weathered the initial shock of the Brexit vote, although the value of the pound remains near a 30-year low, but opinion is sharply divided over the long-term effects of leaving the EU.
Latest figures show the UK economy grew by 0.6 percent between July and September, faster than previous estimates. The UK’s current account deficit widened towards record levels in the third quarter, with few signs that the fall in the pound in the wake of the Brexit vote had helped to boost exports.
For the Christmas shoppers, High Street sales were 0.1 percent lower in December than they were the previous year. Online sales were 19 percent higher than a year earlier. Inflation has gone up from 0.5 percent in June, with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) at 1.2 percent in November, its highest rate since October 2014.
The Bank of England has raised its forecast for economic growth next year to 1.4 percent from 0.8 percent, but cut expectations for 2018 to 1.5 percent from 1.8 percent.
The pound fell dramatically after the Brexit vote at the end of June. It then declined to a three-year low against the euro following Theresa May’s announcement that the UK would begin formal Brexit negotiations by the end of March taking its fall from a pre-referendum rate of over 1.30 euros to a low of 1.09 euros in October. It fell again on 9 January when commentators interpreted Mrs May as having suggested the UK would leave the single market. By 12 January it had regained some ground back to a pound being worth 1.14 euros. The same day the pound was worth $1.21 – compared with $1.47 pre-referendum.
Since the vote the Bank of England has taken a number of steps to boost the UK economy. It cut interest rates from 0.5 percent to 0.25 percent in August the first reduction in the cost of borrowing since 2009 and taking UK rates to a new record low. The Bank left its main interest rate at 0.25 percent in December.
Britain also lost its top AAA credit rating, meaning the cost of government borrowing will be higher. But share prices have recovered from a dramatic slump in value, with both the FTSE 100 and the broader FTSE 250 index, which includes more British-based businesses, trading higher than before the referendum. The Bank of England cut interest rates from 0.5% to 0.25% – a record low and the first cut since 2009 – after the vote and there has not been the economic slump or recession that some had predicted.
WHAT IS BREXIT AND EUROPEAN UNION
Brexit is a word that has become used as a shorthand way of saying the UK leaving the EU — merging the words Britain and exit to get Brexit, in a same way as a possible Greek exit from the euro was dubbed Grexit in the past. A referendum – a vote in which everyone (or nearly everyone) of voting age can take part – was held on Thursday 23 June, to decide whether the UK should leave or remain in the European Union. Leave won by 52% to 48%. The referendum turnout was 71.8%, with more than 30 million people voting.
Britain got a new Prime Minister – Theresa May. The former home secretary took over from David Cameron, who resigned on the day after losing the referendum. Like Mr Cameron, Mrs May was against Britain leaving the EU but she says she will respect the will of the people. She has said “Brexit means Brexit” but there is still a lot of debate about what that will mean in practice especially on the two key issues of how British firms do business in the European Union and what curbs are brought in on the rights of European Union nationals to live and work in the UK.
The European Union – often known as the EU – is an economic and political partnership involving 28 European countries. It began after World War Two to foster economic co-operation, with the idea that countries which trade together are more likely to avoid going to war with each other. It has since grown to become a “single market” allowing goods and people to move around, basically as if the member states were one country. It has its own currency, the euro, which is used by 19 of the member countries, its own parliament and it now sets rules in a wide range of areas – including on the environment, transport, consumer rights and even things such as mobile phone charges.