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Brexit: PM to trigger Article 50 by end of March Brexit: Theresa May to trigger Article 50 by end of March
(35 minutes later)
The UK will begin the formal Brexit negotiation process by the end of March 2017, Theresa May has said. The UK will begin the formal Brexit negotiation process by the end of March 2017, PM Theresa May has said.
The timing on triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty means the UK looks set to leave the EU by summer 2019.The timing on triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty means the UK looks set to leave the EU by summer 2019.
Mrs May told the Tory Party conference - her first as prime minister - the government would strike a deal with the EU as an "independent, sovereign" UK.Mrs May told the Tory Party conference - her first as prime minister - the government would strike a deal with the EU as an "independent, sovereign" UK.
Voters had given their verdict "with emphatic clarity", she said, and ministers had to "get on with the job".Voters had given their verdict "with emphatic clarity", she said, and ministers had to "get on with the job".
In a speech on the first day of the conference in Birmingham, she attacked those who "have still not accepted the result of the referendum".In a speech on the first day of the conference in Birmingham, she attacked those who "have still not accepted the result of the referendum".
She said: "It is up to the government not to question, quibble or backslide on what we have been instructed to do, but to get on with the job."She said: "It is up to the government not to question, quibble or backslide on what we have been instructed to do, but to get on with the job."
She told delegates there would be no "blow-by-blow" account of the negotiations. She told delegates: "We are going to be a fully independent, sovereign country - a country that is no longer part of a political union with supranational institutions that can override national parliaments and courts.
"Every stray word and every hyped up media report is going to make it harder for us to get the right deal for Britain," she said. "And that means we are going, once more, to have the freedom to make our own decisions on a whole host of different matters, from how we label our food to the way in which we choose to control immigration."
Speaking on BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show earlier, Mrs May, who had previously only said she would not trigger Article 50 this year, ended speculation about the government's timetable. She said a "truly global Britain is possible, and it is in sight", adding: "We don't need - as I sometimes hear people say - to 'punch above our weight' because our weight is substantial enough already."
Mrs May, who had previously only said she would not trigger Article 50 this year, ended speculation about the government's timetable on BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show earlier,
She said it would be done by "the first quarter of 2017", marking the start of a two-year exit process.She said it would be done by "the first quarter of 2017", marking the start of a two-year exit process.
Analysis by Carole Walker, BBC political correspondent Analysis
by Carole Walker, BBC political correspondent
Theresa May likes to talk about "getting on with it" and that is what today's announcements are intended to show.Theresa May likes to talk about "getting on with it" and that is what today's announcements are intended to show.
For more than three months since the referendum, she has said little about how she will deliver the vote of the British people.For more than three months since the referendum, she has said little about how she will deliver the vote of the British people.
That much-repeated phrase "Brexit means Brexit" sounded increasingly meaningless as the pressure mounted for her to say when, how and on what terms Britain would leave the EU.That much-repeated phrase "Brexit means Brexit" sounded increasingly meaningless as the pressure mounted for her to say when, how and on what terms Britain would leave the EU.
Now we have some answers to the first two questions.Now we have some answers to the first two questions.
Article 50 will be triggered by the end of March next year, beginning the formal negotiations with our EU partners, which will have to be completed by the end of March 2019, though the departure date could be later than that.Article 50 will be triggered by the end of March next year, beginning the formal negotiations with our EU partners, which will have to be completed by the end of March 2019, though the departure date could be later than that.
This will leave the prime minister with just over a year to explain and sell the Brexit arrangements to the public before the next election, which must be held in 2020.This will leave the prime minister with just over a year to explain and sell the Brexit arrangements to the public before the next election, which must be held in 2020.
Read more from CaroleRead more from Carole
Mrs May said the process of leaving the EU would be "quite complex" but she hoped there would now be "preparatory work" with the remaining EU members so that "once the trigger comes we will have a smoother process of negotiation". Mrs May told Andrew Marr the process of leaving the EU would be "quite complex" but she hoped there would now be "preparatory work" with the remaining EU members so that "once the trigger comes we will have a smoother process of negotiation".
She added: "It's not just important for the UK, but important for Europe as a whole that we're able to do this in the best possible way so we have the least disruption for businesses, and when we leave the EU we have a smooth transition from the EU."She added: "It's not just important for the UK, but important for Europe as a whole that we're able to do this in the best possible way so we have the least disruption for businesses, and when we leave the EU we have a smooth transition from the EU."
The PM also said June's vote to leave the EU had been a "clear message from the British people that they want us to control movement of people coming into the UK".The PM also said June's vote to leave the EU had been a "clear message from the British people that they want us to control movement of people coming into the UK".
Reacting to Mrs May's comments about Article 50:Reacting to Mrs May's comments about Article 50:
Mrs May also promised a bill to remove the European Communities Act 1972 from the statute book.Mrs May also promised a bill to remove the European Communities Act 1972 from the statute book.
The repeal of the 1972 Act will not take effect until the UK leaves the EU under Article 50.The repeal of the 1972 Act will not take effect until the UK leaves the EU under Article 50.
It will be contained in a "Great Repeal Bill", promised in the next Queen's Speech, which will also enshrine all existing EU law into British law.It will be contained in a "Great Repeal Bill", promised in the next Queen's Speech, which will also enshrine all existing EU law into British law.
The repeal bill will enable Parliament to amend and cancel any unwanted legislation and also end the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the UK.The repeal bill will enable Parliament to amend and cancel any unwanted legislation and also end the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the UK.
Mrs May said this was an "important step", adding: "What we are doing with the Great Repeal Bill is repealing that European Communities Act.Mrs May said this was an "important step", adding: "What we are doing with the Great Repeal Bill is repealing that European Communities Act.
"That means the UK will be an independent sovereign nation, it will be making its own laws.""That means the UK will be an independent sovereign nation, it will be making its own laws."
European Communities Act 1972European Communities Act 1972
Did the UK lose its sovereignty in 1972?Did the UK lose its sovereignty in 1972?
Reality Check: How would the UK rid itself of EU law?Reality Check: How would the UK rid itself of EU law?
The PM dismissed claims that MPs should get a vote before Article 50 is triggered, saying this would be "up to the government alone".
Those who make this argument are trying to "subvert" democracy, she said.
"They're not trying to get Brexit right, they're trying to kill it by delaying it," she said.
Mrs May also said there was no such thing as a choice between "soft Brexit" and "hard Brexit", which have been used to describe the extent the UK could compromise on free movement in order to maintain trade links with the EU.
Transport secretary Chris Grayling - the former justice secretary who campaigned for Brexit - said there would be an "evolution not a revolution" in UK law once it leaves the EU.
He gave the example of child benefit being paid to children living overseas as an example of legislation that could be scrapped, while some environmental regulations could be retained.
Asked whether the process could take many years to complete, he said: "It will take us as long as we choose it to take."