The Prime Minister has signed the letter that starts the formal exit process and the historic document will be hand-delivered by a senior diplomat to European Union chiefs.
It marks the start of complex and contentious negotiations that put the United Kingdom on course to break its ties with Brussels by the end of March 2019.
The letter is to be hand-delivered to European Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels by British Ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow at 1130 GMT and copies are to be sent to the other 27 EU member states.
March 13: Britain’s Parliament approves a bill giving the government the authority to invoke Article 50.
The UK’s departure is essentially motivated by sovereigntist concerns, she writes, “a vote to restore, as we see it, our national self-determination”.
Frances O’Grady, secretary general of the Trades Union Congress, Britain’s largest labor federation, said: “The best deal will guarantee that hardworking Brits keep their hard-won rights at work – and that in the years to come they won’t miss out on protections that Dutch, Spanish, and German workers get”.
“We can choose to say the task ahead is too great, we can choose to turn our face to the past and believe it can’t be done, or we can look forward with optimism and hope and to believe in the enduring power of the British spirit”, she said.
If the country fails to strike a trade deal with Britain and defaults to trading under World Trade Organization rules, it is forecast to lose 7.5% of its GDP over 15 years, according to the UK’s own official estimates.
“We all want a country that is fairer so that everyone has the chance to succeed”. Niblett said Britain may choose to see itself through the lens of its national mythology – as a plucky island nation off the coast of Europe with global ambitions, punching above its weight.
“We need a trade policy aligned to a strong industrial strategy that supports the specific needs of the sector for all the investment, reshoring and export opportunities”, the group adds.
She’s not willing to put the United Kingdom in the position of “accepting things the voters have said they don’t want”, she said.
“We will continue to work with government and our European counterparts, but no deal is not an option”, he says. Junker boasted that the “example” of the United Kingdom would ensure the survival of the Brussels club, meaning no other European government would dare allow their people a similar referendum.
The key point of contention as soon as Article 50 is triggered is the order in which different aspects of Brexit are approached.
Britain hopes the two tracks – divorce terms and future relationship – can run in parallel.
May, 60, has one of the toughest jobs of any recent British prime minister: holding Britain together in the face of renewed Scottish independence demands, while conducting arduous talks with 27 other European Union states on finance, trade, security and other complex issues.
As the results come in, UKIP leader Nigel Farage proclaims that this day should be considered Britain’s “independence day”. The question is how.
In her speech to the House of Commons in London, PM May said, “This is a historic moment for which there can be no turning back. And we will hold the Government to account every step of the way”.
The task of unravelling the common legislation – covering areas such as air transport, the shipment of nuclear waste, and the UK’s need to renegotiate trade and tax arrangements with around 40 countries as diverse as Switzerland, South Korea and Albania that have commercial agreements with the European Union, is daunting, especially given the politically fraught atmosphere.
