May outlined immigration as the “red line” for Brexit negotiations after a cabinet meeting at the British prime minister’s country residence Chequers in Buckinghamshire.
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But several senior Conservatives said nothing should stand in the way of the united kingdom activating Article 50 when possible next year and have warned against undue delay.
The Number 10 spokesman told reporters: “There is no legal obligation to consult Parliament before triggering Article 50 – that position has been well set out since the decision to leave the European Union was taken by the British people”.
She told Today she would be “concerned about any plans to curb immigration” from Europe, which had ” benefited our country, especially business”.
Theresa May is to chair a meeting of her cabinet at Chequers to discuss the UK’s approach to leaving the European Union and its objectives in future negotiations.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: “Saying Parliament will have an opportunity to discuss this is not good enough”.
“This really is a very significant moment for the country, as we look ahead to the next steps that we need to take”.
“Rhetoric will never replace action and I call on the Prime Minister, and indeed her Government, to get on with pushing ahead with what the majority of British people want and that is Brexit”.
She said the Cabinet had to consider “how we can get tough on irresponsible behaviour in big business”.
Commenting on Prof. Brooke’s opinions, UKIP MEP Bill Etheridge said it is clear Project Fear is still “alive and kicking”, adding that it was the professor who was talking “gobbledygook” as UKIP would strive to ensure Brexit will be a reality.
“Britain needs change but Theresa May and the Tories can not deliver it”.
Her ministers agreed on Wednesday the Brexit process should confirm Britain’s place “as one of the great trading nations in the world”.
Some are in favor of maintaining full access to the single market and others support not being part of it.
But Mrs May indicated she is seeking a tailor-made arrangement for Britain, telling her two counterparts that the final outcome would not necessarily follow “an existing model”.
She formerly said she wouldn’t trigger it before the end of this year, and commentators have suggested she might delay it longer than early 2017 because the government’s new Brexit and International Trade departments aren’t ready to enter the formal negotiation process.
She said she wanted to turn the United Kingdom into a country that “works for everyone” – a goal that she also spelled out in her speech outside Downing Street on becoming PM.
Writing for the Daily Telegraph, the Remain-backing Tory peer said: ” It seems unlikely that Theresa May has any legal need to ask Parliament to approve the invoking of Article 50, which is a matter of royal prerogative to be exercised by ministers.
Thank you very much for coming together today. But most of the diplomats in Britain’s Foreign Office – who have the necessary skills – are in no rush to volunteer for newly created Brexit positions which, by definition, will be temporary jobs.
“That’s a faultline that needs to be addressed before we begin to negotiate anything”.
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In particular, it will be an opportunity for the three ministers who have a role in Brexit, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Dr Fox and Mr Davis, to appear side by side. So even if British officials sharpen their sense of the kind of deal they can strike, they still face a tight timeframe to clinch a post-Brexit settlement with the EU.
