Theresa May to EU: We Will Be Totally Gone

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May will test the nerves of currency markets today when she declares that Britain is making a clean break from the EU and will not seek a deal that leaves the country “half in and half out”, reports The Financial Times.

The prime minister’s...speech to ambassadors and diplomats in London will also attempt to strike a conciliatory tone about the need for a “positive and constructive partnership between Britain and the EU”, according to the paper.

“We seek a new and equal partnership between an independent, self-governing, global Britain and our friends and allies in the EU,” she will say in the speech at Lancaster House.

“But it is not partial membership of the EU, associate membership or anything that leaves us half in, half out. We do not seek to adopt a model already enjoyed by other countries. We do not seek to hold on to bits of membership as we leave.”

She will also confirm she wants to restore control over Britain’s borders; senior officials say the Home Office is drawing up plans for a work permit scheme for EU workers alongside new automated security checks for EU visitors.

  -RW