Britain faces Ides of March

03 October 2016 - 10:14 By Reuters

UK Prime Minister Theresa May said she would trigger the divorce to leave the European Union by the end of March, offering a glimpse of the timetable that will redefine Britain's relations with its biggest trading partner. Britain's shock vote to leave the EU propelled May to power and the former interior minister has since been under pressure to offer more details on her plan for Britain's departure.In a move to ease fears among her ruling Conservatives that she may delay the process, May will tell members at the party's annual conference in Birmingham, central England, that she is determined to move on and win the "right deal".Invoking article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty will give Britain just a two-year period to clinch one of its most complex deals in Europe since World War2."We will trigger before the end of March next year," May told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show."Now that they know what our timing is going to be ... (I hope) that we'll be able to have some preparatory work so that once the trigger comes we have a smoother process of negotiation," May said.Britain's decision to leave the EU in the June 23 referendum sparked turmoil in financial markets as investors tried to gauge what the impact would be on both the world's fifth-largest economy and the European bloc.Sterling plunged to a 31-year low after the vote and is now trading about 40c - 25% lower than the highs it reached in mid-2014.For some businesses, May's reluctance to offer what she describes as a "running commentary" on her strategy has deepened fears that they could end up paying higher costs operating from Britain."There's actually a difference between not giving any commentary and giving a running commentary."What I am doing today is setting out some further detail on the timing and the way we are going to approach this," May said.Some Conservative MPs said triggering article 50 so early could put pressure on Britain as elections in France and Germany next year could change London's negotiating partners in the middle of talks.May will also unveil at the conference a much anticipated move to repeal next year the 1972 European Communities Act, the act that took the UK into what is now the EU, to make Britain "a sovereign and independent country". ..

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