Appeaser Theresa to Drop Commitment to ‘Bind’ Britain to EU Rules, But Will Still ‘Mirror’ Them

British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing street for the weekly Prime Minister
TOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty
Liam Deacon

The Prime Minister will elaborate on what areas the UK will remain tied down by European Union (EU) rules and regulations in a Brexit speech Friday.

Theresa May has been forced to drop a “binding commitments” to “mirror” the bloc’s rules after a pushback from members of the Cabinet who support a clean break from the EU, The Times reports.

According to the paper, the anti-Brexit Chancellor Phillip Hammond had been pushing for the phrase to be included in the speech.

However, Environmental Secretary Michael Gove pointed out that promising to bow to EU rules at this stage would make negotiations harder, whilst Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the UK should not imply it will follow the EU’s legal framework after Brexit.

The speech is also expected to detail five tests which Mrs. May will insist must be passed for Brexit to be successful. She will warn the EU that good relations could “break down” unless the wishes of the British people are respected.

A successful Brexit, according to the Prime Minister, must also protect jobs and security, be in line with the values of an open democracy, as well as not weakening the ties that bind Britain and the home nations.

Speaking at Mansion House in central London, the Prime Minister will say: “I want the broadest and deepest possible agreement – covering more sectors and co-operating more fully than any Free Trade Agreement anywhere in the world today.

“I believe that is achievable because it is in the EU’s interests as well as ours and because of our unique starting point, where on day one we both have the same laws and rules.

“So rather than having to bring two different systems closer together, the task will be to manage the relationship once we are two separate legal systems.”

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