London, March 29 (PTI): Prime Minister Theresa May is touring in different parts of the UK today to mark the one-year anniversary of the Brexit Day, the date Britain is set to formally exit from the European Union (EU).
The British Prime Minister had invoked Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty on March 29 last year, triggering the official two-year time-frame for Britain’s exit from the economic bloc.
As she visited parts of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland yesterday, her key message is one of unity for all those who voted for or against Brexit in the June 2016 referendum.
“Today, one year until the UK leaves the EU and begins to chart a new course in the world, I am visiting all four nations of the union to hear from people across our country what Brexit means to them. I am determined that as we leave the EU, and in the years ahead, we will strengthen the bonds that unite us, because ours is the world’s most successful union,” she said in a statement.
She added: I am determined that our future will be a bright one. It’s a future in which we trade freely with friends and partners across Europe and beyond.
“Having regained control of our laws, our borders and our money, and seized the opportunities provided by Brexit, the UK will thrive as a strong and united country that works for everyone, no matter whether you voted Leave or Remain.”
May began her tour by visiting a textile factory in Ayrshire, Scotland, with other stops at a parent and toddler group in Newcastle, lunch with farmers near Belfast before meeting businesses in Barry, South Wales.
On 29 Manet year, the UK will formally leave the EU and is due to enter a 21-month transition period during which much of the current arrangements continue, before the final permanent post-membership relationship is due to kick-in. Since formal negotiations began between the two sides in June last year, an agreement has been struck on a Brexit “divorce bill”, but the crucial issue of how they will trade together in the longer term has yet to be settled.
Later this year, Theresa May will put an outline of the Brexit deal to Parliament for its approval.
Meanwhile, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a major anti-Brexit voice, said it was “more likely... than a few months ago” that Brexit could be stopped, saying it was “not too late”.
“I always say to people the likelihood is it happens, but it doesn’t have to happen, and the first place that’s going to decide it is Parliament and MPs should vote according to their conscience,” he said.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Jo Swinson, whose party is campaigning for a second referendum once a final Brexit deal is done, said the public should have a final say because there was a lot of new information available since the June 2016 vote.
“Once those details are becoming clearer, as the government comes towards the end of the negotiations, then it ought to be up to the people to decide what path we, the country, take,” she said.
“There is still a real chance that we should be able to choose, if that’s what we want, a different path and not go down the Brexit route,” she added.
The Opposition Labour party has said that it would not vote for the Brexit deal unless “the government are sensible and they negotiate properly... get a deal that meets the six tests”.
An opinion poll conducted by Sky Data shows the UK still split down the middle with 66 per cent saying they feel Britain is more divided as a country as Brexit approaches. When asked whether Brexit is good or bad for the country, the margin remains very slim with 46 per cent responding it is a bad idea and 44 per cent saying it is a good idea.
On June 23, 2016, the UK had voted in a referendum to leave the EU by 51.89 per cent in favour of