May and Hammond confirm that Britain plans to leave the single market

MPs and the Lords WILL get a final vote on the Brexit deal

The PM will seek a transitional deal to prevent Britain from the "cliff edge"

LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May just confirmed that Britain plans to leave the single market as part of its withdrawal from the European Union.

The prime minister told an audience of foreign diplomats and ambassadors that she would terminate Britain's membership of the free-trade area to have full control over immigration from the European Union.

This was confirmed by Chancellor Philip Hammond, who told the House of Commons on Tuesday morning that Britain would no longer be in the European single market once the Brexit deal is finalised. "We will go forward understanding we cannot be members of the single market," he said.

I want this UK to emerge from this period of change stronger, fairer, and more outward-looking than ever before.

May sought to assure her European counterparts that Britain would remain a "best friend" to the continent but added that she would not seek a deal that leaves the country "half-in, half out" of the EU.

Speaking at Lancaster House in Westminster on Tuesday morning, the Conservative Party leader also said that Britain planned to break away from the European Court of Justice, meaning EU law would no longer apply to the UK after completion of the Brexit.

The prime minister also confirmed that both houses of Parliament would get a vote on the deal that her government reaches with the EU before it is put into effect.

"I can confirm today that the government will put the final deal that is agreed between the UK and the EU to a vote in both houses of Parliament before it comes into force," May said.

Interestingly, she went on to say that "no deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain," which suggests that she'd be willing to leave the EU with no trade deal in place. This could happen if members of Parliament choose to block the final deal. If this were to happen, then Britain would most likely default to World Trade Organisation trading rules rather than stay in the EU.

She also told Lancaster House: "I want this UK to emerge from this period of change stronger, fairer, and more outward-looking than ever before ... Our vote to leave the European Union was no rejection of the values we share. The decision to leave the EU represents no desire to become more distant to you, our friends and neighbours."

The first clear signal that Britain will pursue a clean break from the EU

May, who succeeded David Cameron as UK prime minister last summer, added that Britain did not want to continue as a member of the Customs Union but would look to negotiate a "customs agreement" with the EU. This was an ambiguous part of the speech and did not explain what a new "agreement" with the EU would entail.

Nevertheless, the prime minister's speech was the first clear signal that Britain under her leadership would pursue a clean break, commonly referred to as a "hard Brexit," from the EU once exit talks officially get underway. It represents a victory for staunch Brexiteers in the Tory party, like Brexit ministers David Davis and Liam Fox, who have long advocated a complete break away from the 28-nation bloc and its multilateral institutions.

May made it clear, however, that she would seek to negotiate a "phased process of implementation" — i.e., a transitional deal — to cover the period of time between the two-year Article 50 process expiring and a new trade deal with the EU coming into effect. This, the prime minister said, would help Britain avoid "avoid a disruptive cliff edge."

Those opposed to the Brexit fear that leaving the single market will inflict serious damage to the economy and personal finances of working-class people nationwide. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: "This speech could have been written by Peter Bone, delivered by Nigel Farage, and will no doubt be cheered on by Jeremy Corbyn.

"You can call this Brexit clean, red, white and blue, or whatever you want. But this doesn’t disguise the fact that it will be a destructive, 'hard Brexit' and the consequences will be felt by millions of people through higher prices, greater instability, and rising fuel costs."

He later added a more stinging condemnation of May's Brexit vision: "This is a theft of democracy, a presumption that the 51.9% of people who voted to leave meant the most extreme version of Brexit available," he told Sky.

This speech could have been written by Peter Bone, delivered by Nigel Farage, and will no doubt be cheered on by Jeremy Corbyn.

A YouGov poll published this week found that controlling EU immigration to the UK was more important to Brits than remaining a member of the single market, suggesting that though unpopular with numerous pro-Remain MPs, May's approach to leaving the EU was in step with the desires of the general public.

The prime minister's announcement of Britain's intent to abandon the single market was made in the same venue that former Tory premier Margaret Thatcher delivered a speech endorsing the values of the same free-trade area 28 years ago. The pound climbed as May delivered her speech, which came to an end at about 12:30 p.m GMT (7:30 a.m. ET).

May dismissed the possibility of Britain adopting an existing model — like the Norway-style model — as its Brexit strategy. "We do not seek to adopt a model already enjoyed by other countries," she said. "We do not seek to hold on to bits of membership as we leave."

She also said that "preserving" the UK would be a priority as Britain enters exit negotiations with the EU. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has threatened to call a second independence referendum if Scotland's demands for a unique relationship with the 28-nation bloc aren't met.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told Sky that Labour's shadow Brexit minister, Keir Starmer, would be responding to the prime minister's speech in Parliament later Tuesday but didn't clarify whether this would take the form of a full plan.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule later this month that May must secure parliamentary approval before invoking Article 50 and initiating Britain's departure from the EU. This means that MPs who oppose the PM's plans to remove the country from the single market will have an opportunity to try to block such a deal.

Read the prime minister's speech in full.