Theresa May: I will not be derailed on Brexit

Emilio Casalicchio

Theresa May has insisted she will not be “derailed” in her mission to deliver Brexit.



The Prime Minister argued her government was “proving the doubters wrong” just days after she got the green light from EU leaders to begin talks on a transition deal and future trade with the bloc.

It comes after she suffered a humiliating Commons defeat last week and amid warnings from two Conservative peers that lords will not tolerate “bullying” over Brexit legislation.

But writing in the Sunday Telegraph and the Sunday Express, a defiant Mrs May said: "Amid all the noise, we are getting on with the job.”

“In the face of those who want to talk Britain down, we are securing the best and most ambitious Brexit deal for our whole United Kingdom," she added.

“And my message today is very clear: we will not be derailed from this fundamental duty to deliver the democratic will of the British people.”

On Friday, EU leaders unlocked talks on the future trading relationship between the EU and UK when they agreed ‘sufficient progress’ had been made on the exit arrangements.

Mrs May said the withdrawal deal "marked a watershed" in the Brexit process and vowed to "begin to build that new, deep and special partnership" with the EU.

She added: "This is the exciting part of the negotiations and there is no limit on our ambition and creativity.”

'LORDS DON'T LIKE BULLYING'

But Tory peers Baroness Altmann and Baroness Wheatcroft warned Mrs May that they will not tolerate a heavy handed approach to getting Brexit legislation through the Lords.

Their intervention comes after reports of an intense whipping drive over a controversial amendment last week. It was said to include bullying tactics and a legal threat.

The peers wrote in the Observer: "Mindful of the monumental importance for future generations of getting Brexit right, the Lords is unlikely to be receptive to bullying over a restricted timetable or vigorous whipping to toe the party line.”

Elsewhere, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson argued the UK must push to deregulate from EU rules after Brexit or face becoming a “vassal state”.

And a new BMG poll for the Independent found 51% of respondents wanted to stay in the EU while 41% wanted to continue with Brexit.