Start Brexit by End March 2017

Article 50 will be triggered by the end of March 2017 and the UK may leave the EU by summer 2019.

20:39 03 October 2016

Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed that the formal Brexit negotiation process will start on March 2017. This could mean that the UK will leave the EU by summer 2019.

 

In a speech on the first day of the conference in Birmingham, she told delegates: "We are going to be a fully independent, sovereign country - a country that is no longer part of a political union with supranational institutions that can override national parliaments and courts.

 

"And that means we are going, once more, to have the freedom to make our own decisions on a whole host of different matters, from how we label our food to the way in which we choose to control immigration."

 

Mrs May said a "truly global Britain is possible, and it is in sight", adding: "We don't need - as I sometimes hear people say - to 'punch above our weight' because our weight is substantial enough already."

 

She added: "It's not just important for the UK, but important for Europe as a whole that we're able to do this in the best possible way so we have the least disruption for businesses, and when we leave the EU we have a smooth transition from the EU."