Britain’s Theresa May to trigger Brexit by end of March 2017

Theresa May has revealed the formal process for Britain to leave the EU will be triggered by the end of March. Activating Article 50 paves the way for official Brexit talks to get under way and starts the two-year countdown for the UK’s departure. It puts Britain on course to leave the EU by summer 2019. But former Conservative leader and Leave campaigner Iain Duncan Smith has suggested the UK may trigger Article 50 sooner.

It depends hugely on what they are doing behind the scenes, trying to make sure they have exactly the areas that they want lined up.

Iain Duncan Smith

The Prime Minister made the announcement at the start of the Tory party conference in Birmingham, where the break from Brussels is set to dominate the agenda. Mrs May could be hoping in setting a date she will take the sting out of the Brexit debate, but arguments are set to continue over the kind of relationship the UK will have with the bloc in future. The PM has also revealed plans to introduce a “Great Repeal Bill” in the next Queen’s Speech to scrap the legislation that took Britain into Europe 44 years ago. EU law and regulations will then be converted into domestic law and subsequently removed, kept or changed, depending on what the UK Parliament decides. This process could take years - meaning many EU laws could be in force long after the day Britain formally leaves the bloc.

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