Hard Brexit confirmed, U.K leaving single market

British Prime Minister, Theresa May, on Tuesday said in a much-anticipated speech that her plans for Britain leaving the European Union “cannot mean membership of the single market”.

“Instead, we seek the greatest possible access to the single market.

“We do not seek to hold on to bits of membership as we leave,” she said.

As for the much-debated timetable for leaving the EU, May says Britain could seek a “phased process” for Brexit following two years of formal negotiations.

May said: “this would “avoid a disruptive cliff edge”.

She has previously said that she plans to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which sets the rules for a two-year negotiating process for a nation leaving the EU, by the end of March.

A majority of British voters decided to leave the EU in a referendum in June last year.