My deal or no deal, May says in Brexit speech to nation

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Prime Minister Theresa May announced Wednesday she will not delay Britain's departure from the European Union beyond June, ruling out a further extension if MPs reject her Brexit deal.

Her message from 10 Downing Street to the British people came after another tense day in the House of Commons when she announced she has asked EU Council President Donald Tusk to delay Britain's exit from the bloc.

Her forceful message was throwing down the gauntlet to MPs that if they reject her deal there will be no deal, paving the way for Britain leaving the EU after a membership of 46 years.

Theresa May to formally ask for Brexit delay

Pro-Brexit activist Joseph Afrane holds a placard and waves a Union flag as he demonstrates outside the Houses of Parliament in central London, March 20, 2019. /VCG Photo

It was a change to her stance last week when she said she would seek a longer extension from Brussels if MPs rejected her deal.

But it's clear May was furious when this week the Speaker of the House of Commons ruled that May could not present her Brexit bill a third time to MPs unless there were dramatic changes.

By insisting she would not keep Britain in the EU beyond June, May is effectively giving squabbling MPs the chance to accept her deal or risk no deal.

May started her statement by saying it was of great personal regret that Britain is not leaving on March 29, the departure date set in 2017 when the British government voted by a big margin to trigger the two-year countdown mechanism.

"I am absolutely sure you the public have had enough. You are tired of the infighting. You are tired of the political games and the arcane procedural rows," May said.

She added people were tired of MPs talking about nothing else but Brexit when there are real concerns about children's schools, the National Health Service, and knife crime.

"It is now time for MPs to decide," she added, "do they want to leave the EU with a deal which delivers on the result of the referendum, or do they want to leave without a deal."

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May accused MPs of just being willing to say is what they do not want.

"Some argue that I am making the wrong choice, and I should ask for a longer extension to the end of the year or beyond, to give more time for politicians to argue over the way forward. That would mean asking you to vote in European Elections, nearly three years after our country decided to leave," she said in her message.

EU readies short Brexit delay – if May wins parliament over

European Union leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday to give May an offer to delay Brexit beyond March 29, on condition that she can finally win over her many opponents in parliament next week.

"We could consider a short extension conditional on a positive vote on the Withdrawal Agreement in the House of Commons," Tusk said in a letter inviting all 28 EU national leaders to Brussels talks.

President of the European Council Donald Tusk delivers a statement on Brexit ahead of the EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, March 20, 2019. /VCG Photo

Any delay must be unanimously approved by all the other 27 national EU leaders, increasingly exasperated with Britain's inability to find a way of a domestic political deadlock that is weighing heavily on the whole bloc.

Raising the stakes, France threatened to reject May's request and the EU's executive said Britain had to be out by May 23 to avoid having to take part in European Parliament elections.

All 28 leaders assemble in Brussels at 1400 GMT. May will address her peers before leaving the room while they discuss the issue.

The 27 are then expected to agree what will amount to a technical extension, intended to give Britain time to pass the necessary exit legislation – if the House of Commons approves the divorce package before March 29.

(Cover: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the nation after asking the European Union for a Brexit extension, at number 10 Downing Street in London, March 20, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency