By Ben Kerrigan-
“We are leaving the single market, life is going to be different,” she told an audience at London’s Mansion House.
Access to each others markets would be “less than it is now,” she acknowledged.
But she added that the “jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the UK must end”.
Mrs May acknowledged a bumpy bath to the ultimate goal of achieving a workable Brexit when she spoke about “ups and downs” that will accompany the transition process. She said : ”as in any negotiations, everyone would “not get everything they want” but said the UK and EU had “a shared interest in getting this right, so let’s get on with it”.
The prime minister then set out five “tests” for the negotiations and pledge to “bring our country together”.
She said that the deal on access to each other’s markets had to be on fair terms – with the need for “binding commitments”.
“For example, we may choose to commit some areas of our regulations like state aid and competition to remaining in step with the EU’s,” she said.
She said the UK wanted the freedom to negotiate trade deals, control of laws and “as frictionless a border as possible” with the EU . She added that any disputes about the future relationship could not be ruled on by “the court of either party”.
Mrs May was assertive in her position about the Irish Boarder. She said the UK could decide alone not to impose a hard border with the Republic of Ireland, leaving it to the jurisdiction of the European Union. She said: “It is not good enough to say ‘we won’t introduce a hard border; if the EU forces Ireland to do it, that’s down to them’.
“We chose to leave; we have a responsibility to help find a solution. But we can’t do it on our own. It is for all of us to work together.”
She added that the EU would have to accept some “hard facts” as well, saying: “The [European] commission has suggested that the only option available to the UK is an off-the-shelf model.”