LONDON—Prime Minister Theresa May said the U.K. intends to leave the European Union’s single market, outlining a plan for a definitive break from the bloc and answering the biggest open question about her vision for Britain’s future. Speaking at Lancaster House, Westminster this morning, the Conservative Party leader also confirmed that Britain will be breaking away from the European Court of Justice (ECJ), meaning EU law will no longer apply once Brexit is formally completed. Many of them favour such an agreement - one or two others do not - but I want everyone to know that it remains an important priority for Britain – and for many other member states – to resolve this challenge as soon as possible. “I want to be clear: What I am proposing cannot mean membership of the single market,” May told an audience of foreign diplomats and Britain’s own Brexit negotiating team at a mansion house in London. In her most significant comments on her Brexit strategy yet, she said: “What I am proposing cannot mean membership of the single market.”

She added: "It would, to all intents and purposes, mean not leaving the EU at all”. Britons’ vote to leave the bloc has opened a huge number of questions about immigration, the future rights of the many EU citizens already living in the United Kingdom, whether exporters will keep tariff-free access to the single European market and British-based banks will be able to serve continental clients. That agreement may take in elements of current Single Market arrangements in certain areas – on the export of cars and lorries for example, or the freedom to provide financial services across national borders – as it makes no sense to start again from scratch when Britain and the remaining member states have adhered to the same rules for so many years. She said seeking a punitive Brexit deal with the UK would be "an act of calamitous self-harm", adding that "no deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain". Mrs May insisted one of the key objectives of yesterday’s speech was to negotiate a free trade agreement that gives Britain the widest possible access for trading within the EU. Control of our own laws

That means taking control of our own affairs, as those who voted in their millions to leave the European Union demanded we must. The Brexit talks, expected to be one of the most complicated negotiations in post-World War Two European history, could decide the fate of her premiership, the United Kingdom and the future shape of the European Union that Britain leaves behind. The prime minister told an audience of foreign diplomats and ambassadors that she will terminate Britain’s membership of the free-trade area in order to have full control over immigration from the EU. We want to guarantee the rights of EU citizens who are already living in Britain, and the rights of British nationals in other member states, as early as we can. Because under this Conservative Government, we will make sure legal protection for workers keeps pace with the changing labour market – and that the voices of workers are heard by the boards of publicly-listed companies for the first time. Many in Britain have always felt that the United Kingdom’s place in the European Union came at the expense of our global ties, and of a bolder embrace of free trade with the wider world. "I want Britain to be able to negotiate its own trade agreements but I also want tariff-free trade with Europe, and cross-border trade there to be as frictionless as possible. But she said: "I want to remove as many barriers to trade as possible and I want Britain to be free to establish our own tariff schedules at the World Trade Organisation, meaning we can reach new trade agreements not just with the EU but with old friends and new allies from outside Europe too." In a long-awaited speech in which she sought to define the country’s future as a global player that aims to trade freely far beyond Europe, May said the final exit deal would be put to parliament for a vote. As we do so, our guiding principle must be to ensure that - as we leave the European Union - no new barriers to living and doing business within our own Union are created,

That means maintaining the necessary common standards and frameworks for our own domestic market, empowering the UK as an open, trading nation to strike the best trade deals around the world, and protecting the common resources of our islands. She said: "It is important to recognise this fact: June 23 was not the moment Britain chose to step back from the world, it was the moment we chose to build a truly global Britain. So that when future generations look back at this time, they will judge us not only by the decision that we made, but by what we made of that decision. But I respect the position taken by European leaders who have been clear about their position, just as I am clear about mine.
After much speculation British Prime Minister Theresa May announces that the United Kingdom will be leaving the European Single Market.