Theresa May Says U.K. Has to Face ‘Hard Facts’ on Brexit

Theresa May Says U.K. Has to Face ‘Hard Facts’ on Brexit
"In certain ways, our access to each other’s markets will be less than it is now," Mrs. May told an invited audience in London, accepting
that the European Union would never agree to a deal that allowed Britain "to enjoy all the benefits without all of the obligations." "The reality is that we all need to face up to some hard facts," she added.
In rejecting a customs union, Mrs. May said membership would "mean we had less control than we do now over our trade in the world."
But she offered no answers to the Irish border question, beyond previous vague assertions that technological solutions can be found.
However, Mrs. May said she hoped to gain some favorable treatment on trade by offering "binding commitments" to stick to some European rules and regulations, while staying under the remit of European agencies
that supervise sectors like pharmaceuticals — proposals that the hard Brexit faction might find difficult to swallow.
Striking a note of realism for her domestic audience, Mrs. May accepted
that Britain’s departure, known as Brexit, would reduce trade with the European Union’s giant single market, which she intends her country to quit.
Her compromise is to divide the economy into three sectors: those like the auto industry, where European Union and British rules would remain the same; those
that would remain broadly aligned; and those where the rules would diverge.
But there was little comfort for pro-Europeans either, no sign of Mrs. May buckling to pressure
and rethinking her rejection of membership in a customs union with the European Union.
Her speech helped preparations for a free-trade agreement, he added in a Twitter post
that implied the outcome would be a much less ambitious deal than the one Mrs. May wants.