Prime Minister Theresa May has been changing up her party’s Brexit strategy. They were previously rushing into it as quickly as possible, even going to Saudi Arabia in search of an alternative trade deal, but now they’re taking their time with a more gradualist approach. They’ve apparently come to the realisation that no deal will be particularly bad, and therefore “no deal” is off the table in the Brexit considerations.
The plan is to ‘mirror’ the Brussels arrangement
May’s plan with Britain’s departure from the EU is to “mirror” the deal with Brussels as closely as possible.
They also plan to leave the EU customs union at the same time that we leave the EU in the March of 2019, instead favouring “a new and time-limited customs union.” One of May’s main goals with the Brexit process is to flee from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, which certainly sounds shady.
The EU have been calling Britain’s Brexit proposals one big “fairy tale” and the pro-Brexit press have called May’s changing stance and tone a “betrayal” of their trust, but the PM maintains that everything will work out fine. According to Michel Barnier, the top Brexit negotiator for the EU, citizens, settling accounts, and Ireland are the first things to figure out, and then customs and the future relationship between Britain and the EU can be worked out afterwards.