British Prime Minister Theresa May will set a course for Britain to make a "clean break" with the European Union as she outlines plans for a "hard" Brexit outside the EU single market in a major speech on Tuesday. May will say she is prepared to leave the single market to allow Britain to control the migration of EU citizens, according to advance excerpts of her speech. Front-page headlines in leading British media said May wants a "clean break" from all EU institutions. The Guardian said May will confirm that she wants to leave the single market but remain a "best friend" of European partners. She will set out "an ambitious agenda for Global Britain, and a vision for a new strategic partnership with Europe," her office said. May will warn that "the road ahead will be uncertain at times" during a period of change that transforms Britain into "a great, global trading nation that is respected around the world and strong, confident and united at home." But that future will be wholly outside the EU, "not partial membership of the European Union, associate membership of the European Union, or anything that leaves us half-in, half-out," according to May's advance remarks. "We do not seek to adopt a model already enjoyed by other countries," she said in the excerpt. "We do not seek to hold on to bits of membership as we leave." She will outline "12 objectives that amount to one big goal: a new, positive and constructive partnership between Britain and the European Union," he office said. May is also expected to answer critics who have accused her of failing to clarify her negotiating strategy or commit her government on the crucial issues of migration and market access. The Times warned earlier that "May's hard Brexit stance will put her on a collision course" with pro-EU lawmakers from her ruling Conservative party. May has said she plans to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which sets the rules for a two-year negotiating process for a nation leaving the EU, by the end of March.
