her and discuss how that community can be members of parliament continued. overcome the impact of this explosion. >> order. statement, the prime minister. >> thank you, mister speaker. today the government act on the democratic will of the british people and acts too on the clear and convincing position of this house. a few minutes ago in brussels the united kingdom's permanent representative to the eu handed a letter to the president of the european council on my behalf confirming the government decision to invoke article 50 of

the treaty on the european union. the article 50 process is now underway and in accordance with the wishes of the british people the united kingdom is leaving the european union. this is a historic moment from which there can be no turning back. britain is leaving the european union. we are going to make our own decisions and our own laws, we are going to take control of the things that matter most to us and we are going to take this opportunity to build a stronger, fairer britain, a country that our children and grandchildren are proud to call home. that is our ambition and opportunity and that is what this government is determined to do. at moments like these, great turning points in our national story, the choices we make to find the character of our

nation. we can choose to say the task ahead is too great, we can turn our faces apart and believe it can't be done or we can look forward with optimism and hope and to believe in the enduring power of the british spirit. i choose to believe in britain and that our best days lie ahead. and i do so because i'm confident we have the vision and the plan to use this moment to build a better britain. for leaving the european union presents us with a unique opportunity. it is this generation's chance to shape a brighter future for our country, a chance to step back and ask what kind of country we want to be. my answer is clear. i want the united kingdom to emerge stronger, fairer, more united and more outward looking than ever before. i want us to be a secure,

prosperous, tolerant country, magnet for international talent and home for the pioneers who will shape the world ahead. i want us to be a truly global britain, the best friend and neighbor to our european partners, a country that reaches beyond the borders of europe too. >> can either of the prime minister, calm yourself, you have to learn to behave in a statesmanlike fashion. that is your long-term goal. it may be very long-term but it should be a goal. what i think about this is you can study the record. i will want all colleagues to have the chance to question the prime minister but this is a very important statement and it is reasonable to expect the prime minister gets a courteous hearing and every other colleagues and get a courteous

hearing. >> i want us to be a truly global britain, best friend and neighbor to our european partners but a country that reaches beyond the borders of europe too, a country that goes out into the world to build relationships with old friends and new allies alike. that is why i set out a clear and ambitious plan for negotiations ahead, a plan for a new, deep, special partnership between britain and the european union. a partnership of value, partnership interests, partnership based on cooperation in areas such as security and economic affairs and partnership that works in the best interests of the united kingdom, the european union and the wider world. because perhaps now more than ever the world needs the liberal democratic values of europe which [shouting]

>> perhaps -- -- >> more than ever the world needs -- the liberal democratic values of europe, values the united kingdom share. that is why what we are leaving the institutions of the european union, we are not leaving europe, we will remain a close friend and ally, we will be a committed partner, we will play our part to assure europe is able to protect its values and defend itself from security threats and we will do all we can to help the european union prosper. so in the letter delivered to president trump today copies of which i placed in the library, i have been clear deep and start -- special partnership is in the interests of the united kingdom and the european union too. i have been clear that we will

work constructively in a spirit of sincere cooperation to bring this partnership into being and i have been clear that we should seek to agree the terms of this future partnership alongside those within the next two years. i am ambitious and the objective i sent out, negotiations remain. we will deliver certainty wherever possible so that is this, public-sector and everybody else has as much clarity as we can provide as we move through the process. it is why tomorrow we will confirm our plan to convert into british law so everyone will know where they stand and why i have been clear the government will put the finally a between the uk and the eu to a vote in both houses of parliament. we will take control of our own laws and bring an end to the jurisdiction of the european

court of justice in britain. leaving the european union will meet our goals will be made in westminster, edinburgh and belfast and those laws will be interpreted by judges not in luxembourg but across the country. we will strengthen the union of the four nations. will negotiate as one united kingdom taking account of the specific interests of every nation and region of the uk and when it comes to the powers we will take back from europe we will consult on which powers reside in westminster and which should be part of the next administration that no decision currently taken by the administration will be removed from them and it is the expectation of the government that the administration in scotland, wales and northern ireland will see a significant increase in their decisionmaking power as a result of this

process. we want to maintain the common travel area with the republic of ireland with no return to the borders of the past, we will control immigration so we continue to attract the best and brightest to work or study and manage the process properly so the immigration system serves the international interest, we seek the rights of eu citizens while living in britain and the rights of british nationals in other member states as early as we can. that is set out very clearly in the letter as an early priority to the talks i had. we will ensure workers rights are fully protected and maintained. under my leadership not only will the government protect the rights of workers but we will build on them which a bold and ambitious free trade agreement with the european union that allows the freest possible trade in goods and services between

britain and eu member states, gives british companies the maximum freedom to trade with and operate within european markets and let's european businesses do the same in britain because european leaders have said many times we cannot cherry pick and remain members of the single market without accepting this that are indivisible. accepting that is indefatigable, we will no longer be members of a single market, we are going to make sure we can strike trade agreements with countries outside the european union. important as our trade with the eu is and will remain it is clear the uk needs to increase significantly its trade with the fastest growing export markets in the world. we hope to collaborate with our european partners in the areas of science, education, research

and technology so the uk is one of the best for science and innovation. we see continued cooperation with european partners in important areas like crime, terrorism and foreign affairs and to deliver a smooth orderly brexit reaching an agreement about future partnership by the time the two your article 50 process has concluded, then moving into a phase process of implementation in which britain, the eu institutions and member states prepare for new arrangements that will exist between them. and leaving the eu, we will lose influence over the rules that affect the european economy, uk companies that trade the eu would have to align with us by institutions of which we are no longer a part and we do in other

overseas markets. can we accept that? we approach these talks constructively, respectfully and in a spirit of sincere cooperation. in the interests of the united kingdom and the european union, we should use this process to deliver our objectives in a fair and orderly manner. in the interests of the united kingdom and the european union that there should be as little disruption as possible, the interests of the united kingdom and european union that europe should remain strong, prosperous and capable of projecting itself in the world at a time when the growth of global trade is slowing and there are signs of protectionist instinct on the rise in many parts of the world, europe, europe has a responsibility to stand up for free trade in the interests of all our citizens with with europe security more fragile

today than at any time since the end of the cold war weakening our cooperation and failing to stand up for european families would be a costly mistake. arvo to leave the eu was the rejection of the values we share as fellow europeans. as a european country we will continue to play our part in promoting and supporting those values during negotiations once they are done. we will be reliable partners winning allies and close friends. we want to continue to buy goods and services in the eu and sell them out, trade as freely as possible and work with one another to make sure we are safer, more secure and more prosperous through continued friendship. increasingly unstable world we must continue to forge the closest possible security cooperation to keep our people safe. we face the same global threats from terrorism and extremism. that message is only reinforced by the attack on westminster bridge, there should be no

reason why we should not agree a new deep and special partnership between the uk and the eu that works for us all. i know this is a day of celebration for some and disappointment for others. the referendum last june was divisive at times, not everyone shared the same point of view or voted the same way. the arguments on both sides were passionate but when i sit around the negotiation table in the months ahead, every person in the united kingdom, young and, all the villages and houses disagree and eu nationals made this country their home and it is my fierce determination to get the right deal for every person in this country. the opportunities ahead of us on this momentous journey our shared values and ambitions can and must bring us together. we all want to see a britain that is stronger than it is

today. we want a country that is fair or so everyone has a chance to succeed. we all want a nation that is safe and secure for our children or grandchildren, we want to live in a truly global, old friends and new allies around the world. ambitions that unite us so we are no longer defined by the vote to be cast but our determination for success of the results, where one great union of people and nations. and a bright future. now that the decision to leave has been made in the process is underway, time to come together. this great national moment needs a great national effort, to shape a stronger future for britain. let us do so together. let us come together and work together, let us together choose

to leave britain with optimism and hope, for if we do, we can make the most of the opportunities ahead. we can together make a success of this moment and we can together build a stronger, fairer, better britain, a britain our children and grandchildren are proud to call home. >> jeremy corbin. >> i would like to thank the prime minister for an advance copy of the statement. today we embark on the most important negotiations of modern times. the british people made the decision to leave the european union and labor respects that decision. the next steps along this journey are the most crucial and if the prime minister is to unite the country as she says she aims to do the government

needs to listen, consult and represent the whole country, not just the hard-line tory ideologues on her own benches. britain is going to change as a result of leaving the european union. the question is how? there are conservatives who want to use brexit to turn this country into a low-wage tax haven. labor is determined to invest in high school high tech high wage jerk, to rebuild and transform britain, no one and no community is left behind which the direction the prime minister is threatening to take this country in is damaging. labor will not give this government a free hand to use brexit to attack protection and

prosperity. or create a tax dodger's paradise. the prime minister says that no deal is better than a bad deal but the reality is no deal is a bad deal. less than a year ago the treasury estimated leaving the european union on wto terms would lead to a 7.5% fall in gdp. 45 billion lost of tax receipts. has the treasury updated those figures or do they still stand? if updated, can they be published? if not, what deal could be worse than those consequences of note

deal, it would be a national failure of historic proportions if the prime minister comes back from brussels without having secured protection for jobs and living standards. we will use every parliamentary opportunity to assure this government is held to account at every stage of the negotiation. mister speaker, we all have an interest in ensuring the prime minister gets the best deal for this country, if they cut jobs, living standards, we do need full access to the single market. the states for exiting the eu agrees on this, stated in this house, the 24th of january the government plan is, quote, a comprehensive free-trade agreement and comprehensive customs agreement that will deliver the exact same benefit we have. that is what is in place.

will the prime minister confirmed today that she intends to deliver a trade and customs agreement with the exact same benefit? the same goes for protecting workers rights and environmental standards, protecting britain's nations and regions, protecting britain's financial sector and services and making sure there is no return to a hard quarter in northern ireland, and when, mister speaker, does she expect to be able to guarantee the rights of all those eu nationals who make such a massive and welcome contribution to this country and for those british nationals who live in all parts of the european union including guaranteeing the uk pensions will not be frozen post brexit? mister speaker, brexit will be a huge task for any government yet

so far they seem utterly complacent about the scale of the task ahead. the government ministers can't make up their minds about the real objective. the foreign secretary is here today. our policy is having our cake and eating it. today, the chancellor on bbc radio said we can't have our cake and eat it. they should get together and talk about just one level, might seem like exchanges from ministers. they reflect serious differences about britain's negotiated aims. the governments speak with the united voice but the secretary is the same man who promised our national health service, 350 million pounds a week once we left the eu.

now he believes leaving the eu would be okay. it would not be perfectly okay. it would damage our economy and living standards. will the prime minister confirmed that she rejects such complacency? labor set out our test for brexit negotiations and we will use all means possible to make sure we hold this government to their word. on full access to single market, on protecting britain from being dragged into a race to the bottom and ensuring our future relationship with the european union is strong and cooperative, a relationship where we can work together to bring prosperity and peace to our continent. if the prime minister can deliver a deal that meets our tests that will be fine. need the government that will deliver for the whole country, not just a few, that is the ultimate test of the brexit deal

the prime minister must now secure. >> prime minister. >> i am grateful to the right honorable gentlemen, he said the labour party with a referendum and the process that is underway, the next sets are the most crucial, the most important and we enter the formal process of negotiation. the message hasn't gotten to the whole of the front bench. as the cabinet met to improve international trade secretary, signing the a 50 letter and signing way our country's future. talking down britain desperate for negotiations. and ordinary working people. he asked me, referred to the test about eu nationals.

i referred to this, made it clear that i hope we can deal with this issue of eu nationals in other member states as early as possible in the negotiations. i believe there is time to do that and he mentioned the labour party's test for negotiations and i have been looking at those tests. naturally the government has time and again said -- he asked will a final deal is or a strong collaborative future with the eu and in my letter, that is exactly what i set out our intention to be, believer in benefits to a single market, we are clear we want to get the best possible deal, free and frictionless. will the deal protect national security. will the deal deliver for all region and nations of the uk?

we have been clear we are taking all nations and regions into account and as i said earlier, we expect the administration will see a significant increase in their decisionmaking, the fifth test, rights and protections been and a race to the bottom, we have been clear workers rights will be protected, it is not up for negotiation under this government and he should listen to his own mayor of london who said to give credit to the government i don't think they want to weaken workers rights. there has been some anxiety. i have seen no evidence for senior members of the government that that is their aspiration or intention or something they want to do but there is a 6 test the labour party set out which i don't the right honorable gentlemen mentioned and that is because of the confusion in the

labour party because the 6 test, will the deal ensure their management of migration? we see a confused picture for the labour party, the home secretary said freedom of movement is a worker's right. the right honorable gentlemen himself said the following -- labor is not -- freedom of movement for eu citizens of a deck of to pull but i don't want that to be this interpreted nor do we rule it out. nobody has any idea what the labour party's petition on that issue is. as i said earlier, today of all days we should be coming together, acting with ambition for the future, not talking down the negotiations, we should set out our optimism and determination to get the best possible deal for everybody in the united kingdom. >> william cash.

>> thank you, mister speaker. the leader of the opposition remarks were breathtaking. for decades, he mentioned with us over and over and over again, today, mister speaker, is a historic day indeed. can my right honorable friend reaffirmed that at the very heart of this letter lies democratic decision in the referendum of uk voters given to them by sovereign acts of parliament by 6-1 in this house, enabling the british people to regain their right to govern themselves for which people fought and died over generations? the referendum is followed by a massive majority of 372 in the house of commons on the third reading of the bill itself,

trade and cooperation, european government, no. >> i think i can give my honorable friend reassurance he seeks if i quote from the opening paragraph of my letter, the third line is to reaffirm on 23 june last year the people of the united kingdom voted to leave the european union but i go on to say we want the european to prosper, the vote was not a rejection of the values we share with the europeans was the referendum was a vote to restore as we see it, our national self-determination. >> robertson. >> it is important for everybody to remember on this day, the referendum of the european union the people of scotland voted 62% to remain in the european union. every single local government area in the country voted to

remain in the european union. this happened two years after scottish voters were told they had to vote no to scottish independence to remain in the european union, yet ironically this is exactly what will happen now. because the majority elsewhere in the united kingdom, it's will being imposed on the people of scotland. last year, mister speaker, i raised repeatedly in this chamber, the prime minister made a commitment to a uk wide approach and agreement with the government of scotland, wales and northern ireland and since then the scottish government has published a compromise suggestion, a differentiated plan that could satisfy people in scotland and the rest of the uk. the prime minister could have said, the prime minister could have said she would try to seek

an agreement with european partners on the plan which could have protected scotland's place in the european market but she didn't, the prime minister could have taken the views of the scottish, welsh and northern ireland seriously and could have reached an agreement before triggering article l as she promised. she did not and she does not have -- >> we cannot have side exchanges taking place, the right honorable gentlemen should have the floor. i'm capable of seeing whence the disruption hails. ..

the prime minister promised -- the honorable gentleman opposite understand we have a vision in scotland. [shouting] they don't like to hear it but listen they must. the prime minister promised an agreement. there is no agreement. she has broken her word. and as numbers of parliament we have been sent here with a mandate to stand for the people of scotland. a mandate the prime minister does not enjoy. 58 out of 59. 58 out of 59 mps from scotland voted against triggering article 50. the scottish parliament voted

against the triggering of article 50. the scottish government was against the trading of article 50 before an agreement and what have this government done? it has carried on ignoring the views of people in scotland who have democratically elected representative. and mr. speaker, europe is watching. mr. speaker, will the uk government has a mandate to hold a brexit referendum. we have -- we accept that and accept the results to leave and the rest of united kingdom. again, mr. speaker, the bench opposite cannot seem to understand that the united kingdom is a multinational state with 40 -- [shouting] -- voted to stay and two of them voted to leave, and all of the rhetoric from the government

benches does not -- [inaudible] that there is not unity and the so-called united kingdom. as democrats, as democrats we can all accept that the scottish government has a mandate given by the people of scotland in an election that we should have a choice after the negotiations have concluded. and that it be not kicked into the long grass and the democratic choice then i picked yesterday the democratic parliament voted 59-59 the people of scotland should have that choice. will the prime minister confirmed that she will recognize the democratic rights of the people to make their own choice after negotiations have concluded? mr. speaker, the prime minister says that she thinks brexit will bring unity to the united kingdom. it will not. on this issue it is not united

kingdom and the prime minister needs to respect, respect the differences across the nations of the united kingdom. if she does not, it's remained intransigent and if she denies scotland a choice in our future she will make scottish independence inevitable. [cheers and applause] >> calm yourselves. you are an exceptionally over excitable individual, brandishing your paper in a distinctly eccentric manner. don't extend yourself somewhere else if you can't calm yourself. the prime minister. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the right honorable gentleman has said this afternoon on a number of occasions as he has on many occasions in this house before that scotland voted to remain in the european union and should therefore be treated differently. my constituency voted to remain in the european union.

[shouting] the point is -- [shouting] the point is, the point is that we are one united kingdom, and it was a vote of the whole of the united kingdom. and what i hear from people outside of this chamber, and by the way the right honorable gentleman seems to forget something like 400,000 voted to leave the european union -- [shouting] what i hear, what are you from people outside this chamber from individuals and businesses alike, whether they voted to remain or to leave, is that the boat having been taken, the decision having been given to people of the united kingdom, that we should now respect that vote and get on with the job for everybody across the whole of united kingdom.

he refers to the issue of scottish independence and its impact on membership to the european union. it is the case and the european union has reinforced the doctrine that if scotland were to -- [shouting] they seem to find it amusing,, but just want everybody the doctrine is it scotland were to become independent from the united kingdom and it had voted for independence in 2014 then they would've ceased to be a member of the european union. we will be, we will be insuring, we'll be ensuring that the substance of the deal that we achieved, the substance of the deal that we achieved, and i'm interested in the outcomes of this deal will be the best possible deal for the people of the whole of the united kingdom. he talks about democratic representation and democratic responsibility. perhaps the scottish government might like to co

this was seen as the trigger was delivered to european council president donald tusk. the officially starts two-year countdown to the separation. this article from the guardian.com recaps's today's events and includes a multi-page letter from president may two president tusk. now remarks from european council president donald tusk. pres. tusk: here are six pages from theresa may triggering article 50 and for