Image: Home OfficeTheresa May has been slowly enlarging on what she means when she says Brexit means Brexit, she expanded further on the Andrew Marr show this Sunday.
When Theresa May was asked by a journalist at the latest gathering of the G20, this time in Hangzhou, China, to enlarge on what Brexit means she said: "Yes, Brexit does indeed mean Brexit, we respect the wishes of the British people, we will be leaving", but she didn't throw much new light on the issue.
We know that ‘one equals one’, we know that ‘red means red’, but we also know what the number ‘one’ means, we know what the colour ‘red’ is, but what does Brexit really mean?
Speaking on the Andrew Marr show in an interview recorded before the G20 summit, but broadcast during the summit, she said: "It's about coming out of the European Union, it's about listening to the British people … and making a success of that.”
She added: “This is not about the UK being inward looking, we will be a bold, outward-looking country, we want to forge new deals. . . As an independent country forging our own way in the world.”
On immigration, she said: “The British people don't want free movement of people from the EU, but getting good deals on trade in goods and services is important too,” so was that a hint that she may be willing to sacrifice a change in rules on immigration to secure trade deals?
Turning to timing, she said: “We won't trigger Article 50 before the end of the year . . . but it should not be kicked into the long grass.”
On the issue of the UK economy, and recent data suggesting the UK is already recovering from the Brexit vote she said: “We need to ensure trade agreements around the world. I am not going to pretend it will be plain sailing.”
She is quite right in this respect, we won’t know the cost of Brexit for years, and much depends on the trade deals the UK can agree, everything else is speculation.
Regarding the status of immigrants living in the UK, she said that she will use this as a bargaining counter to safeguard rights of British citizens abroad.
Ms May said: “I want to see a country that works for everyone ... In which people can take advantages of opportunity regardless of background.”
But on the issue of grammar schools, she was not altogether explicit. She said: “I want to see an education system regardless of where people are, regardless of the school they are going to, which is ensuring they are getting the quality of education which enables them to take on opportunities, because when I talk about a country that works for everyone, it is about ensuring that whatever people’s talents are, it's about how far those talents can take them, but it also about government ensuring that those jobs and opportunities are there for everybody. “
