THERESA MAY has been urged to walk out of next week’s Brexit talks if the EU refuses to discuss future trade links.
Senior allies want the PM to seize control of negotiations now the flagship departure bill is set to become law.
And if EU officials rebuff her demands, she should hand over her business card and say: “Call me if you change your minds. I’m out of here.”
Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith has told Mrs May to turn the tables on “bullying” Eurocrats when she returns to Brussels this week.
He believes she is in her strongest position yet to get them to discuss their relationship with Britain when we leave on March 29 next year.
In the 15 months since Article 50 was triggered, they have refused to discuss trade while our own MPs argued among themselves.
But Mrs May’s hand was strengthened last week after she saw off the rebels to get the EU Withdrawal Bill through Parliament.
Tory MP Mr Duncan Smith warned she must show her mettle as she faces the biggest test of any PM in peacetime at next week’s Brussels showdown.
He told The Sun on Sunday: “Theresa May now has the upper hand in these talks.
“They have been watching us fight among ourselves over Brexit for months and didn’t have to do anything because her position was so weak.
“They knew there was an outside chance it wouldn’t happen, so they’ve dug in on all the practical stuff such as trade and bogged us down with other details.
“But now it has been voted through. We are leaving. They cannot stop it.
“I’ve advised Theresa to tell them bluntly to agree to talk about trade or she is leaving.
“If they refuse to engage, she must have the resolve to get up and leave the table — making clear she will take our £40billion contribution with her.
“Theresa must put her cards on the table and tell them she wants to talk about trade now.
“If they tell her they don’t want to, she should put her business card on the table and say ‘Tell you what.
There’s my number. Give me a buzz if you change your minds.
Meanwhile, we’ve got nothing more to say to you’.
“Then she should turn to her aides and say, ‘We can catch the ten past six if we hurry now.
“Can you get some cars because we’re on our way.
“We’ve got work to do. Nice to see you all. OK, guys. Take care. Goodbye!’
“That will bring them to their senses rather quickly.
“The 27 other EU countries are desperate for a deal so they can sell us their cars, cheeses and potato products.
“They’ve tried to push us around for the past couple of years but Theresa has the upper hand now and she must show them who’s boss.”
Slamming the way EU officials have treated Britain as “disgusting”, Mr Duncan Smith said: “Undiplomatic doesn’t begin to cover it.
“They’ve done their level best to humiliate and be rude to us. They are meant to be our friends and allies.”
Singling out chief negotiator Michel Barnier, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and European Parliament co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt, he added: “Come this week, we can tell them their days of behaving like playground bullies are over.”
He said Wednesday’s flagship vote was THE most significant bill passed in the Commons since the treaty to join the fledgling European Economic Community in 1973.
Crucially, it removes any chance of Brexit being derailed and the clock really has begun ticking towards our departure in 278 days.
Brexiteers now warn that the PM must finalise a deal by November, to leave time to clear it all by February.
Mr Duncan Smith said: “She is in a stronger position than she’s been in for some months.
“Getting the most critical bit of legislation through last week means she goes to the European Council knowing our departure is now settled.
“That means she is back in charge of the negotiation and there is no way they can stop Brexit.
“Now it’s down to raw negotiation, and the question facing the EU is how much they want to have a good relationship.
“We do, and the Prime Minister has been open about that. But she has to be ready to walk away.
“I’ve done negotiations in business and that’s what you do. You say, ‘There’s nothing on the table that I can agree to here. Sorry, I’m off’.
“Never buy a car until you’ve attempted to walk out of the showroom at least twice.
“There is no better way to get the price down than to say, ‘I’m off, it’s too expensive, I’ll go somewhere else.’
“It’s not so much calling their bluff. It’s calling them out.
“It’s kind of like poker — and Theresa has to force them to show their hand.”
Last week’s decision to pump an extra £20billion into the NHS — partly funded by savings from EU contributions — will also send a clear message to Brussels that Britain is leaving.
Mr Duncan Smith said: “It’s a down-payment that says we have to leave.
“It shows she knows we’re leaving and we won’t be paying them any more money after a set time.”
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But has Mrs May got what it takes to face down the Brussels bully boys?
Mr Duncan Smith said: “I think she has the steel to surprise them.
“We’ve seen before what she’s like when she really digs her heels in. And there’s never been a better moment for her to do it than now.