Theresa May ‘ready to withhold EU cash’ unless we can veto rules in Brexit transition
The PM is preparing to deliver a major speech dubbed “Road to Brexit” - which will include a demand we maintain our veto powers during any transition
THERESA May is ready to pull the plug on Britain’s EU payments if we are forced to obey new directives in the run-up to Brexit.
The PM has told aides she will only cough up our full contribution if we retain our veto powers.
She will hammer out her “no say, no pay” warning as she gives her clearest vision yet of life outside the EU.
Mrs May will set out her stall in a major speech dubbed “Road to Brexit” within the next few weeks.
It will be the grand finale in a series of six keynote addresses by senior ministers detailing the end state once Britain has left.
The fine details will be hammered out at a Cabinet away day in Chequers at the end of next week.
But the PM has made it clear she will have no truck with Brussels bullying tactics and is ready to dig her kitten heels in.
It comes as EU states warned chief negotiator Michel Barnier he risks a UK walkout over transition demands.
She will reject plans to force Britain to accept 37 new EU directives and policies with no power of veto during the two-year transition period.
An ally said: “The Prime Minister is determined not to be pushed around while we are still paying our contributions.
“If they want to take our money and foist new rules on us then she will insists on retaining our full voting rights.
“She accepts that failure to do so will turn Breitain into a vassal state.
That’s why she will make clear that if we have no say, then there’ll be no paying in, either.”
The move would deny EU chiefs a total of at least £17billion in net contributions over the transition, which begins at the end of March next year.
The speech series will set out in the finest detail yet the government’s hopes and demands for a future relationship with the EU.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will kick off the series on Wednesday with a rallying cry to both sides of the Brexit debate.
Three days later the PM will lay down her expectations for future policing and anti-terrorist links to a security conference in Munich.
In the coming weeks, speeches by Cabinet colleagues David Davis, Liam Fox and David Lidington will deal with standards, trade and devolving powers.
Mrs May will wrap up the run with a big-picture finale giving the most comprehensive vision yet of Britain’s future partnership with the EU.
A Downing Street source said: “Brexit is a defining moment in the history of our nation.
“We will be forging an ambitious new partnership with Europe and charting our own way in the world to become a truly global, free trading nation.
“As we move along that road to the future, we shall set out more detail so people can see how this new relationship will benefit communities in every part of our country.”