‘Thank you and goodbye’: Theresa May triggers Brexit

Prime Minister Theresa May formally began the United Kingdom's divorce from the European Union today, saying there was "no turning back" from a decision pitching her country into the unknown and triggering years of fraught negotiations.

Nine months after Britons voted to leave, May notified EU Council President Donald Tusk in a letter that Britain was quitting the bloc it joined in 1973.

"The United Kingdom is leaving the European Union," May later told parliament in London. "This is an historic moment from which there can be no turning back."

The prime minister, an initial opponent of Brexit who won the top job in the political turmoil that followed the referendum vote, now has two years to settle the terms of the divorce before it comes into effect in late March 2019.

May, 60, has one of the toughest jobs of any recent British prime minister: holding Britain together in the face of renewed Scottish independence demands, while conducting arduous talks with 27 other EU states on finance, trade, security and other complex issues.

The start of the formal Brexit process comes a day after the Scottish Parliament backed a bid to hold a second independence referendum that would break up the UK, adding another layer of uncertainty for investors to navigate.

The outcome of the divorce negotiations will shape the future of Britain's $2.6-trillion economy, the world's fifth biggest, and determine whether London can keep its place as one of the top two global financial centres.

European shares rose today following a late surge on Wall Street, while the sterling was the biggest loser on major currency markets ahead of the formal triggering of Brexit.

Sterling hit a one-week low of $1.2378 before jumping back to $1.25. Sterling has lost 25 cents against the dollar since the 23 June referendum.

For the EU, already reeling from successive crises over debt and refugees, the loss of Britain is the biggest blow yet to 60- year efforts to forge European unity in the wake of two world wars.

Its leaders say they do not want to punish Britain. But with nationalist, anti-EU parties on the rise across Europe, they cannot afford to give London generous terms that might encourage other member states to break away.

European Council President Donald Tusk said invoking Article 50 was not a happy occasion. "There is nothing to win in this process -and I am talking about both sides. In essence, this is about damage control.

"We already miss you. Thank you and goodbye."

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted, "Today, the PM will take the UK over a cliff with no idea of the landing place. Scotland didn't vote for it and our voice has been ignored."

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said, "I believe the prime minister is twisting the will of the people, leaping into the abyss without any idea of where our country will end up.

"Theresa May has chosen the hardest and most divisive form of Brexit, choosing to take us out of the single market before she has even tried to negotiate."

Hand delivery
May's notice of the UK's intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty was hand-delivered to Tusk in Brussels by Tim Barrow, Britain's permanent representative to the EU.

Barrow gave the letter to Tusk, the EU summit chair and former Polish prime minister, in the Council President's offices on the top floor of the new Europa Building, according to a Reuters photographer in the room.

That moment formally set the clock ticking on Britain's two-year exit process.

May signed the Brexit letter on Tuesday, pictured alone at the cabinet table beneath a clock, a British flag and an oil-painting of Britain's first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole.

The 6-page letter set a positive tone for the talks though it admitted that the task of extracting the UK from the EU was momentous and that reaching comprehensive agreements within two years would be a challenge.

May wants to negotiate Britain's divorce and the future trading relationship with the EU within the two-year period, though EU officials say that will be hard given the depth of the relationship.

"We believe it is necessary to agree the terms of our future partnership alongside those of our withdrawal from the EU," May told Tusk in her letter, adding that London wanted an ambitious free trade agreement with the EU.

"If, however, we leave the European Union without an agreement the default position is that we would have to trade on World Trade Organisation terms," she said.

May has promised to seek the greatest possible access to European markets but said Britain was not seeking membership of the 'single market' of 500 million people as she understood there could be no "cherry picking" of a free trade area based on unfettered movement of goods, services, capital and people.

Britain will aim to establish its own free trade deals with countries beyond Europe, and impose limits on immigration from the continent, May has said.

'Special Partnership'
In an attempt to start Brexit talks on a conciliatory note, May said she wanted a special partnership with the EU though she laced that ambition with a clear linkage of the economic and security relationship.

EU leaders will welcome assurances of a constructive approach and appreciate a commitment to remain a close partner for the EU, as well as the explicit recognition that Britain cannot retain the best bits of membership after leaving.

They may be less warm to an implication that Britain could live with a breakdown of talks on trade coupled with what might be seen as a threat to disrupt the security and counterterrorism cooperation for which Britain, as a member of the US-backed Anglophone Five Eyes system, is highly valued.

"We should work together to minimise disruption and give as much certainty as possible," May said. "Weakening our cooperation for the prosperity and protection of our citizens would be a costly mistake."

Tusk said the EU would seek to minimise the cost of Brexit to EU citizens and businesses and that Brussels wanted an orderly withdrawal for Britain.

Malta, then Brussels

Within 48 hours, Tusk will send the 27 other states draft negotiating guidelines. He will outline his views in Malta, where he will be attending a congress of centre-right leaders. Ambassadors of the 27 will then meet in Brussels to discuss Tusk's draft.

But the course of the Brexit talks - and even their scope - is uncertain.

"The time-frame is damn narrow," said Martin Schaefer, a spokesman for the German foreign ministry.

A huge number of questions remain, including whether exporters will keep tariff-free access to the single market and whether British-based banks will still be able to serve continental clients, not to mention immigration and the future rights of EU citizens in the UK and Britons living in Europe.

One major uncertainty for May is who will be leading France and Germany, which both face elections this year.

Scotland, N Ireland unhappy
At home, a divided Britain faces strains that could lead to its break-up. In the Brexit referendum,  and  voted to leave the EU but Scotland and  voted to stay.

Scottish nationalists have demanded an independence referendum that May has refused. In Northern Ireland, rival parties are embroiled in a major political crisis and Sinn Fein nationalists are demanding a vote on leaving the UK and uniting with the Republic of Ireland.

May said she knew that triggering Brexit would be a day of celebration for some and disappointment for others.

"Now that the decision to leave has been made and the process is under way, it is time to come together," she said.

Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage said he felt "thrilled because I know that at 12:30 today we passed the point of no return".

He added, "There will be lots of arguments and debates over the next few years - but we're leaving, so I couldn't be happier really.

"I'll go for a pint of something and think to myself that, after 25 years of slog, perhaps it was all worth it."