The Green Party's co-leader, Caroline Lucas, has responded to reports suggesting that Theresa May is planning to end Britain's membership of the Single Market. Lucas, whose party is campaigning to maintain free movement and single market access, said that May is 'willing to sacrifice our economy at the altar of ending free movement'.
Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the Green Party, said:
"The Prime Minister's plan- to yank us out of the single market while attempting to negotiate bilateral trade deals- is a reckless gamble. Not only will this lose British businesses - many of them small and medium sized - membership of a market of 500m customers, but we run the risk of losing the crucial environmental and social protections that come with the Single Market. Theresa may is willing to sacrifice our economy at the altar of ending free movement rather than making sure the benefits are shared more fairly - we believe that is utterly misguided.
"The devil will be in the detail of today's speech, but the early signs are of a Prime Minister willing to throw this country off the brexit cliff edge to appease some of the more extreme Brexiteers in her party while the rest of us suffer the consequences."