May to lock horns with ministers on Brexit path

What you need to know:

  • May will meet with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Welsh FM Carwyn Jones and Northern Irish FM Arlene Foster and her deputy Martin McGuinness.
  • While a majority in England and Wales voted for Britain to leave the EU in the June referendum, a majority in Scotland and Northern Ireland voted for continued membership.
  • May intends to trigger Article 50, which sets a two-year clock ticking on Britain’s departure from the EU, between the New Year and the end of March.

LONDON

British Premier Theresa May is to meet with the first ministers from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to plot the path towards Brexit, her office has said.

May will host the first meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee since December 2014 on Monday.

“They will discuss how the administrations can work together to get the best deal for the UK and seize the opportunities that exiting the EU will bring,” Downing Street said.

“She will call on the devolved administrations to commit to working fully with the British government in a bid to enhance prosperity and security, Downing Street.”

May will meet with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Welsh FM Carwyn Jones and Northern Irish FM Arlene Foster and her deputy Martin McGuinness.

While a majority in England and Wales voted for Britain to leave the EU in the June referendum, a majority in Scotland and Northern Ireland voted for continued membership.

“May wants to build a new industrial strategy for the whole of the UK, to spread wealth, jobs and opportunity more evenly,” Downing Street said.

It added that the committee, if it agrees, would meet at least once every 12 months and FMs would be invited to help build an industrial strategy that would spread wealth and jobs more evenly.

May intends to trigger Article 50, which sets a two-year clock ticking on Britain’s departure from the EU, between the New Year and the end of March.

Sturgeon’s left-wing secessionist Scottish National Party, which runs a minority devolved government in Scotland, has drawn up draft legislation for a second referendum on independence.