Policy is the hardships and a client of the communities that i live work and dear europe, people from across britain say farewell to the eu. It has taken nine months but today britain took the decisive step towards leaving the European Union, and a relationship that has bound this country to the continent for over a0 years. The british Prime Ministers letter just six pages long was transferred to the president of the European Council by the uks ambassador to the eu. That very simple process triggers article 50 beginning two years of devilishly difficult negotiation. The deal that is agreed or maybe there will be no deal agreed but either way the outcome holds consequences not only for the four nations of this United Kingdom but also for the future of the European Union. We will look at all of that tonight, but first lets hear from our Political EditorLaura Kuenssberg on this momentous day. Some moments make us. This is one. The minute In Westminster, belfast, edinburgh and cardiff that the United Kingdom formally changed course. The article 50 process is now underway and in accordance with the wishes of the british people, the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union. This is an historic moment from which there can be no turning back. Probably our last ambassador to the European Union handing over the letter at 12 25pm. The document that says we are on oui way out. Theresa mays signature on our departure. Herjob now, to make it work. This, her hope. A country that goes out into the world to build relationships with old friends and new allies alike. And that is why i have set out a clear and ambitious plan for negotiations ahead. It is a plan for a new, deep and special partnership between britain and the European Union. Her decisions about how mean we are out of the Single Market to control immigration. As european leaders have said many times, we cannot cherry pick and remain members of the Single Market without accepting the four freedoms that are indivisible. We respect that decision. A friendlier tone to the continent, an ambition to bring this country together. Mr speaker, when i sit around the Negotiating Table in the months ahead i will represent every person in the United Kingdom, young and old, rich and poor, Town And Country and all the villages and hamlets in between. And yes, those eu nationals that have made this country their home. And it is my fierce determination to get the right deal for this country. In perhaps the most important letter that shell ever pen, the Prime Minister spoke of her hope to give reassurance quickly to the millions of eu citizens who live here and brits abroad. We should always put our citizens first, we should aim to strike an early agreement about their rights. But no guarantees. The Prime Minister wants a Free Trade Deal with the eu of greater scope and ambition than any before. A bold hope seen as naive by some to try to protect firms who do business around the continent from rules and barriers. No overt threat to walk away but a serious warning. A failure to Reach Agreement would mean our co operation in the fight against crime and terrorism would be weakened. We must work hard to avoid that outcome. Her message, the eu needs us. She wants also to agree the terms of our future partnership alongside those of our withdrawal from the eu, to work out how we leave at the same time as sorting out the future. Labour arent the only ones sceptical she can deliver. If the Prime Minister can deliver a deal that meets our tests that will be fine, we will back her. More than ever britain needs a government that will deliver for the whole country, not just the few. And that is the ultimate test of the brexit deal that the Prime Minister must now secure. The clock is ticking now. Memories of today will be so different. A public party for some. Even though thats not actually the foreign secretary. Almost a wake for others. Thats the sense in the home of the eu. Theres no reason to pretend that this is a happy day, neither in brussels nor in london. Some powers coming back from brussels will bypass this place and flow to holyrood, cardiff and stormont. For remainers here and in the Scottish Government those promises dont go far enough. The Prime Minister still cant answer basic questions about what brexit will mean for businesses, the economy generally and for the type of society we live in. This six simple pages will do much to determine our place in the world in the future. The letter is less abrasive in tone to the rest of the eu than when mrs may started as Prime Minister. But she still had to persuade her party she really was committed to leaving. Now the clamour of the referenda misconduct, the tone is politely practical. The message of the letter, get real. You need us and we need you. Remember we bring a lot to the table when it comes to policing, security and intelligence services. It wasnt firing a shot but she was just making a reminder, remember what is at stake here. It is exciting but i dont underestimate the scale of the task that lies ahead in the next two years. What has happened today is the biggest stimulation of british power and sovereignty in my lifetime. A letter which is really about kicking off a Trade Negotiation had six mentions of trade and ii mentions of security. It struck me as a reckless series of threats. Not that he ever needs a reason to be pictured with a pint, today ukip were celebrating. Over the moon, happy. Today, for me, after 25 years of campaigning, The Impossible Dream came true, im very pleased. And look who popped up later. What matters now is that we have a successful negotiation and try to maintain a close relationship between britain and the European Union. In a rare interview inside number ten the Prime Minister promised, despite all the challenges, our relationship with the rest of the continent will be just as good. What we are both looking for is that comprehensive Free Trade Agreement which gives that ability to trade freely into the european Single Market and for them to trade with us. It will be a different relationship but i think it will have the same benefits in terms of that free access to trade. An assertion that will take a lot to prove. One her counterparts in europe struggle to believe. Number tens time for preparation is up, now time to try to persuade. With me now is our chief political correspondent, vicki young and in brussels, my colleague ben brown. That piece talked about the town and it is different, warm and conciliatory. She is setting up the environment for the negotiations. When you go into negotiations you must have the bottom line is, but the uk government is trying to say we are not just the uk government is trying to say we are notjust any third country trying to do a deal, we have been pa rt trying to do a deal, we have been part of your life for the past a0 yea rs. We have part of your life for the past a0 years. We have been interwoven, the economy is, politically, and we can continue that close relationship. She spoke about a deep and special partnership. Four orfive she spoke about a deep and special partnership. Four or five times she spoke about a deep and special partnership. Four orfive times in the letter that is what she talks about so clearly shes going in trying to be positive. I think the interesting thing is we heard a lot about no deal is better than a bad deal but today she made it clear thatis deal but today she made it clear that is not what she wants. It may be what some of mps think would be perfectly 0k, not what shes going for. She said the eu could cope with no deal but should not be what theyre aiming for. So very much going in trying to get a good deal. Well the tone was important in this letter and also interesting in brussels as well. Yes and the town of the response i think has overwhelmingly been one of sadness. Donald tusk after receiving the letter at lunchtime said, we miss you already, he could not pretend to be happy and so on. So obviously everyone knew that this day was coming but now it has arrived, a mood of some sadness and disappointment. A little irritation i have to say at what has been perceived in brussels as an attempt by theresa may in that letter to link security and trade and possibly or the reading here link security and trade and possibly orthe reading here is link security and trade and possibly or the reading here is maybe to use security as a bargaining chip. And guy verhofstadt, the chief brexit negotiator for the European Parliament, said they would not acce pt parliament, said they would not accept any attempt by the british to link Security Cooperation and trade. And that is an important point, security has been used for leveraged in this letter, amber rudd said if we took money back from europol we would also take information. That has raised some eyebrows. It caused quite a stir, theresa may in the letter talking about going to wto rules but also saying in Security Terms of failure to Reach Agreement would mean the fight against crime and terrorism would be weakened in terms of cooperation. Downing street said it is not a threat, just the reality. The reality with things like europol if we have a lot of information in there and they cannot just expect that to continue if there is no deal. The stakes are very high but of course it is going to bea very high but of course it is going to be a compromise and the danger with that is no one is happy at the end of it. Thank you both. Nine months is a long time for people to reflect on the vote they cast in the referendum. Has opinion changed at all . Well this is by no means conclusive but it is a yougov poll that has been Tracking Opinions each month, and you can see that broadly speaking britain is still as divided as it was at lastjunes referendum when the uk voted to leave the eu by 52 to a8 . Factor in the dont knows and opinion doesnt appear to have shifted very much. So after aa years together it is time to write those Goodbye Letters heres what some people will miss about eu membership, and what some people will not. Dear European Union. Dear eu. Dear friends and neighbours. Dear European Union. Well, its time for us to go our separate ways and personally, i wish that werent the case. I look forward to a new chapter. Im not sure we deserved all the insults. Everything that the technocrats in brussels seemed to touch falls short of what its meant to achieve. Youve always been central to my life. Summering on the beach in portugal or making baklava with my aunty in athens. Vous allez perdre un mauvais locataire. Vous allez gagner un bon voisin. What the people voted for Injune Last Year was to take back control. It is important that we do not forget or lose sight of the bonds between us. We have had 40 good years together. Many of us still appreciate your best qualities. All that i have seen under three Common Fisheries Policy is is the decline and the hardships of the communities i live and work in. You helped keep the peace in europe. And we have enjoyed access to a Skilled Labour force from europe. Im looking forward to a relationship based on friendship, not federation. We are who we are because of europe, not despite of it. Based on alliance, not absorption. Weve made our choice. Not perfect, but if we work together, we can emerge stronger. We are leaving the European Union, but were not going to go away. No man is an island, entire of itself. Maybe one day the next generation will decide against divorce. Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clot be washed away by the sea, europe is the less. Europe will lose a bad tenant, but gain a good neighbour. As farmers we will roll up our sleeves and will adapt. I do not want you to see this as a terminal divorce. I will always remain a european. Yours sincerely. Best wishes. Best regards. Lots of love, douglas. Well, that video ended with Douglas Carswell formerly of the Uk Independence Party hes now an independent mp and campaigned to leave the eu also with me is Catherine West a labour mp a remain campaigner. Your constituency was the top remain constituency in the country so naturally you voted against the brexit bill despite of the whip in your party. But you have not done much to stop the brexit bill and many are unhappy about that. U nfortu nately many are unhappy about that. Unfortunately it is quite a sad day for me and my constituency. There are questions which today raises and we did not have many answers from the Prime Minister, just a lot of uncertainty and concern overjobs and inflation and the fall in sterling. Worries about Public Services if there is not enough tax income for example if we go into a tax haven like state. Many questions about Security Arrangements to keep us about Security Arrangements to keep us safe. Lots of questions around the future for our children. Some are young people said to me that they were upset that they did not get to vote, and secondly they feel a door has been closed by the older generation on their future. Itjust raises all those questions and im worried about the future. Douglas, you devoted your entire career to this moment so i would imagine the mood is different. In the letter the Prime Minister i sense a bit of give and take, are you in the mood for copper mines . We need to be pragmatic, and people like catherine and her constituents need reassurance. I and her constituents need reassurance. I have and her constituents need reassurance. I have campaigned to get us out of the eu but i believe ina liberal get us out of the eu but i believe in a liberal brexit. For us to be a successful country we need to be politically independent but also need to be economically interdependent. We need to find a relationship with europe that allows a liberal, Global Britain to engage with our neighbours and i hope catherine and many others will be reassured that this is not the nigel farage vision of brexit. Would you both agree on one pointedly is that for the last nine months we have been divided, and now surely as politicians in that big house over there, you are batting for uk plc, and are on the same side. Of course idid and are on the same side. Of course i did today i was speaking to people about china and the economy but we have to remember the eu is still our biggest market. We cannot pretend that fact is not correct. We must base our approach on evidence. I think weve got our tests in labour and we have outlined that strongly about the economy and jobs. Around the drop in sterling and what that will do to confidence in the economy. And im concerned about Public Services because if the economy goes down, it will not be nigel farage with infected but people in] wick who will feel the pain. So im worried about people on low and middle incomes, what will happen to them if the economy goes into decline. By leaving the failing Customs Union and becoming global, we can about we Customs Union and becoming global, we can about we can Customs Union and becoming global, we can about we can open up to where the growth is. It is notjust about leaving the eu, for a generation a small clique of people have made Public Policy in this country with no reference to the public. Once we left we can make sure the people who make Public Policy are properly accountable to the public. We can change all manner of Public Policy and the possibility is exciting. I would like to see higher Environmental Standards. As long as were the eu we have minimal Environmental Standards which become the maximum. What we can do as a country opens up. The Prime Minister has given an interview to andrew neil tonight and she says it is possible to get a new Free Trade Agreementjust as good as being in the Single Market. Us experts have told me they think a trade deal with the uk will take at least ten years to negotiate. That is a long time. But do you believe it will be just as good on the other side . |j but do you believe it will be just as good on the other side . I think we have a lot to lose. There are no restrictions on the moment on C