European politicians seemed largely unimpressed with the content of Theresa May’s first major Brexit speech, in which the Prime Minister announced the UK would leave the single market.
MEPs from across the continent took to Twitter as the speech unfolded, with one German MEP accusing the PM of “bluntly making fun of her electorate”.
Jan Philipp Albrecht, a Green MEP for northern Germany, tweeted: “#May: Go f*** yourself EU but please don’t let us down. *whine* *whine*”
He added: “Sad: Everything what #May tells her British people to achieve would be possible inside the European Union but will be daydreams outside it.”
Kathleen Van Brempt, a Belgian socialist, tweeted: “The European Union is not a menu where the #UK can freely pick and choose to their liking. #Brexit.”
Swedish Moderate MEP Christofer Fjellner wrote: “UK leaving the single market will come at a large cost. Negotiating new free trade deals with others to compensate won’t be any easy task!”
Closer to home, former Ukip leader and South East of England MEP Nigel Farage tweeted: “I can hardly believe that the PM is now using the phrases and words that I’ve been mocked for using for years. Real progress.”
He added: “My worry is how long this is going to take and when we will start doing a deal with the USA and others.” (PA)