Guy Verhofstadt, who will lead on Brexit talks for the European parliament, has taken to Twitter to give is slightly sceptical reaction to May’s speech:

We now have a comment piece by the Lib Dem leader, Tim Farron.

Jeremy Corbyn has used Twitter to challenge May on her choice of outlining her Brexit plan in a speech rather than to parliament.

We have a story giving details on the section of May’s speech in which she refused to offer immediate confirmation about the fate of overseas EU nationals living in the UK.

This is Peter Walker taking over from Andrew. I’ve just been to the afternoon lobby briefing, where May’s spokeswoman gave no new information as such about the speech, but did formally confirm a couple of points.

The first is that while parliament will get a vote on the final deal, that definitely does not open the possibility of Brexit being reversed or renegotiated.

We will be having a negotiation. The outcome MPs will have an opportunity to vote on that... Whatever happens, we will be leaving the EU.

That appears to mean that MPs will have an effective choice of agreeing to May’s final deal, or rejecting it and seeing the UK face a “cliff edge” exit onto WTO trade rules, not likely to be hugely palatable.

We are also not going to see specifics of how May’s threatened low tax, low regulation economy if a deal cannot be reached might actually look. After if the prime minister would outline anything on this, her spokeswoman said:

We’re focused on more trade, more work with other countries. That’s what in all of our interests, and we’re going to go after that ambitious, bold relationship.

And finally - if it needed reiterating – May is not about to allow Scotland a special deal to stay in the EU’s single market:

We have been very clear that we are negotiating the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU, as the United Kingdom.

Here are two Labour MPs on Theresa May’s speech.

From Yvette Cooper

From Emma Reynolds

I’m finishing for the day now. My colleague Peter Walker will be taking over the blog from this point.

Jean-Claude Piris, a former head of the European council’s legal service, told the Guardian that the speech contained no big surprises except the proposal for “a bizarre customs union” with the EU, which, he said, would not be allowed under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the trade pact that falls under the World Trade Organisation. “The GATT/WTO would not allow such thing, neither the EU,” he said in emailed comments. “Ask Turkey.”

Turkey has a customs deal in goods with the EU, but has to open its markets to any country with an EU trade deal, without having much say. Piris said:

Otherwise she is asking for the moon, which is normal at the starting of negotiations. She is logically requesting the vital period of transition the UK badly needs, and is affirming that the issue of the Irish borders shall be solved without saying how.

In her speech May said she wanted “a completely new customs agreement” but had an open mind about how to work this out. She suggested associated membership of the EU customs union or signing up to some elements of it.

Fredrik Erixon, director of the European Centre for Political Economy, said the “only realistic option” for the UK was a free-trade agreement with the EU.

One cannot have half a customs union. That would break WTO rules. I think it is obvious the UK will have to leave all its current trade arrangements through the EU and start with a new agreement.

What she is probably nodding towards is an arrangement where there wouldn’t be tariffs introduced between the UK and the EU through a free-trade agreement.

Here is the Guardian’s Europe correspondent Jon Henley discussing Theresa May’s speech.

Sylvie Goulard, a French liberal MEP, who closely follows Brexit, thought the prime minister struck a friendlier tone, compared to her party conference speech. The speech was “a PR communication for the rest of Europe”, the MEP, said, but the British prime minister’s threat to turn Britain into a low-tax island was unmistakable, she added.

“Blackmailing partners is never a good thing. Certain declarations have a certain tone, which is not nice,” she said, also referring to the chancellor Philip Hammond’s warning that the UK could become a low-tax haven for corporations.

The discussion on tax was “very worrying. As far as I know the UK is a member of the OECD and is committed in the G20 and OECD to tackle tax fraud, tax evasion and not to encourage tax avoidance. It would be very strange for the UK not to reflect its own commitments.”

She pointed out May’s speech also contained important omissions, with no direct reference to the €60bn (£51bn) Brexit bill being prepared by EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier. “This is her version of what a good deal would look like and there is still a lot of work to do.”

In her view, the speech clarified what kind of relationship the British government wanted with the EU, but left big questions open. On the single market, May’s desire for the “greatest possible access” was “not very clear”, while “grey areas” remained over what she wanted on the customs union and reciprocal rights for EU citizens.

This view was echoed by an EU source who said the speech brought clarity, by ruling out options, such as a Swiss model or Norway-style membership of the European Economic Area, while leaving many questions to be worked out. “It brings it into clearer focus and enables everyone to sit down and prepare for the negotiations with that tighter focus.”

One of the trickiest points for both sides will be agreeing a transition deal. EU negotiators have made clear that the UK cannot have a transition deal without accepting the writ of the European court of justice. “It is obviously going to very difficult. If it is the status quo or close to it, it is going to be very difficult for the UK to accept. If it is very different from the status quo, it may prejudge the outcome of the negotiations,” an outcome that would be unacceptable for the EU, the source said.

More from Italy. Asked about Theresa May’s remarks, one Italian government official said he doubted that the UK could be as strong outside the EU as it is in the EU.

“Good luck on being a ‘Global Britain’,” the official said.

Here, chosen relatively randomly, are three Twitter threads on the Theresa May speech that are interesting.

From Bruno Waterfield, the Times’ Brussels correspondent

From Rob Ford, the politics professor

From the Economist’s Jeremy Cliffe

That is a reference to this plan from the Bruegel thinktank.

Lib Dem leader Tim Farron poured scorn on the promise to give parliament a vote on the final deal and said the prime minister should commit to a referendum. “It means parliament, half of which is not elected, will get a say on a stitch-up deal of which we do not know the content and the British people won’t,” he said.

“No deal that Britain is going to get through this process is better than the one we’ve got now.”

Farron said May should give MPs and the public the choice to remain in the EU or accept the new relationship. “We will continue to fight for a referendum on the terms of the deal, and then if the British people choose to reject the deal that is done, we could stay in the EU,” he said.

“No prime minister who gave a monkey’s about the British people would leave those as our only two options. One option is bound to be retention of our membership of the EU, and then it would be an outrage if the British people didn’t have a say.”

Sandro Gozi, Italy’s undersecretary for European affairs, said May’s speech at least offered some clarity and certainty on the UK’s objectives.

“It is now finally clear what they want. They want to leave for good and they want a full Brexit,” he said, adding that one aspect of her speech surprised him.

“May said that the end process could not be that the UK would be half in and half out. And I find this comment surprising because that is the current state of the UK - that is the state they are withdrawing from,” he said, pointing to “so many exceptions” that have been made for the UK over decades to accommodate its demands.

Nobody wants revenge, nobody wants vengeance, we fully respect it as a British sovereign decision and we respect the approach on negotiations. Of course, losing an important member like the UK is a loss. It will be a bigger loss for the UK ... [the negotiation] will be a damage limitation process.

Gozi said the protection of rights for Italians living in the UK was Italy’s “number one” priority in the negotiations and that he believed May’s remarks on the topic - in which she said that guaranteeing a mutual agreement on citizens’ rights in the UK and in the EU was a priority - were positive.

German industry welcomed Theresa May’s speech for providing clarity but made clear that it believed a hard Brexit would do substantial damage to business ties between Britain and the European Union.

Volker Treier, head of the German Chamber for Industry and Trade said that the speech had at last ended a debate about “cherry-picking” but that a “hard Brexit” would limit chances of growth “on both sides of the Channel”, with Great Britain likely to take a harder hit.

After Brexit is completed, German businesses are planning to reduce their economic investment on the island. Another consequence would be write-offs to the tune of billions, because German business had invested into Britain because of its membership of the single market. Such write-offs would then not be reinvested.

Leaving the single market and the customs union, Treier said, “lowered the economic attractiveness of the [British] island”.

To date, German companies have built up factories and businesses to the value of 120 billion euros. These companies employ around 400,000 people in Great Britain.

Sir Keir Starmer’s comment about Theresa May avoiding a hard Brexit (see 2.27pm) is attracting criticism from some fellow opposition MPs.

Here is the Green MP Caroline Lucas.

And this is from the SNP’s Alex Salmond.

Rupert Harrison, who worked as George Osborne’s chief of staff when Osborne was chancellor, does not take the Keir Starmer line. Harrison thinks Theresa May’s speech meant we’re getting a hard Brexit.

The Labour MP John Mann thinks today’s speech has reduced the chances of an early election.

Answering questions on the Le Monde live blog, Philippe Bernard, Le Monde’s London correspondent said:

The prime minister’s declarations do not clear up the numerous uncertainties surrounding Brexit. She has outlined certain objectives, but nothing says they will be achieved by the end of the negotiations. The impossibility of seeing what the future holds continues to exasperate the City and if the performance of the British economy right now is much better than forecasts indicated, most experts are expecting a shock in the months to come.

Michel Barnier, the European commission’s chief Brexit negotiator, has responded to Theresa May’s speech on Twitter. He implies that getting a transitional deal (“agreement on an orderly exit”) will be a priority.

Carolyn Fairbairn, the CBI’s director general, says Theresa May’s speech has “changed the landscape”.

Today the prime minister changed the landscape. Ruling out membership of the Single Market has reduced options for maintaining a barrier-free trading relationship between the UK and the EU. But businesses will welcome the greater clarity and the ambition to create a more prosperous, open and global Britain, with the freest possible trade between the UK and the EU.

The pressure is now on to deliver these objectives and achieve a smooth and orderly exit.

Businesses want to make a success of Brexit but will be concerned about falling back on damaging WTO rules.

Theresa May’s threatening tone on the need for the EU to wave off the UK with a good deal has not gone unnoticed in Spain. The London correspondent of the conservative daily ABC felt the prime minister had been abundantly clear in setting out her stall.

“So it’s a hard, hard Brexit then,” wrote Luis Ventoso.

The prime minister has confirmed that the UK will leave the European single market, with its 500m people, despite the wishes of business leaders and the Bank of England. However, May wants to retain the advantages of the customs union … The prime minister also allowed herself to threaten the 27 [EU member states] with a trade war if they ‘punish the United Kingdom’ during the negotiations. She warned that Britons will respond with aggressive corporation tax cuts to attract businesses to their country. She also said that EU businesses would suffer if they lose access to the City of London – although it will probably be the other way round. Her threats are a little bold given that exports to the EU account for 13% of Britain’s GDP, while the exports of the 27 EU countries to the UK represent just 3% of their GDP.

Here is the Polish Europe minister Konrad Szymański on Theresa May’s speech.

I agree with PM May that it is necessary to secure the rights of EU citizens in Britain and this issue should be one of the first to resolve.

We are convinced that EU citizens residing in UK should be treated equally and keep the rights regarding employment, access to public services and social security systems.

It is vital to have very precise and legally binding agreement so as to provide maximum clarity for our citizens in all possible situations.

On the future of movement of people we respect that UK wants to control migration but any scheme must be proportionate and ensure fair treatment of all EU citizens regardless their professional profiles.

In the Commons, during his Brexit statement, David Davis was asked by Andy Burnham, Labour’s candidate for mayor of Greater Manchester, why Theresa May’s speech did not mention the English regions. In his response Davis said that he was planning to convene a meeting in York of English mayors from the north after the May elections to discuss Brexit. Burnham has put out a statement saying he was “surprised but pleased” to hear this. He said:

The regions cannot be shut out of this any longer.

I support reform of freedom of movement, but in a way that does least damage to the economy and in particular the regional economy. The Prime Minister’s speech today makes specific mention of protecting the interests of Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast and the City of London. But there was no mention at all of the north west of England, Greater Manchester or any English region.

Rather than leaving these crucial decision to a London-centric right-wing clique around the prime minister, it is time to open up the debate, give Greater Manchester a voice in it and establish a Brexit committee of the nations and regions.

Alain Lamassoure, a French MEP from the centre right Les Republicans party, said Theresa May’s speech was “incomprehensible”. Speaking on FranceInfo radio, he said:

Incomprehensible because the United Kingdom is sinking itself. It’s clear the interest for the British is that their businesses have access to the 500m customers [in Europe] and not just the 65m in Britain. Also she [May] says she is proud that London will be able to take control of trade deals with the rest of the world, but when she comes to negotiating with a country like China she can only offer the 65m British customers.

It’s a kind of economic and business suicide that makes it hard to understand what is going on over the other side of the Channel.

What’s very important politically is that the Brexit decision, and above all the shambles and incoherence of the British government since last June, has vaccinated many others on the continent against the advantages of leaving the European Union.

We can see from opinion polls and elections among the 27 (remaining member states) that the European people feel much more united than Brexit suggested. It hasn’t given anyone an appetite [to leave].

Here is Tomas Prouza, the Czech Europe minister, on Theresa May’s speech.

Here is a Guardian Opinion panel on Theresa May’s speech, with contributions from Matthew d’Ancona, Polly Toynbee, Giles Fraser andJ ohn Harris.

Here is an extract from Polly’s article.

Call it clean, call it hard, but May’s red, white and blue Brexit threatens epic self-harm – out of the single market, out of the customs union, no half-in, half-out. Immigration she has put above all else, regardless of livelihoods and despite polls showing that Brexit voters would not want border control to cost them dearly.

Enoch Powell from the grave has finally won – Brexiteer leaders are his direct inheritors. Where other Conservative leaders always saw off their little-Englander, closed-border right flank, she is the first to cave in.

And here is an extract from Giles’s article.

Today, May appeared at Lancaster House to rightly insist on our tradition of parliamentary sovereignty – which is why parliament will get the final say on the Brexit deal – but also to undo Thatcher’s disastrous single market model. The EU has become little more than a club for big business, which is why it’s over at the CBI and at Davos that they will be mourning Britain’s lack of membership the most.

Yes, she made lots of warm and compensatory noises about free trade. But from now on we get to decide our trade rules in the House of Commons. Which is why, despite the obvious comparisons between them, May has become the first prime minister to escape from Thatcher’s dark shadow.

Nick Clegg, the former Lib Dem leader and former deputy prime minister, has accused Theresa May of turning her party into “Ukip-lite”. He said:

On the same day that the leader of the world’s largest communist party publicly lectures the world on the virtues of free trade, Theresa May has finally turned her back on Margaret Thatcher’s greatest economic achievement, the world’s largest borderless single market. It’s an astonishing mutation from Conservative into Ukip-light.

By siding with Donald Trump and against Angela Merkel, Theresa May has made it inevitable that the rest of the EU will react by safeguarding the integrity of the EU itself. Throwing the gauntlet down against the rest of Europe, the PM is virtually guaranteeing that acrimony rather than compromise will prevail.

The prime minister has pledged to act in the interests of the young and future generations. Yet she has now set herself on a course which emphatically rejects what the overwhelming majority of young voters said they wanted in the Brexit referendum. Claiming to represent the interests of the young whilst pursuing a hard Brexit which will damage their interests will only deepen the generational divide highlighted by the Brexit referendum. This speech is a kick in the teeth for the youth of Britain.

Here is Glenis Willmott, the leader of Labour MEPs, on Theresa May’s speech.

So now we know: Theresa May has given up on the single market before negotiations have even begun, whatever the cost - the cost in jobs, the cost in trade, the cost to our economy. Britain is leaving the European Union, but the choices about how we leave will sit with Theresa May and the government - and this looks like a Tory plan that will make most people poorer.

And despite all of this, we still don’t have clarity on what she actually wants to achieve in terms of our future trading relationship with Europe. So despite the all the talk we still face uncertainty, putting even more jobs at risk.

Many in continental Europe will see Theresa May’s speech as thinly-veiled threat to turn the UK into a tax haven. Philippe Lamberts, the co-chair of the Green group in the European parliament, described the speech as “a slap in the face for those who want to establish the new UK-EU relationship in a way that would preserve not only economic co-operation, but many other positive elements of the European social, environmental and legal acquis.”

He added: “It also risks painful consequences for the British people, many of whom would suffer deeply under a low-tax, low-regulation agenda.”

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David Davis, the Brexit secretary, is making a statement now in the Commons about Theresa May’s speech. He is summarising what May said earlier.

In the Commons the Labour MP Stephen Doughty has used a point of order to criticise Theresa May for not coming to the Commons to make her Brexit statement. Churchill would not have done that, he said, and Thatcher would not have done it either. With May it’s a case of “this lady is not for turning up”, he said.

John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, said that there has been a growing tendency for ministers to make important statements outside the Commons. But as soon as he heard May was making a speech, he took steps to ensure a minister would make a statement in the Commons, he said.

With Nicola Sturgeon expected to issue a response shortly to May’s long-expected confirmation she plans a hard Brexit, Sturgeon’s deputy Angus Robertson has described the prime minister’s stance as “a big problem.”

In a tweet, Robertson, the Scottish National party deputy leader, implied there was a serious contradiction between May’s renewed pledge to consider Sturgeon’s repeated requests to keep Scotland in the single market and the UK government’s decision to leave it.

Sturgeon is due to present May with her detailed blueprint setting out how Scotland could retain privileged access to the single market even while the rest of the UK leaves the EU when May hosts a meeting of all the devolved governments on Thursday.

Sturgeon is likely to welcome May’s confirmation today she wants to increase some of the Scottish parliament’s legal and policy-making powers once EU powers are repatriated. But Sturgeon has made continuing Scottish access to the single market her ultimate red line; May’s speech increases the prospects Sturgeon will hasten preparations for a second Scottish independence referendum.

Allie Renison, head of Europe and trade policy at the Institute of Directors, has welcomed May’s speech. She said:

We welcome the level of detail provided in the PM’s speech and her commitment to providing certainty wherever possible, which is absolutely vital for business if they are to navigate and make the best of Brexit. Whatever the shape of the final trade deal, a smooth and orderly departure is in the whole country’s interests, so businesses will support the commitment to a phased process of implementation. While we do not expect a running commentary, firms hope to get periodic updates to maintain confidence as we make our way towards the exit.

We now know that we will be leaving the single market, and while there will be firms who regret this, they will at least be able to plan on that basis. Business leaders will be heartened by the prime minister’s strong argument for the value of free trade, an argument currently being made by all too few global leaders.

Theresa May has been attacked for failing to give any words of comfort to anxious Britons in Europe over issues that the UK is in control such including state pensions for retirees in Spain.

Ecreu, a group campaigning for the rights of Britons in Europe, said he was disappointed that May had blamed other EU leaders for not reciprocating her desire to protect EU citizens.

Issues such as pension and healthcare rights of Britons are entirely within her power, said Dave Spokes, one of the founders of the group. He said:

This has nothing to do with EU leaders reciprocating. The UK pays them so there was nothing to stop her getting up and saying that healthcare and pensions were guaranteed and we will negotiate the rest separately. It would have taken a lot off people’s minds if she had done.

He said only a few “financially secure UK citizens” would be able to grab a lifeboat and survive in Europe without the UK’s financial guarantees.

Under present agreements, retirees in Spain and elsewhere in the EU are guaranteed their British state pension will increase alongside inflation. This would fall away post Brexit, unless the government agrees otherwise.

In some countries the healthcare of the British in Europe is paid for by the UK.

For example, France bills the UK for most of the health costs of UK citizens.

“Almost all those costs are less here than in UK, so UK pays less than they would if the treatment was in the UK,” said Spokes.

The pound has now jumped 2.5% to $1.2347, on track for its biggest rise since December 2008, amid the global financial crisis.

It has more than recovered the losses sustained following the weekend comments from government about a hard Brexit. But it is still well below the high of $1.2431 seen as recently as 5 January.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at City Index said:

Here are the parts of Theresa May’s vision for Brexit that helped to boost the pound. Firstly, confirmation that parliament will vote on any final Brexit deal between the UK and the EU.

Secondly, the detail around the UK’s proposed new customs deal with the EU that the UK hopes will allow tariff-free trade with the EU, our largest trading partner.

Lastly, May’s objective for a 2-year time frame to agree the Brexit deal, and a phased transition phase after that to ensure a smooth transition to the UK’s new reality outside of the EU.

It is worth remembering that since the Brexit vote last June, rallies in the pound have been fairly weak, while sell offs have been harsh and prolonged. It is too early to know if the negative impact of politics on the UK currency is starting to wane.

In her Sky News interview Amber Rudd, the home secretary, was asked what would happen if MPs voted against the government’s final Brexit deal. Would this mean the UK staying in the EU? During her Q&A (see 12.37pm) Theresa May failed to give a clear answer to this, Sky’s Colin Brazier pointed out. Rudd sidestepped the question too, saying that May’s answer reflected the fact that the government was confident that MPs would back its Brexit deal.

While May has said the UK will seek control over immigration from the EU, it still remains to be seen what this will actually involve.

Speaking on Sky News the home secretary, Amber Rudd, said there were “different ways for delivering more control over immigration”.

Rudd added:

We are looking at a range of different of options and we will be coming forwards with our options over the coming months.

The Irish government has signalled its intent to exploit May’s plans to leave the single market and customs union with bids to woo EU agencies from London to Dublin.

A spokesperson for the government in Dublin said there were now “economic opportunities that may arise for Ireland” following the UK’s decision.

“Bids for the EU agencies currently located in London – the European Medicines Board and the European Banking Authority have already been announced and the state enterprise agencies are actively pursuing opportunities for increased investment, business and job creation in Ireland,” they said.

“Economic opportunities for Ireland will be pursued vigorously”, the government spokesperson continued.

The government in Dublin said it welcomed the prime minister’s commitment to maintaining the pre-EU common travel area between Britain and Ireland as well as her promise that there would be no “hard border” between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

May will meet Taoiseach Enda Kenny in Dublin later this month to discuss ares of common interest, the spokesperson said.

Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader, has been on BBC New giving his reaction to the speech. May is, Farron said, “leading the UK towards a hard Brexit that was never on the ballot paper”.

He added:

This is a theft of democracy, a presumption that the 51.9% of people who voted to leave meant the most extreme version of Brexit available.

The more vehement Brexiters are, as you might expect, generally very happy with May’s speech. This is from the former chief executive of the Vote Leave campaign.

Q: Is the threat of becoming a tax haven the main negotiating weapon? And are you ruling out any contribution to the EU?

May says the government may contribute to some programmes.

She challenges the use of the term “weapon”. She does not see it like that, she says. She hopes to get a deal that can be to the mutual benefit of both sides.

And that’s it. The Q&A is over.

Q: Are you saying you were wrong when you argued for the single market in the referendum?

May says she campaigned for remain. But since that vote the country’s economic performance has been better than predicted. This is about coming together and embracing opportunities, she says.

Q: When MPs vote on the final deal, if MPs vote against, will we stay in?

May says there will be a vote. MPs have voted for the government to get on with Brexit. She is sure parliament will want to respect the views of the people.

Q: Will any business sectors be exempted from immigration rules?

May says the government is looking at this. It wants to welcome the brightest and the best. But the referendum vote was for Britain to take control of immigration.

May’s disclosure that she has told EU leaders she wants to guarantee the rights of EU citizens who are already living in Britain will offer little comfort to those settled in the UK, a grass roots campaign group has said.

“EU citizens are living in limbo and Theresa May has done very little to reassure them today,” said Nicolas Hatton, the founder of group the3million.

“I am very disappointed that the prime minister didn’t take this opportunity in front of an international audience to unilaterally guarantee our rights of residence and we will continue to campaign to obtain a firm guarantee before article 50. We are not bargaining chips, we are human beings.”

May revealed that she has already discussed the issue with European leaders, but some are not prepared to seal an early deal which will also guarantee the rights of the 1.2m Britons in Europe.

Q: Could EU nationals get preferential access to Britain?

May says the government wants to welcome the brightest and the best to the UK. The government will set immigration rules according to the objectives she has set out.

Q: Do you still believe in a two-state solution in the Middle East?

Yes, says May.

As you might expect, some of the most trenchant instant reaction to the speech is coming from SNP MPs.

May ends saying she wants Britain to come together.

One of the reasons that Britain’s democracy has been such a success for so many years is that the strength of our identity as one nation, the respect we show to one another as fellow citizens, and the importance we attach to our institutions means that when a vote has been held we all respect the result. The victors have the responsibility to act magnanimously. The losers have the responsibility to respect the legitimacy of the result. And the country comes together.

And that is what we are seeing today. The overwhelming majority of people – however they voted – say we need to get on and make Brexit happen. Business isn’t calling to reverse the result, but planning to make a success of it. And the House of Commons has voted overwhelmingly for us to get on with it too.

So the country is coming together. Now we need to put an end to the division and the language associated with it – Leaver and Remainer and all the accompanying insults – and unite to make a success of Brexit and build a truly Global Britain.

May says a “constructive” approach to the Brexit talks will be in the interests of both sides.

Britain is a country with so much to offer the world, she says.

She says the government also has 65m people willing it to make a success of Brexit.

May says cooperation between the EU and the UK is needed not just for trade, but for security.

After Brexit Britain wants to be a good friend and neighbour in every way, she says.

May says the agreement she is proposing is “the economically rational thing” for both sides to aim for.

May says she is confident that most of the UK’s partners want a positive relationship with the UK after Brexit.

She says the UK respects those EU leaders who say the EU’s four freedoms are indivisible.

We want the EU to be a success, she says. And we want the same for Britain, she says.

The pound is holding up well as Theresa May speaks, jumping nearly 2% on the promise that the Brexit deal will be put to a parliamentary vote.

Confirmation that Britain will not continue membership of the single market has taken some of the shine off, but the prospect of not making regular contributions to the EU budget and plans for a new customs agreement are giving some support.

The pound – which was ahead around 1% against the dollar when May began – is currently up 1.6% at $1.224. Against the euro it is up 0.68% at €1.1442. As a reminder, it was flat at the start of the speech.

Meanwhile the FTSE 100, which is dominated by overseas earners and comes under pressure when the pound is stronger, is now down 0.5%, compared to an initial 0.4% fall.

May says the government will not be pressured into giving a running commentary on Brexit. This would not be in the national interest, she says.

May says a global Britain will continue to cooperate with its partners on issues like crime, terrorism and foreign affairs.

She says all European countries have interests and values in common.

Our response cannot be to cooperate less, she says.

She says she wants Britain’s future relationship with the EU to include practical arrangements on security, including sharing information.

• May says she wants to continue cooperation with EU countries on security matters.

May says full customs union membership would stop the UK being able to strike trade deals.

But she also wants Britain to have tariff-free access to EU markets.

She says she wants a customs agreement with the EU. That could mean partial membership of the customs union. How this happens in practice can be decided, she says.

• May says she wants some form of customs agreement with EU.

One leading Labour pro-remain MP has this to say about the plan to leave the single market.

One Labour MP is taking issue with the section of May’s speech on immigration.

May says workers’ rights will be maintained under Brexit.

She says she wants to strengthen rights, and ensure laws keep pace with changes in the labour market.

May says she wants to guarantee the rights of EU nationals in Britain, and Britons living in Europe, as soon as possible.

Many EU countries want an early deal. Some do not, she says.

But the government will push for an early deal.

May says she wants Brexit to lead to a fairer Britain.

There has been record immigration into Britain, she says.

That has put a downward pressure on wages.

She says, as home secretary, she learnt you cannot control immigration while allowing free travel from the EU.

Brexit must mean control of number of people coming to the UK from Europe.

Sterling received another instant boost from May’s announcement that the Brexit deal will be put to parliament for a vote.

May says there will always be a special relationship between the UK and Ireland.

She says the government will find a practical solution that allows the common travel area between Ireland and Northern Ireland to be maintained.

May says no decisions taken by the devolved administrations will be removed from them.

May says the government will consider papers from the Scottish and Welsh government as it plans its Brexit strategy.

She says the government will ensure, as powers are repatriated, the right powers go to Westminster, and the right ones to the devolved assemblies.

May says Britain must take back control of its own laws. This is part of making Britain stronger, she says.

(May is currently on the four key principles, not the 12 negotiating priorities.)

May says she does not want partial membership of the EU.

We seek a new and equal partnership – between an independent, self-governing, Global Britain and our friends and allies in the EU.

Not partial membership of the European Union, associate membership of the European Union, or anything that leaves us half-in, half-out. We do not seek to adopt a model already enjoyed by other countries. We do not seek to hold on to bits of membership as we leave.

The United Kingdom is leaving the European Union. My job is to get the right deal for Britain as we do.

The pound has gained more ground as Theresa May talks about building a global Britain. Against the dollar, sterling was up just over 1% when she began, partly due to the stronger than expected UK inflation figures, and has now added 1.4%.

Against the euro the pound, which was earlier virtually flat, is now 0.28% better.

May says Britain wants a good relationship with Europe.

We will continue to be reliable partners, willing allies and close friends. We want to buy your goods, sell you ours, trade with you as freely as possible, and work with one another to make sure we are all safer, more secure and more prosperous through continued friendship.

She says EU citizens will still be welcome in Britain. And British intelligence services will still cooperate with their allies, keeping people in Europe safe.

May says there is a lesson for the EU in Brexit. The continent’s great strength has been diversity. There are two ways to deal with difference: try to eliminate it; or respect it.

She says the referendum was not a vote against EU values.

Our vote to leave the European Union was no rejection of the values we share. The decision to leave the EU represents no desire to become more distant to you, our friends and neighbours.

May says Britain has been seen as an awkward partner in the EU. David Cameron’s renegotiation was a valiant last attempt to make the partnership work, she says.

May say the referendum was not a decision to turn inwards. Britain is “profoundly internationalist”, she says.

We are one of the most multi-cultural countries in Europe, she says.

Instinctively the British want to travel to and study in countries not just in Europe, but around the world.

May says the government has a plan for Brexit.

She says the government has a plan for schools. And will invest in infrastructure.

And that is why preserving the union will be at the heart of everything she does.

Here are some more pictures from the room where Theresa May will be speaking.

Faisal Islam beat Robert Peston to the Trump joke by one second, according to my Tweetdeck.

Theresa May has just arrived at Lancaster House.

This is from BrexitCentral’s Jonathan Isaby.

The pound has been going up this morning, although analysts attribute that to the inflation figures, not to the contents of Theresa May’s speech.

Margaret Thatcher also gave a speech on Europe at Lancaster House. It was 29 years ago, and she used it to praise the single market.

The Green MP Caroline Lucas is criticising Theresa May for not addressing the Commons about her plans.

Theresa May is speaking at Lancaster House, a grand Foreign Office mansion in central London.

My colleague Heather Stewart is there.

Plaid Cymru, which is deeply concerned about the impact of leaving the single market on Wales, warned Theresa May against seeking a deal “made in London for London”.

Steffan Lewis, the party’s shadow cabinet secretary for external affairs fears the prime minister is not doing enough to respect the interests of devolved governments.

He said Westminster was “fixated on fixated on pursuing an economic plan which serves the City square mile first and foremost”.

“There is a danger that today’s proposals amount to a ‘made in London, for London’ plan.”

Plaid Cymru fears a departure from the single market will badly affect is ports, particularly Holyhead, which is a gateway for from Ireland to the UK and the continent.
It is also concerned about the future of farming which relies heavily on European funding.

“Wales may have voted to leave the European Union but we did not vote to drive our economy off a cliff. Theresa May must today quell fears that this is her intention,” said Lewis.

Douglas Carswell, the Ukip MP, used an interview with Sky News to say he wanted to hear three things from the speech: that the UK will be free to strike trade deals (ie, out of the single market); that the UK will not bound by the European court of justice; and that it will be able to have “a sensible system of immigration”.

Theresa May backs all three of these conditions, and so her speech is likely to win the approval of the Carswell wing of Ukip (though not, perhaps, the Nigel Farage wing).

This morning Michel Sapin, the French finance minister, accused Britain of improvising its Brexit policy. France wanted more clarity, he said. He was responding in particular to what Philip Hammond, the chancellor, said in an interview published at the weekend about how Britain might retaliate by slashing corporate taxes (to attract investment to the UK) if the EU failed to offer a good Brexit deal. Sapin said:

We are in a situation of improvisation, a situation of going backwards and forwards between the position of engaging in gentle negotiations ... then taking a hard line that, allegedly, would allow for negotiations of better conditions.

All this shows that the British government is helpless in the face of a situation that some of them did not want and that has created disagreement within it. France wants things to be clear in order to finally engage in these negotiations. At that point we will return to realities, not just postures.

Len McCluskey, the Unite general secretary, has put out a statement this morning saying Theresa May’s speech may send shockwaves through workplaces around the country. He said:

The prime minister’s announcement today looks set to send shockwaves around factories and shop-floors across the country. Her determination to appease the hard right in her party and Ukip by talking tough on immigration is putting millions of jobs in jeopardy.

Mrs May must not put party before country today. Trade unions and others have clearly outlined how real concerns over the freedom of movement can be addressed by sensible labour market safeguards without abandoning the single market when we leave the EU.

Out of the single market, possibly out of the customs union, then investment in core sectors like car manufacturing, chemicals, aerospace, even food manufacturing, will be threatened as companies face hefty on-costs and serious disruption to their supply chains.

I urge Mrs May to listen to the anguish of working class communities, not to add to it. Trading with nations that will not uphold our labour standards is not an acceptable solution – that trade will come with a heavy price tag, certain to be paid in the jobs, rights and wages of working people.

The prime minister must pay less heed to the Brexit headbangers around the cabinet table and more to the anxiety felt by working people who believe their jobs are being held hostage by the extreme nationalist wing of her government.

The cabinet is meeting this morning and being briefed on Theresa May’s speech. Here is Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, on his way in.

And here is another fellow Brexiteer, David Davis, the Brexit secretary.

This is from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.

Paul Nuttall, the new Ukip leader, was on the Today programme this morning. He refused to rule out standing as a candidate in the byelection in Stoke-on-Trent central caused by the resignation of Labour’s Tristram Hunt, saying that this was still be discussed in Ukip and that a decision would be taken by the weekend.

Nuttall also said he was “massively excited” about Donald Trump being US president, because of Trump’s support for a UK-US trade deal, but he mistakenly described Trump as a “Anglophobe” when he clearly meant to say “Anglophile”.

Downing Street is tweeting about Theresa May’s speech.

This is how the speech is being reported on today’s front pages. The tweets are from the BBC’s Allie Hodgkins-Brown.

Here is the Press Association story on what the pound has been doing this morning ahead of Theresa May’s speech.

The pound is in for a “wild ride” as Theresa May prepares to outline her plans for Britain’s divorce from the European Union.

Sterling was trading up against the US dollar ahead of the speech at $1.21, but experts put that down to weakness in the US currency rather than underlying positive sentiment among traders.

The pound was down slightly against the euro at €1.13 in morning trading.

Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, said: “We’re expecting a wild ride for the pound today. These gains are largely down to dollar weakness, however, as the greenback has suffered a bit of a sell-off overnight and gold has risen amid a bid for safer assets ahead of this speech and Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday.”

He added that another reason the pound is not in negative territory is because details of Mrs May’s speech that have been made public, such as plans to leave the single market and customs union, represent nothing new.

“Traders are waiting for more detail from the PM before making big decisions,” Wilson said.

The prime minister is expected to say she does not want an outcome which leaves the UK “half-in, half-out” of the European Union.

We are inclined by nature to believe, when things happen, that they are inevitable, but they never are and when big political events happen it is always worth remembering the alternative histories which are not real but which are just as plausible. Today Theresa May will set out the government’s approach to Brexit. But if David Cameron had decided to stay on as prime minister after the referendum, and had seen off a leadership challenge, his Brexit speech today would have been very different. He told MPs after the vote that his successor should stick as close as possible to Europe and he would be offering “the full Norwegian”. And if Boris Johnson had become prime minister last summer he would have put Michael Gove in charge of the Brexit talks and we know what would be in his Brexit speech because he published it in the Times last week. “When it comes to trade with Europe, a new deal could be simplicity itself,” Gove wrote, calling for “full Brexit, not fake Brexit”, and withdrawal from the single market and the customs union.

But we didn’t get Cameron or Johnson, we got May, her approach to Brexit is unique, and today she will make her fullest statement yet on what it is. It’s a speech that could determine British policy for decades.

There has already been quite a lot of briefing about the speech in advance and it is much more of a Johnson/Gove speech than a Cameron one. Alternatively, on the hard/soft axis (categories that May refuses to accept), it is far closer to “nails” than “a baby’s bottom”. Here is the Guardian’s overnight preview story from Anusthka Asthana, the Guardian’s political editor.

And here is an analysis of what to look out for from Dan Roberts, the Guardian’s Brexit policy editor.

The speech is at 11.45am and I will be focusing on it today to the exclusion of almost anything else. I will be covering the build-up, reporting the speech in detail as it happens, and then bringing you reaction, comment and analysis.

Yesterday the pound fell in advance of May’s speech. This morning it has risen slightly against the dollar, suggesting that any reaction to the speech may now be priced in.

You can read all today’s Guardian politics stories here.

If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

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