Theresa May was left fighting to save her Chequers Brexit plan and with it her authority as prime minister after EU leaders at a summit in Salzburg unexpectedly declared that her proposals would not work. Donald Tusk and Emmanuel Macron rejected her Chequers plan as it stood, prompting hard-Brexit Conservatives to demand it be abandoned. A clearly nervous and angry May told reporters that EU leaders were engaged in “negotiating tactics” designed to throw her off course.
Tusk, the EU council president, declared that Chequers “would not work” while French president Macron said it was “not acceptable”. A combative Macron broke with diplomatic niceties and accused Brexiters of lying. “Those who explain that we can easily live without Europe, that everything is going to be all right, and that it’s going to bring a lot of money home are liars,” he said. (The Guardian)