We must get the best deal for Britain and its people

It's been a long wait since the referendum, but now we know what Brexit is likely to look like when it is finally triggered.

Prime minister Theresa May wants to bring Britain out of the European single market and thrash out a ‘bold and ambitious’ free trade agreement to allow us to carry on trading with our former partners on the Continent.

She also wants to take Britain out of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and restore control over immigration.

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To some, that will be good news. They will see it as what they voted for being enacted. They wanted us to be able to negotiate our own trade deals, have control of our borders and our legal system.

But others will doubtless say they need to see more detail before backing Mrs May’s vision of Brexit.

The problem is that views remain polarised. There are those who can’t wait to get out of Europe and go it alone, but also a sizeable percentage of people who fear that in doing so we will damage our ability to access hundreds of millions of potential customers and that will hit British businesses.

While some make their position crystal clear, uncertainty will doubtless remain in many minds.

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So we are pleased that Mrs May announced MPs and peers will be given a vote on the final deal reached with the EU in talks under Article 50 of the treaties, due to be triggered by the end of March.

That means plans cannot be steamrollered through without issues being debated and the views of the people being raised by our representatives in Parliament.

Because what must come out of all this is the best deal for Britain and its people as we take control of our destiny and forge a new future.