Theresa May rules out second referendum and 'staying in EU by the back door'

In the first meeting of the cabinet since the summer recess on Wednesday, the prime minister said there will be “no attempts to stay in the EU by the back door”, ruled a out a second referendum and said the government must focus on opportunities outside the trading block.

At Chequers, the prime minister's Buckinghamshire country estate, Theresa May said her government needs to forge a new role for Britain in the world after the UK voted to leave the EU in June.

"We must continue to be very clear that Brexit means Brexit, that we’re going to make a success of it. That means there’s no second referendum, no attempts to sort of stay in the EU by the back door, that we’re actually going to deliver on this.

"This really is a very significant moment for the country, as we look ahead to the next steps that we need to take. We have the opportunity to forge a new positive role for the UK in the world."

May said social reform was an important priority and that the country should be one that works for everyone.

“I want it to be a society where it’s the talent that you have and how hard you’re prepared to work that determines how you get on, rather than your background,” she said.

"We’ll be having an update on the state of the economy. We’ll be looking at how we can work to increase productivity, that’s one of the key issues that we want to address. But also how we can get tough on irresponsible behaviour in big business, again making sure that actually everyone is able to share in the country’s prosperity.”

Conservative party chair Patrick McLoughlin also gave a presentation ahead of the cabinet meeting, which suggested the party wants to capitalise on the divisions besetting the Labour party. The Conservatives are comfortably leading Labour by 14 points according the latest ICM/Guardian poll.

Two months on from the referendum, when the country voted to leave the EU by a slim margin of 51.9% to 48.1%, the terms of exit and what a post-Brexit Britain would look like are still unclear regarding the free movement of people and access to the single market.

May ruled out activating Article 50, the clause in the Lisbon Treaty which will start a two year negotiation period, this year.

She is facing pressure from the pro-Brexit contingent of her party to trigger Article 50 at the start of 2017, before elections are held in France and Germany.