Brexit Is May’s Top Priority as U.K. Cabinet Meets at Chequers

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is meeting with her cabinet on Wednesday to discuss plans for leaving the European Union, along with steps to end economic disparity and support companies that will fuel expansion, her office said Sunday.

The meeting, to be held at the prime minister’s Chequers country home, will be the first opportunity since the summer break for May and the cabinet to discuss the next steps in the negotiation to leave the EU, according to a statement.

“Top of the in-tray will be getting on with making a success of Brexit,” according to a statement Sunday from her office.

May’s government is considering when to start the formal process to exit the 28-nation bloc. The EU has said talks won’t begin until Britain declares its intention to leave. German Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Roth on Saturday said Germany is hopeful that May will “send us the letter soon” so that Brexit discussions can get underway, acknowledging that there is “no blueprint in the drawer” on a way forward.

May’s team as recently as mid-August was still leaning toward beginning the formal two-year process in the first months of 2017.

All cabinet ministers were directed by May before the summer break to identify possible opportunities from Brexit for their ministries.

The Chequers meeting also will cover social and industrial issues, including May’s plan to boost the nation’s ability to “turn scientific discoveries into world-beating companies.”

On Thursday, May will lead the first meeting of a social reform committee, with housing and racial disparity to be discussed, her office said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Steve Geimann in London at sgeimann@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Guy Collins at guycollins@bloomberg.net, Tom Lavell, Michael Shanahan