A SECOND referendum on Scottish independence seems inevitable after Theresa May confirmed the UK is hurtling towards a hard Brexit, ditching its membership of the single market.

Speaking in London, to an audience of diplomats, the Prime Minister – for the first time since she became leader of the Conservative Party last July – tried to explain exactly what “Brexit means Brexit” actually means.

There would be no membership of the single market – the UK would, instead, try to negotiate a tariff-free customs agreement with the rest of Europe.

At the heart of that decision was the need to end freedom of movement, with tighter controls on the EU nationals coming into the UK.

“You cannot control immigration overall when there is free movement from Europe ... Brexit must mean control of number of people coming to Britain from Europe,” she said.

May also confirmed she wanted a special deal for the banks in the City of London, that would give the UK “freedom to provide financial services across borders”.

She also promised a transitional deal, for after the two years of Brexit talks, to avoid the “disruptive cliff edge” of the UK automatically leaving Europe without deals in place. For the sake of Britain and the EU there would be a “phased process of implementation”.

That transitional period would not, May said, be indefinite and would not become “permanent purgatory”.

May also said there would be no “blow-by-blow” account of negotiations.

To the 27 member states of the EU, May warned against a “punitive” reaction to Brexit, as it would bring “calamitous self-harm for the countries of Europe and it would not be the act of a friend”.

She added: “While I am sure a positive agreement can be reached – I am equally clear that no deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain.”

May, who backed Remain in the referendum, called for a “new and equal partnership” with the EU, “not partial membership of the European Union, associate membership of the European Union, or anything that leaves us half-in, half-out”.

“What I am proposing cannot mean membership of the single market,” May said. “European leaders have said many times that membership means accepting the four freedoms of goods, capital, services and people. And being out of the EU but a member of the single market would mean complying with the rules and regulations that implement those freedoms.”

One of the most surprising parts of the speech was a promise to give MPs and Lords a vote on the final deal. Despite likely opposition from the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, and some Labour MPs, it seems unlikely May won’t get her deal passed. If she does, it could lead to a General Election, with the Prime Minister seeking a mandate for the deal.

The Prime Minister promised there would be no power grab from Holyrood as powers are devolved from the EU to Westminster. She also said she would read carefully the Scottish Government’s proposals for a separate deal that would allow Scotland to stay in the single market. Though it seems difficult to see how Sturgeon and May’s proposals could be reconciled.

“We won’t agree on everything but I look forward to working with the administrations ... to deliver a Brexit that works for the whole UK,” May said.

The Tory leader also promised to a practical solution that allows the common travel area between Ireland and Northern Ireland to be maintained. There would be no hard border.

The Prime Minister continued: “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.”

She added: “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.”

There was some confusion in Labour’s response to May’s speech. Jeremy Corbyn said the Prime Minister was “determined to use Brexit to turn Britain into a bargain basement tax haven on the shores of Europe”.

He added: “She makes out this is a negotiating threat to the 27 EU countries but it’s actually a threat to the British people’s jobs, services and living standards.”

Keir Starmer, Labour’s Brexit spokesman used his Commons speech to say May’s proposals had fallen short of a hard Brexit.

Alex Salmond tweeted: “How is Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘no hard Brexit’ Commons claim compatible with Corbyn’s description of a ‘bargain basement’ Brexit?”