Theresa May says that the only alternative to the Chequers plan is a no-deal Brexit, as she quashes calls for second referendum

British Prime Minister Theresa May was reported saying that the only alternative to the government’s Chequers plan is to leave the EU without a deal.

May is facing a lot of criticism within her party ranks.

Speaking to the BBC, May defended the government’s Brexit plan as the only solution that would not break the country apart or enforce a hard border with Northern Ireland.

Politico reported her stressing the need for a “friction-free movement of goods” between the U.K. and Ireland with no customs or regulatory checks, dismissing suggestions of a system of extra checks away from the border.

Amid calls for a second referendum — including most recently from London mayor Sadiq Khan — the prime minister insisted, “We’re leaving on March 29.”

In the meantime, Boris Johnson used his column on The Telegraph to say Brexit will be “a total write-off” unless Mrs May rips up “disastrous” plans for the Irish border before she heads to a crucial EU summit this week.

In other developments, we read that talks between the European Union and Britain on Brexit are being conducted in a spirit of “good cooperation”, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator on the issue, said on Monday.

In the meantime, the International Monetary Fund said that Britain’s economy will shrink if it leaves the European Union without a Brexit deal and it will suffer some damage whatever terms it agrees.

The Fund predicted Britain’s economy would grow by about 1.5 percent a year in 2018 and 2019 — lagging behind Germany and France — if a broad Brexit agreement was struck.

“I’m a desperate optimist, and I very much hope and pray that there will be a deal between the European Union and the UK,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said.

But failure to get a deal would lead to a contraction, she said.