Brexit impasse: May turns to Boycott for inspiration
Recalling her admiration for the dull, dour but effective English batsman Geoffrey Boycott, British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday said she was determined to see through Brexit, choosing to ignore mounting numbers of her party MPs seeking to oust her.
May reminded people of Boycott’s legendary skills at the crease, insisting that like him, she was a steady player. “Am I going to see this through? Yes,” she told journalists.
“You might recall from previous comments I have made about cricket that one of my cricket heroes was always Geoffrey Boycott. And what did you know about Geoffrey Boycott? Geoffrey Boycott stuck to it and he got the runs in the end,” she said.
May was panned in Friday’s press headlines, as more Conservative MPs announced that
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they petitioned the so-called 1922 party committee to seek a change of leadership. Under current numbers, letters from 48 MPs are required to trigger the contest.
Michael Gove, a prominent Brexiter in May’s cabinet, was widely speculated to be the next to resign, but declared on Friday his intention to remain and back May. He was reportedly offered the post of Brexit secretary, but has turned it down.
Asked by presenter Nick Ferrari on LBC radio about her adulation of Boycott, May said, “The thing about Geoff Boycott is he was absolutely steady, he kept there at the crease and he relentlessly went about his goal.”