Election not in UK’s interest, May says

NEW YORK: British Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday said it would not be in Britain’s national interest to hold another general election just as she is negotiating the terms of Britain’s exit from the European Union.

May is subject to intense criticism at home and in Brussels over her approach to leaving the EU, fuelling speculation she could be ousted by her own party, or that her minority Con servative Government could collapse.

‘‘What I’m doing is working to deliver a good [Brexit] deal with Europe in the national interest. It would not be in the national interest to have an election,’’ May told reporters on board her official plane on the way to New York to attend the UN General Assembly.

May’s Conservatives and the main opposition Labour party are running largely neck and neck in opinion polls.

She said Britain would reach a deal despite a current impasse in talks with Brussels and ruled out a second Brexit referendum. Britons voted by a 52%48% margin in a 2016 referendum to leave the EU.

Asked if she was ‘‘bluffing’’ when she said no deal was better than a bad deal with the EU, May told the BBC: ‘‘No. What we issued yesterday was some more technical notices to help businesses and others who would need to prepare in a ‘no deal’ situation for doing that. That’s the right, sensible approach.’’

The perceived likelihood that Britain will leave the EU without a deal in just over six months is increasing because May has yet to reach a full divorce agreement with Brussels. — Reuters