PM May: I am here to stay
Leader remains defiant as she’s quizzed by the public on radio show
THERESA May insists she won’t stand down as Prime Minister – even if she loses the Brexit vote in the Commons next month.
And the PM said it was “not about me” as she was grilled in a radio phone-in.
Appearing on Radio 5 Live’s Emma Barnett Show, May was asked repeatedly if she would resign if the Commons rejects the withdrawal agreement she has struck with Brussels.
Asked if she could quit, May said: “As I’m sitting here, I’m not thinking about me. I’m thinking about getting a deal through that delivers for the people of this country.”
Asked a third time about quitting, she said: “My focus is on getting this deal through.”
Her comments came after former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said staying in the EU would be better than leaving under May’s deal.
Raab, who quit after May’s deal was approved in Cabinet, said it would “inevitably” be voted down when put before MPs next month. He added: “I’m not going to advocate staying in the EU but if you presented me the terms – this deal or EU membership because we would effectively be bound by the same rules but without the control or voice over them – yes, I think this would be even worse than that.”
He added: “I cannot support an indefinite backstop arrangement where the EU holds a veto over our ability to exit.” May defended the agreement as the “right deal for the UK” and came as close as she ever has to saying she personally believes Brexit is better than continued EU membership.
She said: “I think we will be better off in a situation which we will have outside the European Union.”
But there were no calls from the public for her to resign or ditch her deal.
My focus is on getting this deal through THERESA MAY SPELLS IT OUT ON BBC RADIO 5