British PM faces government turmoil amid resignations

LONDON – The battle over Brexit – Britain’s planned exit from the European Union – has become very messy indeed.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s government was plunged into disarray Monday with the resignation of her flamboyant foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, who quit in protest of May’s plans for a so-called soft Brexit, which would maintain close trade ties with Europe.

The rebellion within her own Conservative Party underscored May’s dire political weakness less than nine months before the split is to take effect in March.

Johnson’s departure came less than 24 hours after that of another key Cabinet member, David Davis, who was tasked with overseeing Brexit.

May says it is crucial to avoid a “hard” Brexit – a departure from the EU without a deal in place. Such a scenario could wreak havoc on Britain’s financial sector and the wider economy.

“This is the Brexit that is in our national interest,” she told a raucous session of Parliament shortly after Johnson’s departure was announced by Downing Street.

Johnson, the floppy-haired former mayor of London, helped spearhead the campaign that led to Britain’s narrow vote in June 2016 to break with the EU – a shock that has been likened to President Donald Trump’s unexpected victory on the other side of the Atlantic, five months later.

May tried to face down hecklers who said she was betraying the voting public.

Hecklers jeered loudly when she spoke approvingly of the “spirited national debate” taking place.

Under May’s plan, to which her Cabinet had agreed last week, Britain would keep close trade ties to the EU and remain subject to some of its regulatory mechanisms. That prospect set off a wave of anger from those who considered Brexit a ringing declaration of independence from the bureaucracy in Brussels.

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