Will quit for Brexit
Brit PM makes last-ditch try to pass EU split
LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May offered up her job in exchange for her Brexit deal Wednesday, telling colleagues she would quit within weeks if Britain left the European Union.
May’s dramatic concession that “there is a desire for a new approach — and new leadership” was a last-ditch effort to bring enough reluctant colleagues onboard to push her twice-rejected EU divorce deal over the line.
It looked like it might not be enough, as a key Northern Ireland party said it would not be supporting the deal.
May’s announcement came as lawmakers held an inconclusive series of votes on alternatives to her unpopular deal. It was the first step in an attempt by Parliament to break the Brexit deadlock and stop the country from tumbling out of the bloc within weeks with no exit plan in place.
May has been under mounting pressure from proBrexit members of her Conservative Party to quit. Many Brexiteers accuse her of negotiating a bad divorce deal that leaves Britain too closely tied to the bloc after it leaves.
Several have said they would support the withdrawal deal if another leader took charge of the next stage of negotiations, which will determine Britain’s future relations with the EU.
In a packed meeting of Conservative legislators described by participants as “somber,” May conceded she would have to go, but did not set a departure date.
“I am prepared to leave this job earlier than I intended in order to do what is right for our country and our party,” she said.
Anti-EU lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg, who has clashed with May throughout the Brexit process, said she had been “very clear” that if Britain leaves the EU on May 22, she will quit soon after.
He said the prime minister had been “very dignified.”
“She put her case well, and reiterated that she had done her duty,” he said.
It was unclear whether May’s offer to quit would be enough to win backing for her deal, which was defeated by 230 votes in January and 149 votes earlier this month.
High-profile Brexiteer Boris Johnson said soon after May’s statement he would support the deal, which he has previously called a “humiliation.” Johnson is a likely contender to replace May as prime minister.
But other hard-liners said they would continue to reject the deal, and Northern Ireland’s small but influential Democratic Unionist Party maintains its opposition.
The DUP’s support was seen as key to persuading other Brexiteers to back the deal. But the staunchly proBritish party fears a provision designed keep an open border between EU member Ireland and the U.K.’s Northern Ireland after Brexit would weaken the bonds between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K.
“We cannot sign up to something that would damage the Union,” DUP leader Arlene Foster told Sky News.
Two years ago, Britain triggered a countdown to departure set to end March 29, 2019. With that date approaching and no Brexit deal set, the EU last week granted a delay. It said if Parliament approves the proposed deal this week, the U.K. will leave the EU on May 22. If not, the government has until April 12 to tell the 27 remaining EU countries if it will leave without a deal, cancel Brexit or propose a new path.