British PM vows to press ahead despite political crisis
British Prime Minister Theresa May faced the public on Friday to defend her Brexit deal as she battles to salvage the agreement and her own political future.
May made a rare outing on a radio phone-in during which she faced a call to step down after a tumultuous day in which ministers resigned and members of her own party plotted to oust her.
“I truly believe this is the best deal for Britain,” May said of the proposed EU withdrawal agreement, adding that she was “very sorry” that ministers including Brexit secretary Dominic Raab had quit.
All eyes were on Environment Secretary Michael Gove, the highest-profile proBrexit campaigner left standing in May’s cabinet, to see whether he would follow others out the door.
But a source close to Gove, a “Vote Leave” figurehead in the 2016 referendum on London’s European Union membership, said the minister would remain in his post “to ensure the best outcome for the country”.
Many media outlets reported that Gove had been offered the position of Brexit secretary.
May told LBC radio that she had a “very good conversation” with Gove and would be appointing a new Brexit chief “over the next day or so”.
“I don’t want to see any of my cabinet colleagues who’ve been doing a good job in the cabinet feeling the need to resign,” she added.
Pro-Brexit MPs fear the deal would keep the United Kingdom shackled to the EU, while pro-remain supporters said it would leave the UK on worse terms than it has inside the bloc and are calling for a second Brexit referendum to break the logjam.
May could yet face a vote of no confidence from her own MPs. Conservative lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg, the highprofile leader of the Brexit hardline European Research Group, submitted a letter of no-confidence on Thursday.
At least 48 letters from Conservative MPs are required to trigger a vote of no confidence in the party leader. But a majority of the party’s 315 lawmakers would have to vote against May in order for her to be ousted — and if she wins, she cannot be challenged for 12 months.
May’s Conservatives do not have a majority in Parliament’s lower House of Commons and MPs from all sides lined up in the chamber on Thursday to say her draft deal would be voted down, satisfying neither Brexiteers nor pro-EU loyalists.
The Conservatives rely on Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party for a slim majority, but the DUP are prepared to vote against the deal, fearing it splits the province off from the rest of the UK in order to prevent a hard land border with the Republic of Ireland.
AFP contributed to this story.
Briefly