I’ve still got a lot to do, says May as Brexit vote looms
Embattled PM refuses to entertain the idea that the G20 summit could be her final foreign trip as leader
THERESA MAY has insisted she has “a lot more still to do” as she denied last night that she might have just days left as Prime Minister.
Mrs May said she, rather than a possible successor, would be the prime minister who took Britain out of the EU, as she promised once again to “deliver on Brexit”.
Questions about Mrs May’s ability to win the vote on her Brexit withdrawal deal – and what happens if she loses – have overshadowed her two-day visit to Argentina for the G20 summit, and world leaders made clear to her that no deal was not an option.
At an end-of-summit press conference last night, Mrs May was asked what her legacy would be if her visit to Buenos Aires proved to be her last foreign trip as Prime Minister.
She refused to entertain the idea that she might be forced to resign if she lost heavily on Dec 11, saying: “There is a lot more for me still to do, not least delivering on Brexit and being the Prime Minister that does take the United Kingdom out of the European Union.” Following the resignation of Sam Gyimah from the Government on Friday, Mrs May was also asked how she could possibly win the vote when more than 100 Conservative MPs have now said publicly that they could not vote for her deal.
She said: “The next nine days are a really important time for our country leading up to the vote on this deal … what I’ve been hearing here at the G20 is the importance of certainty for the future.”
Shinzō Abe, the Japanese prime minister, told her she must avoid a no-deal Brexit, contradicting the message from Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, on Friday that a no-deal Brexit would “not be a disaster”.
Mr Abe, whose support is seen by Downing Street as crucial in making a success of Brexit on the world stage, said a deal was vital to ensure “predictability and stability” in Britain’s trade with non-EU countries.
Mr Abe said: “I would like to once again ask for your support to avoid no deal as well as to ensure transparency, predictability as well as legal stability in the Brexit process.”
Japan is one of the leading overseas investors in the UK, and the fear of Japanese car firms pulling out of Britain after Brexit has been a useful weapon for Remainers since before the EU referendum.
His comments will provide fresh ammunition for MPs who want an even softer Brexit than the one negotiated by Mrs May, as they show Japan remains deeply concerned about how its companies in the UK will cope with trade barriers that would result from no deal.
Car firms such as Nissan and Honda rely on “just in time” supply chains that bring parts from the EU and which need frictionless borders to operate successfully.
Mrs May said: “I have been listening to businesses across the UK … including Japanese businesses that are invested in the UK.
“One of the key messages they have given is about the importance of being able to maintain a good trade relation- ship with the European Union once we’ve left. That is what our deal delivers.”
Donald Trump, the US president, had been scheduled to hold a press conference at which he could have faced questions about Brexit, but he cancelled the event at short notice “out of respect” for the Bush family follow- ing the death of George HW Bush, the former president.
It emerged yesterday that Mr Trump had an “informal” chat with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, during a dinner of world leaders on Friday evening. Mr Trump had cancelled a formal meeting over the recent RussiaUkraine naval clash.