May tries to rally lawmakers behind her
Prime minister declares she intends to fix mess
LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May sought Monday to rally lawmakers from her Conservative Party behind her leadership amid doubts over her ability to remain in power following last week’s disastrous election result.
May, who is trying to wrap up an arrangement with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party that would allow her to lead a government with a majority of votes in the House of Commons, moved to demonstrate that she understands the frustration within her own ranks following the election.
Britain’s Press Association, quoting two unnamed sources from the meeting, said May told lawmakers at a closed-door session that she admitted she was the one who “got us into this mess” and vowed that she would be the one who will “get us out of it.”
The meeting with the rank-and-file, some of whom have called for May to step aside sooner rather than later, was brought forward a day.
May has taken the blame for the Conservatives’ relatively poor showing in last Thursday’s election, in which the party surprisingly lost its majority.
With opinion polls showing the Conservatives with a commanding lead over the opposition Labour Party, May had called an early election in hopes of increasing her majority in Parliament and strengthening her position in negotiations over Britain’s exit from the European Union.
Instead, the party is trying to secure the support of the 10 Demo- cratic Unionist Party lawmakers to assure passage of May’s program.
With a deal still to be confirmed, there was speculation that the announcement of the government’s agenda, known as the Queen’s Speech, could be delayed by from the planned date next Monday. Delay would represent a highly unusual circumstance in a country where the monarch’s schedule is determined months in advance.
David Davis, the cabinet member in charge of Brexit, said talks with the EU might not start on Monday as planned because it would clash with the scheduled date of the Queen’s Speech.
“It may not be on the Monday because we also have got the Queen’s Speech that week and I will have to speak in that, and so on,” he told Sky News.