May resists efforts to hasten her ouster

LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May dug in Wednesday against a push by rivals and former allies to remove her from office as her country struggles with its departure from the European Union.

May resisted calls to rip up her Brexit blueprint and end her premiership after her attempt at compromise was rejected by both her Conservative Party and opposition lawmakers.

Conservative lawmakers set up a Friday meeting with May, giving her less than 48 hours to announce her departure or face a renewed attempt to oust her.

Meanwhile, a senior Cabinet minister resigned with a letter criticizing May’s failure to lead Britain out of the EU and hold her divided government together.

Andrea Leadsom, who served as leader of the House of Commons, alleged there had been “a complete breakdown of collective responsibility” in government. She said May’s Brexit plan would not “deliver on the referendum result” that saw voters in 2016 opt to leave the EU.

Leadsom campaigned on the side of those who voted for leaving the EU, and she was seen as a strong pro-Brexit voice in the Cabinet.

Several other senior ministers were reportedly seeking meetings with May to express unhappiness with her Brexit plan. But her spokesman, James Slack, said he was “not aware of any discussions” with Cabinet colleagues.

Lawmaker Tom Tugendhat, a leading moderate in the Conservative Party, said the only chance of delivering an orderly Brexit was for May “to go — and without delay.”

“She must announce her resignation after Thursday’s European elections. And the Conservative Party must fast track the leadership process to replace her,” he wrote in the Financial Times.

In the House of Commons, May received a flurry of criticism and questions as she implored lawmakers to support a bill implementing Britain’s departure from the EU. She plans to put the bill to a vote in Parliament in June.

Nearly three years after British voters opted to leave the EU, May said that “we need to see Brexit through, to honor the result of the referendum and to deliver the change the British people so clearly demanded.”

If Parliament rejects her deal, she said, “all we have before us is division and deadlock.”

Lawmakers have already voted three times to reject May’s divorce deal with the 27 other EU countries, and Britain’s long-scheduled departure date of March 29 passed with the country still in the bloc.