Theresa May pilots Brexit through time of discord
LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May insisted Tuesday that her plan to retain close ties with the European Union “absolutely keeps faith” with voters’ decision to leave the bloc, as she tried to restore government unity after the resignations of two top ministers over Brexit.
Brexit Secretary David Davis and then Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson both quit, saying Ms. May’s plans did not live up to their idea of Brexit. On Tuesday, two more lawmakers followed them out the door.
Mr. Johnson sent an incendiary resignation letter Monday, accusing Ms. May of killing “the Brexit dream” and flying flags of surrender in EU negotiations.
Ms. May replaced Mr. Johnson with a loyalist, former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, and gave Mr. Davis’ job to Dominic Raab in a bid to bolster authority.
She held a Cabinet meeting Tuesday before attending a Western Balkans summit in London with other European leaders.
Ms. May’s plan seeks to keep the U.K. and the EU in a free-trade zone for goods and commits Britain to maintaining the same rules as the bloc for goods and agricultural products.
On Tuesday, Ms. May stressed her plan “absolutely keeps faith with the vote of the British people,” ending free movement of people from the EU, taking Britain out of European court jurisdiction and saving significantly on dues.
“But we will do this in a way which will be a smooth and orderly Brexit, a Brexit that protects jobs, protects livelihoods and also meets our commitment to no hard border” between the U.K.’s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland, she said.
Two Conservative lawmakers, Maria Caulfield and Ben Bradley, quit as vicechairs of the party on Tuesday over opposition to Ms. May’s proposals. Mr. Bradley called on Ms. May to “deliver Brexit in spirit as well as in name.”
But senior pro-Brexit Cabinet ministers said they supported Ms. May and would not resign. Asked if he was planning to quit, environment Secretary Michael Gove said “absolutely not.”
Conservative lawmaker Michael Fallon, a May ally, dismissed Mr. Johnson’s “Brexit dream” rallying cry.
“Dreaming is good, probably for all of us, but we have to deal with the real world,” he said.
Two years after Britain voted 52 percent to 48 percent to leave the European Union, Ms. May is trying to find a middle way between two starkly differing views — within her party and the country — of the U.K.’s relationship with Europe.
Pro-Europeans want to retain close economic ties with the bloc and its market of 500 million people, while some Brexit supporters want a clean break to make it possible to strike new trade deals around the world.
The British government is due to publish a detailed version of its plans on Thursday. The EU says it will respond once it has seen the details.