Theresa May vows to quit as PM if her Brexit deal passes on third try
London: Theresa May has promised her colleagues she will quit the prime ministership once her Brexit divorce deal is ratified, in a last-ditch attempt to get the twice-rejected agreement across the line.
“I know there is a desire for a new approach – and a new leadership – in the second phase of the Brexit negotiations, and I won’t stand in the way of that,” May said. “I am prepared to leave this job earlier than I intended in order to do what is right for our country and our party.”
However the promise might be thwarted by parliamentary procedure, as the House of Commons speaker repeated his ruling that the divorce deal can’t be voted on again unless it is changed.
May met the ‘1922 Committee’ of Conservative backbenchers on Wednesday afternoon, while parliament debated its ideas for a Brexit “Plan B”.
10 Downing Street released an excerpt of her comments to MPs, in which she pleaded for them to rally behind her deal.
“We’re nearly there,” she said. “We have to finish the job at hand… I ask everyone in this room to back the deal so we can complete our historic duty to deliver on the decision of the British people and leave the European Union with a smooth and orderly exit.”
In the past two votes hardline Brexiters have allied with Labour, the Scottish National Party and the Northern Irish DUP in voting the deal down.
The DUP, who hold the balance of power in the Commons, have indicated they are still opposed to the deal. But if May can win over her own party she may get enough Labour defectors to pass the deal, in a vote that could take place on Thursday or Friday.
Recent days have seen former opponents of the deal change their minds.
Influential Brexiter Jacob Rees-Mogg said he had come to the conclusion the only options left were May’s Brexit or no Brexit at all, and he preferred the former.
If the deal passes by Friday night then the UK will leave the EU on May 22. Otherwise, it must find another way forward or crash into a “no deal” Brexit on April 12.
Leadership rival Boris Johnson, a hardline Brexiter who has opposed May’s deal, reportedly left the meeting “smiling ear to ear”.
He is one of a handful of Conservative MPs expected to vie to replace May in a contest due in May or June.
But Johnson is not the favourite according to a new Ipsos MORI poll of Tory voters on who would be best suited to be the next PM.
Moderates Jeremy Hunt, Amber Rudd and Sajid Javid all scored higher among Conservative voters, ahead of Brexiters Johnson, Dominic Raab and Michael Gove.
However House of Commons speaker John Bercow threw a spanner in the works, reminding the government in a speech to parliament of his recent ruling that, under old tradition, a third "meaningful vote" on May's Brexit deal could not take place unless it had been substantially changed.
The Withdrawal Agreement, also know as the divorce deal, agreed between the UK government and the EU in November, was designed to settle debts, separate EU and UK laws, keep the Ireland border free of new checkpoints and provide a long, smooth transition into the post-Brexit world for business and industry while a new trade and customs relationship is negotiated.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday MPs held a debate and vote on a range of alternative plans to May’s deal.
The Commons had taken control of Brexit from the government, a move that some Conservatives called a constitutional scandal: long tradition holds that the government runs business in the Commons.
Options being considered include:
- a “no deal” Brexit,
- a so-called “Common Market 2.0”,
- leaving the EU but staying in a Customs Union with the EU, and
- a public vote confirming any Brexit deal before it can happen.
The government allowed its MPs a free vote, but announced that government ministers would be abstaining.
And it also said it would not necessarily respect the parliament’s vote, if it ended up presenting options that were impractical.
The results of the vote were due late on Wednesday night, UK time.
If a clear winner emerges there could be a further vote on Monday to put it into legislation.