Embattled UK Prime Minister Theresa May offered to resign Wednesday if Parliament approves her twice-rejected Brexit deal — ending her tenure as Britain’s top elected official after less than three years.
“I am prepared to leave this job earlier than I intended in order to do what is right for our country and our party,” May told Conservative Party lawmakers in a dramatic concession.
“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,” she said.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, a member of Parliament and chair of the European Research Group, told Sky News that the chances of Brexit passing are now “much higher than they were.”
Boris Johnson, one of May’s fiercest critics, was among the MPs who said they would vote yes in a third ratification vote, according to an ally close to the former foreign secretary said.
May acknowledged that she has been under mounting pressure from pro-Brexit members of her own party to quit. Many accused her of negotiating a bad deal that leaves Britain too closely tied to the EU once it leaves.
“This has been a testing time for our country and our party. We’re nearly there. We’re almost ready to start a new chapter and build that brighter future. But before we can do that, we have to finish the job in hand,” she said.
“I know there is a desire for a new approach — and new leadership — in the second phase of the Brexit negotiations, and I won’t stand in the way of that.”
Though May’s departure would not alter the terms of her latest withdrawal agreement, it could give Conservative “Euroskeptics” who have opposed it a greater say in negotiating the terms of Britain’s future relationship with the EU. May’s office said there would be a contest to replace her after May 22 — assuming her plan gets through Parliament — to provide new leadership for the next stage of Brexit.
May’s announcement is the latest dramatic turn in the UK’s three-year Brexit crisis.
If May does go, she will become the fourth Conservative prime minister in a row to have fallen afoul of divisions over Europe within her centuries-old party, following David Cameron, John Major and Margaret Thatcher.
Many Conservative rebels, who want a cleaner break from the EU, had made clear they would only consider supporting her agreement if she gave a firm commitment to step down.
May had already promised to quit before the next election, due in 2022. By agreeing to go sooner, she increases the chances of her Brexit deal passing before the latest April 12 deadline.
Britain was originally due to leave the EU on March 29, but last week the EU granted a postponement.
The government was expected to bring May’s deal back to Parliament on Friday.
With Reuters
