The British Conservatives today are voting on whether they still have confidence in their leader, Prime Minister Theresa May. She is determined to stay on. “A change of leadership would now be a danger for our country.”
“I will fight for the trust with everything I have”, she said this morning in a speech for her official residence on Downing Street 10. According to May, choosing a new leader and prime minister will not change anything, just take time and the Brexit- jeopardize negotiations. “This causes uncertainty and a great risk for the future of Great Britain.” According to the prime minister, only the opposition benefits from the division within the Conservatives.
“I am ready to finish the task”
This morning it turned out that there are enough party members who want to raise the issue of confidence.
If May does not receive enough support tonight, she will have to retire as leader of the party and automatically resign as Prime Minister of Great Britain. The Conservatives can then choose a new leader and prime minister.
The reason for the vote of confidence is May’s agreement with the EU on the Brexit. The conservative member of parliament Jacob Rees-Mogg was the first to submit a letter in November in which he denied the confidence in May. 48 submitters are needed to hold a vote and that is the case now. The vote will take place tonight between 7 and 9 pm.
Theresa May’s tour of European government leaders, such as Mark Rutte and Angela Merkel, was followed with despair in her own country. There is one thing that almost all parties, and the people, agree on: May and its government make a mess of it.
The mission of May is therefore almost impossible: she has to adjust the separation deal so drastically that the conservative brexiteers and tolerance partner DUP are back behind her. The EU immediately rejected this hope: the agreement is no longer being negotiated. The best she can hope for is that the EU will meet her by making some non-legally binding commitments. But that will not be enough to convince all rebels in their own ranks.
The frustration among British politicians is great: how did it get this far? Why did May surprise us so? What does it intend to achieve with the EU that is so united in the negotiations? And the most important thing: how does she think her deal will get the parliament in the name?
May’s credibility in their own country has disappeared. When a Downing Street spokesperson announced yesterday that the new vote on the deal will take place before January 21st, the response was scornful: first see, then believe.
After May at the last moment postponed the Brex voting, many party members did not trust her anymore: she had promised time and time again that she would not cancel the vote. The rumors about an upcoming leadership group are increasing. There is also a lot of frustration in the opposition: “If our country ends with a No Deal brexit, then the blame and responsibility lie entirely with the government and in particular with the prime minister,” said Labor Representative Angela Smith.
With the postponement, many politicians fear that due to time constraints they will be forced to approve May’s deal, to avoid the No Deal doom scenario.
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