May vows to fight for Brexit deal amid Tory rebellion

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Europe

02:06

British Prime Minister Theresa May battled to salvage a draft Brexit deal and her political future on Thursday, as ministers resigned and members of her own party plotted to oust her.

The Conservative leader said she believed with "every fiber of my being" in the Brexit course she had set, hours after facing a hostile parliament and seeing four ministers, including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, quit the government.

Members of parliament on all sides warned her there was no way the plan could win their approval, but she dismissed calls to quit, saying: "Am I going to see this through? Yes!"

UK's Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab has resigned over a proposed Brexit deal. /VCG Photo

The prime minister admitted "concerns about the backstop" solution to the Irish border question within the deal, which Brexit supporters fear would keep Britain tied indefinitely into a customs union. Critics also believe May has conceded too much to Brussels in other key areas, while EU supporters are calling for a second referendum on a final deal. May, however, said there would be no second vote "as far as I'm concerned."

The 585-page draft aims to ensure a smooth divorce from the EU after more than four decades of membership and outlines a transition period for both sides to adjust to the break. Key provisions seek to avoid a hard border between EU member Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland, protect citizens' rights and settle Britain's last bill.

Amid the political turmoil, the pound dropped by 2.0 percent against the dollar to a one-month low and a similar amount against the euro.

A draft copy of the UK's withdrawal agreement from the European Union given to media in the Berlaymont, the EU Commission headquarter, in Brussels, Belgium, November 15, 2018. /VCG Photo

Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the Brexit hardline European Research Group, submitted a letter of no-confidence in the prime minister saying: "It would be in the interest of the party and the country if she were to stand aside."

At least 48 letters from Conservative MPs are required to trigger a vote of no-confidence in the party leader, but a majority of the party's 315 lawmakers would have to vote against May in order for her to be ousted.

Although other MPs have already sent letters, all eyes were on Rees-Mogg given his influence over Brexit supporting MPs. The MP told reporters that a challenge could be launched within weeks.

But veteran MP Kenneth Clarke, an arch europhile, told Sky News that May would win any confidence vote, saying "there isn't an alternative."

A video grab from footage broadcast by the UK Parliament's Parliamentary Recording Unit shows Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg asking a question to Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May after she gave a statement to the House of Commons in London, November 15, 2018. /VCG Photo

EU leaders will hold an extraordinary Brexit summit on November 25. If they approve the agreement, the British parliament is scheduled to vote on it in early December.

Raab said there would be a devastating impact on public trust in the government unless it changed course on Brexit.

"I cannot reconcile the terms of the proposed deal with the promises we made to the country in our manifesto," he said in his resignation letter.

Brexit hardliner Esther McVey also quit her work and pensions secretary post. Suella Braverman resigned as a junior Brexit minister and Shailesh Vara quit as a junior Northern Ireland minister.

In parliament, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, told May: "The government must now withdraw this half-baked deal. This is not the deal the country was promised."

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Source(s): AFP