The Minister for Parliamentary Relations, Andrea Leadsom, resigned over Brexit on Wednesday 22nd May, 2019, further weakening the position of Theresa May
The exit door seemed closer on Wednesday 22nd May 2019 for British Prime Minister Theresa May, whose “last chance” plan to implement Brexit did not convince her majority or the opposition, and earned her a new resignation in her government.
On the eve of the European elections in Britain, which promises to be difficult for the Conservatives, the Minister in charge of relations with Parliament, Andrea Leadsom, announced Wednesday night her resignation saying “no longer believe” that the government could implement implement the result of the June 2016 referendum in favour of Brexit.
The departure of this Eurosceptic 56 years, entered in 2016 to the government and remained loyal to his head until then, is another blow for Theresa May, who clings desperately to his position.
She resigns the day after the presentation by Theresa May of a plan of the “last chance” for the Brexit . It provides for a series of compromises, including the possibility of voting on a second referendum and the continuation of a temporary customs union with the EU, in an attempt to rally the majority of MP’s.
But by letting go of the ballast, Theresa May bristled the eurosceptics of her camp, including Andrea Leadsom.
“How much can she still cash? “Asked the Daily Express on Thursday as the Daily Mirror opts to publish a photo of Theresa May with tears in her eyes. “Theresa May knows she is about to be dropped” by her party, writes the paper.
No doubt also for The Sun , which headlines: “May about to leave after the Brexit fiasco”.
Read also: Brexit: Theresa May ready to grant a new referendum to break the deadlock
A second referendum
Andrea Leadsom explains in her resignation letter published on Twitter that she does not think that with the Brexit project of Theresa May, the United Kingdom would be “fully sovereign”, one of the objectives of the pro-Brexit. She also thinks that a second referendum would “dangerously divide” the country.
It is with great regret and a heavy heart that I have decided to resign from the Government. pic.twitter.com/f2SOXkaqmH
— Andrea Leadsom MP (@andrealeadsom) 22 May 2019
“I do not agree with you that the agreement we negotiated with the European Union means that the UK will not become a sovereign country,” said Theresa May.
According to a YouGov poll released Wednesday by the Times , Thursday’s European elections would put the Tories in a humble fifth place (7%), 30 points behind Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party in the lead.
This departure erodes the already fragile authority of Theresa May, who has seen over the course of the month thirty members of his government.
The “1922 Committee”, responsible for organising the Tories, met in the afternoon to discuss a possible rule change to oust Theresa May, already summoned last week by this body to prepare his departure .
Graham Brady, the chair of this committee, told reporters that he will meet the Prime Minister on Friday, a meeting that may well seal Theresa May’s fate.
“Politics paralysed“
Thursday, voting for the European elections, the British are likely to make the Conservative Party pay its divisions and its inability to implement the exit of the EU, almost three years after the referendum.
The agreement negotiated by the Prime Minister with Brussels was rejected three times by the deputies, which forced the executive to postpone the Brexit until October 31st at the latest, and to organise the European election in disaster.
Facing the MP’s, Theresa May presented her plan Wednesday as the only way to respect the will of the British.
In adopting it, “we can put an end to months – years – of increasingly bitter disputes and divisions that have both polarised and paralysed our policies,” she said.
These arguments did not convince the leader of Labour, Jeremy Corbyn, for whom this plan is “little more than a heated version” of the Treaty of withdrawal of the EU that Theresa May had concluded with Brussels.
Supporting where it hurts, Jeremy Corbyn portrays a government “too weak, too divided to pull this country out of the mess it has created.”
“It’s time for the Prime Minister to leave,” said Ian Blackford, SNP National Party MP, pro-EU.
In the unlikely event that MPs approve the bill, Theresa May intends to vote on a second referendum on Brexit.
The second referendum would deal with the exit agreement negotiated by Theresa May, but the UK press stressed that MPs could include the possibility of a continuation in the EU.
Parliament rejected in mid-March the idea of a second referendum, defended by several parties but rejected by the pro-Brexit and feared by others, who fear that the divisions of the country worsen.
If the House of Commons passes the bill and still refuses to hold this consultation, the UK will be able to leave the EU in late July.
