‘Fall on her sword’: UK PM Theresa May might need to quit to get her Brexit deal passed
- Some British MP’s predict May could only have weeks left in her job as lawmakers move to try to take control of the plan to leave the European Union
Pressure on Theresa May has reached new heights as ministers backed attempts to let parliament take control of the next stage of the Brexit process and MPs openly speculated that her time in office could end within weeks.
As a beleaguered May returned from Brussels, MPs suggested her deal could lose by an even higher margin, with several saying the timing now required the prime minister to “fall on her sword”.
May wrote to Conservative MPs on Friday to try to address some of the criticism and regain control over the process. In her letter, she even hinted she may not take her deal back to parliament for a third time without “sufficient support” and apologised for the tone of her statement on Wednesday when she blamed MPs for the Brexit impasse.
May’s de-facto deputy David Lidington has held advanced talks with senior Tories and opposition MPs to explore ways MPs could be given a say on the next stage of the process. Those familiar with the talks said he appeared to be speaking with the prime minister’s authority.
Greg Clark publicly broke ranks on Friday to say the government should keep its promise to facilitate a process to find a majority for a compromise in parliament.