Getting rid of me may delay Brexit – May

LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May said Sunday that overthrowing her presidency might delay Brexit and that she would not let the debate on a leadership challenge distract her from a week of critical negotiations. with Brussels.

Since the day she unveiled a draft agreement on divorce with the European Union, May's presidency has been in crisis. Several ministers, including his Brexit minister, have resigned and some of his legislators are seeking to oust him.

More than two years after the UK voted in favor of leaving the EU, we still do not know how, under what conditions or even if it will leave as planned on March 29, 2019.

May vowed to continue fighting, but pro-EU and pro-Brexit lawmakers are unhappy with the draft agreement, it is not certain that she will be able to get support from Parliament, which increases the risk that Britain leaves the EU without support. treat.

"These next seven days will be critical, they are about the future of this country," May told Sky News. "I will not be distracted from the important work."

"A change of direction at this stage will not facilitate negotiations. This will mean that we risk delaying negotiations and that Brexit risks being delayed or frustrated. "

To trigger a vote of confidence, 48 of its Conservative legislators must submit a letter to the chairman of his so-called 1922 committee, Graham Brady.

More than 20 lawmakers declared publicly that they had done so, but others would have submitted letters confidentially. Brady told BBC Radio Sunday that the threshold of 48 has not yet been reached.

Brady said he thought it was likely May would win any vote of confidence, which would shield him from another challenge for 12 months under party rules.

Mark François, a lawmaker who submitted a letter, said he was expecting some colleagues to conduct polls with party members over the weekend before making a decision.

FUTURE RELATIONSHIP

At the heart of the concerns raised by this agreement is the Irish support for the North, an insurance policy aimed at preventing the return of border controls between the British province and Ireland, an EU member.

Critics say the UK would remain bound in perpetuity to Britain and risk dividing the UK by aligning Northern Ireland more closely with the customs rules and production standards of the United Kingdom. EU compared to Britain.

The DUP, a small party in Northern Ireland that supports May's minority government, has threatened to withdraw support if the backstop makes the province treat it differently than the rest of the UK.

DUP Deputy Chief Nigel Dodds said Sunday that it was "time to work for a better deal that does not undermine the integrity of the UK".

May said the negotiations were continuing and that she intended to travel to Brussels to meet the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker. She added that she will also address other European leaders before the EU summit to discuss the agreement on 25 November.

"We will not agree on the starting point, the withdrawal agreement, until we get what we want in the future relationship, because these two things go hand in hand. This week, the focus will be on future relationships, "she told Sky. "It is the future relations that hold the vote on Brexit."

Former Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, who resigned in July because of the May Brexit plans, said it was "a tragic illusion or an attempt at deception" to think that the problems could be solved. related to the exit agreement at the next stage of the negotiations.

"I heard that it was a football match in which we had no luck at halftime, but … we can still have it." withdraw and get the Brexit we want, "wrote Johnson in his weekly column of Monday's Daily Telegraph.

"We are about to give the EU the veto right of our departure from the customs union. Why should they let us go?

British newspapers announced that five high-ranking ministers favoring Brexit were striving to put pressure on May to change the deal, but May said she did not see a problem. alternative plan on the table.

Former Brexit Minister Dominic Raab, who resigned Thursday to protest the deal, said he supported May as a leader, but that his contract was "badly flawed" and that She had to change course.

"I still think that an agreement could be reached," Raab told the BBC. "The biggest risk of not agreeing is to make a bad deal in the House of Commons … it is very important to act now."

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labor party, said his party would vote against May 's agreement and that the government should return to Brussels to continue negotiations. He said it was a priority before pushing for a second referendum on the final agreement.

"It's an option for the future, but it's not an option for today, because if we had a referendum tomorrow, what would happen? What is the question? Corbyn told Sky News.