LONDON — Lawmakers in Britain’s Conservative Party on Wednesday triggered a “no confidence” vote against Prime Minister Theresa May, threatening her leadership as she struggles to secure a deal for Britain to leave the European Union.
May quickly responded that she would not resign but would defend her vision for Brexit. She warned rebellious lawmakers that ousting her would not make getting a Brexit deal any easier, but instead would bring delay and confusion.
“I will contest that vote with everything I’ve got,” said May, speaking outside her Downing Street residence. “I stand ready to finish the job.”
The no-confidence vote involves only Conservative Party lawmakers and not the entire Parliament. If she is toppled as party leader, replacing the prime minister could take weeks. Changing leaders now, May warned, would “put our country’s future at risk and create uncertainty when we can least afford it.”
The vote on the prime minister’s fate will take place Wednesday evening.
If a large number of her fellow Conservatives vote against her, she may be pressed to resign. If half the Tory lawmakers vote against her, May would be removed.
The looming no-confidence vote throws May’s Brexit deal and Britain’s future relationship with Europe into chaos. In Brussels, European diplomats shook their heads in dismay.
European leaders are frustrated that Britain appears hopelessly divided over Brexit.
May on Monday announced she was delaying a vote on her deal, after she concluded that the accord faced a humiliating defeat in the House of Commons. May spent Tuesday meeting with Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the E.U. leaders, trying to secure new concessions that might appease British lawmakers who oppose her Brexit withdrawal agreement.
For the Tories to challenge May, ostensibly their party leader, they needed to send at least 48 letters — equaling 15 percent of the 315 Conservative lawmakers — to Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee in Parliament.
“The threshold of 15 percent of the parliamentary party seeking a vote of confidence in the leader of the Conservative Party has been exceeded,” Brady said.
Brady told the BBC that he informed the prime minister on Tuesday night that the threshold of 48 letters had been reached. May was “businesslike and keen to proceed as quickly as possible,” he said.
Brady said the no-confidence ballot would take place Wednesday evening between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Votes will be counted “immediately afterward and an announcement will be made as soon as possible,” he said.
For May to survive a leadership challenge, she needs a simple majority of Conservative lawmakers — 158 of 315 — to back her.
May advised her fellow Tories to look at the calendar. “The new leader wouldn’t have time to renegotiate a withdrawal agreement and get the legislation through Parliament by the 29th of March,” the date when Britain is set to leave the European Union, she said.
A new leader would have to seek delay, May said. “So one of their first acts would have to be extending or rescinding Article 50, delaying or even stopping Brexit when people want us to get on with it,” she said, referring to the provision of the European Union treaty that allows members to withdraw from the bloc.
The leader of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, expressed her frustration with the political squabbling. She tweeted: “Today is a stark reminder that the UK is facing chaos and crisis entirely because of a vicious civil war within the Tory party. What a self-centered bunch they are. They all need to go, not just the PM.”
A string of Tories publicly declared their support for May. But the actual vote on Wednesday evening is a secret ballot.
Conservative lawmaker Geoffrey Cox tweeted that he would be backing the prime minister, adding: “This is no time for the self indulgent spasm of a leadership election.”
Supporters include Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Home Secretary Sajid Javid.
Philip Hammond, the chancellor of the exchequer, tweeted: “The Prime Minister has worked hard in the National interest since the day she took office and will have my full support in the vote tonight. Her deal means we leave the EU on time, whilst protecting our jobs and our businesses.”
Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said that in practice, May would likely need to win by more than a simple majority to stay in power.
(Source Washington Post)
Herald December 13/2018
