Theresa May buffeted by resignations over her Brexit deal
Dominic Raab’s departure blindsides Number 10*
("Number 10" refers to 10 Downing Street, UK's government headquarters and official residence of the 1st Lord of Traesury, a position held by the Prime Minister)
British Prime Minister Theresa May faced a slew of resignations from her Cabinet on Thursday in protest at her Brexit deal, complicating her efforts to sell it to the House of Commons and the British public and possibly jeopardizing her hold on office.
Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab quit shortly before the prime minister’s statement to MPs, saying he could not support the withdrawal agreement struck with the European Union and approved by Cabinet Wednesday. He was followed by Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey, and then by Suella Braverman, a junior minister at the Department for Exiting the EU.
May defended her deal as being in the “national interest” and said that there was now a “clear choice” before MPs. “We can choose to leave with no deal. We can risk no Brexit at all. Or we can choose to unite and support the best deal that can be negotiated. This deal,” she said.
The prime minister now faces a battle for her political survival as well as a fight to push through her deal. May’s leadership could be challenged if 48 of her own backbenchers put forward letters stating that they no longer have confidence in her. She would then face a leadership contest in which other candidates could challenge her.
If May cannot secure parliamentary backing for her deal, the chances of Britain leaving the EU without a deal would rise dramatically.
The British pound, which had strengthened on news of the deal and Cabinet support on Wednesday night, dropped again in the morning following Raab’s resignation, reflecting concerns about a “no deal” departure from the EU that could prove economically costly for the U.K.
May told MPs there was no plan for Brexit when she came to power and urged the House of Commons to back her draft agreement with Brussels “in the national interest.”
Raab, who is the second occupant of the office to resign this year, after David Davis’ departure in July, said he “cannot in good conscience support the terms proposed for our deal with the EU.”
In his resignation letter to the prime minister, Raab said he was concerned the regulatory regime for Northern Ireland proposed under the “backstop” guarantee for avoiding a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland represented “a very real threat to the integrity of the United Kingdom.”
He added that he could not support an “indefinite” backstop arrangement.
Raab had been known to favor a unilateral mechanism for the U.K. to leave the backstop — a provision which was not included in the draft withdrawal agreement published on Wednesday.
McVey quit just an hour after Raab and was swiftly followed by Suella Braverman, a junior minister at the Department for Exiting the EU. Braverman, who is a former head of the European Research Group of backbench Brexiteer MPs, tweeted she looked forward to “working to support Brexit from the backbenches.”
In her letter to the prime minister, McVey, a longstanding Brexit supporter, accused May of putting a deal to Cabinet that “does not honor the result of the [2016 EU] referendum.”
Ministers reached a “collective” decision to approve a draft Brexit agreement with Brussels after five-hour meeting on Wednesday. McVey is reported to have spoken out strongly against the plan.
“The proposals put before Cabinet, which will soon be judged by the entire country, means [sic] handing over around £39 billion to the EU without anything in return,” she wrote. “It will trap us in a customs union, despite you specifically promising the British people we would not be.”
McVey said “I could not look my constituents in the eye” and defend the draft deal.
In her resignation letter, Braverman said that the negotiations had been an “uncomfortable journey.”
“Throughout this process, I have compromised. I have put pragmatism ahead of idealism and understand that concessions are necessary in a negotiation,” she said. “However I have reached a point where I feel that these concessions do not respect the will of the people.”
Shailesh Vara, a junior minister responsible for Northern Ireland , also resigned.
Vara said in his resignation letter that the draft withdrawal agreement doesn’t deliver on the promises made to voters, and “leaves the U.K. in a half-way house with no time limit on when we will finally be a sovereign state.”
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a parliamentary private secretary in the education department also quit the government.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said in response to the prime minister’s statement that the agreement was a “botched deal” and the government is offering a “false choice” to the country. He called on May to withdraw the deal.
