May to quit if MPs back Brexit deal
 

LONDON: The British government said it intended to put Prime Minister Theresa May´s twice-rejected Brexit deal to a third parliamentary vote on Friday to avoid a chaotic no-deal divorce from the EU in two weeks.May´s throw of the dice comes a day after her dramatic pledge to resign in order to persuade her rivals to finally back her vision for breaking Britain´s 46-year bond with the European project.The government´s back is against the wall as it tries to keeping its economy from imploding and the pound from plunging when a post-Brexit border splits the two tight trading partners.Andrea Leadsom, the government´s representative in parliament, said Thursday that May´s team was trying to secure permission for a third vote from speaker John Bercow. He had already rejected a similar attempt last week after ruling that May´s text was essentially the same one lawmakers resoundingly voted down for a second time two weeks ago. "We recognise that any motion brought forward tomorrow will need to be compliant with the speaker´s ruling and that discussion is ongoing," Leadsom told the chamber.Anxious EU leaders last week offered Britain a Brexit extension until May 22. But it is conditional on parliament voting through May´s deal by Friday — the day Britain was originally scheduled to leave the bloc.Parliament´s failure to pass the pact that was signed off last year by May and the 27 EU leaders could result in a feared “no-deal Brexit” scenario on April 12.Britain might then try to avoid crashing out by seeking a much longer extension that would force it to take part in European Parliament elections in May.The prime minister´s handling of Brexit has provoked both anger and frustration as well as ridicule at home and abroad. She played what may have been her last political card on Wednesday by promising to quit once the first stage of the messy divorce process is complete. “I know there is a desire for a new approach — and new leadership — in the second phase of the Brexit negotiations and I won´t stand in the way of that,” May told a packed meeting of party members. Her promise won over some likely contenders for her job.Former foreign minister Boris Johnson said he would now back the premier “on behalf of the 17.4 million people who voted for Brexit” in the deeply divisive 2016 referendum.The day after May announced her willingness to step aside, several prospective candidates set out their stalls for why they should be the next prime minister.Here are the latest odds from Ladbrokes as of March 28, 2019Sajid Javid - 12/1: The Home Secretary ended up backing Remain during the EU referendum but is popular among the Tory parliamentary party. Javid was appointed Home Secretary in the wake of the Windrush scandal and the resignation of Amber Rudd. A known Eurosceptic, some of his statements in recent months and his backing for a harder Brexit have been taken as signs he is pitching for the leadership.The MP for Bromsgrove in Worcestershire is a former managing director from Deutsche Bank.Jeremy Corbyn - 8/1: The bookies have been giving Jeremy Corbyn strong odds as the nation’s most likely next prime minister.The Labour leader has had to fight constant opposition from his own MPs including a leadership contest after just a year. But the party swung behind him after a much stronger than expected 2017 General Election when Labour picked up 30 seats and Mrs May lost her majority.Boris Johnson - 9/2: Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson is still a hugely popular figure among Tory grassroots and the general public. Boris quit as foreign secretary on July 9, 2018, in a blow to May’s government. He walked out just hours after she lost Brexit Secretary David Davis over her Chequers plan to keep close ties to Brussels. But many MPs appear to have turned against him, meaning he might struggle to get on the ballot. — Agencieshttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/com/cwEr/~4/PCkgbfIaHJc

أكثر...