UK PM May seeks unity amid chaos over Brexit plans

 

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May commences a meeting with her cabinet to discuss the government's Brexit plans at Chequers, the Prime Minister's official country residence, near Aylesbury, Britain, July 6, 2018. Joel Rouse/MOD/Handout via REUTERS/Files

 

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May holds a meeting of her cabinet on Tuesday, a day after her government was thrown into turmoil when two senior ministers quit in protest at her plans for trade ties with the European Union after Brexit.

 

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Brexit minister David Davis resigned within hours of each other, denouncing a plan that the cabinet had only agreed on Friday, and fuelling speculation that May could face a leadership challenge.

 

However, at a meeting with her Conservative Party lawmakers, she was cheered and applauded by many as she warned them that internal squabbling could pave the way for socialist opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn to take power instead.

 

After the meeting, senior lawmakers said they did not expect the prime minister to face a vote of no confidence, although some Conservatives were still saying that she should go.

 

May's proposals for a future EU relationship after Britain departs from the bloc next March had taken two-years of internal government wrangling to agree, but within 48 hours Johnson and Davis had resigned saying they could not back the plans. Three junior ministers also quit their posts.

 

"Brexit should be about opportunity and hope," Johnson said in a scathing resignation letter that was echoed in headlines in a number of Britain's national newspapers. "That dream is dying, suffocated by needless self-doubt."

 

May, having finally signalled her vision for Brexit, spent two hours in parliament defiantly defending the plans and called for Brussels to engage fully or risk the damaging prospect of Britain leaving the bloc with no deal in place.

 

"I've listened to every possible idea and every possible version of Brexit. This is the right Brexit," she said.

 

May's personal authority was badly damaged after she called a snap election last year to strengthen her hand in Brexit talks but instead she lost her parliamentary majority meaning she has to rely on a small Northern Irish party to govern.

 

While other senior ministers rallied round her after the resignations which left Westminster reeling on Monday, rumblings of discontent among rank and file lawmakers remained.

 

The Sun, Britain's biggest-selling newspaper, said there had been "blunder after blunder" by May.

 

"Now there is chaos," the paper said in its editorial. "Brussels must not mistakenly conclude, as EU Council chief Donald Tusk hinted, that one more push will destroy Brexit. Brexit must and will happen."

 

(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-07-10

UK, Tuesday, 10.36am:

 

PM sends No 10 Chief of Staff Gavin Barwell to brief opposition MPs.

 

"Labour's Ben Bradshaw, who was at the meeting with Mr Barwell, describes it as "extraordinary".

"I've never been briefed by a deputy prime minister (sic), pleading with us Labour MPs to save the government - and I don't think we will," he says.

"She should have reached out two years ago for cross-party consensus."

 

BBC News

We now have a PM without a Party. The Remainers MP's might support her, but the Party Members will regard her as a traitor. This will be her downfall in the autumn at the party conference.

I think this will certainly be her downfall but the chalice was fatally poisoned the moment she was handed it.  She was never going to be able to deliver a positive Brexit and setting red lines from day one was as stupid as it gets.

 

The question is when to dump her.  To do it now means that whoever steps up will just be grasping the same poisoned chalice.  Too late to re-negotiate so the only alternative option would be a "no deal" and that would be political suicide.  Johnson and his gang are more likely to let her carry it through and then when her Brexit has properly screwed up the country, that is when to strike.  The country will be in a bad way but that is of no concern to Johnson, he is only interested in what is good for him.

It's obvious to me still the "right" Brexit is no Brexit at all. 

The whole brexit thing is very complicated. In legal terms, thousands of politicians throughout Europe have passed treaties, exemptions, implementing ordinances, directives, etc., which in the course of more than 45 years have also been linked to each other in multiple ways.

 

To believe that one can just reform this whole mountain of legal contracts in 2 years and the UK can fry his extra sausage, is naive.

 

Until today, aka 2 years, not even the Brexit has been concrete defined by those who want it.

 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

It's obvious to me still the "right" Brexit is no Brexit at all. 

Please ignore my like, I misread your post!

Please ignore my like, I misread your post!

Neener Neener Neener

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

33 minutes ago, tomacht8 said:

The whole brexit thing is very complicated. In legal terms, thousands of politicians throughout Europe have passed treaties, exemptions, implementing ordinances, directives, etc., which in the course of more than 45 years have also been linked to each other in multiple ways.

 

To believe that one can just reform this whole mountain of legal contracts in 2 years and the UK can fry his extra sausage, is naive.

 

Until today, aka 2 years, not even the Brexit has been concrete defined by those who want it.

 

 

 

 

 

It's very simple really, we either leave or remain. The majority of the country who could be arsed to vote chose leave as per the question on the voting slip. What isn't contretely defined about that? It's only the remainers (of which May is one) and the majority of the left who're trying to muddy the waters.

Just now, Jingthing said:

It's obvious to me still the "right" Brexit is no Brexit at all. 

I think that is now being generally recognised by all except the extreme Brexiters who are now nicely side-lined.  Common sense seems to be prevailing, no thanks to May.

I am not an extreme brexiteer but I did vote for it.  The contempt shown to the UK by the EU negotiators  has only reinforced my beliefs.

1 hour ago, brewsterbudgen said:

I think that is now being generally recognised by all except the extreme Brexiters who are now nicely side-lined.  Common sense seems to be prevailing, no thanks to May.

Even Johnson, in his resignation letter, indicated that with the now proposed Brexit we would be worse off leaving than remaining in.

 

54 minutes ago, lungbing said:

I am not an extreme brexiteer but I did vote for it.  The contempt shown to the UK by the EU negotiators  has only reinforced my beliefs.

I totally see that view but the EU would argue the other way.  It is Britain's arrogance (in their eyes) in thinking that they can leave and still get all the benefits of a free trade deal without any of the commitments.  They did make it clear on day one that any deal would have to mean that the UK would be in a worse position leaving than staying in.  That is a position anyone would insist on.

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

It's obvious to me still the "right" Brexit is no Brexit at all. 

You don't live on Bradford....or you are a Muslim 

2 minutes ago, The manic said:

You don't live on Bradford....or you are a Muslim 

You lost me.  What have Muslims or Bradford got to do with Brexit?  54% of the people in Bradford voted to leave.

Asked why Macedonia wanted to join the EU at the time of UK departure, the foreign minister for Macedonia Nikola Dimitrov suggests "perhaps those inside forget how cold it is outside".

7 hours ago, lungbing said:

I am not an extreme brexiteer but I did vote for it.  The contempt shown to the UK by the EU negotiators  has only reinforced my beliefs.

The EU are actually being very kind. I am surprised they are not falling about laughing at the slapstick performance. Exit Brexit now.

6 hours ago, The manic said:

You don't live on Bradford....or you are a Muslim 

What has that to do with Brexit?

7 hours ago, tebee said:

Asked why Macedonia wanted to join the EU at the time of UK departure, the foreign minister for Macedonia Nikola Dimitrov suggests "perhaps those inside forget how cold it is outside".

When the real answer should have been:

 

'' We want some of that lovely money that you throw about like rice at a Chinese wedding ''

17 hours ago, webfact said:

UK PM May seeks unity amid chaos over Brexit plans

??

 

Another 2 resign

 

Quote

Two Tory party vice-chairs quit over Chequers Brexit plan

 

The face of a woman who knows everyone is unified behind her ??

 

 

Taxi for May

Steve Bell of the Guardian nails it

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2018/jul/10/steve-bell-on-the-cabinets-current-position-on-brexit-cartoon

 

A half-@rsed Brexit and a Chequers White Paper that is only fit for use as bog paper.