- Prime Minister Theresa May expected to announce resignation in early June
- Boris Johnson announces intention to vie for premiership
- Discontent from within the party continues to grow as Labour negotiations fail
Embattled British Premier Theresa May will set her departure timetable in early June after her fourth Brexit deal vote. May is expected to announce her resignation in about three weeks should her fourth and final attempt to see her Brexit plan fail, as many expect, to get support in the House of Commons.
May’s days are numbered
Source from within her ministerial office told the BBC that even if Theresa May won the crunch vote on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill in early June, just in case she can secure a deal, the prime Minister would still have to step down by the end of July, something that has sparked a Tory Leadership contest.
Whether it was by design or coincidence, the events at Westminster coincided with an announcement by Boris Johnson of an intention to throw his hat in the ring to become the next Prime Minister once Theresa May bows to the unending pressure. The former British Foreign secretary spoke who during a business event in Manchester said:
“Of course, I’m going to go for it, of course I’m going to go for it.”
A Frank Exchange
The revelations follow a 90-minute 1922 Executive’s committee meeting with the Prime Minister after which Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the influential 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs, said he would rather meet May again after the Withdrawal Agreement Bill that hopes to ratify her Brexit deal with Brussels receives a second reading in the House of Commons in the week beginning June 3. Saying they had a frank exchange with the Prime Minister, Sir Graham said the meeting will happen regardless of the outcome of the vote. He told reporters:
“We have agreed to meet to decide the timetable for the election of a new leader of the Conservative Party as soon as the second reading has occurred and that will take place regardless of what the vote is on the second reading–whether it passes or whether it fails.”
A breaking point has been reached
Mrs. May is facing mounting pressure to set a date for her resignation as prime Minister and till now she had only committed to leave office in time for the next phase of negotiations with the European Union regarding their future relations. However, the prospects for such a forum remains uncertain because of the political stalemate in Britain.
Discontent from members of the Conservative Party with May’s performance has heightened since she stretched here hand to attempt cross-party talks with Labour but to no avail. Some members have pressurized the 1922 committee to bend the rules to enable a second intra-party vote of no confidence against her after she escaped the last one in December 2018. The pressure she faces will become worse after European Parliamentary elections in which her party is expected to perform dismally, hemorrhaging votes to the newly formed Brexit Party in particular.