London: Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May’s leadership was in jeopardy and faced a possible vote of no confidence after Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, Indian-origin minister Shailesh Vara and two other ministers resigned Thursday from her divided Cabinet over UK’s ‘half-baked’ divorce deal with the European Union.
Minutes after Vara resigned as Northern Ireland Minister, Prime Minister May was hit by a bigger blow as her Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab quit from the Cabinet saying he “cannot in good conscience” support the draft of withdrawal agreement with the 28-member bloc.
Hours after a spate of resignations, prominent Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg directly challenged May in the House of Commons. He later submitted a letter of no-confidence in her leadership of the Conservative Party.
Conservative MP Vara for North-West Cambridgeshire, who has been a minister in the Northern Ireland Office since January, said, “We are a proud nation and it is a sad day when we are reduced to obeying rules made by other nations who have shown that they do not have our best interests at heart. The people of the UK deserve better.’’
He attacked the draft withdrawal agreement which would form the basis of the UK’s exit from the EU by March, 29, 2019 as a “half-way house with no time limit on when we will finally become a sovereign nation”.
The resignation of Raab, the man involved with the actual drafting of the agreement with EU counterparts, throws Prime Minister May’s leadership in turmoil.
Raab, who took charge as Secretary of State for Exiting the EU after his predecessor David Davis stepped down in protest over May’s Brexit negotiations in July, said the proposed arrangement to avoid a post-Brexit border with Northern Ireland is a ‘‘very real threat to the integrity of the United Kingdom’’.
Raab’s resignation was followed by another pro-Brexit minister, work and pensions secretary Esther McVey, announcing that she is resigning from the Cabinet over the issue. Another junior Brexit minister Suella Braverman quit over Brexit, shortly after her former boss Raab quit office.
The resignations are being seen as a sign of bigger troubles ahead for May, who defended the deal before belligerent MPs in the House of Commons.
Making a statement on the withdrawal agreement, dubbed the Outline Political Declaration, at the heart of the intensifying rebellion, May said she respected the views of her Cabinet members who chose to resign but delivering Brexit involves difficult choices.
“The choice is clear. 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….,” May said in her statement.