UK PM May says she won't resign as she's not a quitter
WUHAN, CHINA: British Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday defied critics calling for her to resign, saying she was not a quitter and that she has a long-term job to do: delivering Brexit and domestic reform.
Mrs May has come under fire in recent days from several factions within her own Conservative party.
She has been accused by eurosceptics of watering down Brexit, by pro-EU lawmakers of risking Britain's economy, and by others who say her domestic agenda is too timid.
"I've said to you before, I'm not a quitter and there is a long-term job to be done," she told reporters on her way to China for a trade visit.
"That job is about getting the best Brexit deal, about ensuring that we take back control of our money, our laws, our borders, that we can sign trade deals around the rest of the world. But it is also about our domestic agenda."
The leadership question dominated a briefing with journalists on board a Royal Air Force jet to China, where she was to meet President Xi Jinping, with an eye on securing better access to Chinese markets and an eventual free trade deal.
Media reports have said the number of 'no confidence' letters submitted by lawmakers from Mrs May's own party is nearing the threshold which would trigger a leadership contest. The committee which holds the letters does not comment on the actual number.
Mrs May's future as leader of the ruling Conservative Party has been subject to heightened speculation after she gambled on a snap election last year which went badly wrong and cost her party its majority in parliament.- REUTERS
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