British PM May warns: Back me or risk no Brexit at all
LONDON British Prime Minister Theresa May warned her divided party yesterday that there may be "no Brexit at all" if they wrecked her plan to forge a close relationship with the European Union after leaving the world's biggest trading bloc.
"My message to the country this weekend is simple: We need to keep our eyes on the prize," Mrs May wrote on Facebook.
"If we don't, we risk ending up with no Brexit at all."
Linking the fate of Brexit to her survival in such an explicit way indicates just how precarious Mrs May's position remains after her government was thrust into crisis and US President Donald Trump publicly criticised her Brexit strategy.
With less than nine months to go before the UK is due to leave the EU on March 29, 2019, the country, the political elite and business leaders are still deeply divided over whether Brexit should happen and, if so, how.
Mrs May does not yet have a Brexit deal with the EU so the British government has stepped up planning for a "no deal" Brexit that could spook financial markets.
But she has repeatedly said Brexit will happen and has ruled out a rerun of the 2016 referendum.
To try to forge a balance between those seeking a smooth Brexit and those who fear staying too close to the EU's orbit would undermine the very nature of Brexit, Mrs May sought the approval of senior ministers for her plans on July 6.
After hours of talks at her Chequers country residence, she appeared to have won over her Cabinet, but just two days later Mr David Davis resigned as Brexit secretary, followed by her foreign minister, Mr Boris Johnson, the next day.
Mrs May's position was further undermined by Mr Trump who said in an interview published in Rupert Murdoch's Sun newspaper on Friday that her proposals would probably kill off any chance of a post-Brexit trade deal with the world's biggest economy.- REUTERS
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