Theresa May Promises To Resign If Her Brexit Deal Is Passed

Theresa May on Wednesday night promised to relinquish the leadership of the Conservative Party once Britain’s divorce from the European Union is completed.

The U.K. prime minister, who is battling to keep her Brexit deal alive amid continuing opposition in parliament, gave no date when she would step aside but made clear it is conditional on MPs agreeing the legislation necessary to take Britain out of the European Union.

Amid loud banging on desks by the MPs, the prime minister said she has “heard very clearly the mood of the parliamentary party.”

“I know there is a desire for a new approach — and new leadership — in the second phase of the Brexit negotiations — and I won’t stand in the way of that," she told her MPs, according to remarks briefed to journalists following the packed private meeting.

The announcement is a last throw of the dice from the embattled Tory leader, designed to tempt recalcitrant Euroskeptic backbenchers to support her deal by holding out the prospect of a more hard-line Brexiteer taking control for the second phase of the negotiations when Britain’s future relationship with the EU will be settled

“I am prepared to leave this job earlier than I intended in order to do what is right for our country and our party" — Theresa May

May’s promise to step aside came as MPs began the process of holding “indicative votes” on alternative Brexit proposals Wednesday just 48 hours before the deadline set by Brussels to agree May’s withdrawal deal.

At last week’s European Council in Brussels, EU leaders gave the U.K. until 11 p.m. on Friday — March 29 — to approve the divorce package agreed between London and Brussels in order to trigger an automatic “technical” extension to the Article 50 negotiating period to allow Britain to leave on May 22.

If MPs are unable to agree the Brexit deal this week, EU leaders said the U.K. would have until April 12 to choose between leaving with no-deal or applying for a long extension on the condition that it takes part in the election to the European Parliament in May.

“I know some people are worried that if you vote for the Withdrawal Agreement, I will take that as a mandate to rush on into phase 2 without the debate we need to have. I won’t. I hear what you are saying. But we need to get the deal through and deliver Brexit," May told the 1922 committee of Tory MPs.

May pleaded with her colleagues to back the deal she negotiated with the EU in November that has been rejected twice by the House of Commons so they could complete what she called their "historic duty" to deliver on Brexit.

“I am prepared to leave this job earlier than I intended in order to do what is right for our country and our party," she said.

The move — which Downing Street hopes will encourage more Brexiteers in her party to hold their noses and vote for a Brexit deal they dislike intensely — is an advance on her previous promise to quit last year. Ahead of a confidence vote in her leadership in December, May promised that she would not fight the next general election, which is scheduled for 2022.

Backbench Brexiteer leader Jacob Rees-Mogg — who led the bid to force the prime minister from power last year — said the prime minister's announcement was "wonderfully dutiful." Asked if he is happy with the prime minister's pledge, he said: “There’s never any joy or happiness in somebody’s political career coming to an end.”

Several MPs said the prime minister’s decision would help in her bid to force the Withdrawal Agreement through parliament.

Simon Hart, the founder of the Brexit Delivery Group said May has been “passionate” in her determination to see Brexit through, despite losing control of the parliamentary process to backbench MPs. “Passionate about getting this deal through, passionate about keeping this party together,” he said.

Tory MP Gillian Keegan said: “Everyone took the speech positively.” She added: “The last two years has been hard work."

The MP said it would still be hard to get the deal through a hung parliament. “It’s something no other country has done. It’s the biggest thing we’ve done in 45 years."