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British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Government Imploding Over Her Handling of Brexit

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LONDON – British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government imploded on Monday as Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson followed Brexit minister David Davis in resigning over her plan for Britain’s future outside the European Union.

Johnson warned Monday as he quit as foreign secretary that the Brexit “dream is dying” and Britain is “headed for the status of colony” with its plan to stay close to the EU.

In a two-page letter to Prime Minister Theresa May, the leading Brexit supporter said that while he initially accepted the government’s proposal, it now “sticks in the throat”.

“Brexit should be about opportunity and hope. It should be a chance to do things differently, to be more nimble and dynamic, and to maximise the particular advantages of the UK as an open, outward-looking global economy,” he wrote.

“That dream is dying, suffocated by needless self-doubt.”

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UK senior ministers Boris Johnson (L) and David Davis have baulked at Theresa May’s plans to keep Britain close to the bloc

 

Johnson warned Britain was headed for the “status of colony” of the European Union after it leaves in March, and said the Brexit “dream is dying”.

His dramatic resignation followed those of Davis and his deputy Steve Banker overnight over May’s plans to keep Britain economically close to the bloc.

May replaced Johnson at the foreign office with Jeremy Hunt.

Hunt, who had been the health secretary, is considered one of May’s most loyal ministers. He backed the “remain” side in Britain’s 2016 EU membership referendum, and favours keeping close economic ties to the bloc after the UK leaves next year.

The departures, hailed by eurosceptic MPs in the ruling Conservative party, triggered speculation that May could face an imminent leadership contest.

Appearing in the House of Commons just minutes later, a confident-sounding May defended her Brexit plan.

“This is not a betrayal,” she responded to one of several eurosceptic Conservative MPs who complained, insisting it was “the right Brexit deal for Britain”.

May announced on Friday that her warring cabinet had finally agreed to a plan to follow EU rules for trade in goods, raising hopes that long-stalled talks with the bloc could progress.

The truce did not last the weekend after Davis quit on Sunday night, warning that Britain was “giving too much away too easily” in Brexit talks.

On Monday, when Johnson was supposed to be hosting a summit on the Western Balkans, Downing Street announced he had also gone.

“The government now has a song to sing. The trouble is that I have practised the words over the weekend and find they stick in the throat,” he wrote to May.

The timing could not be worse, as Britain faces a fresh diplomatic row with Russia over a nerve agent attack, and ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit this week.

Brexit negotiations with Brussels are also expected to resume on Monday.

Downing Street swiftly appointed eurosceptic housing minister Dominic Raab to Davis’s job, and said it expected to replace Johnson imminently.

May said she now wanted to advance the Brexit talks, saying she had briefed EU leaders on her plan in recent days and received a “positive reaction”.

All eyes are now on the next move by Brexit hardliners in May’s centre-right Conservative Party.

Davis himself expressed regret that Johnson had quit, and said it would “wrong” for his departure to trigger a major rebellion.

The appointment of Raab, a leading Brexit supporter, and the decision of some eurosceptic ministers to stay suggests Tory Brexiteers are divided.

But rumours swirled about a possible leadership challenge, amid reports that MPs were submitting letters to challenge May to the party’s influential 1922 committee.

A Downing Street spokesman confirmed that if pushed to a confidence vote, May would not resign.

 

The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse

 

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