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posted by martyb on Friday May 24 2019, @02:35PM   Printer-friendly
from the May-won't-any-more dept.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May Will Resign, Pass the Brexit

Theresa May has announced that she will resign as UK's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party:

Mrs. May announced on Friday that she would be stepping down as leader of her Conservative Party and then as Britain's prime minister, after repeatedly failing to win Parliament's approval for a deal to withdraw the country from the European Union.

A successor to Theresa May will be chosen before Parliament's summer break, the Conservative Party chairman said. She will continue as prime minister until the leadership contest is finished.

[...] Standing in front of 10 Downing Street, Mrs. May said it was in the "best interests of the country for a new prime minister" to lead Britain through the Brexit process. She announced plans to step down as the leader of the Conservative Party on June 7, with the process to replace her beginning the following week.

Previously: Theresa May: UK's Next Prime Minister?

UK PM Theresa May announces resignation amid fury over Brexit handling

foxnews.com/world/uk-pm-theresa-may-announces-resignation-amid-fury-over-brexit-handling

May spoke outside 10 Downing Street after a meeting with Graham Brady, the head of the 1922 Committee of Conservative Party backbenchers. She said she will step down on June 7. Her resignation will trigger a party leadership contest, and whoever wins that contest will take over as prime minister.

[...] Her announcement could complicate the upcoming June 3 state visit by President Trump to London to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, where he will also meet with Queen Elizabeth II.

May will still be in office during that visit, meaning it will nix the chance for a new prime minister to forge ties with the American president at a time where such relations are vital. A U.S.-U.K. trade deal is a top priority for the U.K. as it looks to depart from the European Union and begin making its own trade agreements -- and Trump has said "the potential is unlimited" for such a deal.


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Friday May 24 2019, @05:51PM (8 children)

    by GreatAuntAnesthesia (3275) on Friday May 24 2019, @05:51PM (#847221) Journal

    The UK existed hundreds of years without the EU... in the world as it was up until fifty years ago. The world is different now. We have superpowers, globalisation, the internet, massive global industries and supply chains and economic systems that require unprecedented levels of cooperation and integration. To suppose we can just close our borders and reset the clock to the age of sail is fantasy. Not to mention that your hundreds of years were characterised by Britain almost constantly being at war with one or another European country. That's not something I'd care to return to.

    As for The EU - Losing the UK will hurt but caving in would hurt more. They can't afford to do it. If they give way, then every right-wing populist in every EU country will feel empowered to make the same demands. The whole thing would fall apart and we'd have a continent run by a bunch of little farages with no big bad EU to blame everything on any more. I wonder who they would turn their hate to then?

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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 24 2019, @06:00PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 24 2019, @06:00PM (#847236)

    If you've looked around recently, you might have noticed that we've already passed peak globalization.

    Trump and Brexit are symptoms, the cause is that the last fifty years of the neoliberal bullshit you're espousing has not benefited a large contingent of citizens. I think you're naive if you think the EU can fight against that changing tide via coercion.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @02:38PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 25 2019, @02:38PM (#847597)

      What? Poor people today have fridges and TV's.

      That's a standard of living higher than the richest Kings of old times.

      Right wing gets to have it both ways.

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Dr Spin on Friday May 24 2019, @06:26PM (1 child)

    by Dr Spin (5239) on Friday May 24 2019, @06:26PM (#847268)

    The UK existed hundreds of years without the EU... in the world as it was up until fifty years ago.

    Yes - because we had a world monopoly on technology. Unfortunately the patents expired, or we gave them to the Americans for nothing, and then ran our economy in a way that made investment unprofitable.

    Now we depend on the EU for 3/4 of our food (half in summer, all in winter). Don't expect to live on a diet of haggis and Irish potatoes either.

    You might remember granny telling you not to bite the hand that feeds you. Granny remembers food rationing.

    The Theresa May "deal" is about having food. The problem with her deal is it makes no provision to pay for it. We also get other things from Europe - like customers for our businesses and staff for the NHS.

    The alternative of "no deal" involves no food, and for a lot of people, no work and no health care. (Unless you are Farage, Rees-Mogg, and Johnson, all of whom have houses in France, and who are fighting for a quick Brexit because they are terrified of forthcoming EU legislation that will reveal the extent of their stashes they have in tax havens). I agree that may of the Brexit voters currently have no jobs and not much food. They are fully entitled to be angry - but supporting the people who are the cause of their predicament is unlikely to make their situation better. The "European Legislation" they hate is mostly either a figment of Boris Johnson's journalism, or Tory party policy blamed on Europe because they know it is damaging.

    You may be aware we had EU Elections yesterday to elect MEPs - yes we currently have some sovereignty over the EU. The alternative is none - but the ERG having even more sovereignty over you/us. Given that they think the "nasty party" is too moderate with its austerity, it is hard to see any good coming of the Brexit party. The fact that the "majority" voted to go to hell in a hand cart does not make it a sensible idea.

    Europe might miss a few thousand drunken holiday makers, but its not like Brexit will affect their food or jobs much.

    --
    Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by VLM on Friday May 24 2019, @10:40PM (1 child)

    by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Friday May 24 2019, @10:40PM (#847391)

    require unprecedented levels of cooperation and integration

    Aren't those the problem, not the solution?

    Diversity in everything except political thought and leadership; what could possibly go wrong?

    Britain almost constantly being at war with one or another European country

    Essentially the argument is we're all better off if the globalists are constantly at (cold to lukewarm) war with the people of Britain. OK, well, sounds like fun for the attackers, but whats in it for the Brits if they choose eternal servitude?

    Most of the arguments for staying in the EU sound like pre-civil war American South arguments for how disruptive ending slavery would be, we gotta keep them pickin cotton for us for their own good.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 24 2019, @10:54PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 24 2019, @10:54PM (#847400)

      Cheap Southern cotton that fed the British textile mills and their corporate profits.

  • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Friday May 24 2019, @11:52PM

    by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Friday May 24 2019, @11:52PM (#847421) Homepage Journal

    We love Nigel, don't we? People don't know this, Nigel has been part of the Europe government for 20 years now. He's known as Nigel Farage MEP. Member of Europe Parlament. Brussels is built on a swamp, it's very swampy there. And Nigel's done more than anybody to drain that swamp. He was one of the first people to say, give the Nobel Peace Prize to Donald J. Trump. One of the very first and we're hearing that one more and more. Go Nigel!!!!

  • (Score: 1, Touché) by khallow on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:24AM

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday May 25 2019, @04:24AM (#847496) Journal

    We have superpowers, globalisation, the internet, massive global industries and supply chains and economic systems that require unprecedented levels of cooperation and integration.

    Not at the country level. Just throw up some free trade agreements and you're golden. The endgame of the above requirement was achieved decades ago with the creation of the Eurozone and establishment of the Euro. What's been going on since is extraneous.

    As for The EU - Losing the UK will hurt but caving in would hurt more.

    For who?

    If they give way, then every right-wing populist in every EU country will feel empowered to make the same demands.

    So what?

    The whole thing would fall apart and we'd have a continent run by a bunch of little farages with no big bad EU to blame everything on any more.

    Unless, of course, Europe decides not to do that. The little farages aren't the only ones with agency, right?