Last week, Theresa May made a public speech outside 10 Downing Street announcing her resignation as Prime Minister. To many, this was not a surprise. But what does it mean for the future of our country and for Brexit?
From her speech, it is clear that May’s resignation is a result of party tensions and the hostility received as she has struggled to provide a Brexit Deal that Parliament will accept; differing views in her own party have meant that she has lost the confidence of many MPs, as we saw with the two no confidence voted earlier this year. Those MPs wanted a cleaner break fro, the European Union with Brexit and strongly opposed the inclusion of the Irish Backstop clause. May chose a softer Brexit, aware of the difficulties of getting approval for the legislation from wider Parliament which would be essential to pass it through both Houses.
Perhaps May’s resignation was also been sparked by her disagreement with many MPs who have lobbied for a repeat referendum, on behalf of the people. She states early on that “I feel as certain today as I did three years ago that in a democracy, if you give people a choice you have a duty to implement what they decide.”, standing by her decision to continue with Brexit regardless. May, after all, is the politician of “Brexit means Brexit”.
So what now?
Theresa May is set to leave office on June 7th, and the process of selecting a new party leader will begin the following week. The competing bunch includes many of the names you would expect: Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom…..but that’s assuming that there is no General Election held. Whoever becomes leader will have to run Parliament and work Brexit in a Hung Parliament, and so many commentators are predicting a general election before long.
Basically, if you thought Brexit was already a bit of a mess, it is certainly more so now without a Prime Minister or the prospect of a united Parliament who can do the necessary work to push Brexit through.
The UK has been under Conservative leadership for almost 9 years, so perhaps it is time for a change. However, the last general elections showed that UK citizens don’t really favour any party, and the chances of another hung parliament or a coalition are more than likely. So, the future remains uncertain, and we’ll all just have to wait and watch patiently….