Brexit and Theresa May’s resignation

• May was overshadowed by Brexit

 The Conservative party came to power in the UK following the general election of 2015. Picking up the reins of government, David Cameron pledged to hold a referendum on membership in the European Union before the end of 2017. True to his word, he held the referendum on 23 June 2016. The people of the UK were given two options in the referendum: to leave the EU or to remain in it. He lost the gamble. Leave campaigners won the referendum by 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent. Cameron resigned as the leader of the Conservative party and promised to go as soon as the new prime Minister was elected. At 49, Cameron was the youngest man to bid farewell to 10 Downing Street since the Earl of Rosebery in 1895.

On one side were the politicians, who campaigned enthusiastically for Brexit. Prominent among them were Boris Johnson, the Conservative MP, Jeremy Corbyn, now the opposition leader and head of the Labor party, and Nigel Farage, former leader of the Eurosceptic UK Independence party (UKIP).  They rode a wave of populism and took full advantage of the wind sweeping across the world. It goes without saying that the Brexit was largely driven by several factors. Chief among them were xenophobia, anti-immigration sentiments, racism and slogans like Britain must “take back control”.

If hard Brexit (no deal) is given preference over a deal with the EU, Britain’s economy would be thrown into disarray, it is feared

On other side were the politicians, who opposed Brexit tooth and nail. Their rallying cry was “Britain Stronger in Europe”. Cameron was their leader.

Following the resignation of Cameron, five candidates, namely, Theresa May, Andrea Leadsom, Michael Gove, Stephen Crabb and Liam Fox threw their hats in the ring for the Conservative party election. To her good luck, Theresa May won the election unopposed as other candidates were either eliminated or withdrew.

Taking office, May delivered a speech echoing populism, saying that “Brexit means Brexit”.

Settling in the government, she triggered Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon to formally begin the legal process of withdrawing Britain from the EUby writing a letter to the President of the European Union Council, Donald Tusk, on 29 March 2017. This set a two-year clock ticking on the Leave process. The deadline was set for 29 March 2019. Later on, the cut-off date was extended up to 29 October 2019.

Theresa May’s tenure as PM witnessed many challenges. However, she stood like a rock in the face of the adversity.

She announced general elections in 2017 in the hope of winning a majority. However, it backfired, robbing her of the slender majority she commanded.

After tortuous negotiations and painstaking discussions with the EU, she succeeded in putting the finishing touches to the proposed withdrawal Draft Agreement/deal. It was no mean feat. It is 611 pages long, and comes in two parts; a legally binding text of a 585-page withdrawal agreement dealing with the terms of the UK’s divorce from the EU and a non- binding text, a 26-page statement on future relationship.

She survived two attempts to vote her out. However, she refused to bow to pressure. The first challenge was mounted on 11 December 2018, when 48 of her party’s MPs put forward a “no-confidence vote” against her in the House of Commons. She defeated the motion by a vote of 200 to 117.

The draft withdrawal agreement was put to vote thrice in the House of Commons, but was voted down each time. It was first tabled on 15 January. However, it was defeated overwhelmingly. In its wake, May’s premiership came under threat a second time when the Labour party tabled a no-confidence motion in the Commons. She narrowly survived the challenge by 325 to 306.

March witnessed two rejections of the proposed deal bill; on 12 and 29 March. Needless to say, it was the issue of the Irish backstop that became an apple of discord in all three votes on the draft withdrawal agreement in the Commons.

Facing one challenge after another, May, finally decided to leave the premiership, drawing a curtain over a period of 3 years.

She expressed her profound regret that she could not “deliver Brexit”, announcing in a press conference that she will be resigning on 7 June as the Conservative party leader and will be heading the country until the new Prime Minister is elected. Besides, she laid great emphasis on the significance of “compromise”, dwelling on her achievements. With tear-filled eyes and a voice choking with emotions, she uttered the last line. She left the podium and walked back to the black door of 10 Downing Street.

She was tasked with one job: Brexit. She tried to put her best foot forward in solving this jigsaw puzzle. However, she could not live up to the challenge. She could not bridge the yawning gulf between her own party and the opposition. Her own party set up roadblocks in her way, thereby throwing a spanner in the works. Well-intentioned as she was, she tried to make everyone happy. She tried to walk a tightrope between the demands of the EU and those of the British people. Notwithstanding her unwavering commitment and untiring efforts, she could not. Like the iron lady, Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May too fell victim to factionalism and infighting.

With her resignation, UK is back to square one: it is between the devil and the deep blue sea; whether to leave the EU with a deal or crash out of it with no deal. It can’t have its cake and eat it too. It is to choose between the two competing options at the earliest. A second referendum on Brexit is still not off the table. MPs are toying with it. Now the Labour party, after performing poorly in the European Parliament election, is also supporting it. The holding of a second referendum, therefore, cannot be ruled out.

That Brexit is easier said than done goes without saying. May’s successor may face challenges to extricate the UK out of the quagmire of the Brexit. The sands of time are running out.. If the proposed withdrawal deal is ratified by the Parliament, the next Prime Minister is to do the bidding of the EU.

At the end of the day, one wonders if the successor of Theresa May would pay heed to Margaret Thatcher’s famous speech made way back in 1979 in order to strike a conciliatory tone in a profoundly divided country:

“Where there is discord, may we bring harmony;

Where there is error, may we bring truth;

Where there is doubt, may we bring faith;

And where there is despair, may we bring hope”.