UK PM resists ouster calls
British Prime Minister Theresa May received the backing of the last remaining pro-Brexit heavyweights in her cabinet yesterday as she battled to salvage her EU divorce deal and her job.
After a tumultuous Thursday in which four ministers resigned, MPs slammed her draft agreement and members of her own party plotted to oust her, May received key support from the top Brexiteers left in her government.
All eyes were on Environment Secretary Michael Gove -- a Vote Leave figurehead in Britain's 2016 EU membership referendum -- who had stayed ominously silent as his colleagues quit around him.
Asked yesterday if he had confidence in May, he said: "I absolutely do. It's absolutely vital that we focus on getting the right deal in the future."
Many media outlets reported that Gove had earlier rejected an offer to replace Dominic Raab, whose decision Thursday to quit as Brexit minister over the EU deal sparked fears the government could collapse.
But International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, another leading Brexit supporter, backed her and her deal.
"A deal is better than no deal -- businesses do require certainty," he said. "What we need now is stability."
Seeking to win over the public, May made a rare outing on a radio phone-in.
"I truly believe this is the best deal for Britain," May said of the proposed EU withdrawal agreement, adding that she was "very sorry" that ministers including Raab had quit.
May told LBC radio she would appoint a new Brexit chief "over the next day or so".
Brexiteer MPs fear the deal would keep Britain shackled to Brussels long after Brexit on March 29, 2019.
EU supporters say it would leave the UK on worse terms than it has inside the bloc and are calling for a second Brexit referendum to break the logjam.
Despite the support from Gove and Fox, May could yet face a vote of no confidence from her own MPs. At least 48 Conservative MPs are required to submit letters of no confidence in the party leader to trigger a vote and 21 have publicly confirmed they had done so.
If May wins such a vote, she cannot be challenged for 12 months.
May's Conservatives have no majority in parliament's lower House of Commons, but govern through an agreement with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
However, DUP lawmakers were among MPs from all sides who lined up in the chamber on Thursday to warn they could not support her Brexit deal.
The 585-page draft deal aims to ensure a smooth divorce from the EU. Key provisions seek to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, protect citizens' rights and settle Britain's outstanding payments to the bloc.
EU leaders will hold an extraordinary Brexit summit on November 25.
If they approve the agreement, the British parliament is scheduled to vote on it in early December.
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