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Theresa May is under pressure to resign over pledge of a "new deal" on Brexit/GETTY |
The United Kingdom had in June 2016, held a referendum on Thursday 23, a vote in which British citizens of voting age took part in, to decide whether the UK should leave or remain in the European Union. At the end of the voting, it appears majority of voters with a voting share of 51.9%, voted in favour of leaving the EU, while 48.1% voted to stay. But a merry referendum isn't all it takes to leave the EU, it's only the beginning of the process.
It's now almost three years since the referendum favoring leaving the EU was held, but the effort is currently struggling to survive for the three times rejection of the withdrawal agreement reached between the EU and UK by UK MPs.
While it is true that May's Brexit deal is currently struggling to see the light of the day, May herself is also at risk of being forced to resign as pressures from her own MPs continue to mount, following her pledge of a "new deal" on Brexit.
According to a report by Financial Times, Theresa May was on Thursday rewriting her Brexit deal in an attempt to head off a full-scale cabinet revolt, as the embattled prime minister clung to office in spite of intense pressure to quit.
Downing Street admitted Mrs May had abandoned plans to publish on Friday her withdrawal agreement bill to implement the UK’s departure from the EU, and that she was “listening to colleagues” about the legislation.
Mrs May is trying to stave off a full-blown cabinet revolt by rewriting the section of the withdrawal agreement bill relating to a second Brexit referendum, but this move would remove any lingering hope that Labour might back it.
Her closest advisers are split between those who want her to stagger on and have one last attempt to push her Brexit deal through parliament, and others who think she should accept defeat and resign with at least some of her dignity intact.
Mrs May’s fate could be decided on Friday when she meets Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench Tory MPs, who will warn her that she will be toppled unless she sets a date for her departure.
Sir Graham is expected to tell Mrs May she will face a confidence vote by Conservative MPs if she does not drop the withdrawal agreement bill which if passed will take the country out of the EU - in UK law.
Should Mrs May conclude she cannot bring forward her Brexit legislation, her resignation could be only days away.
The government did not set a date for a vote on the withdrawal agreement bill when it announced on Thursday the Commons business for the week starting June 3.