LONDON - Prime Minister Theresa May will promise Britain bright prospects outside the European Union on Thursday when she tours a country still deeply divided about its future as the countdown to Brexit starts its last 12 months.
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May makes a speech London, March 5, 2018. REUTERS/Frank Augstein/Pool/File Photo
Britain will leave the European Union at 2300 GMT on March 29, 2019, severing ties that helped define its national identity, its laws, and its international stature over 46 years of integration with European neighbours.
The world’s sixth largest economy caused a major global shock in 2016 by narrowly voting to withdraw from the EU after a fevered referendum campaign that sharpened regional divisions, pitted young against old, and exposed a deep distrust between voters and the political establishment.
In the 21 months since the referendum vote, May, who became prime minister in the resulting political chaos, has struggled to unite the country behind a single vision of Brexit.
Polls show voters’ disparate views on leaving are entrenched, and few have any certainty about Britain’s long term future.
On Thursday, May will meet voters in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — a whirlwind tour designed as a rallying cry for the union between the four nations, and to paint a positive post-Brexit vision.
Anti-Brexit demonstrators waving EU and Union flags are reflected in a puddle in front of the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville
“I am determined that our future will be a bright one,” she said ahead of the roughly 800-mile (1,280 km) trip ending in London.
“It’s a future in which we trade freely with friends and partners across Europe and beyond. Having regained control of our laws, our borders and our money, and seized the opportunities provided by Brexit, the UK will thrive as a strong and united country that works for everyone, no matter whether you voted Leave or Remain.”
LONG WAY TO GO
May, 61, has 12 months to plot a successful course through difficult political and economic terrain.
Brexiteers fret that the EU divorce is taking too long and could be reversed. Pro-EU campaigners still push for a less radical exit or a second referendum.
At home, May only has a small majority in parliament and must find a way to corral her Conservative Party, which is still split over the best Brexit plan, into backing legislation that will prepare Britain for life outside the bloc.
That task has so far swamped her government and its administrative machine, leading to accusations she has taken the eye off the ball on domestic policy and given the socialist-led Labour Party a chance to build support ahead of a 2022 election.
In Brussels, May’s ministers have won little in the way of concessions from the EU negotiating team, setting a difficult tone for upcoming talks on long-term trading ties - particularly when it comes to the future of Britain’s economic engine: its financial services sector.
Anti-Brexit demonstrators waving EU and Union flags are reflected in a puddle in front of the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville
But, a transitional deal that effectively keeps Britain inside the EU single market until the end of 2020, agreed in principle last week with Brussels, has calmed anxious businesses and bought May time to work out the details of post-Brexit policy.
Among those challenges will be holding together the United Kingdom, made up of four nations which were split at the referendum: Wales and England voted to leave the EU, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain.
Scotland and Wales are drawing up contingency plans to protect their own interests in case they can not reach agreement with May on how powers regained from Brussels are redistributed.
Northern Ireland is into a second year of a political crisis that has left it without a devolved administration, and the future management of its land border with EU-member Ireland is one of the thorniest issues outstanding in talks with Brussels.
Against that backdrop, May’s tour on Thursday will focus on meeting a cross-section of voters to reassure them that she is working to tear down the barriers thrown up by the referendum, and that whether they voted ‘Leave’ or ‘Remain’, they will be better off after Brexit.
“I am determined that as we leave the EU, and in the years ahead, we will strengthen the bonds that unite us, because ours is the world’s most successful union,” she said.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said he will stand in any new leadership election, and reshape his shadow cabinet over the next 24 hours.
He urged people "to come together to heal the divisions" after the EU vote.
Shadow Commons leader Chris Bryant is the latest in a string of Labour shadow cabinet members to resign in protest at Mr Corbyn's leadership over the EU referendum - and more are expected.
Mr Corbyn said he regretted those resignations.
'Exit plan'
But he warned: "Those who want to change Labour's leadership will have to stand in a democratic election, in which I will be a candidate."
He also said he had been elected as leader with "an overwhelming mandate for a different kind of politics".
"I am not going to betray the trust of those who voted for me - or the millions of supporters across the country who need Labour to represent them," he added.
"Neither wing of the Tory government has an exit plan. Labour will now ensure that our reform agenda is at the heart of the negotiations that lie ahead. That includes the freedom to shape our economy for the future and the necessity of protecting social and employment rights.
"One clear message from last Thursday's vote is that millions of people feel shut out of a political and economic system that has let them down and scarred our country with grotesque levels of inequality."
'Deeply disappointed'
His comments came after he sacked shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, who told Mr Corbyn he had lost confidence in him.
Earlier, a party spokesman said Mr Corbyn - who faces a no confidence vote over a "lacklustre" EU campaign - "won't be resigning".
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell and shadow cabinet members Andy Burnham, Diane Abbott and Emily Thornberry have given Mr Corbyn their support despite the resignations.
Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson has said he is "deeply disappointed" that Mr Benn had been sacked and "equally saddened" by the shadow cabinet resignations.
He said his focus was to "hold the Labour Party together in very turbulent times" and that he would meet Mr Corbyn on Monday to discuss the "way forward".
Secret ballot
The series of shadow cabinet walkouts began on Sunday morning, hours after Mr Benn was sacked by the Labour leader.
Those resigning are:
Lord Falconer, shadow justice secretary
Chris Bryant, Shadow leader of the House of Commons
Heidi Alexander, shadow health secretary
Lucy Powell, shadow education secretary
Vernon Coaker, shadow Northern Ireland secretary
Ian Murray, shadow Scottish secretary - and Labour's only MP in Scotland
Kerry McCarthy, shadow environment secretary
Seema Malhotra, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury
Lillian Greenwood, shadow transport secretary
Gloria de Piero, shadow minister for young people and voter registration
Karl Turner, the shadow attorney general, also resigned. His is not a shadow cabinet post, but he attends meetings.
The Labour Party campaigned for Remain during the referendum, which saw the UK voting to leave the EU by 52% to 48% on Thursday.
But Mr Corbyn - who has been a long-standing critic of the EU and who is regarded as the most Eurosceptic Labour leader in years - has been accused by some in his party of not making the case for the EU forcefully enough.
As a result, a motion of no confidence against Mr Corbyn has been submitted by Labour MPs Dame Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey - and it is expected to be considered at the next meeting of Labour MPs on Monday. A secret ballot could be held the following day.
'Not a leader'
Meanwhile, a number of senior trade unionists on Labour's ruling national executive committee rallied in support of Mr Corbyn - including Unite leader Len McCluskey and Dave Ward of the Communication Workers Union.
And about 180,000 people have signed an online petition backing the Labour leader, who was elected last September in a landslide victory.
Media captionHilary Benn tells the BBC's Andrew Marr: Jeremy Corbyn "not a leader"
Speaking on Sunday's Andrew Marr Show, Mr Benn - who has ruled out any Labour leadership bid - said Mr Corbyn was "a good and decent man but he is not a leader".
"At this absolutely critical time for our country following the EU referendum result, the Labour Party needs strong and effective leadership to hold the government to account.
"We don't currently have that and there is also no confidence we would be able to win a general election as long as Jeremy remains leader. And I felt it was important to say that," he added.
In other developments following Thursday's vote:
Potential Tory leadership contender Boris Johnson has met with Conservative MPs Jake Berry and Ben Wallace at his home, and Justice Secretary Michael Gove
The prime minister's resigned. No one knows who the next occupant of Number 10 will be. And today, some of the most senior figures in the Labour Party are trying to push their leader out, too.
There have been concerns about Jeremy Corbyn's performance for months and months. But it was his role, or lack of role, in the campaign to keep the UK in the EU, and his sacking of Hilary Benn in the middle of the night, that has given members of the shadow cabinet the final reasons to quit.
Several have already gone, as many as half will be gone by the end of the day, I understand.
And documents passed to the BBC suggest how Jeremy Corbyn's office sought to delay and water down the Labour Remain campaign. Sources suggest that they are evidence of "deliberate sabotage".
Hours after Mr Benn's sacking, Ms Alexander, who joined Mr Corbyn's shadow cabinet last year, tweeted that she had resigned "with a heavy heart".
In a letter to the Labour leader, she said she respected him "as a man of principle" but said "I do not believe you have the capacity to shape the answers our country is demanding and I believe that if we are to form the next government, a change of leadership is essential".
Elsewhere, Ms Powell said in her resignation letter to Mr Corbyn: "It is increasingly clear that your position is untenable and that you are unable to command the support of the shadow cabinet, the Parliamentary Labour Party and, most importantly, the country."
But Mr McDonnell, speaking on Radio 5 live's Pienaar's Politics, was defiant, saying: "Jeremy is not going anywhere and will continue on."
Media captionDiane Abbott MP: Corbyn coup attempt "is a Westminster game"
He said the party members were "sovereign" and added: "It's the members who elected Jeremy and he'll remain."
The shadow chancellor said he was "disappointed" at the turn of events but he insisted the party would "come together".
Shadow international development secretary Diane Abbott also gave Mr Corbyn her backing and played down the prospect of a no confidence vote - saying it was being pursued by a group of MPs who had never accepted Mr Corbyn's election.
"If they want a new leader of the opposition, we must either have a proper leadership election - and this vote of confidence has no status in the (Labour Party) rule book - or they set up a new party," she told the BBC's Sunday Politics.
Image captionShadow defence secretary Emily Thornberry is standing by Mr Corbyn
Andy Burnham, who is running to be the Labour candidate for Greater Manchester mayor, also said he would remain in Mr Corbyn's top team, saying now was not the time for the party to plunge itself into "civil war".
"I have never taken part in a coup against any leader of the Labour Party and I am not going to start now," he added.
And shadow defence secretary Emily Thornberry said it was time for Labour to "show some leadership" and be a "centre of calm", adding: "We should be thinking about the nation first."
Meanwhile, Unite union general secretary Len McCluskey said a Labour leadership election would be "divisive and unnecessary".
Writing in the Guardian, he said: "Those Labour MPs plunging their party into an unwanted crisis are betraying not only the party itself but also our national interest at one of the most critical moments any of us can recall."
And he warned that the party would split if Jeremy Corbyn was kept off any leadership ballot.
Labour Party key players - who's gone?
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