Opinion12 Dec 201812 Dec 2018

A Futile Leadership Challenge from Brexiteers in Denial

British prime minister Theresa May speaks with the American defense secretary James Mattis at Lancaster House in London, England, May 11, 2017 (DoD/Jette Carr)

With Brexit only four months away, its biggest supporters are still in denial about what it must mean.

They have called a confidence vote in Theresa May, believing that a different prime minister could negotiate a better deal from the EU.

They’re wrong. Read more

Live12 Dec 201813 Dec 2018

Theresa May Survives Leadership Challenge from Brexiteers

British prime minister Theresa May attends the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 8, 2017 (The Prime Minister’s Office/Jay Allen)

British prime minister Theresa May has survived a confidence vote called by members of her party who feel she has mishandled Brexit.
In a sign of how deeply Britain’s departure from the EU has divided Conservatives, 200 lawmakers voted for May and 117 against. Read more

Live15 Nov 201821 Nov 2018

May’s Brexit Deal Splits Conservative Party

British prime minister Theresa May attends a NATO summit in Brussels, July 11, 2018 (Shutterstock/Alexandros Michailidis)

Seven members of the British government, including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, have resigned in protest to Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
They — and many Conservatives — object to a potentially indefinite “backstop” in the withdrawal agreement that would keep the United Kingdom in a customs union with the EU in order to avoid closing the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Read more

Live14 Nov 201812 Dec 2018

May Wins Cabinet Support for Brexit Treaty

British prime minister Theresa May speaks with ministers at her Chequers country retreat in Buckinghamshire, England, February 22 (MoD)

British prime minister Theresa May has won her cabinet’s support for a withdrawal agreement with the EU.
The challenge now is getting the treaty approved by her ruling Conservative Party and its allies in Northern Ireland. Read more

Live9 Jul 201810 Jul 2018

Theresa May Loses Pro-Brexit Ministers

British Conservative Party leaders Theresa May and Boris Johnson (The Prime Minister’s Office/i-Images)

Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson have resigned from Theresa May’s government.
Both opposed her Brexit strategy of seeking as close as trade relationship with the EU as possible without accepting free movement of EU nationals. Read more

Analysis5 Feb 201821 Nov 2018

May Has No Good Options to Heal Party Rift on Brexit

Prime Ministers Justin Trudeau of Canada and Theresa May of the United Kingdom inspect an honor guard in Ottawa, September 18, 2017 (The Prime Minister’s Office)

Divisions over Britain’s exit from the European Union are once again dividing Conservatives, leaving Prime Minister Theresa May with no good options. Read more

Analysis17 Oct 20171 Nov 2017

Theresa May Repeats Alexis Tsipras’ Mistake

British prime minister Theresa May and her husband, Philip, arrive in Hamburg, Germany for the G20 summit, July 6 (Bundesregierung)

When Greece resisted demands for spending cuts from its creditors last year, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras appealed to the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, for talks with the other 27 heads of government.

His hope was that fellow leaders would be more sympathetic than the technocrats of the “troika”: the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Tusk rebuffed him and reminded Tsipras that the troika had been delegated by national leaders to monitor Greece’s bailout. The whole point of putting bureaucrats in charge was to avoid the politicians being tempted to cut Greece some slack.

Theresa May clearly hasn’t learned Tsipras’ lesson. Read more