Theresa May agrees to set exit date

Prime Minister Theresa May has been forced out of office by her own party as she agrees schedule to step down as leader. Credit: Shutterstock.com.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has agreed with Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Conservative Party that she will set a timetable for resignation from office after the fourth Brexit vote in early June.

The announcement comes following a meeting between the 1922 Committee of Backbenchers and the Prime Minister where frank exchanges of opinion were voiced. MPs had wanted May to name a date, but are now satisfied with a compromise, one MP reportedly said.

The expectations are that her Withdrawal Agreement will be rejected by Parliament again, on or around the 4 June, and that she will resign shortly after, triggering a leadership contest that is expected to take place before the summer recess.

There is a long line of current and former ministers who have already said they will look to replace May as Prime Minister, including the former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, the current Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Treasury Minister Liz Truss, with a list of other contenders too many to mention.

With European Parliamentary elections due to start on 23 May and that if British elected Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are to avoid taking their seats in the European chamber a decision to leave will need to take place before 1 July.

If, as expected there is no decision to leave by 1 July Britain’s Parliament will be in recess from 26 July up to 8 October, apart from three days in September, for the summer and then the conference season. The Brexit extension is due to expire on 31 October.

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