UK PM Theresa May says will quit if Brexit deal approved

British Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will step down if her Brexit deal is approved by parliament.

In a meeting with legislators from her Conservative party on Wednesday, May said she would quit if the twice-defeated divorce deal she negotiated with the European Union passes at a third vote.

“We need to get the deal through and deliver Brexit,” May said, according to a statement released by her office.

“I am prepared to leave this job earlier than I intended in order to do what is right for our country and our party.”

It is the first time the embattled leader has acknowledged she is prepared to resign in order to secure the votes for her Brexit deal to pass.

Britain was due to leave the European Union on March 29 but has been granted a delay until April 12, after parliament overwhelmingly rejected May’s agreement on two occasions.

“I know there is a desire for a new approach – and new leadership – in the second phase of the Brexit negotiations, and I won’t stand in the way of that,” she said.

She did not set a date for her departure.

Several MPs who previously voted against the deal have suggested they could now support it, if May produced a timetable for her resignation, allowing a new leader to take over negotiations over Britain’s future relationship with the EU. 

May’s announcement came as MPs debate alternative approaches to Brexit in the House of Commons. Legislators will hold a series of non-binding votes to try and find majority support for a new Brexit plan.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies