A change to 10 Downing Street? Now? Ian Duncan Smith is completely against it, although the former Conservative leader is one of Theresa May’s harshest critics.
If there is to be a change at the top, then party members must decide who to lead, not five or six scary characters trying to make it up in the back room. “
Conservatives involved in power struggle
At the beginning of another important week, the ruling Conservatives in the United Kingdom are mired in a power struggle. Allegedly, several Cabinet members plan a fall of the Prime Minister, as it reported several newspapers on the weekend.
Succession candidates for a transitional period until autumn are already prepared. Above all David Lidington is called, her deputy – but rejects.
„I have not the slightest wish to take over from the Prime Minister, I think she is doing a fantastic job, if you are so close to the Head of Government and you see how that is, then you are cured of any far-reaching ambitions.“
„Long“ meeting in the evening
However, Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt and Minister of Agriculture Michael Gove are also being discussed as possible successors. Gove, together with former Secretary of State Boris Johnson, Brexit campaign in 2016 also faces acute ambitions for the executive chair.
It was not time to change the ship’s captain, but to take the right course, and that’s what the Prime Minister did, says Gove. Until the early evening Theresa May was sitting with rivals and rebels yesterday at her country home checkers together. It was a long meeting, it was only afterwards, without any further comment.
Test polls on different options
Originally, the government wanted to vote for a third time this week on the agreement, which has twice brought it to a heartfelt defeat. May wants such a third attempt but only dare if there is sufficient support from the deputies.
At the same time, test votes on various options are now being prepared, from resignation without agreements to other variants of a deal to remaining in the EU trial runs to find out what a majority in the lower house could possibly be. That should not be a government trick, warns Keir Starmer, Labor’s Brexit spokesman.
„We are moving forward with this initiative to get us out of the deadlock, but that must not mean that the Prime Minister says afterwards: no majority for nothing, here I am again with my deal, try again.“
Also, no clarity in Labor
However, the position of Labor is also not very clear. Deputy Party leader Tom Watson said at the big demo in London. For a second referendum that he could agree to the deal of Theresa May if she subsequently presented it to the people again. So far, Labor had basically rejected the Brexit package. Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was not even at the demo, although a second referendum is official Labor policy – term, it was said.
If and when this week at all to vote in the lower house and who then behaves like – that is not only completely unclear at Labor. The only certainty is: The departure date March 29 is still in the law, this is next Friday. Until then, the law would have to be changed.
