Brexit in the air as May faces plot

The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union was in disarray on Sunday as Prime Minister Theresa May faced a possible plot by ministers to topple her and parliament prepared to grab control of Brexit from the government.

At one of the most important junctures for the country since World War 2, British politics was at fever pitch and, nearly three years since the 2016 referendum, it was still unclear how, when or if Brexit would ever take place.

With May humiliated and weakened, ministers insisted she and the government were still in charge of the country, and the best option was still for parliament to ratify May’s twice-defeated divorce deal.

As hundreds of thousands of people marched across central London on Saturday to demand another Brexit referendum, May was the subject of what The Sunday Times said was a “coup” by senior ministers seeking to oust her.

The newspaper cited 11 unidentified senior ministers and said they had agreed that the prime minister should stand down, warning that she has become a toxic and erratic figure whose judgment had “gone haywire”.

Asked by Sky about reports of a plot and whether she had run out of road, finance minister Philip Hammond said: “No. I don’t think that is the case.

“Changing prime minister wouldn’t help us.

“To be talking about changing the players on the board, frankly, is self-indulgent.”

Hammond said the best way forward would be for parliament to back May’s deal, though he said it might not be approved and so parliament should then try to find a way to end the impasse. –