Theresa May Suffered Historic Brexit Defeat, But Scrapes By in No-Confidence Vote

FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

Theresa May Suffered Historic Brexit Defeat, But Scrapes By in No-Confidence Vote

Jan. 16, 2019 (EIRNS)—Despite going down in British history as the prime minister who suffered the greatest defeat in modern times in Parliament, Theresa May has no intention of resigning, nor do any of her fellow Conservative Party members wish to oust her, because none wish to take the poison chalice of being head of government at this point. Nor do they want to chance elections in which many will be thrown into the political wilderness. The vote was 432-202 for, losing by a massive 230 votes.

The no-confidence vote called by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn after the defeat of May’s Brexit plan was voted on this evening after a volatile debate, with May barely surviving a vote of 325-306, with the Northern Ireland DUP and rebel Tories from Tuesday voting for May.

Regardless, the press had a field day, drubbing her “May or Dismay,” as one headline put it.

The Sun’s headline read “Brextinct” over a photo of May’s face superimposed onto a dodo bird.
The Guardian headline read “May Suffers Historic Defeat as Tories Turn against Her,” featuring a picture of the “No” lobby packed with MPs walking through it to vote against May’s Brexit deal.
The Daily Mirror focused on Corbyn’s no-confidence motion, with the splash: “No Deal, No Hope, No Clue, No Confidence.”
The Daily Telegraph headline: “A Complete Humiliation.”

Twisting the knife into May’s back, the daily often nicknamed the “Torygraph,” ran a commentary under the headline, “It Takes a Special Kind of Skill To Get That Many People To Unite against You.”

After the vote yesterday, the European Commission issued a statement that it will be making contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit. “The risk of a disorderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom has increased with this evening’s vote,” the statement read. “While we do not want this to happen, the European Commission will continue its contingency work to help ensure the EU is fully prepared. I urge the United Kingdom to clarify its intentions as soon as possible.”