Theresa May to join EU summit after surviving no-confidence vote

London: UK Prime Minister Theresa May was on Thursday heading to Brussels for an EU summit after surviving a vote of no confidence triggered by members of her own ruling Conservative Party over her handling of Brexit. May will be seeking legally binding pledges from EU leaders on the “backstop” — the plan to avoid a return to a manned Northern Ireland border, the BBC reported. The EU says it will not renegotiate the backstop but may agree to greater assurances on its temporary nature. At Thursday’s summit, May will have an opportunity to spell out face-to-face the problems to leaders of all the other 27 member states.

After winning 200 votes to 117 or 63 percent of the total ballots on Wednesday night, May is now immune from a leadership challenge for a year. But in a last-minute pre-vote move, she offered a promise to her MPs that she would step down before the next election in 2022. The result was met with cheers from MPs as it was announced by Graham Brady, an MP who leads the 1922 Committee which represents Conservative Party backbench lawmakers in the House of Commons. Speaking in Downing Street after the vote, May vowed to deliver the Brexit “people voted for” but said she had heard the concerns of MPs who voted against her. “I have listened to what they said... We now need to get on with the job of delivering Brexit.” Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said that “her government is in chaos” and that the “vote makes no difference to the lives of our people”. He asked May to “bring her dismal deal back to the House of Commons next week so Parliament can take back control”. (IANS)

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