BRUSSELS (AP) British Prime Minister Theresa May was seeking a lifeline from European Union leaders today after winning a no-confidence vote among her own Conservative lawmakers but only after putting a time limit on her leadership.
May won the vote after promising lawmakers at a private meeting that she would quit before Britains next national election, scheduled for 2022.
Arriving in Brussels for an EU summit, May said that in my heart I would love to be able to lead the Conservative Party into the next general election.
But I think it is right that the party feels that it would prefer to go into that election with a new leader, May said. She didnt specify a date for her departure.
May was meeting Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and European Council President Donald Tusk Thursday before the summit, where she will seek reassurances about the deal that she can use to win over a skeptical British Parliament, particularly pro-Brexit lawmakers whose loathing of the deal triggered Wednesdays challenge to her leadership.
May caused an uproar in Parliament this week when she scrapped a planned vote on the deal at the last minute to avoid a heavy defeat. Two days later she won a leadership vote among 317 Conservative lawmakers by 200 votes to 117.
The victory gives May a reprieve the party cant challenge her again for a year. But the size of the rebellion underscores the unpopularity of her Brexit plan.
The EU is adamant there can be no substantive changes to the legally-binding withdrawal agreement but have suggested that there could be some clarifications.
The deal itself is non-negotiable, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said as he arrived in Brussels. So today is about clarification.
Rutte said EU leaders were willing to listen to May, who will address them before a summit dinner on Thursday.
May said her focus is on ensuring that I can get those assurances that we need to get this deal over the line.
I dont expect an immediate breakthrough, but what I do hope is that we can start work as quickly as possible on the assurances that are necessary, she said.
U.K. Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay told the BBC that there were signs of positive movement from the EU on the most intractable issue a legal guarantee designed to prevent the re-implementation of physical border controls between Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., and the Republic of Ireland, a member of the EU.
The provision, known as the backstop, would keep the U.K. part of the EU customs union if the two sides couldnt agree on another way to avoid a hard border.
Pro-Brexit lawmakers strongly oppose the backstop, because it keeps Britain bound to EU trade rules, and unable to leave without the blocs consent. Pro-EU politicians consider it an unwieldy and inferior alternative to staying in the bloc.
There is movement, but the question is how do we ensure that that movement is sufficient for colleagues? Barclay said. But colleagues also need to focus on the fact that alternative deals also need a backstop.
