Prime Minister Theresa May survived a vote of no-confidence over her handling of Britain's departure from the European Union. However, her margin of victory was significantly narrower than her supporters expected. May won by 200 votes to 117, meaning a third of her parliamentary party failed to back her. May said she was “grateful” for the support, acknowledging the “significant” number of MPs who voted against her. She said, “I have listened to what they said. We now need to get on with the job of delivering Brexit.”
May will now travel to Brussels on Thursday, for a meeting of European leaders to convince them that the only way to win backing for her deal is to give legally enforceable guarantees surrounding the Irish backstop. She said she now had a “renewed mission -- delivering the Brexit that people voted for, bringing the country back together and building a country that truly works for everyone.” Voting was held by secret ballot that began at 6 pm, after May made her final pitch to lawmakers promising them she wouldn't fight the next general election in 2022.
Later speaking in Downing Street, May vowed to deliver the Brexit “people voted for” but said she had heard the concerns of MPs who voted against her. Chancellor Philip Hammond also tweeted and said Wednesday night's result was “the right one.” “Now is the the time to focus on the future,” he said. “Her deal means we will honor the referendum result while safeguarding jobs and maintaining business confidence.”
In the Thursday EU summit, May will have an opportunity to spell out face-to-face the problems to leaders of all the other 27 member states. The EU leaders will then deliberate on possible outcomes, and May will later front up in Brussels, still the PM.
Meanwhile, Jacob Rees-Mogg, who led calls for the confidence vote, called for the PM's resignation, saying loss of the support of a third of her MPs was a “terrible result for the prime minister”. Brexit-backing Tory MP Mark Francois told the BBC it was “devastating” that more than half of backbenchers not serving in the government had abandoned the prime minister.
