Mrs May to resign

According to the media she will resign this morning. Comment here if you wish. The sooner we get a change of policy on Brexit, which clearly needs a change of leader, the better.

273 Comments

  1. Henry Carter
    May 24, 2019

    Brexit is a mess because the promises made by Leave in 2016 are simply unacceptable, and never will be acceptable, to the EU. You cannot leave a club yet expect to keep on enjoying the perks of membership. Instead you either give up the perks (which means the UK suffering major economic damage in its trade with the EU and the rest of the world, which in 2016 Leave denied would happen) or you stick to the rules of the club even though you are not a member (which means the UK being a passive ruletaker, which in 2016 Leave denied would happen).

    Those are the facts. The exit of Mrs May changes things not one iota. Her successor will face the exact same reality. The problem here is not Mrs May. The problem here is the multiple false claims made by the Brexiters. Until the Conservative party confesses that the 2016 vote was won by ignorance and dishonesty, and pivots instead to a stance of sober realism about whgat Brexit is and can be, there is no way out of this fiasco.

    1. Narrow Shoulders
      May 25, 2019

      When the club is benefitting from playing extensively on the leaving member’s pitch the rules change Henry. Although your incessant plaintive bleating and defeatism suggest you rather enjoy being a passive rule taker so are working to remain in that situation

  2. stred
    May 24, 2019

    The head of the civil service has halted preparations for leaving on WTO rules. Who is going to tell him who is running the country and to clear his desk and hand over his computer?

    1. Caterpillar
      May 24, 2019

      This is a concern. If PM stays in place until July then another month of preparations is lost. One can only hope that the current Cabinet agree to switch all prep’ back on to give the next leader (presuming he/she becomes PM with the backing of DUP) full flexibility.

    2. Iain Gill
      May 24, 2019

      State mandarins of all types have been making hay for months knowing that there is no effective government holding them to account.

      Some of the stuff NHS civil servants are doing under the radar is outrageous.

      We cannot go on like this.

      1. margaret howard
        May 24, 2019

        Iain

        Surely according to Brexiteers that only happens with (unelected) Brussels bureaucrats?

        1. hefner
          May 25, 2019

          That’s the point, MH: people with a limited sense of agency over their own life tend to look for external reasons/agents for what is happening to them: so civil servants, EU bureaucrats, remainers, whatever… obviously nothing to do with them.
          Nothing here is grown from my own manure but comes from an interesting book “National Populism: The Revolt against Liberal Democracy” by R. Eatwell and M. Goodwin, 2018.
          Must be Farage’s bedside book.

        2. Edward2
          May 25, 2019

          No, I think it just proves the case that if you have weak government then other agencies move into the void.
          The EU has gradually taken powers from national governments and that is one reason Brexit was successful in the referendum.
          Some misguided people refer to it as a revolt against liberal democracy or deride it as populism.
          Quite the opposite is the case.

          1. hefner
            May 25, 2019

            Edward2, you might want to read that book, it is in fact quite positive wrt populism, put events like Brexit and Trump (and also look at other countries, Le Pen, Salvini, Orban, …) into some historical perspective, and give interesting insights into the various groups of people (and what they are longing for) attracted by populist solutions.
            As part of it, the sovereignty argument is also discussed and put it at what I think is its right place: Brexit might bring back sovereignty to the UK government, but whether that will have any impact on the lives of individuals (particularly the less well-off) is highly debatable.

    3. Peter
      May 24, 2019

      The Leave candidates for PM all voted for Withdrawal Agreement mark3. So there are major doubts around their commitment to Brexit.

      At least May has now publicly stated she is going on June7.

      General election needed soon to drain the swamp.

      1. Martin R
        May 24, 2019

        The last thing we need now is a GE because it will surely end in Corbyn gaining power. Given time and real leadership there is a faint hope that the party may be able to undo some of the harm done by Cameron first, and then May. A slim hope perhaps but better than the almost certain election of a Labour government in the aftermath of three solid years of treachery by May.

    4. sm
      May 24, 2019

      I would like to think that Sir Mark Sedwill will do the honourable thing…….

      1. Lifelogic
        May 25, 2019

        Well he could at least resign and forego his gold plated pension. He perhaps does not need to go quite so far as you suggest!

    5. Julie Dyson
      May 24, 2019

      A clean WTO Brexit has to now be back on the agenda, surely — EU parliament elections completely aside (well, until Sunday evening at least), Opinium’s poll today for General Election voting intention is as follows:

      LAB: 26% (-3)
      BXP: 25% (+1)
      CON: 22% (=)
      LDM: 12% (+1)
      GRN: 4% (+1)
      UKIP: 2% (=)
      CHUK: 2% (-1)

      Surely Mrs May’s successor can’t be yet another Remainer, or indeed anyone not prepared to push the reset button?

      1. jerry
        May 24, 2019

        @Julie Dyson; I assume that was a England only Poll, thus utterly irrelevant to a GE and the UK parliament!

        1. Julie Dyson
          May 24, 2019

          I don’t know about utterly irrelevant, but of course it’s early days yet — I doubt anyone in the Tories will want to risk a GE anytime soon!

          Still, I thought it was interesting to see how close the three parties might actually be overall, even at this early stage — and particularly to note it seems Labour’s fence-straddling has certainly not done it any favours.

          Everything to play for.

          1. jerry
            May 25, 2019

            Julie Dyson; Of course it is utterly irrelevant if you ignore Scottish, Welsh and NI votes when talking about a GE, without the 10 DUP MPs were would the current Govt be. Had the DUP not won all of those 10 seats Mr Corbyn could well have become PM as part of a grand coalition – good-night Brexit, good-night a lot of things! šŸ™

            I note that you still have not cited were this Opinion Poll was published or who carried it out, sounds more like the sort of ‘Polling’ written on the back of the fag packet in a Fleet Street pub near closing time to me…

      2. Lifelogic
        May 24, 2019

        Hopefully not a PC, tax to death, identity politics pushing, robotic socialist either this time. Also not someone who wants to force companies to actively discriminate against white men or kill free speech. Someone who would prefer recruitment on merit perhaps, even someone who thinks we should have freedom and choice in say healthcare, education, television, radio and how we choose to spend our own money.

    6. Richard
      May 24, 2019

      Time to stay vigilant.
      The Times says the PM may even try to pass the ‘less controversial’ parts of her Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. A ‘source close to Steve Barclay the Brexit secretary’ told The Times:- ā€œParliament needs something to do until the end of July and it would be helpful to whichever leader is elected to have some of the legislation in place given the October 31 deadline. You could potentially deal with citizensā€™ rights and the implementation period, which are largely uncontroversial. It would then allow a new leader to talk to Brussels about the other aspects of the deal.ā€
      Including ECJ involvement?

  3. Alan Jutson
    May 24, 2019

    Thank goodness it looks like she recognises she has to go.

    Simply the worst Prime Minister in my lifetime.

    Lets hope the Conservative Party make a sensible decision this time around, as it simply must be someone who absolutely believes in Brexit proper.

    1. Lifelogic
      May 24, 2019

      And low simple taxes, small government, cheap on demand energy, simple employment laws, a bonfire of red tape, an education system and NHS that works…..

    2. James1
      May 24, 2019

      Mrs May did not misjudge ā€œthe mood of the countryā€. She ignored it. Virtually the last words she uttered in her resignation speech were to the effect that compromise is needed. To the last she failed to understand that compromise is impossible if we are to be an independent sovereign nation state. We either remain in the EU or leave the EU. The vote was to leave. No ifs, no buts, no half way in, no ā€œsharedā€ sovereignty. We now need as her replacement someone who understands the opportunities of Brexit and is fully committed to it. It goes without saying that a fresh Cabinet is also needed, not to mention a thorough pruning of the civil service and every government department.

      1. stred
        May 24, 2019

        This sums the situation up precisely.

        1. Mark B
          May 25, 2019

          +1

    3. Peter
      May 24, 2019

      Worst British Prime Minister ever, in my opinion. I can see some merit in both Chamberlain and Anthony Eden and neither were Machiavellian schemers. Lord North is too long ago to claim the title and his reputation has ebbed and flowed anyway.

      1. mancunius
        May 25, 2019

        Lord North only lost America: May came close to losing Britain.

    4. Martin R
      May 24, 2019

      The worst PM in anyone’s lifetime. And she’s still clinging on to the last when she should have packed up her bags and cleared off, as anyone with any shame would have done.

  4. Edwardm
    May 24, 2019

    A change of leader would be a start – and a Brexiteer needs to be chosen as a replacement. All current cabinet members need to return to the back benches – those who think they are viable leadership contenders are living in wonderland.

    But I also suggest the 200 MPs who supported Mrs May need to be deselected and replaced by true conservative candidates for the next GE.
    Nothing so far suggests that will happen and so the Conservative party is going to suffer at the next election if it retains numerous candidates unattractive to Leave voters.

    1. Edwardm
      May 24, 2019

      Just seen Mrs May has resigned – good.
      She has gone back on all her promises -whatever she says cannot be trusted – she has brought this on herself, she deserves no pity.

      We now know the level of disloyalty and dishonour that has to be reached before a PM is persuaded to resign office. That level is far too high.
      We need new mechanisms to remove PMs and other supporting Cabinet members who display just a fraction of these levels of dishonour.

  5. Fed up with the bull
    May 24, 2019

    So, June the 7th it is then. Can’t come soon enough. The only thing I am concerned about is that it has been reported that if Boris is elected his idea of leave is to fiddle with the existing WA and just try to get agreement on the Irish backstop. Surely this isn’t good enough? We will still be in stalemate and this will mean we are not really leaving. It has been a problem all along. For goodness sake get some balls and just leave and then sort out the rest afterwards. Have the Tory party learnt nothing?

    1. Martin R
      May 24, 2019

      The Tory Party of Cameron and May have learned nothing and can never be reformed. Its leading lights need to be deselected and replaced by conservatives. But how that can possibly be effected when they are the majority I cannot imagine. I do know that unless it can change it is finished and the country with it.

  6. formula57
    May 24, 2019

    OK love, you said you were going. Spare us the exculpatory nonsense that follows.

  7. Iain Gill
    May 24, 2019

    Why has she not been forced to resign immediately. It’s a complete nonsense allowing her to continue for a few weeks.

  8. Horatio McSherry
    May 24, 2019

    “It’s been an honour to serve the country I love”.

    She loves it so much she’s spent the last three years negotiating with it on behalf of an external power.

  9. Newmania
    May 24, 2019

    New clown, same circus

    1. Mark B
      May 25, 2019

      Something we can agree upon.

  10. Mark B
    May 24, 2019

    But will we ?

    The HoC is dead set against Leaving, especially on WTO terms.

    To me her leaving is just a desperate act forced on the Tory MP’s not only to save their skins, but to position themselves for promotion. This has little to do with BREXIT and the good of the country.

  11. Ian
    May 24, 2019

    Question. With Mrs May effectively out of the way, can we still get out from under the yoke of EU control by just saying thankyou and good bye? Some call this a hard Brexit other WTO.

    The Withdrawal Treaty and the laws passed by a renegade Parliament seem to prevent this, regardless of any new Prime Minister.

    1. Timaction
      May 25, 2019

      In fact. What we voted for!!!

  12. Stephen Priest
    May 24, 2019

    She took a golden opportunity and turned it into a poison chalice

  13. Chris
    May 24, 2019

    I understand that she will be PM until the new leader is elected? She has only stepped down from being Leader of the Conservative Party at the moment. Worryingly a senior Conservative says that Parliament has to get on and do things with legislation including the WB, which he stated they could tweak, ready for the new PM to take it to Brussels. There seem to be some Remainers determined to push on, and May will be guiding them presumably till July or whenever the new Leader is elected. Two months is still time to do considerably more damage.

    I found the resignation speech very unconvincing to listen to, full of how good her intentions were, and how well she had done. Again the reality belies the words. I was particularly struck also by her last cry out “….doing the job I love” as it seemed angrily delivered as though it was our fault that we did not recognise what a good PM she was, and how dare people try to get rid of her.

    Harsh comments maybe, but I can no longer tolerate false sincerity. She is angry and looks as though she feels entitled to stay on

    1. Chris
      May 24, 2019

      Further detail from Leave.eu about comments about proceeding with parts of the WB:

      “If reports from the Times are to be believed, the situation isnā€™t so black and white. The leadership election will take up most of June and July, May will remain in Number 10 throughout that period. She will allegedly use that time to get the ā€œleast controversial elementsā€ over the deal through the Commons, making life easier for her successor. These efforts will not alter the situation however.

      ā€œParliament needs something to do until the end of July and it would be helpful to whichever leader is elected to have some of the legislation in place given the October 31 deadline,ā€ says a source close to the Brexit secretary, Steven Barclay.

      May will make a mess of Brexit right up until the very end. No surprises there”.

      This is not good news and will lead more people to the Brexit Party as they realise that they will not get Brexit with the Conservatives, even with a change of leader.

  14. Pominoz
    May 24, 2019

    I said that perhaps history would be made, with the last day of May, for the first time, being on the 24th.

    I was wrong it is now to be on the 7th June. so two more weeks of Mayhem there. But, then we learn that she will remain as ‘caretaker’ PM for many weeks afterwards. What on earth is she likely to try to pull with perhaps two months more effectively in charge.

    The Downing Street cat would be better left in charge from today. At least it would not be going on taxpayer funded jaunts to Brussels to see what more could be done to sell the UK out.

  15. formula57
    May 24, 2019

    With renewed apologies to the slightly irritating popular song of a few years ago: –

    May the quisling. Could she fix it? No, she couldn’t!

    Why wait until 7, June? An accelerated transition is needed for the good of the country, not a leisurely process to serve the convenience of the Conservative Party.

  16. John Probert
    May 24, 2019

    The conservative party now has an opportunity to choose a true Leader

    If it does not it will not survive for very long

  17. glen cullen
    May 24, 2019

    Be bold, withdraw Art50 extension today, leave immediately on WTO, start running as an independant country than negotiate a free trade deal with the EU under art24 GATT or not

  18. Iain Gill
    May 24, 2019

    “national debt is falling” she even lied in her resignation speech.

    Absolutely staggering.

    1. Caterpillar
      May 24, 2019

      Because GDP grew faster than debt gtew, debt as a percentage of GDP fell.

  19. Viv Evans
    May 24, 2019

    Well, she has now resigned, but the – to me – staggering point is that she’s only gone as leader of the Conservative Party while staying on as PM until there’s a successor.
    This will of course allow for time to somehow get her WAB through. I am certain she and her Remain Cabinet colleagues will do their utmost.
    I do seem to vaguely remember that there is a Deputy PM, his name is David Lidington. Why she can’t go and have him run business I do not understand … he’s a Remainer after her own heart after all.
    We’re not out of the woods by any means, there’s even speculation that Article 50 might be revoked in the end. So – keep alert.

  20. Ian wragg
    May 24, 2019

    Failed Home Secretary and an even worse PM.
    We now need to prepare for a WTO Brexit and if the rumours are true that Boris will accept the WA without the backstop then he must never be PM.
    We need to know exactly what the contenders for PM are going to do re Brexit and saying there is no majority in Parliament won’t wash as this is the default position on the statute.
    Action this day as Churchill once said.
    How could you let the oldest political party in the world come to this sorry pass.

  21. Tad Davison
    May 24, 2019

    Fancy letting a highly unpopular and most unsuitable lame-duck Prime Minister stay in office for another two weeks to oversee the D-Day remembrance services!

    That is such a hallowed and solemn duty, it is not to be cheapened, especially by a failed politician whose dithering, procrastination, obfuscation and deliberate subterfuge would have seen this nation supplicant to a foreign power of she had got her way.

    I can’t quite see President Trump wanting to be shackled to such a loser either, and who could blame him? He knows how to make positive decisions and get things done.

    Somebody gave this nonentity who was elevated well above her station and ability, licence to remain in post when even football clubs regularly show the way and get rid of those who cannot deliver their cards with immediate effect. The Conservative Party should have done the same.

    God help them if they can’t even get a sacking right! They really do need to get rid of all the gutless Jelly babies!

  22. Original Richard
    May 24, 2019

    I have no sympathy for Mrs. May.

    As a remainer she should never have taken on the job of leaving the EU and I believe she loves the EU more than either the UK or democracy.

    The worst was her continual lying to the country and Parliament that the WA treaty was leaving the EU when, as stated by the AG, there was no lawful means of exit.

    The way she secretly went behind the back of the department and people she set up to negotiate with the EU to negotiate herself directly with the EU via Robbins was unforgivable.

    It was when she finally declared this treachery at Chequers was the point at which she should have been ousted as leader of the Conservative Party and PM of the country.

  23. J Bush
    May 24, 2019

    She is indeed the worst PM this country has ever had. A disgrace to the previous office and the one she currently holds, despite the stiff competition. However, it is not just May that needs to go and go now, civil servants Robbins Sedwill need to go as well.

    I would hope whoever becomes the next leader has never voted for the betrayal document, never been part of the May’s cabinet (with the exception of the first 2 Brexit secretaries) and the cabinet is swept clean of the current mob and true democrats, such as yourself, are offered positions.

    A harsh message needs to be sent to all those who would try to usurp democracy; you will be held to account.

  24. Gareth Warren
    May 24, 2019

    She has announced the date as the 7th of June, on Sunday I expect CCHQ to wonder why she did not leave before the EU election.

    I noted before Tom Tugendhat was promoting Gove, I now hear Domonic Raab is running, someone I have no knowledge at all of, who are these people? They have done little to connect with the electorate via the media and yet believe themselves capable of the job on the “try me” ticket.

    I would love to see you as PM or chancellor, otherwise Mogg has said he will not run and that leaves Boris. He certainly has charisma, the only doubt I have that he will actually deliver brexit.

    Personally I’d expect him to unfortunately back the WA, but likely changed with many bad bits removed in a effort of brinkmanship with the EU. I’m not sure just the malthouse compromise would be enough to see off the brexit party at the next elections. If the EU did not accept this compromise then he must take WTO deal.

    The shadow of the recent EU elections will be cast over this leadership campaign, hopefully it will discourage another bureaucrat as PM being made again.

  25. Stred
    May 24, 2019

    She blubbed about the country that she loves. That would be the colony of the EU that she and her civil servants intended.

  26. Andrew S
    May 24, 2019

    Excellent news. The Brexit Party the true voice of brexit britain. Once again, Farage has delivered. He delivered the 2016 referendum despite Tory remainers, and now he has brought about the ousting of the tory remainer prime minister. Tory party will soon have to make a deal with Brexit Party and I expect to see Nigel Farage deputy prime minister with Brexit cabinet positions. Marginal Remainer tories gone at next GE.

    1. L Jones
      May 25, 2019

      ”Next GE”. As long as May’s surrender treaty hasn’t handed all the power over to the EU. In which case, it won’t be OUR General Election.

  27. MickN
    May 24, 2019

    She could have gone down in history alongside Mrs Thatcher. Instead she will be remembered as the worst PM we have ever had and the one who destroyed her own party.
    I fear even with Boris as PM it will be too little too late. He would have been the best candidate but he blotted his copy book by voting for the WA last time around.

    1. L Jones
      May 25, 2019

      Spot on, Mick. I was appalled when he and Mr Rees-Mogg voted for it, after telling us what a bad ”deal” it was, how it was a sell-out, etc.
      Anyone chosen who isn’t a principled and honourable person (like our host, Mr Baker, Ms Patel, and a few others) who has stuck to their guns throughout, simply won’t do the CP any credit.

  28. BOF
    May 24, 2019

    Yes, she has resigned, but I am dismayed that she will remain in place until the new leader takes office. Every day she is still PM is another opportunity to do damage to the UK.

  29. Andy
    May 24, 2019

    The undemocratic Tories are going to pick a leader without asking the general public.

    This is a party, we must remember, which was rejected by most voters at the last general election.

    And it was a party which has plummeted in popularity since.

    We need a general election now to give our verdict on these bandits.

    1. jerry
      May 24, 2019

      @Andy; “The undemocratic Tories are going to pick a leader without asking the general public.”

      Oh really!

      Tell me, Andy, when did the public have a say about Brown replacing Blair, when did the public have a say when Callaghan replaced Wilson?

      We do not elect Prime Minsters in the UK, it is not a Presidential style of system, we elect Members of Parliament, the party with the most MPs then forms the Govt. Indeed it is quite possible for a party to have won the majority of seats, and thus form the Govt, but for their leader to have lost their own seat.

      1. Andy
        May 24, 2019

        I know how the system works thanks very much. That does not make it right.

        In the modern world it is simply unacceptable to change PM without ALL of the public having a say. The system needs to change.

        It is only Tory luddites who refuse to change it.

        Incidentally I donā€™t why you lot always quote Labour issues at me. I loathe the Tories but I donā€™t support Labour either. I am no more responsible for their mess and their failings than I am for yours.

        1. jerry
          May 25, 2019

          @Andy; Your protests would be more credible had you not original attempted to make this a partisan issue, “The undemocratic Tories”, as you now admit, the same happened during Labour Govts.

          Also are you seriously suggesting that, should a party win the most seats at a GE, under what ever counting system (FPTP or PR), should their sitting leader loose his or her own seat the country should by politically in limbo until a new leader is elected and then hold another GE.

          Or perhaps you would prefer the UK to have a President…

          1. Edward2
            May 25, 2019

            Or maybe Andy would like us to follow the EU and have 5 Presidents.

        2. L Jones
          May 25, 2019

          A bit like they do in the EU, Andy? That bastion of the ‘modern world’.

    2. Juno
      May 24, 2019

      Yes Andy.

      Where’s our Trump ???

  30. J Bush
    May 24, 2019

    Thank God, she has given her resignation and leaving 7th June. Please make sure she goes then.

  31. Know-Dice
    May 24, 2019

    Should we be thanking Gina Miller?

    Without her intervention Mrs May would have just signed & ratified the WA.

    Sure we would have been half out of the EU, but with an EU noose that IMO would have been unacceptable..

    1. rose
      May 24, 2019

      It is possible that without Gina Miller, Mrs May would not have felt impelled to increase the majority; then she would not have defenestrated Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill; then she would not have sacked David Jones; then Lancaster House might not have been abandoned and the DWA might not have existed in that form.

      In losing Cameron’s majority and sacking her two Brexiteer advisers, and the clever Brexit minister, she brought about the arrival of the remainiacs at the heart of government and the doctrine that Brexit would no longer pass in the Commons.

  32. What Tiler
    May 24, 2019

    She’s said she will resign; to date she has not exactly been a paragon of probity, so I’ll believe it when I see it. Furthermore it’s a fortnight away, how much salt can she spread on the pasture in that time?

  33. Chris
    May 24, 2019

    I hope those that voted for her will reflect on their “expert” judgement. Would the membership or country have made such a poor decision, and is there a wider issue regarding the judgement of elected representatives?

    1. Chris
      May 24, 2019

      The comment above starting “I hope those that voted for her……”is not my comment. The “Chris” above must be a newcomer who has been allowed to use my name. Again this highlights how the posting of comments on this site is not secure i.e. people can post with impunity using other people’s names. It could lead to a very difficult/unpleasant situation where internet monitors investigate/take action against the wrong person for supposedly tweeting something offensive. This is serious, Mr Redwood, and other sites can manage their security for commenters satisfactorily.

      It is interesting and probably relevant that there is a notice at the top of the screen on my computer stating that the JR Diary site is not secure. I have seen that others have also mentioned that.

      Reply I cannot stop people using a name of their choice. Use your full name to avoid misunderstandings

  34. Jack Leaver
    May 24, 2019

    Mrs May still doesn’t get it. In her speech today she calls for the next leader and Parliament to compromise Brexit but is blind to the fact that her so called “deal” failed to be passed was because it was nothing short of a surrender treaty which she “negotiated” and agreed to with the EU (I presume the WA is what she considers to be a “compromise”). Anyone with scintilla of political sense would have known that the backstop was an anathema to the DUP let alone the true leaver MPs. Add to that the appalling WA terms of submission that would shackle the UK in a permanent EU vassalage. How could she have thought it would be acceptable when it concedes everything to the EU without securing the future trading terms for the UK. What ever happened to “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”?

    We now need a true Brexiteer as PM who can sweep away the likes of Olly Robins and the appeasement team and replace them with committed leavers. I strongly feel that anyone who voted for the WA should not be PM as they have demonstrated they have not fully understood the WA and the permanent implications for the UK if it was ever agreed even without the backstop. I believe a new PM should be committed to leaving without a deal because the EU will not change their strategy and agree to a new set of conditions whilst the UK remains in the EU and they need stress that Leaving on WTO rules is the start of a free trade agreement not the endpoint.

    1. L Jones
      May 25, 2019

      You’re right, Mr Leader. Those words of Mr Johnson headlined today in the Telegraph, about leaving ”with or without a deal” don’t fill me with hope.

      Again it is being implied that Brexit is all about trade. We all know that ”without a deal” doesn’t mean that at all. And we can assume that any MP who voted for Mrs May’s ”deal” thinks it was a good thing and might move forward with it. If they didn’t think it was a ”good deal” – why did they vote for it? Was that not dishonourable?

      I haven’t read that any who turned coat at the third time of voting for it have said they were mistaken, or admitted to playing political point-scoring games. Honesty would be appreciated.

  35. Ian Smith
    May 24, 2019

    Unless the Conservative party start acting like grown ups then this is a pointless exercise. Whether you like her or not, she deserves respect for trying to do what the public voted for. All she has faced is criticism and back stabbing from some of the most pathetic and arrogant politicians (from all parties) that this country has ever seen.

    The problem now is we get an unelected PM voted for by an out of touch Conservative party. I just hope it isn’t anyone in the ‘ERG’ as they seem to have the sole goal of ruining our country.

    1. What Tiler
      May 24, 2019

      Had she tried to do what the public voted for, then indeed she would have deserved respect. Sadly for your point however she tried not merely to sell the country into vassalage, but actually to BUY the country into vassalage. Treasonous, or stupid beyond belief, decide for yourself, but certainly not deserving of respect.

      1. L Jones
        May 25, 2019

        Mr Tiler – your comment brings to mind the terrible days of slave-trading – people being sold by their OWN people for profit.

  36. David Edwards
    May 24, 2019

    I am hoping and praying that Nigel Farage has gained a massive majority for the Brexit Party and the Remainer Tory MPs, fearing that they will be ousted at the next GE, will support a Brexiteer in the Leadership election.

  37. John Sheridan
    May 24, 2019

    The first step has been taken but many more still need to be completed.

    1) Elect a committed Brexiteer as leader.
    2) Fill the key Cabinet roles with committed Brexiteers.
    3) Obtain a pledge from Cabinet members that they support a no-deal Brexit in the event that the EU will not remove the backstop.
    4) Oust Mark Sedwell.
    5) Replace the current Civil Service negotiation team.
    6) Prepare the country for a no-deal exit.
    7) Reopen negotiations with the EU and keep in mind that ‘nothing is agreed until everything is agreed’.

    1. Pominoz
      May 25, 2019

      JS,

      Agree except for 3 which should simply read:

      “3) Obtain a pledge from Cabinet members that they support a no-deal Brexit.”

      1. John Sheridan
        May 25, 2019

        Yes, that would be simpler and clearer.

      2. Simon Coleman
        May 25, 2019

        Cabinet doesn’t work like that, for obvious reasons. Obvious to all but Brexit fanatics.

        1. Edward2
          May 26, 2019

          Wrong Simon.
          Collective responsibility means Cabinet ministers have to agree to a particular policy line or resign.

  38. Lifelogic
    May 24, 2019

    Indeed and what a pathetic lefty, green wash, identity politics, and proud of her new gender and race red tape leaving speech it was. She leaves with taxes as high, idiotic and complex as they have been for 70 years.

    “The deficit almost eliminated, our national debt falling” she lies even to the very end.

    If we do get another female PM let us hope it is not someone as dire, dishonest, left wing, PC, visionless and as robotic as she was. Can the party still recover and avoid Corbyn and a UK Venezuela?

    1. L Jones
      May 25, 2019

      Priti Patel?

  39. Nigl
    May 24, 2019

    She has gone, a personal tragedy for someone who has given so much service but ultimately was found out and chose and then relied on the advice of an untrustworthy group arrogant enough to believe they knew better than and could fool the general public. It is they who know look like the fools.

    Well done to you and the rest of your group for your forensic analysis of the b.s.we were being fed and refusal to back down and accept it.

    You must ensure this opportunity is not wasted and our Civil Service in league with the EU do not get the same agreement through via a different route.

  40. APL
    May 24, 2019

    Over the last week we’ve seen pictures of ‘tearful Theresa’ in the back of various ministerial vehicles. Today the BBC reports; ‘tearful Theresa May resigns’.

    She’s obviously been on a bit of a media campaign to engage our sympathies. But it she’d just done the job she promised us she’d do, there would have been no need for all these crocodile tears.

    She’s supposed to believe in equality, you rarely see a man weeping if he’s lousy at his job.

    She wasn’t a very good Home Secretary, and she’s been a useless Prime Minister.

    Good riddance.

    1. APL
      May 25, 2019

      Resigned but still Prime Minister.

      I wonder what damage she can do in the next two weeks?

  41. Stred
    May 24, 2019

    In the two months taken to choose a new PM, the civil servants will be doing everything they can to stop WTO or leaving with a better deal. Can’t the party put in an interim leader or perhaps a small committee of Leavers to make progress before the end of October? May is clearly incapable of clear thought.

  42. jerry
    May 24, 2019

    In her resignation statement outside No.10 Mrs May said something like “I know we can deliver Brexit”. Of course the Govt. can Theresa, the problem has been in you trying NOT to deliver Brexit, parliament didn’t have to do anything for the UK to have left at 11pm GMT on 29 March…

    At last now we might actually try to leave….

  43. nhsgp
    May 24, 2019

    Again the Tories make a mess.

    They needed to sack May, not let her resign, in order to make her the scapegoat

  44. Andy
    May 24, 2019

    Thank God ! She has at last Resigned.

    The trouble is the mess she has created will not be cleared up very easily.
    She really has been an unmitigated disaster.

    1. Steve
      May 24, 2019

      No, it is a mess engendered by your kind. Lefty Liberals who only accept democracy when it suits.

      1. Andy
        May 24, 2019

        You’re insulting the wrong Andy !!
        I’m the original, not that pinko-leftie imposter.

        1. L Jones
          May 25, 2019

          Why don’t we call you ‘Original Andy’ then? It must be galling to be confused with The Other One and his/her usually drippy comments.

      2. Simon Coleman
        May 24, 2019

        No, you people voted for chaos and it’s duly been delivered. You think Johnson or Raab can just take us out without a deal. They’ll have to hold a general election first and they’ve lost 5 million Tory remain voters already.

      3. Andy
        May 24, 2019

        You got the wrong Andy. The one you just insulted was the Brexit backing Andy.

        I am the one who think is a lefty liberal. Liberal – yes. Lefty – no.

        And I always accept democracy. I am simply waiting for people like you to deliver the type of Brexit you promised in 2016. And I am wondering why you wonā€™t? The Cabinet, government and Tory party has been packed full of Brexiteers for 3 years. Mrs May has been desperate for any one of you to come up with a Brexit plan which does all the things you said it would, while avoiding all the bad stuff you said wouldnā€™t happen. None of you can. Why is that? Is it because the Brexit you promised was a big fat porkie pie?

        In a democracy swift action should be taken against those who need to lie and cheat to win. Are you happy you supported the side which lied and cheated?

        1. Edward2
          May 25, 2019

          “The cabinet the government and Tory party has been packed full of Brexiteers for 3 years”
          The most ridiculous statement I have ever seen on this site Andy.
          I realise you desperately want to remain in the EU but stop making things up.

  45. GilesB
    May 24, 2019

    Sir John

    There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.
    Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries.

    On such a full sea are we now afloat.

    And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.

    This is YOUR moment

  46. Gary
    May 24, 2019

    She never got past being home secretary

    1. What Tiler
      May 24, 2019

      She was phenomenally bad at that, too.

    2. Martin R
      May 24, 2019

      She never was anything even resembling a competent Home Secretary.

  47. margaret howard
    May 24, 2019

    Very dignified leaving speech. Hope future historians will be kinder to her and recognise that she was surrounded by backstabbing minnows who now seem unable to find anyone better to replace her with than Boris Johnson, a liar, adulterer and fornicator.

    Hope they end up in the wilderness again where they belong and:

    Exit Brexit!

    1. Edward2
      May 24, 2019

      She did succeed in one way.
      She united both leave and remain supporting MPs in opposition to her dreadful Withdrawal Agreement .

    2. rose
      May 24, 2019

      Richard II, Charles I, George III, Nicholas II, Tony Blair, and Gordon Brown – all impeccable husbands. Somehow, it wasn’t enough to make up for other factors.

  48. Andrew Cullen
    May 24, 2019

    The question now is:

    will current Tory MPs vote for a new leader who is unequivocally pro-Brexit ?

    Because if they do not, then we have moved not a jot forwards to achieve a fast, effective departure from the EU by end of October.

    Then we will be in the midst of a major constitutional crisis.

    Plus, the biggest political party in the UK will be the Brexit Party, which currently is completely excluded from political power.

  49. ian
    May 24, 2019

    The EU will now be on manoeuvers to try to get your next leader of the party to do what they want behind closed doors.

    Will, they succeeded again.

    1. margaret howard
      May 24, 2019

      Ian

      So easy to blame others for ones own shortcomings. The only blame lies with a corrupt political system past its sell by date. It should be put out of its misery.

      1. L Jones
        May 25, 2019

        ”Corrupt political system”. I presume you mean your own country’s, Ms Howard, as you often denigrate it?
        Or are you speaking of your much-revered, impeccably honest and transparent European Union?

  50. MickN
    May 24, 2019

    A further thought occurs. Mrs May going is only half of the problem.
    Didn’t the Broxbourne Association make noises about deselecting Sourbry and were over-ruled by CCHQ ?
    I think that if in future the party wants foot soldiers to turn out for them then they will need to let them decide who the candidate will be and not have one imposed on them.

  51. rose
    May 24, 2019

    The great achievement of the May regime has been to expose just how resilient the country really is. If it can stand up to three years of misrule, and incipient Hitlerian lectern rule by one person, bypassing all discussion, dispensing with all constitutional checks and balances, then it can stand up to leaving the EU on October 31st without a withdrawal agreement..

  52. Al
    May 24, 2019

    It seems she will still be around as PM for the Peterborough by election – another excellent piece of strategic thinking from CCHQ.

    Also could someone please explain to her the difference between negotiation and compromise. The second without the first is just a series of one-sided concessions.

  53. steadyeddie
    May 24, 2019

    Be careful what you wish for. The ā€˜no dealā€™ exit may now be a likely outcome and lead to a slow decline in UK influence, wealth and respect. Mrs May was trying to compromise but some will not move, particularly the ERG.

  54. Kenneth
    May 24, 2019

    The Remainers have lost their most important ally.

    I am confident the Conservatives will now listen to the People rather than the media and elect a leader who truly believes in us leaving the eu

    1. Simon Coleman
      May 25, 2019

      The Conservatives only listen to grey-haired people living in the south of England…because they’re the only people listening to the Conservatives.

  55. Steve
    May 24, 2019

    At last, a date set.

  56. Ian
    May 24, 2019

    Well atlast , and we now hear people saying Oh she tried so hard , she is a Remainer, There bythe grace of the all powerful Establishment.
    Well it has backfired on them, and they in effect of there riding over the Democratic vote so completely, got so many of us mad, and how lucky we have been to have Fararge and his excellent Brexit Party, only them are going to make this happen.

    There has been damn all help coming from The 1922 crowd, some how no one in her party has been able to get rid of the worst PM ever in our history.

    We would like to think that lessons for the Establishment have been learned ?

    Come on Bo Jo show them how to carry out The Manifesto we signed up to .

    We learned in the paper yesterday that the EU offered May a Free Trade Agreement last year ?
    She tried hard only to keep us in letā€™s not forget that.
    We will also have to watch her on the 11/11 with all the other X PMs , every one of them is responsible for selling this Great Nation to the EU .
    Dissgracefull hardly covers the sacrifices made by our forefathers.

  57. ukretired123
    May 24, 2019

    The wretched agony continues even after 7 June as she is the caretaker PM!
    Her announcement on No 10 is tellingly deluded, boastful, hollow and vain.
    Very difficult, devious and dangerous person.

    At least You will be in demand Sir John as the resident ‘Agony Uncle’ sounding board for fellow MPs and constituents.

  58. Dominic
    May 24, 2019

    John

    You can remove the question mark now.

    Thanks

  59. Yorkie
    May 24, 2019

    For two years and more , a majority of commenters here have quoted the ever-changing statements of Mrs May, and what she probably would do in violation of them, that her strong opinion was nothing of the sort and she was Mrs Delay and Mrs Contrived Chaos ( two very old political tricks) with her design to leave MPs with no option but to vote for Brino.
    She has failed.
    Her legacy is not one of a patriot, one who loves her country, one who wishes to resolve division but of someone who wishes her own way and has been prepared to stamp on everyone in her way including the British people. No contempt has been had by any PM for basic parliamentary democracy, representative democracy, and the United Kingdom. She should not resign , she should be unceremoniously chucked out of our country and go and live in her own country in Europe. Germany may suit her until the AfD finds out and wishes her sent to Coventry with a German folk band playing the Moonlight Sonata

  60. Man of Kent
    May 24, 2019

    Well,thank goodness for that !
    Letā€™s hope we get a leader who realises that Brexit is a binary choice ,not in any way a matter of compromise and certainly not a matter for Corbyn to be involved in .
    How refreshingly simple is the Farage message ; get out in October on WTO terms and then negotiate from there.

    If only we could draft him in as Leader .
    Boris has blown it by voting for MV3 so far as I am concerned ,also JRM .
    Boris is too much like his father ,brother and sister for comfort but I will study his manifesto closely in the hope that we may get something that he will stick to .

    Until then he is no shoo in !

  61. William1995
    May 24, 2019

    Please brexiteers get behind one person. Needs to be someone committed to no deal unless EU willing to reopen negotiations. Also needs to be someone capable of bringing Conservatives back from 7% to beat the Marxists. It must be a heavy hitter. In my opinion this means Gove or Boris, and a cabinet made up of top talent (Raab, Javid, Hunt, McVey etc). Personally, I feel Boris is he maverick cabals of doing the above.

    1. Oxiana321
      May 24, 2019

      Without question, it must be a Leaver who implements BREXIT, but beyond that it has to be someone who has the commitment and tenacity to reverse the drift by the party to occupy the centre ground vacated by Blair. With hindsight, that strategy has been a huge mistake. It has drawn in to the party MPs who espouse values quite different from those of its supporter base, hence the disconnect we now witness between the Party and the country. In my view, that person must also have reforming zeal and absolute conviction, in the same mould as Thatcher, and not be like the weather cock that swings whichever way the wind of public opinion happens to be. Does Boris fit that description? I am not wholly convinced, but then the field is very thin.

    2. Martin R
      May 24, 2019

      Back stabber Gove? A delightfully enticing prospect (not).

      1. Lifelogic
        May 25, 2019

        With his plan to kill private schools (that provide over half the doctors in the UK) and save the state a fortune by paying twice over, A good expert too. All schools should be private with an education voucher given to parents that hey can top up. Freedom and choice for all,

    3. Original Richard
      May 24, 2019

      I believe Mr. Gove has consistently voted for Mrs. May’s/the EU’s Withdrawal Treaty – the one where we accept EU laws, budgets, taxes, fines and policies (trade, energy, environment, foreign etc) but without representation or veto and with no lawful means of exit ā€“ the one described by Mr. Vehofstadtā€™s assistants as reducing the UK to EU colony status.

      Do you really want Mr. Gove to be our PM ?

      1. Narrow Shoulders
        May 24, 2019

        I am pretty sure that Mr Gove’s intent was to get us out and then renege on the agreement. He has previous.

        He is however the most eloquent and persuasive of the candidates to declare so far and has a history of getting things done and until becoming ensconced at Dept for Environment usually got things done in a Conservative way.

        1. William1995
          May 24, 2019

          Exactly this. I feel the same disappointment for his judgements over last couple of years, but he is undoubtedly intelligent and extremely persuasive in a debate. He would would wipe the floor with corbyn every PMQs and could destroy anyone in a televised debate. He also probably appeals to remainers more.

          At the moment Iā€™d still support Boris, but letā€™s wait for the campaign and also who Sir John decides to support.

        2. Caterpillar
          May 24, 2019

          Narrow Shoulders,
          Renege? How would this be possible?
          Gove is not suitable for any government post, perhaps a future speaker.

          1. Narrow Shoulders
            May 25, 2019

            He has said let us get out and the renegotiate. That suggests he is minded to renege.

  62. Margaret
    May 24, 2019

    Have you got to be in the cabinet to run?

    Reply No. Better if you were not in this Cabinet with its failed policy

    1. Lifelogic
      May 24, 2019

      No one who remained in the Cabinet is remotely suitable.

    2. Tad Davison
      May 24, 2019

      Reply to reply:

      Anyone could certainly do better than that weak and lily-livered lot! Too many of yesterday’s men (and women) tainted by multiple failures. Under their stewardship the Tories became the bloody useless incompetent do-gooder party! Nobody had the bottle to stand up to Theresa May. If we now get Rory Stewart or one of the cohort of remainers, God help us! The Tories would have learned absolutely nothing and deserve to wither on the vine!

      We desperately need people with the guts to stand up to the EU and get us to hell out of the place, not create hurdles out of nothing.

      As leader, several Brexiteers could do the job well, but I’d probably go for Owen Paterson. Jacob Rees-Mogg would make a brilliant Foreign Secretary, likewise JR would make a brilliant Chancellor. The EU would then have a fight on its hands. The Home secretary needs to be VERY strong and resolute to fight the power of the hoards of do-gooders, not somebody who gives in to those who pander to criminals and emasculates the police service leaving criminals to do as the please.

      1. rose
        May 24, 2019

        The Home Secretary needs to be strong enough to return the police “service” to being a police force.

  63. David Maples
    May 24, 2019

    TWO ‘does’ and ONE ‘don’t’! 1. Elect Boris, 2. go for no-deal, but 3. do not call a general election. GE’s are about electing a party of government, not just a prime minister. We do not have a presidential republican government Ć  la the USA. Nicola Sturgeon is stirring it up as usual. If Boris ‘cuts the gordian knot’, as statutory law permits, he can begin to re-build the party. There must be no remainers in the cabinet(only in junior roles as long as they promise to behave themselves), and Sedwill, Robbins and Barwell should be re-assigned to the Ministry of Silly Walks, or be neutered in some other capacity. All the local Tory associations should be permitted to de-select suspect MP’s, and encouraged to select brexiteers(if they have problems finding the right people, I’ll even, reluctantly, offer my services!). Good, decent, patriotic men and women, educated, well read, courageous, determined, honest, honourable, sensible, ‘head screwed on properly’, unambitious, loyal, freedom loving, pro market economy, tireless and with no ‘skeletons in the cupboard’!

  64. Turboterrier
    May 24, 2019

    John Redwood would deliver what is required.

    1. Martin R
      May 24, 2019

      We have known that for two decades.

    2. sm
      May 24, 2019

      Many people would sleep happier if our host were at least the next Chancellor.

      1. Lifelogic
        May 24, 2019

        Indeed but ā€œsleep more happilyā€ perhaps. Anyone would be better than tax to death Hammond.

      2. rose
        May 24, 2019

        It looks as if you have to be the winner’s lieutenant to become Chancellor.

  65. Mr A N Townly
    May 24, 2019

    One has to say TM has not been a successful Conservative Prime Minister. She has allowed hard remainders (Hammond Rudd et al ) and the likes of Clark Sourberry to set the agenda post the referendum. To say to senior members of her cabinet ( Chequers ) my way or the highway because of her duplicity
    and secretive underhand treatment of Brexiteers in her cabinet she was doomed to fail because quite simply she was on the wrong side of the argument.
    If she had kept faith with the mandate gifted to her not only would the Conservative Party be seen as delivering Brexit we would have been out by now having concluded a mutual agreement with the EU. We need a committed Brexiteer as a replacement PM and those remainers removed from high office asap.

  66. Timaction
    May 24, 2019

    I think your Party left it too late. Who would ever trust your Party again or any manifesto.
    The worst Prime Minister ever!!

    1. Doug Powell
      May 24, 2019

      Anywhere!

  67. agricola
    May 24, 2019

    Looks like she has resigned. I cannot find any gracious words to mourn a long overdue event.
    Just make sure you choose candidates who are acceptable to Conservatives at large in the country. He/she must be a staunch leaver. Remain has had it’s say and it’s day. The EU result on Sunday should supply the ammunition to silence remain though some of them are too stupid to realise they have had their day. Were I the new leader I would be ruthless with dissent and there would be much blood on the carpet. A new determined leader, could on the power that May has wielded, just take us out on WTO terms with an FTA offer plus Art 24 GATT and let the EU sweat on it.

  68. Roy Grainger
    May 24, 2019

    Iā€™m a bit concerned Boris will triumph against all the Tory MPs trying to stop him, heā€™s the only one of the main contenders who could take votes away from BP. Still, I expect theyā€™ll continue their death wish and pick Rudd or someone like that.

    1. Tad Davison
      May 24, 2019

      Roy,

      Boris seems to be the favourite with the membership and wider public, but not with the bulk of remainer MPs it seems, which again demonstrates the disparity between those obstinate remainers in parliament who live in their own little bubble, and those of us who inhabit the real world. So how did they get there, and how do we get rid of them short of a General Election?

      To leave disloyal obstinate intransigent Tory remainers in parliament is to subject the new administration to fire from its own side, so a new leader must command authority to keep them in line, or find a mechanism to kick these remainers out altogether. I would prefer both.

      1. Roy Grainger
        May 24, 2019

        Several Remoaners have threatened to resign from the party if Boris is leader – unfortunately I simply donā€™t believe them. A coupon election cooperating with BP might be necessary.

        1. Simeon
          May 24, 2019

          If I were Farage, I wouldn’t be cooperating with Boris Johnson and the Tories; I’d be destroying them. The only voters that would prefer Boris to Nigel aren’t going to be voting Tory. Boris Johnson is unprincipled and untrustworthy. If he becomes leader, his one chance would be to actually deliver a proper Brexit. But any attempt to do so will split the Conservative party and trigger a general election. (Any Tory leader attempting a proper Brexit will face the same problem.) At this point, the electorate would have to trust the word of Boris. Some might be foolish enough to do so, but this would merely serve to split the Leave vote.

          The damage to the Conservative brand has been done. Only action could save the party, but the party lacks the necessary unity of purpose to pursue it. Voters that believe in Brexit and broadly traditional conservative policies should hope, if not actively work, for the death of the Conservative party, leaving the field free for Farage. He’s earned his chance to lead the country. The Conservative party has wasted theirs.

  69. Kevin
    May 24, 2019

    Theresa May managed to take us to the brink of vassal status, in my view,
    only because Mr. Cameron resigned. The latter was personally tied to promises
    made during the referendum. Mrs. May had no such baggage. This must have
    made MPs feel that they had to give her the benefit of the doubt – for three
    years. The UK cannot afford to do that again. We need a “Spartan” leader.

  70. Alan Warhurst
    May 24, 2019

    A day of celebration to most of us who voted leave, and I dare say quite a few of the remainers also.
    She now needs to be watched very carefully during her remaining tenure.

    Who is going to take over the mantle this time?
    For me it is Johnson or Raab, but I think it maybe time for a Maverick to shake the EU hornets nest.
    Time to clear the civil servants around No: 10 and 11.

    I think John Redwood would make an excellent Chancellor, and should immediately restart and accelerate planning for Brexit on WTO terms to show the EU that this time we mean business.

    1. James1
      May 24, 2019

      Well thank goodness Mrs Mayā€™s departure means that Mr Hammond will doubtless very shortly also be given the order of the wet welly. I guess itā€™s too much to hope that Sir JR or JR-M would be appointed chancellor, as either of them could do the job well. Indeed both of them at the Treasury would constitute what many people would regard as a dream team. The new PM might even have enough nous, creativity, confidence and lateral thinking to consider co-opting some of the best people in the Brexit Party, including Nigel Farage and send them into battle as part of the team for the benefit of the country.

    2. The Prangwizard
      May 24, 2019

      Why only Chancellor? Why not Prime Minister?

      Understanding economics means understanding human nature, it’s not just about money.

      1. Lifelogic
        May 24, 2019

        Indeed and so few lefty economists (about 80% are) understand human nature.

      2. rose
        May 24, 2019

        Sir John would be wasted as PM. We need him as Chancellor.

    3. Tad Davison
      May 24, 2019

      ‘Time to clear the civil servants around No: 10 and 11.’

      Amen to that! If it were down to me, Robbins would be first to go and get his P45 in tomorrow’s post!

      Civil Servants need to be reminded they work for ministers, they are not elected and do not have the final say. They should also be politically neutral and fiercely loyal to he crown.

      1. Pominoz
        May 25, 2019

        …and Robbins should be made to repay his Ā£20k bonus which he should never have ben paid by May in the first place. Bonuses are paid for positive contributions, not treachery.

        1. Tad Davison
          May 25, 2019

          Spot on!

    4. Doug Powell
      May 24, 2019

      Agreed!
      Then to be quickly followed by other areas where the new leader needs to show that he or she MEANS business: 1) abolish the House of Lords which is stuffed full of Traitors; 2) Stop funding the BBC that is stuffed full of EU grovelling neo liberals!

      1. Lifelogic
        May 24, 2019

        Much truth in that.

  71. Andrea Wood
    May 24, 2019

    Please don’t let her successor be Boris. He’s as slippery and indecisive as she was!

    1. Lentonia
      May 24, 2019

      HUNDRED PER CENT CORRECT. Boris will go for 2nd referendum and remain once he has got the PM job. Anyone who trusts him does not know him

    2. Gary C
      May 24, 2019

      “Please donā€™t let her successor be Boris. Heā€™s as slippery and indecisive as she was!”

      Is there any of them worth voting for?

      Saying that I would vote for JR.

  72. Helen Smith
    May 24, 2019

    Gone. Letā€™s look at her record, promised to put a Brexiteer in charge of Brexit, promised not to hold a GE, promised we would leave the SM, CU and ECJ, promised we would leave on March 29th, promised no deal was better than a bad deal.

    In addition she had the brass neck to repeatedly blame Tories who didnā€™t vote for her deal for her failure.

    Odd isnā€™t it that those who wanted to leave the EU hated her deal and those who didnā€™t could vote for it!

  73. Denis Cooper
    May 24, 2019

    On May 10th 2018 the Maidenhead Advertiser published a letter in which I suggested that “Mrs May should get herself a new Brexit adviser who will not talk such nonsense.”

    Unfortunately as ever she ignored my good advice and went ahead taking appallingly bad advice from Olly Robbins, just as she had previously taken appallingly bad advice from Sir Ivan Rogers and even from Jean-Claude Juncker, allegedly:

    http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2019/04/08/just-leave/#comment-1011582

    ā€œThe Observer has learned that May took the fateful decision to call the election having been urged to do so by commission president Jean-Claude Junckerā€

    So there he was pictured at the disastrous Chequers meeting on July 6th 2018, steering his boss, and the country, on to the rocks:

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/06/theresa-may-secures-approval-from-cabinet-to-negotiate-soft-brexit

    “Theresa May faces Tory anger over soft Brexit proposal”

    1. APL
      May 24, 2019

      ā€œThe Observer has learned that May took the fateful decision to call the election having been urged to do so by commission president Jean-Claude Junckerā€

      Facinating to learn that a foreign power has been meddling in our elections, with the complicity of our Prime Minister. Yet it wasn’t Russia!!

  74. Prigger
    May 24, 2019

    Remember Grieve said he would definitely resign from the Conservative Party if Boris gets to win. Vote Boris!Remind Grieve of his promise daily and hope he is never in power over any human being in whatever career he chooses . He is a good man but lacks logical thought, in my opinion, and also smiles sometimes at Soubry but not in amusement at her hair and eyes and pronunciation after noon.

  75. oldwulf
    May 24, 2019

    The UK has a first past the post democratic system. The 2016 Referendum was subject to this rule as made clear in the publicly funded “Remain” leaflet which everyone received at the time. Mrs May’s big mistake was to take it upon herself to look for a Brexit compromise from within the UK. The people of the UK had voted and there was a winner. Any compromise should come from the EU if it really wants a deal.

    1. Mark
      May 24, 2019

      Mrs May’s compromises are a perfect illustration of what happens under PR voting. The deal is cut in back rooms, and has nothing to do with what voters voted for or against.

  76. oneminutemoneymag...
    May 24, 2019

    She should have listened to friends like you who told her how to get out of difficulties and deliver the Brexit we voted for.

  77. CvM
    May 24, 2019

    Key question: how will a new leader get a form of Brexit the Tory MPs and members would find acceptable through parliament?

    1. Lynn Atkinson
      May 24, 2019

      No deal Brexit has been voted on approved and is on the statute book. Parliament need do nothing. It was Mayā€™s method of reversing Brexit!

  78. Sue Doughty
    May 24, 2019

    She did and you are correct.

  79. Ginty
    May 24, 2019

    I heard a Conservative PM making a Labour speech this morning.

    You cannot drive a car unless you are able to steer left AND right.

    It is the hijacking of the Tories by wets over the last twenty years which has destroyed both party and country.

    1. Tad Davison
      May 24, 2019

      Absolutely!

    2. Arnie from Newington
      May 24, 2019

      I watched a programme on Margaret Thatcher and Norman Tebbit spoke about Ted Heath lacked traditional Conservative values. This is exactly the problem with May, Hammond and the current cabinet.

      If you are in the middle of the road you will get run over.

  80. Kevin Lohse
    May 24, 2019

    Mrs May’s resignation is about 2 years too late. She should have gone after the awful mess she made of the snap GE in 2017, and it is the Conservative Parliamentary Party which failed in it’s duty to provide an authoritative, credible government by easing her out. We are now in a position where the bulk of the CPP is estranged from the majority of the voluntary party, with many associations in open revolt. Mrs May’s duplicity in the manipulation of Cabinet colleagues and the machinery of government is unparalleled in recent history, and the Conservative party has been destroyed by the combination of her overweening hubris and the weakness of those who saw things going awry but remained silent or ineffective. It will be the best part of a generation , if then, before the party is again able to challenge for power. There are some good people, including you, Sir John, whose political careers will come to an abrupt halt at the next GE when the electorate rightly punish the party for its incompetence. The sense of betrayal and outrage over Brexit will take a long time to decay. The Brexit Party, whose rise to prominence has shocked the world, is now the chief bulwark against the antisemitic Marxists controlling the Labour Party. the Peterborough by-election will be a test of how it’s appeal transfers from the European stage to the national one.

  81. Mike Wilson
    May 24, 2019

    Are we out of the frying pan and into the fire? Who next? Who will have the authority? Once upon a time being summoned to No. 10 would have a backbench MP quaking in their boots. Can’t see Boris being up to it myself.

    Who else? Raab? Naah! Gove? Naah. Leadsom? No.

    Esther McVey? Maybe.

  82. libertarian
    May 24, 2019

    Watch the Tories pick the worst replacement they can .

    Odds on its the absolutely detested by voters Gove

    1. Lentonia
      May 24, 2019

      Fabricant / francois dream ticket. The FF sake option

    2. Gary C
      May 24, 2019

      “Odds on its the absolutely detested by voters Gove”

      The next GE will remove him!

    3. Roy Grainger
      May 24, 2019

      Hunt is also detested by swing voters. They know the only one with broad appeal is Boris.

  83. Fred H
    May 24, 2019

    At last, only 2 years too late. She has been shockingly bad, and struggled on in spite of the H of C, and eventually the UK electorate, telling her she had not produced anything they could vote for. The EU personnel also thought her leadership a farce, and many ordinary Europeans now have lost all respect for the UK and its way of government. Goodbye and I suspect most of the country will shed no tears.

  84. Alison
    May 24, 2019

    She’s only gone when she’s gone .. but it sounds final .. In hope:
    Equally if not more important, as her departure, whoever comes in must be a true Brexiteer, must believe in it, be good at communicating, leading and drawing people with him/her. He/ she MUST be very good at change management.
    And he/she must bring in real experts in issues like state aid. Clearly, the UK hasn’t had sufficiently expert experts on its team.

  85. skiggy
    May 24, 2019

    It is noticable that she has resigned the day after the eu elections, her cu-de-grat to the Tory party. Appeasa May made no error of judgements or any mistakes, to some it was obvious what her plans were three years ago. Hammond was appointed Chancellor who badmouthed Brexit from the start but May never took action against him. She overloaded the cabinet with remainers so she would have an inbuilt majority of remainers and she used them to set herself up to betray Brexit. She made fine speeches and many promises. All designed to buy her time to do what she set out to do, destroy Brexit. She fired some remainers as a smokescreen and hired reluctant leavers who were easily manipulated to do her bidding. She has lied and schemed her way through for 3 years until it was time to show her true hand with her Chequers Deal. A hand that was set against Brexit but she lied through her teeth saying it was what Brexiteers wanted, knowing full well it wasn’t. When she failed with that she did away with Tory MPs and gave the task of our future to unelected Civil Servants who were moulded to their God the eu commision. She then came up with the WA Bill. A Treaty written out by the eu stating what the eu wanted, nothing more nothing less. Not one crumb, not one morsel on which Brexiteers could quench their desire to Leave. Nothing in it for the UK. She gave away everything but our babies but decided to burden us instead with millions of eu babies. Then she set about getting it passed in Parliament. She used every type of blackmail possible including trying to get remainers to pass ammendments that were so toxic to Brexiteers that she hoped they would instead pass her WA travesty.
    She couldn’t but she did get the next best thing for her, The No Deal was taken off the table even though she was not obligated to accept the ruling, she did. She rode roughshod over her Party collegues by bypassing them and tried to sell her soul to the enemy, an unforgivable action. 108 times she stated ‘we will leave on the 29th March, it was only another 108 lies. Every promise she made, she broke, every red line she laid down she destroyed. In the end in order to try to appease Labour she broke her final promise of No 2nd Referendum. It finaly became her step too far. What I want to know is WHY? Why destroy her carrear? Why destroy her Party, even those loyal to her misguided plans? Somebody has made it worth her while is the only conclusion I can see. Nothing else adds up. I fear the damage she has done may be too great to plaster over which makes me sad as there are still some honourable people in Parliament and I wish them all the best in the future and I mean that.

    1. Fred H
      May 25, 2019

      skiggy…..but apart from that do you think she did a good job?

  86. Mark
    May 24, 2019

    There is a need to cut short the leadership election, while still holding it properly. No hope candidates should be encouraged not to stand. The longer it drags out the longer May remains PM, and the greater the danger she breaks her pledge to leave Brexit to the next leader.

    Delay will only lead to more extension of membership, though it also gives time for the Brexit Party to organise for a general election.

    1. stred
      May 24, 2019

      Ere.ere.

  87. ian
    May 24, 2019

    Are you putting your hat in the ring for the leader or cabinet posts?

    1. Gary C
      May 24, 2019

      Hopefully . . . .

  88. The Prangwizard
    May 24, 2019

    But will we get a change of policy? We don’t want anyone else just carrying on where she left off. And what damage can she do in revenge for being forced out. This is a dangerous time. She will need to be watched.

  89. Lynn Atkinson
    May 24, 2019

    The new leader needs to have a clean record! Never having voted for Theresaā€™s Treacherous Treaty. The Tory Party does not have one minute to waste, it must implement clean Brexit ASAP so there is plenty of time to demonstrate the massive benefits – people must ā€˜feelā€™ them before the GE.
    Thank God The May is out. Iā€™ve been ill!

    1. Tad Davison
      May 24, 2019

      Well said!

  90. David Paine
    May 24, 2019

    Sadly, changing the leader is not going to make much difference, given the large Europhile pro-remain clutch of Conservative MPs. How would a new leader bring them to heel and achieve a clean Brexit unless he had the courage to threaten a general election or prorogue Parliament until 1st November?
    Would the Parliamentary Party even have enough Brexiteers to help a Brexit candidate get through to the vote by the grass roots?
    I’m afraid the Brexit Party Genie is out of the bottle and can only grow in strength and influence at the expense of the Conservative and Labour Parties, who are no longer to be trusted on Brexit.

  91. William Long
    May 24, 2019

    The length of time it has taken to get to the point of Mrs May’s departure, even though she remains in office pro tempore, because ‘The Queen’s Government must go on’, and the length off time it will take to reveal her successor, means that one has to ask whether the system we have allowed to evolve is fit for its purpose? It should not be the case that the difficulty of removing a Prime Minister is such that it damages the standing of a country with its neighbours and the world as a whole. In the commercial world, any chairman who had not long ago sacked a chief executive who had got into the tangle that Mrs May has allowed to immerse her would not be worth his salt. Unfortunately in the national instance, the chairman’s powers have been so whittled away that they no longer exist and that must be recognised as part of the problem.
    The other less controversial factor is certainly the Fixed Term Parliament Act which means that defeat in the House of Commons is no longer an immediate reason for resignation, and Mrs May herself made things immeasurably worse by, in effect, suspending collective responsibility.
    A better way of doing things must be found.

  92. charlesD
    May 24, 2019

    What change of policy? – ‘leave means leave’ – that’s the only policy we voted for

  93. Dave Clemo
    May 24, 2019

    Will there be a ‘None of the Above’ option on the ballot paper?

  94. ferdinand
    May 24, 2019

    Her leaving speech suggests she didn’t see this coming. What an indictment.

    1. Tad Davison
      May 24, 2019

      Hopefully, she’ll now seek professional help. No sane person could have tried to con all the people all of the time and not seen it was causing so much unrest.

      1. eeyore
        May 24, 2019

        Mrs May is a diabetic with the accompanying blood sugar and mood swings. She is chronically sleep deprived – someone with impeccable Downing Street sources tells me she gets four hours a night. I gather from doctors she also appears to be on the Aspergerā€™s spectrum.

        None of these factors are in her control. Those which are – courage and diligence – are to her credit.

        If you seek culprits for the sad pickle she leaves behind her, look instead to those in the Parliamentary Tory Party who promoted this lady beyond her desserts and maintained her in an office to which she was not adequate.

        1. Mark B
          May 24, 2019

          I could not agree with you more.

        2. Lifelogic
          May 24, 2019

          Indeed lefty pro EU loons, promoting a left pro EU loon. A robotic geography graduate with zero understanding of game theory, negotiation, human nature, logic, economics, the average Joe or Joanne, business or anything much else.

          1. rose
            May 24, 2019

            And no understanding or appreciation of history.

        3. Tad Davison
          May 24, 2019

          Sounds to me as though she was totally unsuitable in the first place. That rather confirms what I thought all along, and what people who purport to know the woman intimately have been saying throughout the day.

          I feel no sympathy for her. She clearly had aspirations well above her ability, but she assured us at the time of her enthronement she was the right person for the job.

          What a waste of three years!

        4. stred
          May 24, 2019

          This will be her best defence in the event of a judicial enquiry.

    2. Treacle
      May 24, 2019

      In her speech she said, “Against all predictions, the British people voted to leave the European Union.” Against all predictions? I saw it coming. Many people saw it coming. But evidently May didn’t, and even now she thinks that the vote to leave was a surprise to everyone. It’s just one little sign of the bubble she lives in.

  95. Monza 71
    May 24, 2019

    It had to happen, it’s just taken a few weeks too long in coming.

    What went wrong ?

    First, on the post mortem list has to be the set up for the negotiations.

    We are still unclear as to what was arranged and how negotiations were actually carried out. I assumed that David Davis, as Brexit Secretary, would be leading the team and providing the political direction. however, this does not seem to be what was happening.

    The first and biggest mistake was to agree to Barnier’s demand for phasing of the negotiations. We were on the backfoot from then on. Who signed that off ? I can’t believe it was DD, he must surely have been against it but was over-ruled by May.

    Robbins appears to have been the lead negotiator all along and he seems to have been reporting directly to May and not to Davis.

    At some point before Chequers, Robbins must have switched to secretive negotiations bypassing Davis. This led to the withdrawal agreement which resulted in all of the resignations after Chequers. If Brexiteers in the Cabinet had been aware of what Robbins was agreeing to, it would have been stopped.

    I cannot believe that the terms of the WA would ever have seen the light of day had more experienced Cabinet Members known what was being planned. They would have known that the WA would not survive first contact with Parliament.

    The ultimate blame has to reside with Mrs May but the Cabinet must share some blame for not insisting on wider political supervision of what was going on.

  96. Mike Stallard
    May 24, 2019

    When David Cameron resigned, he went straight off.
    Mrs May has promised to go on June 7th. But then she will also stay for the election of the new man/woman.
    I suspect a General Election must be in the offing too. And the Party Conference…
    I am not sure the obituaries are timed correctly…

  97. BR
    May 24, 2019

    So, she’s gone – or “going” to be precise.

    Now threatening to use the month+ to ‘bring in “non-controversial” aspects of the WA to make it “easier” for her successor’.

    Hmmm. Not over yet. Still work to be done to fight off this awful WA.

    Still – it shouldn’t be a treaty or even an agreement, since it’s only bits and pieces, so surely it can only be more indicative votes, which if not ratified as part of a full treaty in the fullness of time, would become largely irrelevant?

  98. ukretired123
    May 24, 2019

    Years ago a well known NZ head-hunter described this personality type as an ‘Executive Tap-dancer’ whereby they put in a good show on stage but actually never achieve anything. When things go wrong they can blame the weather, outside events and when pressed further blame other people but never themselves.
    They are very difficult to recognise except by the classic ‘trail of disaster left behind’.
    Also by the time you have discovered it will be too late and cost you a fortune.
    Similar types are Blair and Brown but many others among the political scene.

    1. Roy Grainger
      May 24, 2019

      A bit unfair on Brown who was a competent Chancellor standing up to Blair on joining the Euro. He just didnā€™t have the personality to be PM. May didnā€™t either but she allied it to catastrophic incompetence.

      1. ukretired123
        May 24, 2019

        Brown famously announced in Brussels plans selling 400 tonnes of our gold weeks before at rock bottom giveaway prices famously ridiculed by Nigel Farage expert in metals trading.
        He was finally undone by his theory in endogenous growth and the indecisive handling of the last Financial Crisis regarded as a car crash PM.
        Also son of a preacher but unlike MT.

  99. Bryan Harris
    May 24, 2019

    Still 2 weeks to go before she walks away as a free woman – God knows what harm she can do in that time!

    1. Chris
      May 24, 2019

      It is longer than that. I think she has the potential to do damage right until the end of July when the new leader should be in place.

      “May will remain in Number 10 throughout that period. She will allegedly use that time to get the ā€œleast controversial elementsā€ over the deal through the Commons, making life easier for her successor. These efforts will not alter the situation however.

      ā€œParliament needs something to do until the end of July and it would be helpful to whichever leader is elected to have some of the legislation in place given the October 31 deadline,ā€ says a source close to the Brexit secretary, Steven Barclay…”
      Source The Times and Leave.eu.

    2. Treacle
      May 24, 2019

      Every time she has had to make a decision, she has made the wrong one. We won’t be rid of her until the end of July, a full two months away, and she could do untold damage in that time.

  100. The Prangwizard
    May 24, 2019

    Will we find out now that she signed the surrender document all those months ago after all?

    1. Lynn Atkinson
      May 24, 2019

      She did not sign it! She has been begging Parliament to allow her to sign in – they refused!

    2. Tad Davison
      May 24, 2019

      The surrender document should be declared null and void, and the ‘negotiations’ started again – but they need not take long! I’d soon sort the b*st*rds out, and any red-blooded patriotic Englishman could do the same!

      We could have done so much better under a person who knew how to negotiate with the EU. They must have thought all their Christmases and birthdays had come at once. How did the EU negotiators manage to keep their face straight with Missus Capitulation and Robbins on the other side of the able!

      1. Kevin Lohse
        May 25, 2019

        What makes you think that Robbins was on, ‘the other side of the table’?

        1. Tad Davison
          May 25, 2019

          Lol I take your point Kevin!

          He was described as our man in Brussels. Others have more properly described him as Brussels’ man in London.

          We now have a chance to weed out such people from the civil service once and for all – provided the new administration will have the guts to do it.

          I’d retire a few peers too who hold similar sympathies. They’re a complete and utter waste of time if they can’t or won’t support the new government’s line.

  101. john griffin
    May 24, 2019

    mrs may seems a very nice lady,,but she wasnt up to being pm,,very few are, she has great guts and determination,,,,,but its not enough,,,you must have the talent,,,there are talented mps,,,i wish john redwood would stand,,,,,,but he isnt interested,,,,,,its a pity,,,boris will get it,,,unless the mps stop him, regards john griffin,

    Reply It is not that I am not interested. I do not think there is enough MP support to make a strong bid, and the field is already very crowded, so I am not standing.

    1. Bryan Harris
      May 24, 2019

      That is a real shame JR that you are not standing…. We need a total refresh at the top of the Tory party, and you could do that – You have a heck of a lot of fans…

      With so many in the ring, someone like yourself could actually win through – I hope you change your mind…

    2. Chris
      May 24, 2019

      We desperately need your expertise, principles, common sense, and brains as Chancellor. We have had inflicted on us for far too long mediocre individuals, who lack intelligence and common sense, have next to no outside world experience, and who have often gained their position through fulfilling gender quotas. We want far better than that.

      The problem is that EU membership has meant that many have not had to really think but merely translate into law and then effect policies emanating from the EU. Basically we have to do what we are told by Brussels, and that has apparently bred many lazy and complacent politicians, who no doubt are daunted by the reams and reams of legislation, which they can’t be bothered to read, and which they happily leave in the hands of the europhile civil servants to digest and regurgitate for passing into our law. A recipe for disaster.

      Indeed a disaster has been unfolding, and the political class seem powerless, emasculated, bewildered, not knowing what to do next – except of course one Nigel Farage who can see exactly what the problem is, and exactly what the people of this country are feeling so angry about. (There are a very few notable exceptions amongst the Tory Brexiteers also, but two of the best of them are not standing for leader).

      Meanwhile, there is now the parade of wannabe leaders, many spouting mantras and meaningless phrases, couched in suitably ambiguous terms so that they can attract this faction or that of the Cons Party. Who knows what Boris will eventually deliver if given the job, and that is the problem. We do not trust them.

    3. formula57
      May 24, 2019

      @ Reply – the Conservative Party has suffered self-inflicted wound after wound (perhaps fatally) over the last three years by not taking your advice, on the General Election, on policy platforms therein, on handling Evil Empire negotiations, on budgets and economic policy, on strategy and on personnel.

      What price will it pay before calling you to the fore in some leading capacity?

    4. Bernard Palmer
      May 24, 2019

      This is your time John Redwood You have to get out there and make a noise that will attract the attention of those that matter.
      About 15 years ago I wrote to you about the Primary Fundamental Right, the right of everyone to legally own their own body. You need to pick this PFR up as your jousting lance and head out into the contesting field. No body else will have such a magic weapon. Time to make a move John.

      “What is the Primary Fundamental Right?

      The Primary Fundamental Right is the most basic of all pre-political human rights. It is the innate right of a person to the ownership of their own body and the right to do what they want to that body.

      People who don’t believe that the Primary Fundamental Right exists should ask themselves this question; can you do anything you want to your body and not have the possibility of going to jail for doing so? The answer is definitely no. Because of legal constraints we are all slaves. We are not a free people, regardless of what we may think. Therefore all the freedoms we think we have are really illusions unless we own our own bodies. Remember, only slaves cannot make decisions about their own bodies.

      Every one of us, including the politicians, are now owned by our respective governments because of numerous iniquitous laws, including the drug prohibition laws, statutory rape laws and compulsory vaccination laws that they the politicians have enacted supposedly on instruction from the majority of voters. In reality we have all been caught up in a swirling Socialism torrent sliding downwards towards Totalitarianism for over 100 years. The drug prohibition laws are a symptom of that progression, but not the root cause.

      The Primary Fundamental Right exists because everything, with the possible exception of God, has an opposite and the opposite of Totalitarianism is the Primary Fundamental Right. “.

    5. Gary C
      May 24, 2019

      Reply to reply:

      “I do not think there is enough MP support”

      This has been the problem with the Conservative party for some years now, too many wet lefties have taken over.

      1. Chris
        May 24, 2019

        Guido has posted “the league table”.

    6. Martin R
      May 24, 2019

      A very great pity.

    7. Tad Davison
      May 24, 2019

      You have engendered a lot of respect and Loyalty Sir John. The tax and spend Hammond’s days are numbered. I for one would willingly lobby for you to be his replacement.

    8. Narrow Shoulders
      May 24, 2019

      But surely by putting your hat in the ring you at least secure a cabinet spot in the next administration. That has to be worthwhile.

    9. Iago
      May 24, 2019

      Yes, it is a great pity you are not standing. Like many, I think of Cincinnatus from his plough. Who knows, during the next few weeks something may happen that might give even the bovine 90% of the parliamentary party pause for thought and make them consider you. And later, Cincinnatus, as leader, you will have had great experience in driving on oxen.

    10. rose
      May 24, 2019

      You are probably the one man who is completely trusted.

  102. Billy Elliot
    May 24, 2019

    Let’s see what happens. We don’t need a brexiteer or a leader
    We need a magician.

  103. DaveK
    May 24, 2019

    May I ask, if the SI that Sir William Cash deemed an illegal act re the leaving date (video you linked to the other day) can be undone by a new SI by a new PM? Also I would like to thank you for your speech during the same proceedings.

  104. Brian Tomkinson
    May 24, 2019

    Too late for your party I think. Trust in MPs has been destroyed by the behaviour of Mrs May and all those MPs who, having asked the people to choose in a referendum whether UK should be in or out of the EU, refuse to accept the result, have lied and done all they can to reverse it.
    I shall always remember Mrs May for her duplicity and mendacity at which she excelled.

    1. rose
      May 24, 2019

      Too many people didn’t vote yesterday because they have lost all faith in our once world famous democracy. I fear the supporters of the people who brought about this situation will have come out.

    2. Chris
      May 24, 2019

      The current problem with the Cons Party, even though May is eventually going, is that there are those keen and willing to proceed in the same vein. They should go and join Vince Cable who has yet again publicly declared that he and his Party will do all they can to stop Brexit i.e.prevent the decision arrived at in a democratic process being honoured. That is a staggering statement and displays the utmost contempt for the people and the democratic process.

  105. Tony Sharp
    May 24, 2019

    Sir John,
    The facts remains as before – a majority of Tory MPs are fanatical RemaINers and despise their own ordinary members and supporters. You must split the party to leave these people behind – you know full well they will fix it so that there are only persons of their ilk who will be made the Leader-PM.
    May has destroyed your party, internally and with the electorate, it is beyond repair and you must find a vehicle to face the changed political landscape. More of the same Lab-Con dipole has been rejected.

    1. Iago
      May 24, 2019

      Grim but completely accurate assessment.

  106. Freeborn John
    May 24, 2019

    The assumption for planning going forward must be that it will be no deal. If the EU want to talk they know how to use a phone but nobody in the UK government should ever again get sucked into chasing a will oā€™ the wisp deal that will never amount to any more than Brussels jerking us around while collecting Ā£1bn a month from us. If Boris or anyone else goes to Brussels between now and the end of October this will never end.

  107. The Prangwizard
    May 24, 2019

    If anyone reading this blog is close to Fox News in the US and theireporter in London please inform them about Brexit. They have just talked, in connection with May’s decision to resign, about the UK ‘crashing out’ of the EU if there is no agreement on a deal.

  108. Freeborn John
    May 24, 2019

    It would be helpful if Trump and Boris could announce, during the presidents upcoming trip, a US-UK FTA that will come into force October 31, that any goods eligible to be sold in the US market can henceforth be sold in the UK, that the UK will end the Common Travel Area between The Republic of Ireland and Great Britain (leaving only freedom of movement between Southern and Northern Ireland), that the UK and US will no longer consider themsleves bound to defend Eastern Europe or any other NATO member that is part of the EU defence pact, and that the UK-France defence treaty is at an end. It is time that these European countries stopped getting a free ride at UK taxpayer expense.

    1. Roy Grainger
      May 24, 2019

      Sadly Pelosi and The Democrats would Block it. Maybe in Trumpā€™s second term.

  109. GilesB
    May 24, 2019

    Which Conservative MPs voted against Mayā€™s deal EVERY time.

    Thatā€™s the cabinet. Let them choose the leader

    1. Simeon
      May 24, 2019

      An excellent plan, with but one fatal flaw; there aren’t enough of them to make it to the membership
      Though even then, if it were Boris, or even Raab or Gove, or in fact anyone with name-recognition, as the other option, it would be them elected as leader. Far better for those MPs that consistently voted against the WA to realise they are in the wrong party and leave.

  110. Martin R
    May 24, 2019

    She has been allowed to stop the Party installing a caretaker PM for the next couple of months who could start to clear up the appalling mess she has made, and even more importantly, prevent her doing even more damage to the country in that time, which she can be counted on to attempt to do on past performance. Big mistake. If the Tory Party was worth anything it would act decisively now to remove this awful woman immediately, on the spot, and install a patriot to start to fulfill the solemn promises the party repeatedly made to abide by the referendum and leave the EU, before it is too late. I can think of no MP better qualified than yourself to hold the fort until a new leader is elected by the membership, that prior to becoming a a leading light in what will one hopes be a genuine conservative government. But none of this is very likely, is it?

    Repky The suggested caretaker was Liddington who would be worse than May

    1. Chris
      May 24, 2019

      Reply to reply: indeed. I have feared that he would automatically take over. It is very good news that he is not.

  111. Fred H
    May 24, 2019

    In the meantime I await the results after 10pm Sunday for EU election. I had a go at calculating the UK result (without NI), given Poll predictions, 2014 voting, and the curious system. My estimate is: BREXIT 29, LAB 14, LD 13, CON 9, GREEN 3, SNP 2.

  112. Oliver
    May 24, 2019

    The new leader needs to put 3 alternatives to the EU

    1. The terms on which we would like to leave – the comprehensive FTA. Make the EU reject it if they want – and take the blame for the job losses that will result, in some industries, in the short term, from option 3.

    2. The terms on which we would be prepared to Remain, subject to ratification by a second referendum.

    Note the purpose of this is not some Quisling treachery, but a reaching out / spiking of the guns of the clowns who keep saying “Remain and Reform” – show constructive willing, and force the EU to reject it.

    3. “No Deal”, reframed as what it is – agreements on aviation etc etc….

    Make them chose. Make them responsible. Make the Leaders decide between their people and the Brussels bureaucrats project.

    And the leader has to be Boris, the only one with any real chance of winning an election.

    1. CvM
      May 24, 2019

      Too right, put the ball totally in their court and make sure their media know about it and what it would mean to their country if they turn it down

  113. Iago
    May 24, 2019

    This is not resignation – she continues as prime minister. I have no sense of relief and no doubt that during the next few weeks or months her actions will all be detrimental to this country. Did I detect in her speech today that she feels no allegiance to this nation?

  114. Adam
    May 24, 2019

    So is compromise dead now? Judging by the comments it is.

    1. Steve
      May 24, 2019

      Adam

      Yes. Compromise with the ungrateful EU isn’t what we voted for.

    2. Brian Tomkinson
      May 24, 2019

      What compromise would have been made if we had voted to remain in EU?

  115. Glenn Vaughan
    May 24, 2019

    The first item of business for the next Prime Minister is to burn the Withdrawal Agreement!

  116. Steve
    May 24, 2019

    Clearly Mrs May was very upset, and it takes guts to stand before a country and admit failing.

    I remember Gordon Brown’s departure from Downing Street, no tears but he was certainly emotionally shaken.

    My own view is that Mrs May believed compromise was the path to take. It is not a bad thing to compromise, however we did not vote for it.

    Wrong time for Theresa May to be PM, simple as that.

    Rather than continue to vent anger at the woman, we should let her go with dignity, and focus on having a brexiteer PM who has the balls to get us out on WTO first, and then ‘negotiate’ afterwards.

    Compromise is a commendable quality in a person, but just not what the country needs right now.

    1. Dominic
      May 24, 2019

      It wasn’t compromise, it was deceit. It was absolute and total contempt for the result of the EU referendum and a rejection of the validity of the votes cast by 17.6m British citizens. That level of arrogance deserves absolute condemnation from those who cherish what we have in the UK

      And to add insult injury she sought an alliance with an Anti-Semitic, Marxist rabble led by two extremists namely Corbyn and McDonnell

      Sympathy? Not a cat in hell’s chance

      Now is the time for confrontation not compromise. Thatcher understood her enemies, how to defeat them and how not to be intimidated by them. The next Tory leader must be imbued with exactly the same qualities

      The rules are simple. Never trust the left and Marxist Labour. Never trust the EU

    2. Chris
      May 24, 2019

      Mrs May was angry, and upset that she had been “forced” to leave. I believe she thought she had a right to stay on. She seemed almost desperate as though she had given some undertaking to someone of real influence that she would successfully impose the vassal state treaty on us. Had she actually signed something unbeknown to us? I see that has actually being suggested, such is her apparent desperation and ruthless determination to impose the treaty. I suspect there is much more to come out about this whole disastrous episode. The clue will be in how open and transparent the PTB will be with Tory MPs over the coming weeks, and also with the incoming PM, particularly if he/she is a Brexiteer.

  117. glen cullen
    May 24, 2019

    Making a deal with the EU was a construct introduced by Theresa May, it wasnā€™t on the ballet paper nor the official government pamphlet issued to everyone.

    This policy failed therefore we must revert to the basis of what the electorate voted for i.e leave the EU and all its institutes

    Leaving on WTO terms should now be sold as the only and best option

    I canā€™t believe the number of Tory MPs on TV today saying we should try again at getting a better deal and WTO wasnā€™t any optionā€¦just wait till the EU election results

    A new leader needs to close that door firmly and immediately

    The country needs a clean break now

    1. Chris
      May 24, 2019

      You are absolutely right, gc. No Deal is still the legal default whatever those ill informed or deliberately misleading MPs say.

  118. John Sheridan
    May 24, 2019

    The first step has been taken but many more still need to be completed.

    1) Elect a committed Brexiteer as leader.
    2) Fill the key Cabinet roles with committed Brexiteers.
    3) Obtain a pledge from Cabinet members that they support a no-deal Brexit in the event that the EU will not remove the backstop.
    4) Replace Mark Sedwell.
    5) Replace the current Civil Service negotiation team.
    6) Prepare the country for a no-deal exit.
    7) Reopen negotiations with the EU and keep in mind that ā€˜nothing is agreed until everything is agreedā€™.

    1. forthurst
      May 24, 2019

      We should negotiate free trade in non-food items because so much of our manufacturing base has been sold off and is therefore not under our control. However, we should never compromise over fishing or agriculture which we could and should own 100% with commensurate powers of decision-making over future development.

      1. John Sheridan
        May 25, 2019

        Good points. I want us to reclaim or fishing rights and not trade them away in future negotiations.

  119. Henry Curteis
    May 24, 2019

    John Redwood please.

  120. Narrow Shoulders
    May 24, 2019

    I assume that if Mr Rees-Mogg has declared for Mr Johnson that means the ERG is in favour of Mr Johnson.

    Why do they not advocate one of their members in the first round to see levels of support?

    Can you find two backers to get on the card Sir John? I should like to see you on the hustings given full voice.

    Reply The ERG is a Research group and will not back any candudate. The wider Eurosceptic grouping will talk about our best collective course of action but may not end up with a single champion or two candidates.

    1. Simeon
      May 24, 2019

      Sir John,

      Will you vote for a candidate that voted for the WA? (I’d understand entirely if you chose not to answer the question.)

      Reply Prefer not to but it will depend on the serious options available and what those who did vote for the WA say they will now do. Cannot vote for anyone wanting to keep the WA

      1. Simeon
        May 25, 2019

        Sir John,

        Thank you for your reply. I admire your willingness to forgive. Of course, forgiveness is a two-way street. To be forgiven, one must be genuinely contrite. You certainly would be better placed than I to make that judgement.

  121. jane4brexit
    May 24, 2019

    Sir John, would it be possible for a potential new PM to canvas on the basis that he or she believes in Robin Tilbrook’s legal case, that we left on the 29th March, and so if elected they and their Cabinet would proceed from then on on the basis that we are already out?

    It would be wonderful if it worked, but even if not it would at least get the case publicity which it seems to be being starved of so far. I read his Facebook page was closed down without any reason given recently.

    Might you write an article about your views on the Tilbrook case?

  122. Rhoddas
    May 24, 2019

    Boris is suspect – he voted in favour of MV3. All PM candidates really do need to have their Leave credentials and HoC voting history on their CV/hustings material.

    There are only a handful of MPs with proper Leave credentials, like JR. Steve Baker, I admire him alot – do try and watch him in the Parliamentary EU Scrutiny Committee meetings this Jan, he tells it as it happened. EU offered us FTA discussions in May 2018, yet our delusional PM declined wanting a closer relationship with the EU… and as a remainer she would… yet her Party voted her in as PM, not the constituence members…

    So there you have it, a begger’s mess, self inflicted by an unnecessary GE and the incumbent Tory MPs choosing her, who themselves are ..majority remainers. Chances are thus the next PM might also be a remainer too, whatever, the time delay plays nicely into the Brexit Party organising their ‘contract for the people’ and running down the clock towards WTO terms, also leaving little time for new PM to re-engage with the EU whom in any case have reiterated, no change. A poison chalice for the next PM …

    Ignominy is her epitaph…maybe the party’s too…

  123. rose
    May 24, 2019

    People are saying “history will be kinder to her than her colleagues”. I hope history will get to the bottom of what exactly went on in that bunker and just how many of the constitutional and legal niceties were abandoned.

  124. Original Richard
    May 24, 2019

    Remainer May was right about only one thing and that was that if the UK was to consider itself a democracy then we had to leave the EU.

    But she and Robbins thought they could be clever by “negotiating” a new treaty with the EU where we accepted EU laws, budgets, taxes, fines and policies (trade, energy, environment, foreign etc) but without representation or veto and with no lawful means of exit ā€“ the one described by Mr. Vehofstadtā€™s assistants as reducing the UK to EU colony status.

    It was so bad a deal for the UK that not even remainers could accept it.

    But such a great deal for the EU that they simply cannot let go of it.

    The inevitable consequence is that ā€œno-dealā€ will therefore be the only way to respect the referendum result and show the world that we are a democracy.

  125. The Prangwizard
    May 24, 2019

    Well Mrs May, your talk of compromise doesn’t wash with me. You just won’t give up even now will you? My guess is it was you being advised to compromise all those years ago because you were being objectionably stubborn.

    But you haven’t learned. You would not change your disgusting traitorous surrender deal, and you have the nerve to lecture us and are still expecting us to concede (ie. compromise our views).

    Just be gone and take your document with you.

  126. Steve
    May 25, 2019

    Graham Brady meets Theresa May, who emerges from No 10 very upset and announces her departure date.

    Graham Brady then resigns as 1922 chairman an announces his candidacy for the post of Prime Minister.

    ……Hmmmm.

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