UK leadership hopefuls vow to succeed where Theresa May failed on Brexit

There still is no consensus among lawmakers about how Britain should leave the EU bloc

The race to succeed British Prime Minister Theresa May is heating up, the field of Conservative contenders is quickly growing and the focus is squarely on how to handle Brexit, The Associated Press reported.

Former House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom and former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab joined the fray on Saturday night. Both had earlier resigned from May's Cabinet to protest her Brexit policy. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Saturday morning he is seeking to replace May, joining several others who have announced they will run to become the Conservative party's next leader, and by default, Britain's new prime minister.

May announced on Friday she plans to step down as Conservative Party leader on June 7 and remain as a caretaker prime minister while the party chooses a new leader in a contest that officially kicks off the following week.

She plans to remain as party leader through US President Donald Trump's upcoming state visit and the 75th D-Day anniversary celebrations on June 6.

Her successor will have to try to complete Brexit - a task that May failed to deliver during her three years in office. While she succeeded in striking a divorce deal with the European Union, the plan was defeated three times in Parliament by British lawmakers from across the political spectrum.

The EU extended Britain's departure date to Oct 31 but there still is no consensus among British lawmakers about how or even if the country should leave the bloc.

The best-known contestant for the Conservative leadership post is former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who has said he will take Britain out of the EU on Oct 31 even if no deal has been reached with EU leaders.

"We will leave the EU on October 31, deal or no deal," he said on Friday in Switzerland.

Johnson's main challenges will come from former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab - viewed as an even more committed euroskeptic - and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Agence France-Presse reported.

Both declared their candidacies in the Sunday papers.

Raab wrote in The Mail on Sunday that "I would prefer that we leave with a deal".

But "we will not be taken seriously in Brussels unless we are clear that we will walk away on World Trade Organization terms, if the EU doesn't budge," Raab stressed.

Hunt had campaigned against Brexit in 2016 but has since reversed his stance.

"What matters is whether you believe in Brexit, not how you voted in 2016," he told The Sunday Times.

"We can never take no-deal off the table but the best way of avoiding it is to make sure you have someone who is capable of negotiating a deal," he said.

Many economists and business leaders have warned that a no-deal departure would have a drastically negative impact on Britain's economy and also hurt its European neighbors.

The field is likely to grow to about a dozen candidates, with a winner expected to be chosen by mid or late July.

The Conservative Party chooses its leaders in a two-step process. First there's a series of votes among the party's legislators to establish two top contenders, then those names are submitted to a nationwide vote by about 120,000 party members.

The winner becomes party leader and prime minister, although the opposition Labour Party is warning of an immediate challenge to the new leader with an eye toward forcing an early general election.

John McDonnell, Labour's economic spokesman, told the BBC on Saturday the party would push a no-confidence vote against the new prime minister right away.

"We believe any incoming prime minister in these circumstances should go to the country anyway and seek a mandate," McDonnell said.

An earlier Labour Party attempt to force an early election failed in January when May's government survived a no-confidence vote.

The country's next general election will be held in 2022 unless a government collapse speeds up the timetable.

(China Daily 05/27/2019 page11)