Theresa May early favorite in race to lead ‘Brexit’ Britain

LONDON, United Kingdom (UPDATED) – Support grew Friday, July 1, for British interior minister Theresa May’s bid to succeed premier David Cameron and lead the country out of the EU, after Boris Johnson’s shock withdrawal from the race.

Dozens of Conservative MPs have backed her bid to take over from Cameron, who announced his resignation after losing a referendum last week in which 52% of Britons voted to quit the EU.

Britain has been plunged into extraordinary political turmoil since the Brexit vote, with the ruling Conservatives and opposition Labour party in disarray and the country deeply polarised.

In further signs of economic fallout, finance minister George Osborne warned that London will likely abandon a key budget promise, while budget airline EasyJet announced plans to ensure its European operations after Brexit.

May supported the “Remain” campaign but has assured “Leave” supporters she will proceed with Brexit although she said she would not begin formal talks with the EU before the end of the year.

‘Party in flames’

The Daily Mail newspaper, widely read among Conservative grassroots who will ultimately select the new leader, endorsed her with a front-page headline saying: “A party in flames and why it must be Theresa”.

EU leaders have called for a swift divorce following last week’s seismic vote, fearful of the impact of Britain’s uncertain future on economic growth and a potential domino effect in eurosceptic member states.

“The decision has been taken, it cannot be delayed and it cannot be cancelled, now they have to face the consequences,” French President Francois Hollande said after meeting Cameron on the sidelines of Battle of the Somme centenary ceremonies in France.

May is clear favorite to replace Cameron as Conservative leader and therefore prime minister – a switch that requires no new general election under the British system.

The outcome of the June 23 vote unleashed the worst chaos in living memory in British politics, with opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership also under threat and Scotland’s government fighting for independence to keep its EU membership.

‘See through this mandate’

Justice minister Michael Gove, a top Brexit campaigner who torpedoed former London mayor Johnson’s chances by announcing his own candidacy on Thursday, is seen as May’s main rival.

“This country voted for change and I am going to deliver it,” he said in a speech in which he repeatedly stressed May’s support for “Remain”.

“The best person to lead Britain out of the European Union is someone who argued to get Britain out of the European Union,” he said, adding that he would clamp down on immigration if he becomes leader.

“I will end free movement (of EU nationals), introduce an Australian-style points-based system for immigration, and bring numbers down,” he said.

Gove, the intellectual face of the “Leave” campaign to Johnson’s charismatic frontman, insisted he would not be rushed into formal talks on leaving the EU, adding: “We will do it when we’re good and ready.”

Cameron, who promised the referendum in what was seen as an effort to see off a challenge from the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP), has said he will leave it to his successor to start formal exit talks.

Simon Usherwood, senior fellow at the UK in a Changing Europe think tank, said the differences of a May or Gove premiership in terms of negotiations with the EU were “likely to be relatively small”.

The bitterly divisive campaign also exposed rifts within Labour, where Corbyn has been heavily criticised for his lukewarm advocacy of the campaign to stay in the EU.

A large majority of Labour MPs have supported a vote of no confidence in Corbyn, a veteran socialist with wide grassroots support who only became leader last year.

But he has defied his center-left critics to insist he will hang on, challenging them to mount a full leadership contest.

Economic fallout

The pound crept back up on Friday after the Bank of England hinted it was ready to cut interest rates in the wake of the Brexit vote.

Highlighting the uncertainty the “Leave” vote has created for business, low-cost EasyJet said Friday it was trying to acquire a certificate to operate in a European country “to enable EasyJet to fly across Europe as we do today”.

And Osborne warned that the government would likely scrap its promise to achieve a budget surplus by 2020 due to the fallout from Brexit.

“We will continue to be tough on the deficit, but we must be realistic about achieving a surplus by the end of this decade,” Osborne told business leaders.

The referendum outcome triggered anger among those who wanted to remain in the EU. More than four million people have signed a petition calling for a second referendum.

The five Conservative leadership candidates will be whittled down to two by a series of ballots by party MPs in the coming days before being put to a vote of party members.

The winner will be announced on September 9. – Rappler.com