British Prime Minister Theresa May ‘irritated’ by leadership speculation

GB news 24 desk//

Theresa May has said she gets “irritated” by the ongoing speculation over her position as prime minister.

In an interview to mark the six-month countdown to Brexit, Mrs May told the BBC the debate should be about the country’s future rather than her own.

The prime minister’s comments came days after Conservative MPs opposed to her Brexit plan met to discuss how and when they could force her to stand down.

The PM also criticised ex-foreign secretary Boris Johnson.

Mrs May said his language was “completely inappropriate” when he described her Brexit strategy as putting the UK in a “suicide vest”.

The UK is leaving the European Union on 29 March 2019, and the government’s plan – agreed at Chequers in July – has sparked criticism from Brexiteer Tories as well as the EU

About 50 Brexiteer members of the European Research Group (ERG) met on Tuesday to discuss a leadership challenge.Asked if she would reassure the Tory party that she was not determined to go on and on, she told the  Panorama programme: “I get a little bit irritated but this debate is not about my future. This debate is about the future of the people of the UK and the future of the United Kingdom.

“That’s what I’m focused on and that’s what we should all be focused on.

“It’s ensuring that we get that good deal from the European Union which is good for people in the UK, wherever they live in the UK, that’s what’s important for us.”After a week in which the prime minister was politically duffed up by one set of her MPs openly plotting to oust her, and by another set meeting in public to discuss how to derail her blueprint for Brexit, this is Theresa May’s response.

A few things stood out for me; her willingness, again, to embrace what was meant to be an unflattering description of her – by Conservative colleague Ken Clarke – that she was a “bloody difficult woman”, and laugh about it.

There was also her absolute insistence that her Brexit plan is the only one in town and she is sticking to it.

And finally the cold contempt, visible in her eyes, with which she addresses Boris Johnson’s description of her Brexit blueprint as being akin to a “suicide vest” being placed around the country.As part of the so-called Chequers plan, Mrs May said she wants to strike a trade deal with the EU for after the UK leaves in 2019.

She also said there needs to be “friction-free movement of goods” with no customs or regulatory checks between the UK and EU on the island of Ireland, in order to avoid a hard border there.

The UK and EU are hoping to agree a way forward next month, at the same time as they settle the terms of the UK’s withdrawal, including a transition period up to the end of 2020.

Mrs May’s proposals are unpopular with many Tory MPs, who argue it would compromise the UK’s sovereignty.

Boris Johnson, who has been at odds with Mrs May’s vision for Brexit for some time, claimed last week that she had “wrapped a suicide vest” around the British constitution and “handed the detonator” to Brussels.

Mrs May said: “I was home secretary for six years, and as prime minister for two years now I think using language like that was not right and it’s not language I would have used.”

The prime minister also said the “bloody difficult woman” – a description which was used to describe her by former Conservative chancellor Ken Clarke – was “still there”.

But, she added, “there’s a difference between those who think you can only be bloody difficult in public, and those who think actually you bide your time, and you’re bloody difficult when the time is right – and when it really matters”.