British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit secretary and other ministers quit one by one on Thursday, striking at the heart of a draft divorce deal with the European Union she is struggling to save.

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Thursday's Resignations

Dominic Raab

Britain's Brexit minister resigned in protest at the government's plans for leaving the EU, saying the Irish "backstop" arrangement was now the starting point for discussions on future ties which could severely prejudice the second phase of negotiations.

Esther McVey

The welfare minister resigned, accusing the prime minister of failing to honour the result of the 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU.

Shailesh Vara

The junior Northern Ireland minister resigned, saying the draft deal will leave the UK "in a half-way house with no time limit on when we will finally be a sovereign nation".

Suella Braverman

The junior Brexit minister resigned, saying the proposed divorce deal was not what the British people voted for and risked breaking up the United Kingdom.

Comments

May:

"The choice is clear: We can choose to leave with no deal, we can risk no Brexit at all, or we can choose to unite and support the best deal that can be negotiated."

Raab

"I cannot reconcile the terms of the proposed deal with the promises we made to the country in our manifesto at the last election ... This is, at its heart, a matter of public trust."

"No democratic nation has ever signed up to be bound by such an extensive regime, imposed externally without any democratic control over the laws to be applied, nor the ability to decide to exit the arrangement."

"That arrangement is now also taken as the starting point for negotiating the Future Economic Partnership. If we accept that, it will severely prejudice the second phase of negotiations against the UK."

Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of opposition Labour Party

"The withdrawal agreement and the outline political declaration represent a huge and damaging failure ... The government ... is in chaos."

Jon Trickett, member of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's senior team

"Theresa May has no authority left and is clearly incapable of delivering a Brexit deal that commands even the support of her cabinet, let alone parliament and the people of our country,"

First Published:Nov 15, 2018 4:51 PM IST