British Prime Minister Theresa May defended her record in London Wednesday morning, telling the press that the Conservative Party, to which she belongs, demanded a vote of confidence amid her handling of Brexit.
The outcome of the vote will be publicized around 9 p.m. on Wednesday. If May receives more than 50 percent, or 158 votes, she will be forced out of office.
“I will contest that vote with everything I’ve got,” May said on Wednesday. “I have been a member of the Conservative party for over 40 years. I have served it as an activist, councilor, MP, shadow minister, home secretary and now as prime minister.”
May told the press that she planned to go to Dublin to hold further Brexit negotiations, but added that she will stay in London to lobby members of parliament to keep her in power.
May said that the installment of a new Prime Minister would put the future of Brexit at risk.
“A change of leadership … will put our country’s future at risk and create uncertainty when we can least afford it,” said May. “A new leader wouldn’t be in place by the 21st January legal deadline, so a leadership election risks handing control of the Brexit negotiations to opposition MPs in parliament … and a leadership election would not change the fundamentals of the negotiation or the parliamentary arithmetic.”
May has come under fire from many prominent conservatives, including former Cabinet members, such as David Davis and Boris Johnson, who want the United Kingdom to sever all ties with Brussels and not stay part of any EU arrangements.
The Prime Minister traveled to several European countries on Tuesday, to have emergency meetings with leaders.
May, at a press conference on Monday, announced that her Brexit agreement would not pass Parliament, and she would therefore return to Brussels in an attempt to seek further concessions.
May was installed as Britain’s Prime Minister in 2016, following the resignation of David Cameron.