May says she will step down once Brexit is delivered

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - British Prime Minister Theresa May told a group of Conservative MPs that she will step down as premier once the Brexit deal is delivered, in a bid to receive a greater support to pass the deal through the parliament this week.

May’s remarks came at a meeting with her party’s 1922 Committee Wednesday afternoon ahead of a series of indicative votes at the House of Commons.

British parliament is voting Wednesday evening on a series of alternatives to Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, which has been rejected by lawmakers twice previously.

The voting will take place at 7.00 p.m. local time (0700GMT) to see which options have a parliamentary majority behind them in a bid to break the Brexit impasse in Westminster.

As the results will not be binding for the government, May is expected to bring her deal back to the House of Commons for a third “meaningful vote” on Friday, according to local media reports.

May told lawmakers during a question session earlier on Wednesday that meaningful vote would be “this week”.

A government spokesperson later said “we will only seek to bring back a meaningful vote when we believe we have a realistic prospect of success.”

May also made it clear that she will not necessarily accept any Brexit plan that will possibly emerge from Wednesday’s indicative votes process.

The EU agreed to a Brexit extension until May 22 if May’s deal is approved by the House of Commons this week. If the deal is not approved by parliament, the EU would allow an extension to April 12.

The U.K. voters had decided to leave the bloc after a more than 40-year-long membership following a referendum in 2016.