It’s not been easy for Prime Minister Theresa May.
She took over from David Cameron in July 2016, with the aim of delivering Brexit and steadying the British ship. Yet almost three years later the country is in turmoil, and that ship has long since crashed. With the UK originally due to leave the EU in two weeks, we were nowhere near ready.
The last couple of months have been especially hard for May. Her Brexit deal was rejected, her amended deal was also turned down and she has had to endure votes of no confidence from both the Conservative Party and the House of Commons. Though she survived both votes, they gave her little confidence.
As May survived both votes in December and January respectively, her leadership cannot be challenged for the rest of the year. However confidence and support for the Prime Minister is still at an all-time low, and with the pressure piling onto her many people are calling for her resignation. So, should Theresa May resign?
On one hand, she has been defeated far too often. May has encountered 41 defeats, including having her Brexit deal rejected twice and seeing a no-deal Brexit rejected under any circumstances. She hasn’t had any real success in a long time, and has been questioned as a leader through the votes of no confidence.
The statistics also show the lack of support for May. YouGov show a positive opinion of just 27% for the PM, while the vote of no confidence in the House of Commons proved that a staggering third of MPs – including some Tory rebels – do not have confidence in her.
A poor handling of Brexit and great disapproval across the nation has put Theresa May under immense pressure, and even during the 2017 General Election – which was called with the aim of strengthening her government – the amount of power she had massively decreased.
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In two-and-a-half years it seems we’ve gotten nowhere, as we look no closer to leaving the European Union. For some, enough is enough and she needs to go. But is that really our best option?
The key question is if Theresa May does resign as Prime Minister, who will take over? Would we have a general election, or simply a Conservative party leadership contest?
If May leaves her post then there are three candidates who are most likely to replace her. Controversial Conservative MPs Jacob Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson have always been labelled as possible replacements, while a general election could pave the way for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to come into power.
When you put these three names up against Theresa May, you have to ask who our best option actually is. Could the UK function under such controversial, unpopular Conservative leaders? Is it ready for a Labour government again? Or is Theresa May actually our best option?
May could have given up a long time ago, resigning after failure like her predecessor. But she has fought on and not given up, showing incredible perseverance and strength. As well as this, sorting out Brexit is no easy job. No one has ever had to do this before, as she is single-handedly working to get the best deal for the UK.
Overall, it is a hard decision. Is it time up for the PM, or do we need to trust the process? However much I believe she has done a bad job as Prime Minister, I don’t think we have much choice. After all, who else would want to lead this shipwreck?
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