Post-Aunt May: how to write the sequel to Brexit

Published: Jun 17, 2019 08:23

SMM News: "Aunt Mei" stepped down, her departure is undoubtedly tragic. As she put it, "every effort has been made to persuade lawmakers to vote for the Brexit agreement. Unfortunately, all three efforts have failed. Her failure to lead Britain's "Brexit" during her term of office may become a permanent regret in her heart.

The era of "Aunt May" is coming to an end, but "Brexit" will continue. Theresa May says the best option now is to elect a new prime minister as soon as possible.

On June 13, local time, six days after May's resignation, Conservative MPs voted in the first round of the 10 Conservative Party leadership candidates, with a total of seven finalists. Andreea Lidsom, a former leader of the House of Commons, Esther McVeigh, a former employment and retirement protection minister, and Mark Harper, a former party whip, are out.

It is reported that in the week of June 17, the Conservative Party will continue to hold a series of ballots until there are only two candidates left; starting on June 22, the two candidates will accept votes from nearly 150000 Conservatives; and on the week of July 22, the Conservative Party will announce the final winner. The winner will also be the candidate for the new prime minister, with the approval of Queen Elizabeth II, who will officially become prime minister until the next general election.

Theresa May: and I want to be a congressman

On May 24, Theresa May admitted that her efforts to achieve Britain's "Brexit" had failed and announced that she would resign as leader of the Conservative Party on June 7. But he will remain prime minister until a new prime minister is elected.

Recently, the British "Guardian" published the full text of Theresa May's resignation letter, in which May deeply regrets that she has not been able to lead Britain to complete its "Brexit". "Britain may need to learn to compromise, whether it's about Brexit or Northern Ireland," she sighed. "

It is undeniable that during her three years in office, Mei has left behind regrets, but she has also created a miracle that belongs to her financially. She has reduced Britain's fiscal deficit to its lowest level in 17 years; her efforts to modernize Britain's industrial strategy have created more jobs for Britons.

Data show that against the backdrop of Brexit, the UK economy has been slowing, while employment has risen to its highest level in nearly 50 years. The British government believes that Britain's "employment miracle" will continue for several years.

At the same time, wage growth is also very gratifying. The UK's average three-month wage rate, excluding bonuses, rose from 3.3 per cent to 3.4 per cent in the three months to April, exceeding all expectations and the biggest monthly increase since May 2008, according to data released on June 11. The Bank of England also said last month that it expected average wages to rise by 3 per cent by the end of the year.

In addition, according to figures released in April, the UK fiscal deficit fell to £24.7 billion, or 1.2 per cent of gross domestic product, in the fiscal year to March. Hit a 17-year low.

On June 12, local time, May said that she wanted to continue as a member of the lower house of parliament after leaving office, and at the same time promised that once the new prime minister was finalized, she would keep her promise to make room.

"Brexit" and tax cuts are issues of concern

May's story has come to an end, and a new chapter has to be written by her successor.

On June 10, Britain's ruling Conservative Party leadership election officially kicked off. By convention, a majority leader or the leader of a ruling coalition will automatically become Britain's prime minister. In the Conservative leadership race, "Brexit" and tax cuts are once again the focus of politicians grabbing votes.

In the first round of voting released on June 13, former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson came in first with 114 votes, followed by Jeremy Hunt, the current foreign secretary, with 71 votes, and Michael Gove, the environment minister, with 37 votes. Johnson, who is currently the most preferred candidate for prime minister in the Conservative Party, has had considerable differences with Theresa May over Brexit and threatened, "if I were prime minister, I would be able to leave the European Union by the end of October."

Johnson is perverse and is known as "Britain's Trump". But as the most popular candidate for British prime minister, he has kept a low profile and rarely talked about it in recent days. According to the Times, this seems to have allowed him to avoid many pitfalls. In his speech on June 12, Johnson said he was not on his way to the goal of "Brexit without agreement", but saw it as a "key" negotiating tool and that Britain should be prepared for "Brexit without agreement". He also warned that the extension of Brexit could pose a political risk to the Conservative Party because "procrastination means failure", which would open the door to the coming to power of the leader of the largest opposition party, the Labour Party.

Jeremy Hunt is a Chinese "foreign son-in-law," and his wife, Lucy Guo, is from Xi'an, China. The biggest difference between him and Johnson is that he believes that "Brexit without agreement" is tantamount to "political suicide". He also said that if he took over as prime minister, he would buy more time to reach a new Brexit agreement.

Dominique Labu and Esther McVeigh, both candidates, mentioned that if the Brexit process is obstructed by parliament, they may consider adjournment of parliament until October 31, the statutory deadline for Brexit.

In addition to Brexit, tax cuts have become the focus of their competition. On June 9, local time, Johnson promised that if he succeeded in replacing Theresa May as prime minister, he would raise the personal tax threshold for high-income people by 40 per cent, from 50, 000 to 80, 000 a year, a move that would help 3 million Britons cut taxes. Johnson also believes that as the UK leaves the EU, the new income tax threshold will help to "stimulate" the economy.

According to Britain's "Daily KuaiBao", not only Johnson, but other contenders for Conservative leadership have also promised tax cuts. Jeremy Hunt has said that for those who pay 19 per cent of corporate taxes, they will be reduced to 12.5 per cent.

In fact, "tax cuts" have long been seen in the UK as an extremely effective tool to stimulate economic growth. During Thatcher's reign, the British economy was mired in stagflation. Thatcher cut the tax hierarchy by slashing her personal income tax. At the same time, reduce and reduce corporate taxes to control inflation. Now that the Brexit economy is at its weakest since the global financial crisis, the government wants to encourage innovation by constantly lowering corporate income tax rates and increasing deductions for R & D spending.

It is reported that the second round of voting for the leader of the Conservative Party will be held on Tuesday, June 18, in which each candidate needs at least 33 votes to proceed to the next round of voting. But whoever becomes the next Conservative leader and prime minister will have to face the problems of Brexit and boosting the British economy.

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