British Prime Minister Theresa May was rocked by the resignation of a pro-Brexit Conservative MP over "irreconcilable policy differences" as she attempted to reassure European leaders that Britain's withdrawal from the EU remained on track.
Stephen Phillips announced he was quitting shortly after Ms May called European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to stress her Brexit timetable remained unchanged — despite High Court ruling which threatened to throw her plans into turmoil.
The judges' decision that Ms May must get parliamentary approval before triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to formally launch Brexit, which she has promised to do by April, prompted calls for an emergency general election to settle the question.
Mr Phillips's resignation as MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham appeared to heap yet more pressure on the prime minister, although a Downing Street source insisted Ms May stood by her statement that there should not be a general election before 2020.
The source also revealed that Mr Phillips did not speak to Ms May before his surprise resignation.
In a statement, he said: “It has been a great honour to serve the people of Sleaford and North Hykeham for the last six years, but it has become clear to me over the last few months that my growing and very significant policy differences with the current Government mean that I am unable properly to represent the people who elected me.
“This decision has been a difficult one and I hope that everyone will respect the fact that I have tried to act in the best interests of all of my constituents.”
Mr Phillips’s resignation leaves the Tories facing a second by-election, following Zac Goldsmith’s decision to quit over Heathrow expansion, and further diminishes Mrs May’s already slim Commons majority — making the process of passing legislation on Brexit even harder.
The Liberal Democrats have tried to make the contest in Mr Goldsmith's Richmond Park seat a referendum on Brexit.
Mr Phillips, who backed Leave in the June 23rd referendum, has previously warned against the “tyranny” of denying MPs a vote on the government’s stance in forthcoming Brexit negotiations.
Last month he called for an urgent debate in the House of Commons on the matter, insisting that bypassing Parliament was “simply not an acceptable way for the executive to proceed”.
Reaction
As he announced his resignation, Downing Street was briefing details on Ms May’s talks with Mr Juncker and Mrs Merkel, and her reaction to the High Court ruling.
A Number 10 spokesman said the government did not accept the court's judgment and was "confident" of victory in an appeal to the Supreme Court.
He said Ms May explained to Mr Juncker and Ms Merkel that “while the government is disappointed by the judgment yesterday, we remain of the firm belief that we have strong legal arguments ahead of the case which will be moving to the Supreme Court next month”.
“The prime minister also confirmed that the planned timetable for notification of Article 50 remains the same,” the spokesman said.
Downing Street refused to say whether legislation was already being drawn up for triggering Article 50 in case the Supreme Court upheld the ruling, stressing that it was focused on winning the case.
Asked if Ms May agreed with Cabinet minister Sajid Javid that the judgment was “unacceptable”, the spokesman said: “The very fact that we are appealing that decision means very clearly that we don’t accept that decision.”
In a speech at the Conservative Party conference, Ms May described people who argue that Article 50 could only be triggered after agreement in Parliament as “trying to kill” Brexit and “insulting the intelligence of the British people”.
Asked if she stood by those words following the judges’ decision, the spokesman said: “You have got the prime minister’s words. I don’t need to elaborate on that.”
The spokesman said he “did not accept” that the tone of the public debate following the decision risked undermining the judiciary.
“I don’t think the British judiciary is being undermined,” he said.
The chairman of Mr Phillips's local Conservative Association, George Clark, said the constituency party was "disappointed" at his resignation and backed the "strong" prime minister to forge a "new, positive role for the United Kingdom on the world stage as we leave the EU".
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “Stephen Phillips has been a valuable member of Parliament since 2010 and we are sorry that he has chosen to step down. We thank him for his hard work and we wish him every success in the future.”
PA