Brexit Brief: Politicians return from Easter, still hunting their golden egg

Cross-party Brexit talks between Conservative and Labour MPs are set to continue on Tuesday Read More...

Cross-party Brexit talks in the U.K. parliament will begin again on Tuesday, with the country’s Prime minister Theresa May also facing fresh attempts to oust her from office.

Conservative and Labour politicians will pick up where they left off before the Easter recess: trying to forge a consensus for leaving the European Union with a withdrawal agreement in place by October 31.

May hopes to end the monthslong impasse before May 22 to avoid the country having to contest European Parliament elections but Labour said earlier in April that the government had not yet presented any significant compromises to move things forward.

And the prospect of more deadlocked talks isn’t the only concern for May.

According to the Guardian, the 1922 Committee, a group of euroskeptic Conservatives, are due to meet on Tuesday, with chair Graham Brady reportedly planning to tell May she should resign before the end of June in light of her failure to secure Brexit.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, MP and 1922 Committee member Nigel Evans called on May to step down “as soon as possible”. He said: “The only way we’re going to break this impasse properly is if we have fresh leadership of the Conservative Party… If there was an announcement today by the prime minister then of course we could start the process straight away.”

May is also set to face a no-confidence challenge from grass roots campaigners. More than 70 local Conservative association chiefs have called for an emergency meeting to discuss her leadership and a vote is to be held at the National Conservative Convention EGM in May.

The result would be nonbinding and because May survived a no-confidence vote late last year, MPs cannot call for another until December 2019. However, if association chiefs decide May should go, it will add to pressure on the PM.

Elsewhere, anti-Brexit party Change U.K. and Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party will reveal their candidates for the European election, scheduled to take place on May 23, this week.

Want news about Europe delivered to your inbox? Subscribe to MarketWatch’s free Europe Daily newsletter. Sign up here.