The trouble with Theresa May’s promise to resign

THERESA MAY was supposed to be leading Britain out of the European Union this week. Instead, Britain stayed put and the prime minister found herself announcing her own departure. After weathering months of criticism over her handling of the Brexit negotiations, in which Britain was last week forced to ask for an extension of the March 29th deadline, Mrs May surrendered to calls for her to say that she would quit. She promised her Conservative MPs she would step down if Britain formally left the EU, handing the next, crucial phase of negotiations, on Britain’s future relationship with the continent, to her successor.