British PM Theresa May plans Cabinet changes as Brexit enters new phase

Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May. (Reuters/Files)

British Prime Minister Theresa May will shuffle her Cabinet as she tries to bolster her authority ahead of a crucial new phase in Brexit negotiations. May says she will re-jig government ranks “soon,” with changes expected as soon as Monday.

May’s grip on power was weakened by her Conservative Party’s poor showing in a June election, which saw it reduced to a minority government. But she got a boost last month when the European Union agreed to start discussing future trade relations with Britain.

May told the BBC in an interview broadcast Sunday that she hoped to secure agreement with the EU on a post-Brexit transition period by March 31, and to draft a withdrawal agreement by year’s end. Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, 2019.