Major blow for Theresa May as 40 Tory MPs 'ready to sign letter of no confidence' in PM
2 min read
Some 40 Conservative MPs stand ready to sign a letter of no confidence in Theresa May in a major blow to the Prime Minister’s authority, it has been reported.
The number is just eight short of the total needed to trigger a leadership contest under the Tory rulebook.
It follows one of the most difficult periods of her tenure so far, after two Cabinet ministers were forced to resign while the future of her right-hand man Damian Green hangs in the balance.
And in a fresh headache Boris Johnson and Michael Gove are said to be holding Mrs May "hostage" over Brexit as the pressure on negotiations with the EU continues to mount.
Some Tory ministers think Mrs May has become a risk to the Brexit process and feel the party needs some time in opposition to reinvent itself, according to the Sunday Times.
“It’s a horrible thing to say... but we are getting closer and closer to the point whereby we need some time in opposition to regroup,” one told the paper.
Despite a plot to oust Mrs May last month being thwarted, MPs have begun sending letters directly to chair of the Tory backbench 1922 committee Graham Brady, the paper adds.
And it details turmoil among European figures involved in the Brexit negotiations who are questioning the Prime Minister’s future and fear the Tory “psychodrama” could damage talks.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn warned that the “crumbling” government risks “dangerously weakening Britain’s hand” in the Brexit process as he called for Mrs May to consider her position.
In an article for the Sunday Times he said she “shows every sign of being in office but not in power”.
“The government can’t give a lead because the cabinet is split down the middle, spending more time negotiating with each other than with the EU,” he blasted.
“If she can’t get a grip, she should move out of the way and let Labour deliver a Brexit that works for the many, not the few.
“It is time for Theresa May to stop dithering and decide: whether to govern or go.”
Mr Brady - alongside fellow Tory grandee Lord Saatchi - wrote in an article for the Sunday Telegraph that the party needs to harness the “zeal” of Margaret Thatcher by embracing ideas from the new generation.
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