Theresa May could win next election, says ex-Tory chair who tried to oust her
3 min read
A former Conservative Party chair who launched a failed coup against Theresa May has predicted that the Prime Minister could go on to win the next general election.
Grant Shapps claimed the support of 30 fellow Tories last year in a bid to oust the Prime Minister after her disastrous speech to the Conservative party conference.
But the rebellion fizzled out, with some Conservative MPs openly criticising Mr Shapps over the move.
The former Tory chair today said it looked less likely that Mrs May - who continues to lead in the polls despite a torrid few weeks of Cabinet disunity over Brexit - would be booted out by her party when the UK leaves the EU next year.
"Six months ago, a year ago, people were saying after that failed election she's only got until next March when we actually leave," he told Sky News's Sophy Ridge.
"I don't think many people now are saying she's going to leave in March because you've then got the negotiation period to the end of 2020, possibly 2021…
"I think it's perfectly conceivable now... that she leads us into the next election and I think potentially even wins that election."
Mr Shapps put the likelihood of Mrs May storming to victory in 2022 at "30-40%" - and said he now felt increasingly confident in the Tories' direction of travel.
"We'd had a botched election. We had a rather uninspiring conference. By the autumn, people were pretty fed up.
"But actually the reality is that time moves on. Changes have been made - so we've got now I think a party organisation which is a lot better under [chairman] Brandon Lewis.
"We've got changes made in Downing Street - a better set up. And so actually I think progress is and has been made."
The former Tory chair meanwhile urged pro-Remain Conservative rebels to fall in line behind the Prime Minister in next week’s crunch Commons votes on the Government’s key Brexit bill.
Key Brexiteer MP Iain Duncan Smith this morning joined forces with the pro-Remain former home secretary Amber Rudd to urge MPs to back the government when the House of Commons considers a string of Lords amendments aimed at softening Brexit.
Mr Shapps said MPs had already had "eight days of detailed line by line debate on every single one of these aspects that've been turned over by the House of Lords", and claimed there was an increasing feeling in the party that "we should just get this bit of the stage through".
He added: "When Theresa May takes a decision people actually go 'ah, okay well I may not agree with all of that - but you know what? The decision’s been made and I'm prepared to follow’.
"I think the problem comes when things are allowed to float and drift and decisions aren't made and that's when you tend to get to these kind of heated up moments."
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