Theresa May tells restless Tory critics: Ousting me could stop Brexit
3 min read
Theresa May has warned Tory critics threatening to topple her that they could end up throwing Brexit away.
The Prime Minister said the process of quitting the EU could be “delayed or frustrated” if restless backbenchers trigger a vote of no confidence in her leadership.
She made the comments as it was confirmed the 48 letters of no confidence required to trigger a vote that could bring her down had not yet been submitted.
Tory MPs angry that her draft withdrawal agreement with Brussels risks leaving the UK locked in a customs plan with the EU to protect the Northern Ireland border have said she must be replaced.
More than 20 have gone public to say they have submitted their letters to chair of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady - with speculation mounting that the crucial number will be reached next week.
But the PM told the Sophy Ridge show on Sky News today: “A change of leadership at this point isn’t going to make the negotiations any easier and it’s not going to change the parliamentary arithmetic.
“What it will do is bring in a degree of uncertainty - that’s uncertainty for people and their jobs.
“What it will do is mean that actually there is a risk that we delay the negotiations, and that is a risk that Brexit gets delayed or frustrated.”
Mrs May also insisted she had not considered quitting despite the open Tory warfare going on around her - and would in fact be in Brussels this week for further talks with European Commission boss Jean-Claude Juncker.
'TOTAL DISTRACTION'
Meanwhile, Dominic Raab, who quit as Brexit Secretary over the draft withdrawal deal, echoed the Prime Minister as he urged colleagues not to trigger a change of leadership.
He told the BBC Andrew Marr show he would “never” write a letter of no confidence in her and would not back any vote of no confidence if restless MPs managed to trigger one.
“It is a total distraction from what we need to do,” he said. “We need to get Brexit over the line. We need to support our PM. I have got huge respect for her.”
It came as Graham Brady - the chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers - revealed more MPs would have to demand a vote of no confidence in the PM for one to be triggered.
Exactly 48 - or 15% of the parliamentary party - must write to him with a letter of no confidence in Mrs May before a vote can be held, but he told the BBC the crucial number was yet to be reached.
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