Vote Of No Confidence In Theresa May Confirmed
By Sofy Robertson
It has been confirmed this morning that conservative MPs have triggered a vote of no confidence in Theresa May.
At least forty-eight letters have been submitted from Conservative MPs, indicating they no longer have faith in the prime minister to deliver her Brexit deal. Under party rules, a contest is triggered if 15% of Conservative MPs write to the chair of the committee of Tory backbenchers.
A secret ballot will be held tonight between 6pm-8pm for Conservative MPs and Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee, said the votes will be counted “immediately afterwards and an announcement will be made as soon as possible”. (The Guardian)
The prime minister will now need the support of at least 158 Conservative MPs to overcome the challenge and secure her position for twelve months. If the votes against her were below the threshold but significant in number, May could choose to resign.
More than twenty Tory backbenchers have publicly confirmed that they have submitted letters calling for May to step down over her Brexit proposal. Amongst those are Jacob Rees-Mogg, the influential chair of the European Research Group, former Brexit minister Steve Baker and fellow leavers Andrew Bridgen and Nadine Dorries.
It seems that the Prime Minister’s decision to postpone the vote on her Brexit deal lead to the slew of new letters, though not all writers have gone public with theirs. Earlier letters calling for a vote of no confidence were triggered by the Chequers agreement that led to the departure of two cabinet ministers and the unfortunate Salzburg summit where the agreement was rejected.
Among those who have publicly confirmed submitting letters are James Duddridge, Simon Clarke and Newton Abbot’s Anne Marie Morris.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt tweeted his support for May this morning, saying:
“I am backing Theresa May tonight. Being PM [is the] most difficult job imaginable right now and the last thing the country needs is a damaging and long leadership contest.”
If tonight’s vote sees a majority of Tory MPs voting for May to stand down, she will be forced to step down as leader of the Conservative party but will remain prime minister until a replacement is found.
Photo by Michael D Beckwith on Unsplash
