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| Rebel Tory MPs press for vote of no confidence in Theresa May | Rebel Tory MPs press for vote of no confidence in Theresa May |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Three more Conservative MPs have submitted letters expressing no confidence in Theresa May amid growing speculation in Westminster that a confidence vote could come later in the day. | Three more Conservative MPs have submitted letters expressing no confidence in Theresa May amid growing speculation in Westminster that a confidence vote could come later in the day. |
| Maria Caulfield, Adam Holloway and John Whittingdale said they could no longer support the prime minister, taking to 20 the number of letters MPs say they have submitted demanding a vote. | Maria Caulfield, Adam Holloway and John Whittingdale said they could no longer support the prime minister, taking to 20 the number of letters MPs say they have submitted demanding a vote. |
| Forty-eight Tory MPs have to write to the chair of the party’s backbench 1922 Committee to trigger a confidence vote in May, which would happen within a day or two of being announced. She would then need the backing of 158 MPs to keep her job. | |
| Holloway wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday that his letter had been delivered “with regret”. He added: “But as we see from the events of today, you cannot have someone leading a mission who does not believe in the mission. The country needs leadership.” | Holloway wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday that his letter had been delivered “with regret”. He added: “But as we see from the events of today, you cannot have someone leading a mission who does not believe in the mission. The country needs leadership.” |
| Caulfield told BBC Sussex she had sent a no-confidence letter on Thursday night. | Caulfield told BBC Sussex she had sent a no-confidence letter on Thursday night. |
| In a statement, Whittingdale said: “I want the government to pursue a proper free trade agreement which does deliver the Brexit objectives but which keeps us as close to Europe as possible. | In a statement, Whittingdale said: “I want the government to pursue a proper free trade agreement which does deliver the Brexit objectives but which keeps us as close to Europe as possible. |
| “I believe that is on offer from the European Union but it is clear that the prime minister is unwilling to move from her existing position. Therefore I felt there is no alternative but to seek a vote of confidence.” | “I believe that is on offer from the European Union but it is clear that the prime minister is unwilling to move from her existing position. Therefore I felt there is no alternative but to seek a vote of confidence.” |
| On Thursday, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the chair of the hard-Brexit European Research Group, called for a vote of no confidence in May in an impromptu press conference after declaring he had submitted a letter. | On Thursday, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the chair of the hard-Brexit European Research Group, called for a vote of no confidence in May in an impromptu press conference after declaring he had submitted a letter. |
| “It is of considerable importance that politicians stick to their commitments or do not make such commitments in the first place. Regrettably, this is not the situation,” he wrote. | “It is of considerable importance that politicians stick to their commitments or do not make such commitments in the first place. Regrettably, this is not the situation,” he wrote. |
| He was supported by Steve Baker, a former Brexit minister, the deputy chair of the ERG, who released a letter he had sent towards the end of last month. Earlier today, Baker told an ERG Whatsapp group he believed the 48-letter threshold had been reached but there is no other indication this has in fact taken place. | |
| If a confidence vote was triggered on Friday, it would be held early next week, most likely on Tuesday when MPs have returned from their constituencies. The 1922 Committee could invite May to appear before it in a hustings to plead for her job on Monday night. | If a confidence vote was triggered on Friday, it would be held early next week, most likely on Tuesday when MPs have returned from their constituencies. The 1922 Committee could invite May to appear before it in a hustings to plead for her job on Monday night. |
| Although May needs a simple majority of Tory MPs to keep her job as party leader, many in Westminster believe that if there was a sizeable rebellion – possibly in excess of 100 MPs – she would be unable to carry on. | Although May needs a simple majority of Tory MPs to keep her job as party leader, many in Westminster believe that if there was a sizeable rebellion – possibly in excess of 100 MPs – she would be unable to carry on. |
| A fourth MP, Mark Francois, who had said on Thursday he would be writing to the 1922 Committee, published his letter on Friday morning. The MPs said Francois said he and other fellow ERG members had sought to persuade May to stop her Chequers plan for the “Super Canada” model. | A fourth MP, Mark Francois, who had said on Thursday he would be writing to the 1922 Committee, published his letter on Friday morning. The MPs said Francois said he and other fellow ERG members had sought to persuade May to stop her Chequers plan for the “Super Canada” model. |
| He wrote: “However, in short, no one really listened to a word we said.” | He wrote: “However, in short, no one really listened to a word we said.” |
| Francois added that May had been “surrounded throughout this process by a Pretorian [sic] Guard of highly pro-European senior civil servants who, I believe, have never accepted the result of the referendum”. | |
| Given the number of resignations, Francois said: “I do not believe that it is in anyway possible for the prime minister to repair the damage which she has done, and therefore the Conservative party needs new leadership.” | |
| The other 14 MPs who have publicly declared they have submitted letters are: Ben Bradley, Nadine Dorries, Andrew Bridgen, Sherryl Murray, Simon Clarke, Andrea Jenkyns, James Duddridge, Anne Marie Morris, Peter Bone, Lee Rowley, Philip Davies, Henry Smith, Martin Vickers and Laurence Robertson. | |
| Rumours at Westminster circulated that there are a further 10 MPs who will say in private that they have put in letters. | |
| Friends of Boris Johnson will not say if he has submitted a letter, while the former Brexit secretary David Davis has declared he will not be writing in. Some notable backbench critics of May’s European policy have not said publicly whether they have written letters, including John Redwood, Sir William Cash and Sir Bernard Jenkin. | |
| Sir Desmond Swayne, a Brexiter, said he would not be hurried into deciding what to do, arguing he would study May’s Brexit deal closely. He said: “I need to balance the reasons that are involved with no agreement with the other risks that are involved – the risks of leaving the EU without a deal or indeed the risks of not leaving the EU at all.” | |
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