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Theresa May: No decision on exit date until after Brexit vote Theresa May agrees to timetable to choose successor
(32 minutes later)
No decision will be taken on when Theresa May leaves Downing Street until after MPs vote on her Brexit plan again early next month. Theresa May has promised to set a timetable for the election of her successor after the next Brexit vote in the first week of June.
The announcement follows a meeting between the PM and senior Conservative MPs who are demanding she sets a date for her departure from No 10. The agreement follows a meeting between the prime minister and senior Tory MPs who are demanding she sets a date for her departure from No 10.
The 1922 committee of Tory MPs said it would discuss the issue again after the Brexit vote in the first week of June. If she loses the vote on her Brexit plan, already rejected three times, sources tell the BBC she would resign.
It said it hoped to agree a timetable for a leadership contest at that point. Boris Johnson has confirmed he will stand for leader once Mrs May goes.
Existing rules mean Mrs May cannot be formally challenged until December. Mrs May survived a confidence vote of Tory MPs at the end of last year and existing Conservative rules mean she cannot formally be challenged until December.
The statement on the agreement reached between the executive of the 1922 committee and the prime minister states they will meet following the first debate and vote on the withdrawal bill. But the PM is under pressure to leave Downing Street this summer.
Chairman Sir Graham Brady said he had had a frank discussion with the prime minister and the agreement they had reached had brought "greater clarity" to her intentions. The BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg said senior sources had told her it was "inconceivable" the PM could stay on if MPs rejected her Brexit plans for a fourth time.
The chair of the 1922 committee of Tory MPs, Sir Graham Brady, said he had reached an agreement over the PM's future following a "very frank" meeting in Parliament.
He said they would meet again to discuss her future following the first debate and vote on the withdrawal bill in the week beginning 3 June.
Sir Graham said there was now "greater clarity" about the situation.
Asked if that meant the PM would quit immediately if MPs rejected her Brexit plans once more, he said that scenario "goes beyond" what the two had agreed.Asked if that meant the PM would quit immediately if MPs rejected her Brexit plans once more, he said that scenario "goes beyond" what the two had agreed.
But the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said senior sources had told her that in those circumstances it would be "inconceivable" for Mrs May to carry on. Ex-foreign secretary Boris Johnson has joined the growing list of Tories who say they will stand for leader when Mrs May announces her departure.
Mrs May will attempt to push her plans through the House of Commons again in the week beginning 3 June, when MPs hold a vote on the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill - needed to implement her deal with the EU. He told a business conference in Manchester "of course I am going to go for it".
Mrs May had said she will go after the Commons backed the withdrawal agreement she reached with the EU, but her plan has been rejected by MPs three times. MPs have rejected the PM's Brexit agreement three times but she will have another go in the week beginning 3 June, when MPs will hold their first vote on the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill - legislation needed to implement her deal with the EU.
When asked previously whether she would resign if the bill was rejected, Mrs May said it would "ensure that we deliver Brexit for the public". When asked previously whether she would resign if the bill was rejected, Mrs May said the bill would "ensure that we deliver Brexit for the public".
PM's future hinges on next Brexit votePM's future hinges on next Brexit vote
Theresa May has formally promised to set a timetable for the election of a new Prime Minister after the next Brexit vote in the first week of June. "Discussing an election timetable" doesn't sound that exciting.
If she loses, sources have told the BBC she would resign. One senior source said it would be "inconceivable" for her to carry on after another defeat. But the paragraph tucked into the short formal letter from Sir Graham Brady to Tory MPs all but marks the end of Theresa May's premiership and the beginning of the official hunt for the next leader of the country.
At this stage, it looks unlikely that the government can win the vote, so it's expected that she will resign in early June. After the lines in the short note restate the prime minister's determination to get Brexit done, it confirms in black and white that after the next big vote, in the first week of June, the prime minister will make plans with the party for choosing a successor.
The Tory party would at that point announce a process for choosing its next leader, with MPs selecting two candidates before members around the country choose between them. Right now, the expectation is that vote will be lost (although it is not impossible, of course, that Number 10 could turn it round).
Were the government to win in the Commons, the prime minister would aim to take the Brexit legislation through the next stages of the process in Parliament in the hope of completing the first part of Brexit and leaving the EU before the summer. And the conversation that's been arranged won't just be a gentle chat about what to do next.
She has already promised that if she manages to complete the first phase of Brexit she will stand down. Senior sources have told me that means, even though the letter doesn't spell it out, that if her Brexit plan is defeated again, Mrs May will announce she is going.
Read more from Laura
Last month, the 1922 Committee executive narrowly decided against changing the party's leadership rules to allow an early challenge to Mrs May.Last month, the 1922 Committee executive narrowly decided against changing the party's leadership rules to allow an early challenge to Mrs May.
Pressure has grown on Mrs May since the Conservatives' local election drubbing two weeks ago. Much of the anger in the parliamentary party is focusing on Mrs May's talks with Labour, aimed at reaching a cross-party compromise to get her deal through the Commons.Pressure has grown on Mrs May since the Conservatives' local election drubbing two weeks ago. Much of the anger in the parliamentary party is focusing on Mrs May's talks with Labour, aimed at reaching a cross-party compromise to get her deal through the Commons.
Local Tory associations have confirmed they will hold a vote of confidence in her leadership on 15 June, although its result will not be binding.Local Tory associations have confirmed they will hold a vote of confidence in her leadership on 15 June, although its result will not be binding.
Eurosceptic MP Peter Bone produced a letter from Conservative activists in the Commons on Wednesday, saying they had lost confidence in the prime minister and want her to resign before European elections on 23 May.Eurosceptic MP Peter Bone produced a letter from Conservative activists in the Commons on Wednesday, saying they had lost confidence in the prime minister and want her to resign before European elections on 23 May.
They view Mrs May deal with the EU as "worse than staying in the European Union", he said.They view Mrs May deal with the EU as "worse than staying in the European Union", he said.
Mrs May's former chief of staff, Nick Timothy, wrote in his Daily Telegraph column that the prime minister must "accept that the game is up", and quit to avoid a "national humiliation" and save the Conservative Party.Mrs May's former chief of staff, Nick Timothy, wrote in his Daily Telegraph column that the prime minister must "accept that the game is up", and quit to avoid a "national humiliation" and save the Conservative Party.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, treasurer of the 1922 Committee, said: "What I would like to see is her set out a timetable to trigger a leadership contest."
He said it would be "infinitely preferable if she set a date rather than us force her out".
Prominent Brexiteer Mark Francois said a predicted poor performance by the Conservatives in next week's European Parliament elections would increase the pressure on Mrs May to stand down.Prominent Brexiteer Mark Francois said a predicted poor performance by the Conservatives in next week's European Parliament elections would increase the pressure on Mrs May to stand down.
When the results are announced, "my colleagues will finally wake up and smell the coffee if they have not, indeed, done so already," he added.When the results are announced, "my colleagues will finally wake up and smell the coffee if they have not, indeed, done so already," he added.
But International Development Secretary Liam Fox told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the prime minister's pledge to stand down when the Commons supports her Brexit withdrawal deal showed "integrity" as she was "willing to make that personal sacrifice to get the policy through".But International Development Secretary Liam Fox told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the prime minister's pledge to stand down when the Commons supports her Brexit withdrawal deal showed "integrity" as she was "willing to make that personal sacrifice to get the policy through".
He said the public had instructed MPs to deliver Brexit in the 2016 referendum, asking: "Why have they not carried it out?"He said the public had instructed MPs to deliver Brexit in the 2016 referendum, asking: "Why have they not carried it out?"
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay told MPs their concerns had been listened to and that was "reflected in the draft legislation that is being prepared".Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay told MPs their concerns had been listened to and that was "reflected in the draft legislation that is being prepared".
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party will not support the Withdrawal Agreement Bill unless it guarantees membership of a customs union with the EU, and protects workers' rights, consumer rights and environmental rights.Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party will not support the Withdrawal Agreement Bill unless it guarantees membership of a customs union with the EU, and protects workers' rights, consumer rights and environmental rights.
"Our view is there has to be a relationship with Europe that guarantees those things, and if that bill doesn't do it then we won't support it," he said."Our view is there has to be a relationship with Europe that guarantees those things, and if that bill doesn't do it then we won't support it," he said.