Tories on a suicide mission

WESTMINSTER is agog with frenzied chatter about the possibility of Tory MPs planning a leadership challenge to Theresa May.

They may be stupid — but, I hope, not that stupid.

The consequence of deposing Mrs May would be an internal Tory war that would most likely end with Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister.

Little-known backbencher Nick Boles (who accused Mrs May of ‘timidity and lack of ambition’), Tory grandee Sir Nicholas Soames (who called her ‘dull, dull, dull’), Boris Johnson ( who destabilised the Cabinet by calling for an extra £5 billion a year to be spent on the NHS) and Chancellor Philip Hammond (who made a disloyal speech about Brexit) should all beware the potential result of their meddling.

At the heart of all this is a ferocious battle over the shape of post-Brexit Britain.

But the truth is that Theresa May holds one crucial card. She is far more popular and respected by voters than any of her disloyal Cabinet ministers.