THE END OF MAY
PM to quit once she has delivered her Brexit deal Commons is in chaos as MPs reject all other options
THERESA May has told Tory MPs she will quit if her Brexit deal gets through.
In a shameless U-turn, leadership hopeful Boris Johnson said he would now back it.
The House is expected to decide today if it will have a
third vote. In chaotic scenes last night MPs rejected all eight Brexit alternatives.
If Parliament backs a plan, we would leave on May 22.
Pundits last night suggested that a general election is now increasingly more likely.
AFTER weeks of senior Tory colleagues plotting and sharpening their knives, Theresa May has played her final card.
The Prime Minister told fellow Conservatives she will resign if they back her Brexit deal.
An emotional Mrs May told a packed meeting she will quit before the next stage of talks – but only if her twice-defeated divorce plan gets through the Commons at the third attempt.
She had been under intense pressure to stand down to allow her party to elect a new leader.
Almost immediately Tory Boris Johnson made a screeching U-turn by announcing he would now back the PM’s plan.
But Mrs May still faces an immense uphill battle to get her agreement voted through.
The DUP confirmed last night it would vote against the deal, with party leader Arlene Foster saying it “poses a threat to the integrity” of the UK.
Dozens of Tory Eurosceptics are also standing
firm against the plan. The Government was gearing up for a long delay to Brexit with just two weeks to go until the extension deadline.
But Downing Street was hoping that Mrs May’s momentous decision could win enough support for the deal to go through this week.
Senior Tory sources suggested the party would kick off a leadership contest on May 22, with the new PM in place by mid-July.
No10 insiders suggested if the Withdrawal Agreement did not get through the Commons, then Mrs May would not feel able to resign amid the chaos that would inevitably follow.
One source said: “It’s hard to see how we could have time for a leadership contest in quite the same way if we are still in the middle of trying to take us out.”
MPs last night voted by 441 to 105 to extend Article 50 – delaying Britain’s departure beyond the schedule date of tomorrow.
We would leave on May 22 if MPs back the Prime Minister’s deal, or April 12 if we exit without
I know there is a desire for a new
approach and I won’t stand in the way of that THERE S A M AY TELLS FELLOW TORIES SHE WILL QUIT IF DEAL GETS THROUGH
a pact. Downing Street hopes to bring back the Withdrawal Agreement tomorrow for a third vote.
European Research Group chairman Jacob ReesMogg signalled his backing – if the DUP abandoned its opposition.
He said: “I think that we have got to the point where legally leaving is better than not leaving at all. Half a loaf is better than no bread.”
The PM is likely to need the backing of as many as two dozen Labour MPs to force through her pact. It remains unclear whether the Speaker will even allow the PM to bring her plan back.
The chances of a general election increased dramatically after Mrs May’s announcement.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “A change of Government can’t be a Tory stitch-up, the people must decide.” Tory heavyweights immediately started jostling for position – with about a dozen expected to throw their hats in the ring.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove emerged as the early favourite as a unity candidate between Brexiteer and Remainer wings of the party. But he may be hard pressed to persuade colleagues he is trustworthy, after stabbing former ally Mr Johnson in the back last time.
Mr Johnson has long been planning a comeback after dropping out of the 2016 race but may struggle to win over MPs who regard him as selfserving. However, he is popular with the public and is generally regarded as having an electoral stardust many of his colleagues lack.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is the PM’s favoured successor.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss and Health Secretary Matt Hancock are all expected to have a shot.
Mrs May is the fourth Tory PM after Margaret Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron to be forced out by the Tory civil war over Europe.
In a packed room in the Commons, Mrs May told MPs: “I have heard very clearly the mood of the Parliamentary party. I know there is a desire for a new approach – and new leadership – in the second phase of the Brexit negotiations - and I won’t stand in the way of that.”
Sources said that Mrs May accepted she had made mistakes. She told them: “I know I don’t hang around in the bars, I know I don’t gossip in the tea rooms, but that doesn’t mean your concerns haven’t been heard.”
Mr Johnson said afterwards: “The PM spoke very well and was very warmly received.”
Minutes later he told a meeting of the Brexiteer European Research Group of Tory MPs that he was “reluctantly” backing the deal. Speaking about the Brexit deal, he previously accused the PM of “wrapping a suicide vest” around the British constitution and giving the detonator to Brussels.
But Eurosceptic Steve Baker told the ERG he was consumed by “ferocious rage” and could resign the Tory whip. One ERG source said he was hugged by Mr Rees-Mogg and senior Brexiteers.
Despite Mrs May’s announcement it remains unclear how, or if, the UK will leave. Several EU sources warned that a no-deal Brexit was now looking much more likely.