CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE
»»PM’s authority gone as 117 Conservatives vote against »»Rees-Mogg insists she should visit Queen to resign »»Sturgeon says Tories making indy case stronger
THERESA MAY survived a no-confidence vote of Tory MPs last night with a vote of 200 for her and 117 against, but only after signalling she will step down before the 2022 election.
The majority of 83 declared at 9pm last night was much smaller than Downing Street had hoped for when the snap vote was announced yesterday morning.
The result makes the wounded Prime Minister’s route through Parliament even more uncertain and will embolden Eurosceptic Tory MPs to wreck her Brexit deal with Brussels.
With a third of her party against her, the vote was too close for comfort, leaving May heading to Brussels this morning with her authority in tatters.
Arch Eurosceptic MP Jacob Rees-Mogg declared the outcome was a “terrible result for the PM” and claimed if the payroll vote of Cabinet members and junior ministers was discounted, May had lost the majority of backbenchers by a wide margin.
He said: “She ought to go and see the Queen urgently and resign.”
Adding to the sense of constitutional chaos, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told Sky News the Conservatives were “making the case for Scottish independence much, much stronger”.
Sturgeon said: “We have been reminded today that the entire UK has been plunged into crisis and chaos because of a vicious civil war within the Tory Party.
“It is a disgrace, it is selfish and self-indulgent and the sooner the lot of them go the better.”
She added: “The Prime Minister cannot use this result to support her claim that the choice is now between her bad Brexit and a catastrophic no-deal Brexit. Parliament is simply not going to approve her deal – and is also likely to make clear there is no majority for no deal. Every day that she refuses to accept this is another day wasted.
“The Scottish Government and SNP will continue to make the case for Scotland’s overwhelming vote to stay in Europe to be respected and we will support any second EU referendum which has remain as an option.”
Jeremy Corbyn said the internal Tory vote made no difference to the lives of ordinary people.
The Labour leader said: “The Prime Minister has lost her majority in Parliament, her government are in chaos and she is unable to deliver a Brexit deal that works for the country and puts jobs and the economy first.
“That’s why she pulled the vote on her botched Brexit deal this week and is trying to avoid bringing it back to Parliament. It’s clear that she has not been able to negotiate the necessary changes in Europe. He called on her to bring her “dismal deal” back to the House of Commons next week so Parliament can take back control.
Corbyn added: “Labour are ready to govern for the whole country and deliver a deal that protects living standards and workers’ rights.”
Speaking in Downing Street after what she admitted was “a rather challenging day”, the Prime Minister said she was grateful for the support of colleagues and had listened to the “significant number” of MPs who voted against her.
But she said she was ploughing on with “the job of delivering Brexit” and appealed for “politicians on all sides coming together and acting in the national interest”.
She restated her mission with familiar phrasing. She said: “Following this ballot we now need to get on with the job of delivering Brexit for the British people and building a better future for this country. A Brexit that delivers on the vote that people gave, that brings back controls of our money, our borders and our laws, that protects jobs, security and the union. That brings the country back together, rather than entrenching division.”
The Prime Minister won over exasperated Tory MPs by re-applying for her own job as leader with a heartfelt plea that she would not lead the party into the next general election.
Her assurance that she would stand aside, combined with a Downing Street operation forcing the pace of events with a snap ballot within 12 hours of the vote being called, was enough to get May through.
She cannot now be challenged for another year but her Brexit deal looks even more uncertain as the contest deepened the divide between the
hard Brexiteer wing of the party and the centre-ground backers of her deal.
May faced down her challengers in the morning in a Downing Street declaration that she would “fight with all I’ve got” to keep the keys to the door.
In the late afternoon, she addressed a packed and emotional meeting of the Tory 1922 Committee, with her loyalists orchestrating the traditional desk and door-banging welcome.
May did not throw in the towel but gave a concession to Tory MPs who want her out as soon as the Brexit deal is done next March.
According to MPs in the packed room, May said “in her heart” she would like to fight the next election but recognised the party do not want her to do so.
However, the PM was reluctant to give the detail of when she would stand down and fudged questions about any departure date. She also made pledges on re-engaging with the DUP and finding a “legally binding solution” to the controversial Northern Irish backstop.
Some ministers were in tears in the meeting as the Prime Minister repeated her pledge to stand down before the next election.
Afterwards, Cabinet minister Amber Rudd told reporters: “She’s made the commitment which is what people wanted but she was very clear she won’t be taking the general election in 2022.”
One senior Tory reiterated that May had been “business-like” in the meeting and said she had struck a “serious” tone.
Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins said there was a “very heartfelt moment” in the meeting, adding: “She was talking about her commitment to the party and the life and time commitment she has had working for the party.”
In a day of panto without jokes, the leadership drama swallowed up Westminster while European leaders shook their heads and stated again that the Brexit deal secured by May was not negotiable.