PM May’s allies say plot to oust her will ‘fizzle out’
ALLIES of Theresa May have claimed the plot to oust from her Number 10 is set to “fizzle out” after former Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps was identified as the ringleader.
Mr Shapps insisted there was growing support among a “broad spread” of Tory MPs for a leadership contest in the wake of the Prime Minister’s chaotic party conference speech.
But Charles Walker, vice chairman of the powerful Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, said the attempt to force her out lacked credibility and was set to fail.
“Number 10 must be delighted to learn that it is Grant Shapps leading this alleged coup,” he said.
“Grant has many talents but the one thing he doesn’t have is a following in the party. I really think this is now just going to fizzle out.
“What you are seeing here is probably the coalition of disappointed people who think their brilliant polit- ical talents have not been fully recognised.”
Mr Shapps was named in media reports as the leader of a group of around 30 Tory MPs planning to send a delegation to Mrs May to tell her she must go.
He accused the party whips of deliberately leaking his name in an attempt to “smoke out” the rebels.
The plan, he said, had been for a group – including five ex-Cabinet ministers – to approach Mrs May in private with a list of names to avoid the “embarrassment” of a formal leadership challenge.
But those loyal to the Prime Minister said it was clear that the rebels lacked the 48 MPs they needed to force a contest under the party rules.
Mr Shapps said support for a leadership election was growing, with some current Cabinet ministers privately signalling their support.
“They are Remainers, they are Brexiteers,” he said.
“A growing number of number of my colleagues realise the solution isn’t to bury our heads in the sand and just hope things will get better.
“It never worked out for Brown or Major and I don’t think it is going to work out here, either.”
He acknowledged, however, that they could not force the Prime Minister’s hand and that it was up to her to decide if she wanted to carry on.
“It will have to be her decision. I had rather hoped that we would be able to get to point where we could go to her privately and have this conversation, I am very sorry that the whips have not made this possible,” he said.
Senior ministers, meanwhile, continued to rally round Mrs May, with Environment Secretary Michael Gove saying she was doing a “fantastic job”.