The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Clear lack of support from within for Prime Minister
But insiders believe Theresa May will see out Brexit talks
Theresa May’s authority was undermined by her Chancellor on the eve of Brexit talks by refusing to say how long he believes she will stay Prime Minister.
Philip Hammond, who was barely visible in the run up to the June 8 vote, also criticised the party’s election campaign and said the Conservatives would have “probably done better” if they had focused on its economic record.
He admitted his role had not been the “one I would have liked it to be”.
Mr Hammond told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show: “I would have liked to have made much more of our economic record, which I think is an excellent one, creating 2.9 million new jobs, getting the deficit down by threequarters.”
Asked how long Mrs May had left in number 10, he replied: “I think what the country needs now is a period of calm while we get on with the job at hand.
“Theresa is leading the Government and I think the Government needs to get on with its job.”
Commons leader Andrea Leadsom, who challenged Mrs May, sidestepped a question over whether she would lead the party into next election, saying only: “I don’t look into the future”.
And David Mundell, the Scottish Secretary, also failed to offer support, telling BBC Sunday Politics Scotland it was “self-evident in England and Wales it wasn’t a successful election campaign.”
He added: “We lost seats, compared to the position in Scotland where we fought our own campaign and we picked up those 12 additional seats.”
Reports in Sunday newspapers claimed that backbenchers and some Cabinet ministers were weighing up a leadership challenge, should it look like Mrs May will struggle to get her Queen’s speech passed by Parliament.
London Minister Greg Hands dismissed claims that Tory MPs had told Mrs May she had 10 days to save her position, saying the party was “united” in its support of the Prime Minister.
Tory sources told The Courier that “most people want her to carry on as there is no obvious alternative”.
It is understood this group hopes an alternative will emerge over the two years of Brexit negotiations.
Other insiders, including those extremely critical of the campaign, which has been described as “the worst in the history of the Conservative Party”, say Mrs May will likely see out the talks to quit the EU.
This is despite the fact that Labour has overtaken the Tories in popularity following the shock general election result and four in 10 people think Theresa May should resign.
Research by Survation for Good Morning Britain gave Jeremy Corbyn’s party a three point lead over the Conservatives, as 44% of respondents backed Labour, 41% opted for the Tories, 6% for the Lib Dems and 2% for Ukip.
A similar Survation poll conducted over May 5-6 found that 47% of respondents would vote Conservative compared to 30% Labour.
Some 48% of people think Mrs May should remain Prime Minister, while 45% want her to resign amid intense scrutiny of her leadership following the Tories’ poor election result and the Grenfell Tower fire.
Mrs May was the party leader that most people trusted to negotiate the best Brexit deal, 52%, while 39% backed Mr Corbyn.