PM should stay, says Rudd
Home Secretary says Britain is at ‘turning point’ and needs stability Band of 30 MPS to demand leader’s resignation by Christmas May urged to get rid of ‘dud’ ministers and bring in new blood
AMBER RUDD today makes a public appeal to Theresa May to stay on as Prime Minister as she says Britain has reached a “turning point as a nation”.
The Home Secretary says Mrs May “should” continue after the “trio of mishaps” that blighted her conference speech.
However, in calling on Mrs May to remain in No10, Ms Rudd becomes the first Cabinet minister to acknowledge that there is a question surrounding her party leader’s immediate future.
She makes the intervention, in an article for The Daily Telegraph, after it emerged that a group of about 30 rebel Conservative MPS are plotting to confront the Prime Minister as early as this weekend and demand her resignation.
Allies of Mrs May singled out a former Conservative Party chairman as the individual responsible for leading the plot to oust the Prime Minister.
Grant Shapps, who was forced to resign as chairman in November 2015 amid allegations of bullying within the party, did not rule out his role in the apparent mutiny when approached last night. “I think having lost an election the party must look for a new leader to take us forward,” he said.
On BBC Radio 5 Live last night, Mr Shapps said the Prime Minister should call a leadership election. He said he had spoken to Cabinet members about her stepping down, and that he knew of around 30 MPS who supported the calls for her to resign.
“She should call a leadership election. This is a view I’ve held for quite some time. Quite a lot of colleagues feel the same, including five former Cabinet ministers.”
The former culture minister Ed Vaizey yesterday became the first Tory MP to break ranks by saying publicly that “quite a few people are firmly of the view that she should resign”.
The rebels believe there is a “small window of opportunity” to force the Prime Minister out and want her to agree to step down by Christmas. They believe that if they can recruit another 15-20 MPS they will have enough support to approach Mrs May and tell her to go, and think there is a “50-50” chance of doing so before Monday.
The pound dropped yesterday to its lowest value against the dollar in a month as speculation over Mrs May’s future continued. Mrs May was said to have spent the day at home and has no major public appearances planned until Parliament returns next week.
In today’s article, Ms Rudd namechecks David Davis, Boris Johnson and Philip Hammond and insists they are determined to help realise Mrs May’s vision for Britain. The Cabinet has been at odds over the Government’s Brexit strategy but the Home Secretary sets out how they can work together.
She writes: “We, Theresa May’s Government, want to… set out a better path, one that actually leads to a prosperous, secure and united country. We can do that, and we will under her leadership. She should stay.
“Do not doubt that the Prime Minister’s absolute commitment to tackling the injustices is a real one. And as the Prime Minister also said this week, we are at a turning point for the nation. Trust that it is us who will take Britain in the right direction.”
Ms Rudd refers to “presentation fails” in the Prime Minister’s speech but urges her party and the public to look beyond them to the policies outlined by ministers at the Conservative Party conference earlier this week.
In her article, Ms Rudd sets out the Government’s plan for a new immigration system, a commitment to take the lowest-paid out of tax and a plan for a new minimum wage. She also says that Brexit must ensure that businesses are not hit by “unnecessary burdens” or labour shortages.
The Prime Minister is being urged by ministers to sack Mr Johnson after his perceived disloyalty dominated the party conference and was the subject of the prank in which she was handed a P45 on stage. They have also suggested she should carry out a Cabinet reshuffle to get rid of “duds” and bring in ambitious young MPS who could one day succeed her.
Downing Street has made clear that the Prime Minister will not be resigning and Cabinet members have rallied around her to offer their support.
Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, praised Mrs May’s “guts and grace” in battling through her speech as she lost her voice. Charles Walker, vice-chairman of the 1922 Committee, said Mrs May was like “forged steel” and doing “an outstanding job”.
Mrs May spent yesterday at home in her Maidenhead constituency recovering from the cold that ruined her speech, and will today carry out her regular Friday surgery before spending the weekend at Chequers and in Maidenhead preparing for the new parliamentary session. On Wednesday the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPS will meet for what could be a pivotal moment for Mrs May.
Geoffrey Clifton-brown, an executive member of the 1922 Committee, said Mrs May “needs to demonstrate leadership”. He said the party was “a little bit in limbo” and the speech “could have been much stronger”.
David Mellor, the former national heritage secretary, described Mrs May as a “dead woman walking”, while one backbencher told The Telegraph Mrs
‘Quite a few people are of the view she should resign. She had a chance to reboot the party and it didn’t happen’
May was “no longer seen as credible or competent”.
Explaining the plans to confront Mrs May this weekend, the MP added: “It has to be all or nothing. We can’t have a situation where a few go public with their criticism and the rest fade away. There is a small window of opportunity, more people are coming forward.”
The rebels do not intend to trigger a formal no confidence vote in Mrs May – for which 48 MPS would need to write to the 1922 Committee to express no confidence in her – but instead want her to accept that the game is up. Mr Vaizey, speaking to BBC Radio Oxford, said: “There will be quite a few people who will now be pretty firmly of the view that she should resign.
“I didn’t predict Brexit, I certainly didn’t predict the election result. But the Tory party conference was a great opportunity to reboot the party and therefore reboot the country, to give it a clear sense of direction, and that didn’t happen. So yes, I am concerned.”
The rebels include both Remainers and Leavers and have avoided communicating via messaging services such as Whatsapp to avoid names being leaked. Instead they are ringing round colleagues to garner support. “We’re doing this the old-fashioned way,” one of the rebels said. However, they acknowledged that it is proving more difficult to co-ordinate without the use of the social networking app.
Mrs May is considering revealing the Conservatives’ autumn Budget plans as early as next week as part of a concerted fightback following the party conference fiasco. The Treasury is said to approve of road-testing policies before they are announced, following the about-turns on National Insurance contributions after the spring budget and social care in the Tory manifesto.
MPS return to Parliament on Monday in what will be a crucial week for Mrs May. Brexit talks resume on Monday, then on Tuesday she will lead her first Cabinet meeting since the conference.
Mrs May will also face Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday and will introduce a draft Bill to put a cap on energy prices.