Tory MPS plan to oust May by getting 10,000 signatures on petition to change party rules
Plotters want to remove Prime Minister’s 12-month protection against another leadership challenge
‘The constitution [could] be changed upon delivery of a petition with 10,000 signatures’
‘If those elections are going to be bad, let them be bad – and that will give us the reason to act if we need to’
Camilla Tominey
Christopher Hope CONSERVATIVE MPS are plotting to oust Theresa May by changing a party rule which states that a prime minister cannot be kicked out within 12 months of winning a no-confidence vote.
With the Tories plunged into civil war following Mrs May’s attempted customs union compromise with Jeremy Corbyn, a number of unnamed MPS have called on their association chairmen to gather signatures to push through the rule change under Schedule 9 of the Conservative Party Constitution.
It states that party rules can be changed with a petition signed by 10,000 Tory members.
The move came after a group of senior backbench MPS informally agreed not to challenge Mrs May until after the May 2 local elections and May 23 European Parliament elections, if held, so as not to “taint” her successor.
As Mrs May was last night in Brussels negotiating a further extension to Brexit, a message sent by one of the plotters to their association chairman, seen by The Daily Telegraph, read: “Page 71 (Schedule 9) of the party constitution allows the constitution to be changed upon delivery of a petition to the Chairman of the Board with 10,000 member signatures. Has this been considered, as a way around the 12-month protection? There are easily that many members who would sign.”
Other MPS are understood to have sent similar instructions.
Although the 12-month rule is set by the 1922 Committee of Tory MPS, Article 17 of the party’s constitution says that “the Board shall have power to do anything which in its opinion relates to the management and administration of the Party”.
MPS believe a petition could spark a ballot on a motion effectively calling for the board to take control and overrule the 12-month grace period.
The plot emerged as an hour-long meeting of the 1922’s executive com- mittee was yesterday dominated by discussions about Mrs May’s leadership. It came after Mark Francois wrote in vain to committee chairman Sir Graham Brady calling for an “informal” vote to demonstrate to the PM that she no longer has the support of her MPS.
The 13 MPS present at the 4pm meeting discussed moving against the Prime Minister after the results of the local election and European Parliament elections in May to allow her successor a fresh start.
“For an hour we debated where we
are with the leadership,” an MP told The Telegraph. “There is a feeling that if those elections are going to be bad, let them be bad – and that will give us absolutely the reason to act if we need to. May 23 would be the deadline.”
The 1922 would convene a meeting of either its six officers or its 18-strong executive committee before taking any action. The party’s MPS would then select two candidates from the parliamentary party over the following fortnight, giving the membership four to six weeks to select a leader.
The new leader would be in place in the third week of July when MPS are expected to break up for summer.
The full 5pm meeting of the 1922 only lasted 15 minutes and saw MPS vent their frustrations over Brexit. Mrs May’s leadership was not mentioned.
Meanwhile attempts by grassroots activists to table motions calling for their associations to demand Mrs May’s resignation are being frustrated by the party’s central office.
An order issued last month says members cannot “introduce business” like a no-confidence motion at local annual meetings unless the details are sent out at the time the meeting is called.
John Strafford, who runs the Campaign for Conservative Democracy, said the motion was being used by some chairmen to ban motions calling for Mrs May to quit.