Letter demanding no-confidence vote submitted to 1922 Committee

A LETTER demanding a vote of no confidence in Theresa May from prominent backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg has been formally submitted.

The Tory backbencher and prominent Leave supporter has sent the letter to the chairman of the 1922 committee following publication of Theresa May’s draft withdrawal deal.

If 48 Tory MPs write similar letters, there will be a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister. Several others have also penned letters, but as of 2pm yesterday there had not been enough to trigger a vote.

In interviews with reporters after publishing the letter, Mr ReesMogg said he is not putting his name forward for leader.

“This is not about me,” he said. Mr Rees-Mogg said the party is “full of talent”, putting forward names including Boris Johnson, David Davies, Dominic Raab, Penny Mordaunt, and Esther McVey as possible replacements for Mrs May.

In his letter, Mr Rees-Mogg says he has been in conversation with the chief whip for “a few weeks”.

He says he believes Mrs May is “losing the confidence of Conservative Members of Parliament and that it would be in the interest of the party and the country if she were to stand aside”.

He said he “had wanted” to avoid a no-confidence vote but had been left with no choice.

He writes that the draft agreement which went to Parliament yesterday “has turned out to be worse than anticipated” and fails to meet the promises given to the nation by the Prime Minister”.

He lists concerns about the implementation period and its £39bn price tag, the position in relation to the European Court of Justice and the regulatory agreement. “It is of considerable importance that politicians stick to their commitments or do not make such commitments in the first place.

“Regrettably this is not the situation, therefore, in accordance with the relevant rules and procedures of the Conservative Party and the 1922 Committee this is a formal letter of no confidence in the leader of the party, the Rt. Hon. Theresa May.”

Mr Rees-Mogg had already directly addressed a no-confidence vote with the Prime Minister during a session in the Commons yesterday morning.

He asked Mrs May: “Should I not write to my right honourable friend the member for Altrincham and Sale West?”, referencing Sir Graham Brady MP, who is the chairman of the Tory 1922 committee.

Graham Brady is understood to have met the chief whip.