Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
COUGH WITH THEIR HEADS
May plots a Cabinet reshuffle after her conference calamity
THERESA May has insisted she will never “hide from a challenge” amid claims that she is plotting a Cabinet bloodbath to cling to power.
The Prime Minister, who survived a coup bid after her disastrous cough-punctuated conference speech, is under growing pressure to bring in fresh faces to salvage her regime.
Those facing the chop in a reshuffle could include Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Chancellor Philip Hammond, Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom and Education Secretary Justine Greening.
Mrs May said yesterday: “It has never been my style to hide from a challenge and I’m not going to start now. I’m the PM and part of my job is to make sure I always have the best people in my Cabinet.”
Backbencher Nadine Dorries deepened the Tory civil war by calling for the Chancellor to be axed, saying: “The person I would be demoting, or certainly sacking, would be Philip Hammond.”
SHENANIGANS
And while Mr Johnson urged the party to back the PM, he said there was a moment when MPS “sniffed the air”. Mrs May is still reeling from her carcrash Manchester speech – hit by coughing fits, the set disintegrating behind her and comic Simon Brodkin giving her a P45.
An attempted coup led by ex-party chairman Grant Shapps fizzled out but it was claimed at least three Cabinet ministers talked of replacing the ailing PM.
Mr Johnson wrote in a newspaper article only “nutters” want to force Mrs May out and risk triggering another election.
Former PM Sir John Major blasted “disloyal” MPS as he urged them to back their leader.
And Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson said there had been “unfortunate shenanigans this week”, adding: “God damn it, she’s the Prime Minister of a G7 country, she didn’t get there by luck or default.”
Meanwhile, a BMG Research poll put Labour five points ahead of the Tories on 42. And Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn beat Mrs May in an ITV survey on who would be best PM, 33% to 22%.