Leadership contenders f lex muscles as May lashed from all sides
PM under fire from own party as rivals jockey for position in race to take over
TORY Remainers and Brexiteers yesterday rounded on Theresa May’s “shameful” leadership as rivals openly plotted to succeed her following her request to extend Article 50 by three months.
The Prime Minister came under fire from all corners of her party as members of the European Research Group of Eurosceptic Tory MPS sent a letter to Downing Street setting out four demands for her to gain from this week’s EU Council meeting in order to get her Withdrawal Agreement through Parliament.
The letter, signed by 39 MPS and seen by The Daily Telegraph, tells Mrs May she should have “no reason to fear leaving on the 29th March”. Warning her not to delay Brexit if she values “our grassroots”, the twopage letter calls on Mrs May to seek “legally binding changes to the Withdrawal Act, eg a unilateral exit clause, a legal end date or Malthouse alternative arrangements”.
It came after all but three of the 20 MPS who spoke at a 80-strong ERG meeting on Tuesday threatened to call for Mrs May’s resignation at last night’s meeting of the 1922 committee of backbench MPS.
Despite pressure from chairman Sir Graham Brady,
Mrs May did not attend the 5pm gathering, and was instead represented by Brandon Lewis, the party chairman.
It came as leadership rivals were seen out “on manoeuvres” yesterday, with Boris Johnson spotted talking with fellow Brexiteer Jacob Rees-mogg; former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab stepping up his media profile with appearances on television and radio, and amid rumours of machinations involving lesser-known MPS such as Mark Harper, the former chief whip.
During an earlier emergency debate in the Commons, Dominic Grieve, the former Attorney General, led the charge against Mrs May, saying the Government’s handling of Brexit meant its credibility was “running out”.
Accusing ministers of “reneging” on their promises, the ardent Remainer added: “I have never felt more ashamed to be a member of the Conservative Party, or to be asked to lend her my support. She spent most of her time castigating the House for its misconduct. At no stage did she pause to consider that it is the way she is leading this Government which might be contributing to this situation.”
Tory MP Peter Bone, a prominent Brexiteer, had stopped short of calling for Mrs May’s resignation at PMQS, telling her extending Article 50 was akin to “betraying the British people”.
Nigel Evans, a Tory Eurosceptic who voted for the Prime Minister’s deal last week, also questioned whether Mrs May should stay, telling the BBC: “I think there are big question marks as to whether she should be allowed to carry on.”