MPS tell May to set a date for resignation
Backbench Tory MPS will demand that Theresa May set a firm date for her departure amid rising anger at the failure to deliver Brexit on schedule and the continuing drift in the UK’S exit from the EU.
Last night the executive of the powerful backbench 1922 Committee heard calls for the Prime Minister’s immediate resignation, and an attempt to change party rules so she can be ousted as soon as June.
The chairman of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, is expected to go to Downing Street in the
coming days with a demand for a clear timetable for Mrs May’s exit, amid fears among Tory MPS that she could linger on in Number 10 as the stalemate over the UK’S Brexit deal continues.
Nigel Evans, the joint executive secretary of the 1922, yesterday called on Theresa May to announce her resignation and allow a contest to choose her replacement to begin “straight away”.
After reflecting on the situation over the Easter break, Mr Evans said the “severe problems” over Brexit meant Mrs May had to go “as soon as possible”.
He said calls for the Prime Minister’s removal had become a “clamour” and he would be “delighted” if she announced plans to quit immediately.
And in another sign of the divisions among Tories over Europe, another backbench MP, Lucy Allen openly praised the Brexit Party, tweeting that it had “some fantastic candidates”.
Under Conservative Party rules, a sitting leader cannot be challenged again for a year after a failed attempt at a no-confidence vote. Mrs May survived a bid to oust her in December, leaving Brexiteers without a means to push her from office for the rest of 2019.
At a meeting of the 1922 executive last night, the Prime Minister’s critics called for the waiting time to be cut to six
months. However, opinion was split between Brexiteers and Remainers, with many feeling that the rules should not be changed to get rid of a single leader.
An insider told the Scotsman: “If the rules need to be changed, now is not the time to do it. It needs a moment of calm reflection, and that’s not what this is.”
However, the source added that growing anger on the
TORY INSIDER
Tory backbenches meant Mr Brady would have no choice but to take demands for an exit date to Downing Street.
“He needs to stand up for the views of backbenchers, and there’s growing unhappiness among backbench MPS about the way things are going.
“They want a clear timetable for her departure, and clear date.”
On Monday, it was revealed that 70 local Conservative association chiefs have signed a petition calling for an extraordinary general meeting of the National Conservative Convention to discuss the Prime Minister’s leadership.
An extraordinary general meeting must be held if more than 65 local associations demand one, and could allow a non-binding but hugely damaging no-confidence vote by activists.
Elsewhere, a new poll found former foreign secretary Boris Johnson is the favourite to replace Mrs May as Conservative leader among the party’s grassroots.
Almost a third of party members - 32.4 per cent - backed Mr Johnson, up by 10 points in the last month. Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab was second with 14.7 per cent, according to the poll of 1,128 panel members by the Conservative Home website. Environment Secretary Michael Gove came third, ahead of Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Home Secretary Sajid Javid.
“If the rules need to be changed, now is not the time to do it. It needs a moment of calm reflection, and that’s not what this is”