Brexit: Humiliated Theresa May expected to go in days

Theresa May has shut herself inside No. 10 amid reports she will step down as soon as tomorrow.

In a dramatic day in British politics, Prime Minister Theresa May has bunkered down, refusing to resign despite an attempted backbench coup and strident demands from a furious Cabinet for a new leader.
This morning, adding to the mayhem, the Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom resigned from the government, saying she couldn’t put forward the Brexit bill as she was so fundamentally opposed to its new elements, particularly the offer of a second referendum. It is expected other Cabinet ministers may follow suit, with one telling the BBC it was the “end of the line” for the Prime Minister. Mrs Leadsom said holding a second referendum would be dangerously divisive and said the breakdown in tolerance of some Brexit positions has led to a breakdown of Cabinet’s collective responsibility.

In the weekly Question Time Mrs May was “billy no-mates”, with many Tory MPs refusing to sit behind her — a stark illustration of her near to non-existent support.

“She is in a death spiral,’’ one Brexiteer Tory said in a show-stopping day of behind-the- scenes manoeuvring and pressure on Mrs May to resign immediately.

Amid media reports that she will resign on Friday, Mrs May went into hiding, refusing to meet senior Cabinet members such as the Secretary for State for Scotland David Mundell, the Home Secretary Sajid Javid and the foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt. All three wanted to meet her to tell her it was time to go because she has lost the confidence of the entire Tory party.

Incredibly, a stubborn Mrs May has dug in behind the doors of 10 Downing Street even though the mood of the party has soured. She has told MPs through the chief whip: “I am not resigning,’’ and has put the pressure back on the 1922 executive committee to change the Tory party rules to try and force her out.

INSIDE STORY: How May sealed her own fate

But the 1922 Committee decided not to change their rules, prompting one Tory to label his colleagues “jellyfish’’. Instead, the 1922 leader Graham Brady, is due to meet Mrs May on Friday but The Times reports that her allies expect her to resign after the meeting.

Mrs May was relying on a mandatory blackout of political reporting during Thursday’s European Union elections to scupper any momentum for her to go. There is then a parliamentary recess until June 4 when United States President Donald Trump will be in the country for a state visit and there will be several days of commemorations for the 75th anniversary of D Day.

But the next few days are unlikely to quell the uproar in the Tory party particularly as the party is certain to be slaughtered in the European polls by the Brexit party, led by Nigel Farage.

Brexiteer Iain Duncan Smith said: “It is all unedifying stuff’’.

He urged a clear decision about the leadership and said the only way forward was for a new leader who brings authority.

“The question (about Mrs May’s departure) is only on timing,’’ he said.

The Tory revolt stems from a promise from Mrs May to hold a second referendum on Brexit if parliament pushes through her thrice-failed Brexit bill — at odds with what her cabinet believed they had approved.

Mrs May took the chance that offering the referendum in what she claimed was a bold new plan, and acquiescing to Labour’s demands for a customs arrangement, would attract enough cross bench support for her bill to pass, even if it split the Tory party — but she badly miscalculated. All the major parties have rejected the Brexit plan and if it is presented, the bill faces a humiliating loss by more than 100 votes.

Tory backbenchers spent much of Wednesday filing in and out of the office of the chief whip Julian Smith and the executive of the 1922 committee, which represents the backbench interests, trying to find a way to force Mrs May to resign. Under party rules Mrs May is immune from a no-confidence motion until December this year because she survived a no-confidence motion last December.

But the backbenchers have been looking how to change the Tory party rules to allow an immediate new leadership contest to begin.

Even one of Mrs May’s strongest supporters, Tom Tugendhat, who voted to Remain, said: “We need to find someone who can lead us through the current challenges and that should be someone who supports Brexit’’.

He told Sky News: “The truth is that the hill is higher than she can manage and we need a change of leadership.’’

Another MP who has withdrawn his support for Mrs May was Andrew Percy who said Mrs May’s countenance of a second referendum was a step too far.

“It has been very clear that this is not acceptable,’’ he said.

MPs have called on Mrs May to go with dignity and allow a leadership contest to begin immediately.