Theresa May could be just hours away from being forced out as Tory leader, with a Vote of no Confidence in her leadership looking increasingly likely, that is according to the BBC’s Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg.
Following the hugely damaging resignations of Brexit Secretary David Davis and now the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Downing Street has been forced to confirm that Theresa May would contest a Vote of No Confidence, should one be brought to the House.
And now, following Downing Street’s statement, the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg has indicated that such a vote could even take place ‘in the next hour’:
The Prime Minister would fight to keep her job if her own MPs triggered a vote of no confidence in her leadership, according to No 10 sources – it is not impossible that we 'll be there in the next hour – also perfectly possible we won't be there at all…..
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) July 9, 2018
A meeting of the hugely influential 1922 Committee is also now scheduled for 17:30, with reports indicating that the magic number of 48 signatures have been received to force a Vote of No Confidence in the Prime Minister:
Whispers Tory MP s have reached the magic number of the 48 letters required to force a confidence vote – no way of knowing yet if true – meeting at 5.30
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) July 9, 2018
With at least 48 Tory MPs reportedly now willing to vote against her in any Vote of No Confidence – and with almost certainly the entire opposition willing to do the same – it is becoming increasingly likely that Theresa May will be ousted as Prime Minister in the coming days, or even later on today, depending on the outcome of the 1922 Committee meeting at 17:30.
However, until the Chairman of the 1922 Committee, Graham Brady, announces such a decision, we will unfortunately be kept in limbo.
Caveat: there were rumours like this at about 1am this morning, too. They could be correct, this time, but basically nobody knows until Sir Graham Brady announces it's happened. https://t.co/x4kdL10Ry2
— Mark Wallace (@wallaceme) July 9, 2018
Arch Tory Brexiteer Michael Fabricant has just indicated that Graham Brady has denied that the 48 signature mark has been met:
Unless he is playing with words, Graham Brady has just denied this. https://t.co/8TGqgt8mFt
— Michael Fabricant (@Mike_Fabricant) July 9, 2018
Labour MP Melanie Onn – whose office is situated directly above the room where the 1922 Committee is meeting right now – is reporting “an awful lot of table banging“. Read into that what you will!
There’s an awful lot of table banging going on in the Boothroyd Rm for the #1922Committee – it’s right under my office. There it goes again.
— Melanie Onn MP (@OnnMel) July 9, 2018
