THERESA May today vowed to fight to save her job as Tory MPs vote on whether to depose her tonight.
The leadership contest was triggered overnight after 48 Conservatives put in letters calling for the PM to go.
Speaking in Downing Street this morning, Mrs May struck a defiant tone as she said: “I will contest that vote with everything I’ve got.”
She claimed that toppling her would be a boost to Labour and risk endangering Brexit.
A vote of confidence will take place between 6pm and 8pm, backbench boss Graham Brady announced.
The PM could then be gone by morning – with the result set to be announced shortly after the vote takes place.
Theresa May faces a leadership vote tonight
If she loses, a leadership election will then take place with a new Prime Minister likely to take office by mid-January.
But she could choose to quit immediately instead, with an interim leader taking over until the permanent replacement is found.
But if the PM manages to win, she will be safe for the next year with no new leadership contest allowed for another 12 months.
The PM said: “Sir Graham Brady has confirmed he has received 48 letters and there will now be a vote of confidence. I will contest that vote with everything I’ve got.”
The leadership contest was triggered after rebellious Tories stepped up their campaign against Mrs May while she was touring Europe – in an echo of the plot against Margaret Thatcher in 1990.
The PM has been trying to persuade EU leaders to fix her Brexit deal, but will have to scrap a planned trip to Dublin today to lobby Irish leader Leo Varadkar.
Sir Graham, chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbenchers, announced this morning that he has received the 48 letters needed to trigger a leadership contest under party rules.
He told colleagues that “events have moved very quickly overnight” with more MPs putting in their letters.
Mrs May will have three chances to make the case she should be allowed to stay – in a Downing Street speech this morning, during Prime Minister’s Questions at lunchtime and again in a speech to the 1922 Committee later.
The vote will then take place in a Commons committee room from 6pm.
Ballots will be counted “immediately afterwards” and the result announced this evening, Sir Graham said.
Cabinet ministers today scrambled to support the PM as Brexiteers called for colleagues to vote against her.
The last thing our country needs right now is a Conservative Party leadership election. Will be seen as self-indulgent and wrong. PM has my full support and is best person to ensure we leave EU on 29 March
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) December 12, 2018
I am backing @theresa_may tonight. Being PM most difficult job imaginable right now and the last thing the country needs is a damaging and long leadership contest. Brexit was never going to be easy but she is the best person to make sure we actually leave the EU on March 29
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) December 12, 2018
The PM has my full support. At this critical time we need to support and work with the PM to deliver on leaving the EU, & our domestic agenda – ambitious for improvements to people’s lives & to build on growth of wages & jobs.
— Amber Rudd MP (@AmberRuddHR) December 12, 2018
I am backing the Prime Minister 100% – and I urge every Conservative MP to do the same. She is battling hard for our country and no one is better placed to ensure we deliver on the British people’s decision to leave the EU.
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) December 12, 2018
No confidence vote – what happens next
A leadership election is called if the party leader resigns – as David Cameron did in 2016 – or loses a vote of no confidence.This is triggered when 15 per cent of the parliamentary party write letters of no confidence to the chairman of the backbench 1922 committee, Sir Graham Brady.
There are currently 316 Tory MPs so the threshold, which has now been reached, is 48.All of these MPs will be asked to vote tonight on whether they have confidence in Mrs MayIf the PM wins she would be entitled to stay in office for at least a further year without facing a challenge from her own party, but if she lost she would have to resign and a leadership contest would be called.
The last no confidence vote against a sitting Tory leader was in 2003.Opposition leader Iain Duncan Smith lost the vote and stood down. Michael Howard was elected unopposed.John Major resigned as Tory leader in 1995 to face down his critics and was re-elected. He stayed as prime minister throughout.
Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid, who are likely to be frontrunners to replace Mrs May if she loses, both pledged their support for the Prime Minister along with other senior ministers including Philip Hammond, Michael Gove and Amber Rudd.
Justice Secretary David Gauke claimed that if the PM did go, her replacement would have to “delay Brexit” in order to buy time to negotiate a deal.
But top Brexiteers Jacob Rees-Mogg and Steve Baker, who led the coup against Mrs May, called on their colleagues to vote against her in the leadership ballot – warning that if she wins, she will end up leading the party into the next General Election.
The European Research Group bosses said: “Theresa May’s plan would bring down the Government if carried forward. But our party will rightly not tolerate it.
“Conservatives must now answer whether they wish to draw ever closer to an election under Mrs May’s leadership. In the national interest, she must go.”
Potential replacements have already started manoeuvring to put themselves in pole position to take over.
Boris Johnson and Mr Javid have both written for the Spectator magazine, known as the “Tory Bible”, setting out their stall for a leadership bid.
Other possible contenders if the PM does lose tonight’s vote could include Mr Hunt, Ms Rudd, David Davis or Dominic Raab.
The hardline Brexiteers would seek to find a single candidate to unite behind to lower the risk of the pro-Brexit vote being split.
In a leadership election, Tory MPs would have the chance to whittle down the list of contenders to two names with party activists getting the final say on which one wins. (The Sun UK)
