About 40 Conservative MPs are reportedly prepared to sign a letter of no confidence in Theresa May as the Prime Minister keeps getting hit with a never-ending series of challenges. The number increased in recent weeks. The letter is eight MPs short to a vote of no confidence, which, if lost, would lead to a Conservative leadership contest. “Patience is wearing very thin and in some cases, it has snapped,” a senior Tory MP said.
May has a lot on her hands, including a sexual harassment scandal, loss of ministers Sir Michael Fallon and Priti Patel, a rather serious faux pas by Boris Johnson leading to a British woman's longer jail term in Iran, and aggressive divisions over Brexit. It is official, the Prime Minister is losing control. Tory rules dictate 48 MPs need to sign a letter of no confidence, and present it to the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee for a probable vote on May's future. The move came after a secret letter from Boris Johnson and Michael Gove came to light, in which they have given the PM instructions on how to run Brexit. They wrote that transition arrangements for the exit must end on June 30 2021, and urged her to ensure members of her top team fall behind their plans by “clarifying their minds”.
May's ability to deliver a just Brexit is shrouded in doubts, all while threat to her leadership grow. The Labour party and other opposition have now warned that she has no longer enough authority over the Conservatives to secure the Bill's passage. Labour's Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer wrote a letter to the PM raising concerns that she no longer has the influence over her own party to deliver key facets of a successful Brexit. It read, “Over recent weeks, it has become increasingly clear that you alone do not have the authority to deliver a transitional deal with Europe and to take the necessary steps to protect jobs and the economy.”
He pointed out how cabinet ministers like Foreign Secretary Johnson and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox had appeared to make statements that contradicted her Brexit plans as set out in a major speech in Florence earlier this year.
Meanwhile, SNP's Stephen Gethins said, “If it wasn't clear before, it is now. Theresa May has lost all authority and credibility in government. The revelation that leading Brexiteers Boris Johnson and Michael Gove are now brazenly able to dictate their hard Brexit demands … goes to show that they think they can say and do as they please, knowing fine well Theresa May is powerless to act. Theresa May is Prime Minister only by title.”
In the past days, May lost Fallon, Patel, and her deputy Damian Green remains under investigation over allegations of inappropriate behaviour. Johnson meanwhile, find himself busy against calls to resign over a diplomatic gaffe relating to Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British woman who is imprisoned in Iran.
Messy Brexit
Talks between Britain and the European Union appear to have reached near-stalemate, resulting in the EU giving a deadline of two weeks to the UK to agree on a figure for the 'divorce bill'. With negotiations reaching a crucial point, May and her government finds themselves knee-deep in trouble over attempts to push through the legislation that will allow leaving the EU. Debates and votes are expected to be conducted in a month as lawmakers from all parties put forward hundreds of amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill.
