OUT BY SPRING?
Former Tory leader Michael Howard believes the PM may be forced out by the spring
THERESA May is only safe as leader for “the next few months” and could well be forced out by the Spring, a former Tory leader has declared.
Michael Howard told a Tory gathering that the PM’s tenure in No10 is now entirely dependent on two daunting tasks - striking a successful Brexit deal and then persuading Parliament to agree it.
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But the party grandee described success on both fronts for struggling Mrs May is now against “all the odds”.
The embarrassment for the PM comes just two days before the start of a very turbulent Tory conference for her.
In a further blow, The Sun can also reveal that several grandee Tory MPs are preparing to give the unpopular leader an ultimatum to stand down.
Former minister Sir Oliver Letwin has told allies he will lead the ‘grey suits’ delegation if Mrs May doesn’t announce her own departure date next year.
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Former Home Secretary Lord Howard made the damaging comments to a meeting of the Gadson Club, for alumni members of the Oxford University Conservative Association. A recording of them has been passed to The Sun.
When asked if the PM is the right person to lead the Tories through to the next General Election, Lord Howard replied to laughter: “I think she’s the right person to take us through the next few months, erm…”.
He went on to say: “There’s a second part to my answer. In March 2019, everything will be different, and I don’t know how they’ll look.
“She could then be in a very strong position. She might, despite all the odds, have negotiated a Brexit which has got through Parliament.
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“In which case, I think she would be entitled to a great deal of credit, and her position would be much stronger than it appears to be now, and then she might well go on to take us through to the next election.
“On the other hand, it’s a possibility she may not be quite as rosy in March 2019. So what happens after March 2019 depends on where we are in March 2019.”
Lord Howard’s comments breach a long standing precedent for former Conservative leaders never to undermine their successor. Another ex-Conservative leader will also add to her suffering today.
Former PM Sir John Major will share a stage with ex-Labour leadership contender David Miliband tonight to oppose her Brexit plans.
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The pair from opposing sides of the political divide will appear in the former Labour Foreign Secretary’s old constituency of South Shields.
But Mrs May was given support by current Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday, who dubbed underestimating the PM as “one of the biggest mistakes that anyone can make”.
Mr Hunt added: “After that very difficult general election, some people didn’t appreciate the steel at the heart of that lady.
“We are led by someone very tough and very resilient and now I think people in Europe are beginning to realise the same.”#
Mrs May was also given a fresh headache when Amber Rudd claimed Remainer Tory MPs would rebel to block any Canada-style free trade deal that she agreed with the EU.
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The PM is being urged by Cabinet ministers to dump her troubled Chequers plan for a more simpler trade deal of the sort recently struck between Brussels and Canada.
But the pro-EU former Home Secretary told ITV’s Peston show on Thursday night: “I think there are a number of people, in fact I’ve talked to a few colleagues and I reckon there are conservatively about 40 of us who would not support a Canada type deal”.
As up to 80 hardline Tory Brexiteer MPs have vowed to also block Chequers in a Commons vote, it is unclear how Mrs May could get a majority for any EU deal if Labour also carry out its threat to oppose her deal.
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