James Duddridge became the latest Conservative to start openly calling for the Prime Minister to go – saying ‘we need a strong leader and we haven't got that at the moment’
A TORY MP has submitted a letter of no confidence in Theresa May just minutes before her big conference speech in anger over the way she has handled Brexit.
James Duddridge became the latest Conservative to start openly calling for the Prime Minister to go – saying "we need a strong leader and we haven't got that at the moment".
He said she had “failed to deliver”, and has written to Graham Brady, the chair of the party’s 1922 committee which is in charge of triggering a leadership contest.
In it he writes: “I am normally a loyalist, served in the Whip’s Office for nearly five years and have never voted against the government.
“However, there comes a point that blind loyalty is not the right way forward.
“We need a strong leader, someone who believes in Brexit and someone to deliver what the electorate voted for. The Prime Minister seems incapable of doing this.”
According to he added: “I have not met a single MP who thinks she will lead us into another election after the last disastrous snap election.
“We will fail to cut through on issues other than Brexit until we are beyond Brexit, yet the can is kicked further and further down the road.
“I write this with heavy heart, however we now need a proper leadership election and to move on.”
Mr Duddrigde earlier heaped praise on Boris Johnson, after the former Foreign Secretary stole the show at the party’s annual conference with a speech to a packed-out audience in Birmingham.
Mr Duddridge, the MP for Rochford and Southend East told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We need a strong leader and we haven't got that at the moment.
"Boris yesterday was inspirational, motivational and rallied the troops, rallied politicians, something you could get behind and that's what we need.
“We need a leader not a chief executive, an administrator, we need a vision to go forward and that's what Boris presented yesterday."
He added: "We haven't got someone that can effectively negotiate with the European Union at the moment, the Brexit negotiations have been an absolute disaster.
"The Cabinet, the team were railroaded into Chequers, the Prime Minister is haemorrhaging support in Cabinet and in her party, no-one seriously expects her to fight another general election, yet we limp on and pretend we're all behind a leader who is not delivering."
And Mr Duddridge warned Mrs May's handling of the Brexit negotiations "isn't working".
He said: "It was never ever going to work to have somebody leading the team with the big issue of the day Brexit that she fundamentally didn't agree with and she's pulled around her a team that also don't agree with Brexit and has haemorrhaged support from those that did, it isn't working and needs to change."
Mr Duddridge said: "I have no confidence in her delivering Brexit, but let’s listen to the speech this afternoon, but it's going to be more of the same, let’s get behind Chequers.
“Chequers has failed, it's not realistic, it doesn't deliver on the Brexit my constituents voted for."
His comments come after a fellow Conservative MP admitted he cannot remember a single "real announcement" made at this week’s conference.
Ben Bradley, who won the Mansfield seat just last year, told a fringe meeting he also hated the party’s slogan for the event – “opportunity”.
He said: "I think opportunity is the right word, but we're guilty as ever as a Conservative party of just repeating a word that means something to people.”
And the 28-year-old, who resigned as the party's vice-chair for youth over Mrs May’s Chequers proposal, said: "We have to be relatable and we have to be genuine that's what [Labour leader Jeremy] Corbyn is, whether you agree with him or not.
"He is relatable and he believes what he says - we just repeat lines too often."
