Theresa May to be told to quit as Prime Minister by June or Tory party will change its rules to boot her out
The head of the Tory party's powerful 1922 Committee is poised to tell Theresa May 70 percent of her MPs want her to go over her handling of Brexit
THERESA May is expected to be told she must step down as Prime Minister by the end of June or Conservative MPs will change the party rules and force her out.
The chairman of the party’s all-powerful back bench 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady is poised to tell May that now 70 percent of her MPs want her to resign over her handling of Brexit and for being in charge when support for the party collapsed.
Sir Graham will meet with the committee’s 18 executives on Tuesday to discuss whether or not to tear up the party’s rules to allow a new no confidence vote on May before December.
Insiders say undecided “swing voters” are pushing for a change in the rules unless she agrees to go by June 30, reports.
As chairman of the body that represents the interests of the party’s back-benchers Sir Graham effectively holds a powerful kingmaker role and is usually the one to tell a Tory leader when it is time to go.
May’s position has also been further weakened after grassroots campaigners are set to announce that more than 65 constituency chairmen are demanding she goes, which would trigger a convention to change the rules.
Leaked comments from a forum for local party bosses indicate opinion has turned against May.
One said: “We must do whatever it takes to get rid of her.”
Another wrote: “She must go now before she does any more damage.”
She has to go. She is a calamity
A once loyal minister to Theresa May
A senior MP added: “The pressure is building and will be irresistible if we perform badly in the local elections.”
Even a once loyal minister said: “She has to go. She is a calamity.”
The news comes after The Sun revealed the under-fire Prime Minister had been forced to abandon plans for a major Cabinet reshuffle next month.
Close allies had urged the PM to carry out a big clear of her ageing top team. The move would have helped fend off calls for her to resign immediately after an expected local election meltdown on May 2.
A senior No10 source told The Sun: “A reshuffle is going to be impossible now. Things are just too precarious."
Pressure on Mrs May to resign spiralled again yesterday with the revelation that 62 per cent of her own Conservative party members now plan to vote for the Brexit Party as a protest if Britain is forced to elect MEPs again.
The survey of 1,132 members by the Conservative Home website found just 23 per cent would back the Tories in the nationwide poll on May 23.
Another shock opinion poll of Tory councillors in the Mail on Sunday also revealed 40 per cent of them will vote for Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.