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Tory leadership rivals ‘trying to keep May in power because they fear Boris Johnson will win easily if she goes soon’

The top Brexiteer is far ahead of other leadership contenders in polls of Tory members

RIVALS of Boris Johnson are keen to keep Theresa May in power - so they can wreck the Brexiteer's chances of replace her.

The ex-Foreign Secretary is soaring ahead of his rivals in the race to become the next Prime Minister.

 Boris Johnson is favourite to be the next Tory leader
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Boris Johnson is favourite to be the next Tory leaderCredit: AFP

And Mrs May could face a change to party rules which would allow MPs to kick her out within weeks.

But opponents of Mr Johnson claim his chances will crash if the leadership contest is pushed back until after a Brexit deal is agreed.

One : "We would have seen peak Boris at that point."

The delay to Brexit has seen the Tories' poll ratings crash while staunch Brexiteers such as Boris and Dominic Raab gain popularity among the party activists who will choose the next PM.

Polling released yesterday showed either of them would defeat Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt or Sajid Javid in a face-to-face run-off.

And a found Mrs May is now the most unpopular member of the Cabinet.

MEN IN GREY SUITS

The powerful 1922 Committee will tonight meet - for the second day in a row - to discuss whether they should change party rules which protect the PM from a binding no-confidence vote until December.

If they do agree to introduce new rules, MPs could have another say on Mrs May's future in June.

Ex-leader Iain Duncan Smith told talkRADIO today: "I think it’s inconceivable that the Prime Minister would go on beyond the beginning of the summer break, it’s just not feasible, because there is a window for a future leader and that is in the summer."

But Richard Harrington, who quit as a minister to block a No Deal Brexit, insisted a leadership election in the coming weeks would be "disastrous".

He added: "If we do what they want and have a leadership election now it wouldn't be a leadership election, it would be a kind of mini-referendum within the Conservative party."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock added: "Changing the Prime Minister will not change what we need to do to deliver Brexit."

Mrs May has pledged to step down as soon as the House of Commons signs off on a Brexit deal.

But talks with Labour designed to thrash out a compromise have shown no sign of a breakthrough after three weeks.

 Theresa May is under fresh pressure from Tory MPs
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Theresa May is under fresh pressure from Tory MPsCredit: Getty Images - Getty
Brexiteer MP Bill Cash tells Theresa May to her face she should QUIT in House of Commons following EU summit


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