Theresa May is refusing to set a firm resignation date before her Brexit deal is passed by Commons
THERESA May is refusing to set a firm resignation date as she is convinced it would make it impossible to pass her Brexit deal.
The reasoning behind the PM’s defiance in her stand-off with party grandees is revealed today by the chairman of the 1922 Committee of all Tory backbenchers.
Pinning down her departure date before a deal is approved by the Commons would only see her Brexiteer critics dig in and wait for it rather than vote for her EU agreement, she fears.
But despite the PM’s refusal so far, Sir Graham Brady is still insisting Mrs May fulfils his demand for a timetable to leave No10 no matter what at her showdown meeting with his executive team next Thursday.
Turning up the pressure on Mrs May further today, Sir Graham also said “it would be strange” if she didn’t do that.
The most powerful Tory backbencher told BBC Radio 4’s Week in Westminster: “I do understand the reticence about doing it.
We have asked a question. She’s coming, I assume, to answer it
Sir Graham Brady
“I don’t think it’s about an intention for staying indefinitely as Prime Minister or leader of the Conservative Party.
“I think the reticence is the concern that by promising to go on a certain timetable, it might make it less likely she would secure Parliamentary approval for the Withdrawal Agreement, rather than more likely.”
But Sir Graham added: “It is also the case that the 1922 executive has asked her to give that clarity. She’s offered to come and meet with the executive, and it would be strange for that not to result in a clear understanding at the end of the meeting.
“We have asked a question. She’s coming, I assume, to answer it.”
CHANGE IN PARTY RULES
The latest thinking in Downing Street – revealed by James Forsyth in his Sun column today – would see Mrs May give the grandees a far smaller concession.
Under the plan, the PM would pledge to the executive to resign as party leader as soon as her Brexit deal is passed, triggering a long summer leadership contest.
After MPs whittle down the array of candidates to a final two, they would then tour the country to meet members for weeks.
The Sun Says
EVEN now the Tories could save themselves with a new leader.
Unlike Theresa May, he or she needs to be determined to exit the EU with no deal if necessary — AND sell it to MPs.
That may look the tallest of tall orders.
But civil service preparations have made huge strides. The worst effects can be mitigated. Many Remainer MPs still spread panic about it, knowing only that they are meant to.
The new Tory leader must back No Deal, or use the genuine threat of it to improve Mrs May’s deal with the EU.
It is indeed the party’s only chance.
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The final debate between them would come at the Tories’ annual conference in October.
Voting would then take place among the 150,000 members, with the new PM taking over in late October or November.
Mrs May’s biggest Tory critics have threatened to try again next week to change the party’s rules to call a snap vote of confidence in herif she fails to offer up a firm departure timetable.
SWAP TO FAIL
IRELAND’S deputy leader has warned rebellious Tory MPs that just changing the PM won’t shift the Brexit deadlock.
Tanaiste Simon Coveney spoke out as Brexiteer backbenchers plot to oust Theresa May and replace her with a diehard Leaver who would rip up the unpopular Irish border backstop
But Mr Coveney said their plan was doomed to fail as the EU would not accept any plan that hasn’t been tried and tested.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “These realities don’t change. It is not a personality-based issue, it is an evidence-based issue.
“We have to move forward on the basis of knowing that we’re not going to see the kind of damage done on the island of Ireland that the imposition of a border would result in.”
Brexiteers hate the Irish backstop, enshrined in the Withdrawal Agreement, as it could keep the UK tied to the EU for years.
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