Is Theresa May going to resign after her Brexit deal defeat?

THERESA May's time as Prime Minister is coming to an end after she agreed to step down before the next general election but no one knows just when that will be.

The Conservative leader previously said she would resign if MPs backed her Brexit withdrawal agreement.

Will Theresa May resign after her Brexit deal defeat?

Britain had been due to leave the European Union on March 29, 2019.
After UK MPs rejected the withdrawal deal Mrs May had agreed with Brussels three times - EU leaders eventually agreed to a six-month extension to the exit process until October 31, 2019.

That means Mrs May will likely stay in Number 10 until the end of October unless the UK and the EU can ratify an exit deal sooner.

However, pressure on the Prime Minister to resign sooner could intensify after the Tories were humiliated in local elections on May 2.

On May 15 it emerged that May is on course to quit as PM at the end of July after announcing a last-ditch Brexit gamble.

The Prime Minister vowed to push her deal through the Commons within two months - or it will be killed off for good.

The move suggests she plans to leave No10 in time for a leadership election which will take place over the summer holidays.

Mrs May will explain the timetable to Tory grandees tomorrow at a meeting where she'll try to persuade them not to greenlight a coup against her.

She will bring the crucial Withdrawal Agreement Bill to Parliament in the first week of June with a view to getting it signed off by the end of July.

The Conservative party annual conference takes place in Manchester from September 29 to October 2 and May could go in the weeks leading up to the conference as a way of paving the way for candidates to make their pitches to the party faithful.

What are the latest lines?

Backbench chief Sir Graham Brady revealed on May 8 the PM had agreed to address powerful backbenchers about her exit in person next week following two “productive” meetings with her.

Sir Graham, chair of the powerful Tory 1922 Committee, refused to go into more detail.

But he said he was confident those demanding a “roadmap” from the PM about her exit date would get the answers they wanted.

He separately revealed the Government hoped to put the Brexit Withdrawal Bill to the vote in the Commons before the European Elections in May 23.

Sir Graham said: “The Prime Minister has already set out she would leave very soon after the approval of the Withdrawal agreement.

“She hasn’t set out when she would leave if it isn’t approved - that’s what we have been seeking.”

He added: “The 1922 executive asked her for clarification two weeks ago. “I’m sure that when we meet with her that is the question that will need to be resolved to people’s satisfaction.”

The revelation came just hours after Theresa May batted down demands for her resignation from arch Brexiteer Andrea Jenkyns during PMQs.

Separately, Downing Street insisted the PM only plans go when a Brexit deal is passed – however long that takes.

Sir Graham last night told a meeting of the Tory party that the PM hoped to “make progress” on the deal in “the near future” by putting the Withdrawal Bill to the vote in the coming days.

But MPs said his comments suggested that the PM could, for the first time, provide a date for a departure if a deal isn’t passed.

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