Theresa May clings to power after Cabinet resignation as Tories brace for European election wipeout

Theresa May was today clinging to power after Andrea Leadsom quit the Cabinet over her Brexit plans, as the Tory party braces for a total wipeout in the European elections.

Pressure has been intensifying on the Prime Minister to resign after Commons leader Mrs Leadsom quit and other ministers suggested they could not back her EU divorce plans.

The backlash over Mrs May's last-ditch effort to get the plans through the Commons continued to heighten as it appeared her time as leader was coming to an end.

It emerged last night that the Prime Minister will meet Sir Graham Brady, the representative of Tory backbench MPs as 1992 Committee chairman, on Friday for a meeting which could seal her fate.

The 1922 Committee's executive had been expected to consider a rule change to allow another attempt to force Mrs May out last night.

However no such rule change appeared to have been discussed. The meeting lasted only a few minutes, during which Sir Graham confirmed Mrs May would meet him on Friday.

The Huffington Post reported that after last night's 1922 Committee meeting, one senior MP is reported to have said: "We’ve got to change the rules tonight to get her out. Who does she think she is? Imelda Marcos?"

Another former minister said: “I thought I was coming to a lynching.”

Iain Duncan Smith, told ITV News: “The sofa is up against the door, she’s not leaving.”

Theresa May was intending to vote in the European elections before meeting Sir Graham Brady on Friday to discuss the timetable of her departure.

She has previously agreed to set out the timetable for the contest to replace her after a crunch vote on her Brexit deal, widely expected on June 7.

That deadline appears to have been brought forward with the announcement she will meet Sir Graham the day after polling day for the European elections, which are expected to be disastrous for the Conservatives.

Sir Graham told reporters: "I will be meeting with the Prime Minister on Friday following her campaigning in the European elections tomorrow and following that meeting I will be consulting with the 1922 executive."

He said the executive discussed "all sorts of things" in a meeting last night.

Following the failed bid to oust her in 2018, under the existing rules Mrs May would be safe from another confidence motion until December.

In a sign of unrest at the highest levels of the Tory Party, a series of Cabinet ministers asked for meetings with Mrs May to raise their concerns about the WAB which would put the Prime Minister's Brexit plan into law.

Downing Street sources said it was possible that the PM could meet Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt on Thursday, but there was no confirmation that an audience would be granted for other ministers with reservations about the plan.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has asked for a meeting to discuss his concerns about the prospect of a second referendum, after Mrs May revealed she would grant MPs a vote on whether the Brexit deal should be put to the public.

Scottish Secretary David Mundell also has particular concerns because he fears the prospect of another referendum could be "exploited" by the SNP to call for a fresh independence vote.

Mrs Leadsom said she resigned on Wednesday with a "heavy heart", saying she no longer believes the Government's approach will deliver on the referendum result to leave the European Union.

The PM, writing in reply, disagreed with the ex-minister's assessment, but said she was sorry to lose someone of Mrs Leadsom's "passion, drive and sincerity".

"I do not agree with you that the deal which we have negotiated with the European Union means that the United Kingdom will not become a sovereign country," Mrs May said.

She went on to say she agreed a second referendum would be divisive, but said the Government was not proposing to hold one.

Mrs Leadsom acknowledged her resignation came on the eve of the European elections, but said she felt she could not announce the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) in Thursday's Business Statement containing "new elements that I fundamentally oppose".

"I fully respect the integrity, resolution and determination that you have shown during your time as Prime Minister," she wrote in a letter to the PM.

"No one has wanted you to succeed more than I have, but I do now urge you to make the right decisions in the interests of the country, this Government and our party."

Listing her reasons for resigning, Mrs Leadsom said she did not believe that the UK will be "truly sovereign" through the deal proposed, and said a second referendum would be "dangerously divisive".

She added that there had been "such a breakdown of government processes" that recent Brexit-related legislative proposals have not been "properly scrutinised or approved by Cabinet members".

And she said: "The tolerance to those in Cabinet who have advocated policies contrary to the Government's position has led to a complete breakdown of collective responsibility."