By Tony O'Riley-
Nigel Farage may pose a grave threat to the leadership of Theresa May after astonishing developments that indicate a majority of Tory Mps switching towards support for the former Ukip leader.
More than 60 per cent of Conservative activists appear to be planning to switch sides and vote for Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party in next month’s European elections, a survey recently revealed. The sudden switch follows a loss of confidence of Tory party Mps on Theresa May’s leadership . Three rejections in parliament has spelt doom for the unity of the Conservative party, leading to an extension of the official leave date for Brexit to October.
FRUSTRATED
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How real Nigel Farage’s threat to May’s leadership is may be an exaggeration or indirect ultimatum by frustrated tory Mps, but many on the inside believe it is very real. In the latest developments backbenchers have already set June 12 as the date Mrs May will be forced out unless she toes party lines. Lines that want to her to break any alliance with Jeremy Corbyn in relation to Brexit talks, and abide by the internal wishes of the party. The alternative may be for Nigel Farage to find himself in charge of Brexit negotiations, an outcome most Tories would rather avoid, but appear to be leaning towards, if the recent survey is to be believed.
The immediate problem is the absence of one voice in the troubled party over Brexit. The party has long been divided in its view of how Brexit should be handled, there is also no sign that a new leader will unite the party moving forward.
Mr Farage recently condemned the Conservative party, saying“The Conservative Party is dead. It will take a strong leader to dredge it out of the mud.” Now many Mps are threatening to support Farage unless May steps down by the end of June. As ever, no blueprint for moving forward has been presented by those who seek the dethronement of Theresa May, making the planned coup a question of frustration more than one of solution. Farage-the former UKIP leader-will pull Bredit by the horn if he wins the EUP elections in May, completely changing the face of modern Britain as we know it.
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Senior MP Sir Graham Brady is reportedly set to warn Theresa May that 70 per cent of her MPs want her to step down by the end of June. Mps are said to be so frustrated with the British prime minister’s handling of Brexit that an emergency no confidence challenged is being plotted in a desperate attempt to oust her. Discontent over her decision to involve Labour opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn in talks over the Brexit crisis has deepened the division within her party. The 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, which is chaired by Sir Graham, will meet on Tuesday when Parliament returns following after the Easter break.
It is understood that they will discuss whether the party’s rules can be changed to bring forward a challenge to her leadership. A recent survey shows that 61.7 per cent of Tory members intended to support the Brexit Party in the Euro-elections scheduled to take place if Mrs May fails to win a Commons majority for her Brexit proposals within the next five weeks. Just 23.1 per cent said they were still loyal to the Conservatives.
Paul Goodman, the website’s editor said that a “really bad result” next month for the Tories could lead to Mrs May being forced out of office. Support for the Brexit Party by Tory Mps shows just how bad things have got, and how unpredictable the final outcome of these crazy political wranglings can be.
Just over half – 52 per cent – said they would vote Tory, but the figure would rise to 65 per cent if Mrs May was replaced by Boris Johnson.Mr Farage said yesterday: “Westminster has just underestimated how the country feels about this. They thought they could get away with just kicking the can down the road endlessly, that people would just put up with it.
“I think a lot of people now who did vote Brexit now realise, with this Parliament, unless there is huge pressure put upon them it simply isn’t going to be delivered.” Farage is relishing the prospect of finding himself in power as a result of the division in the Conservative party. The prime minister may find herself breaking down under pressure or toughing it out like she has always done by seeking the difficult challenge of creating unity. If she survives this onslaught to the continued dissatisfaction of the party, Farage may really turn out to be the beneficiary of the division tearing the tory party apart.
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