Threshold for calling confidence vote in UK PM May has nearly been met
Eurosceptic Conservative lawmaker Steve Baker said he believed rebels who want to oust Prime Minister Theresa May were close to having enough support to trigger a confidence vote.
"What's happened is people have been ringing me and telling me that they are putting their letters in ... and I think we're probably not far off," said Steve Baker, a key figure in the eurosceptic wing of May's party.
But others have said Theresa May would likely win any vote of confidence in her leadership should Conservative lawmakers write enough letters to a party committee to trigger one.
Cabinet minister David Lidington said "If those letters were to go in, I think that she would win any such vote decisively, and she'd deserve to do so,"
"She is doing her best for the country. The national interest, I think, says that we should rally in her support."
A leadership challenge is triggered if 48 Conservatives write such letters to the chairman of the party's so-called 1922 committee, Graham Brady. May could be toppled if 158 of her 315 lawmakers vote against her.
Brady has not said how many letters have been submitted. It is not clear how he would announce any vote.
Lawmakers do not have to reveal publicly whether they have written a letter, but those below have chosen to do so:
1) JACOB REES-MOGG - submitted his letter on Thursday
"It is of considerable importance that politicians stick to their commitments or do not make such commitments in the first place. Regrettably, this is not the situation," he said in his letter.
2) HENRY SMITH - tweeted a picture of his letter on Thursday
"With regret, I have to inform you I have lost confidence in Theresa May as leader of the Conservative Party and British Prime Minister," it said.
3) SHERYLL MURRAY - said on Thursday she had submitted a letter.
"I have lost confidence in the Brexit policy of the Prime Minister and have therefore written to the Chairman of the 1922 Committee asking for a vote to take place over her leadership," she said on Twitter.
4) ANNE MARIE-MORRIS - said on Thursday she had submitted a letter
"I feel that with Theresa, she is the wrong leader at this time, and I've put in my letter asking for a vote of no confidence. I am not alone and I do it with a heavy heart but now it's the country that matter more than absolutely anything else," she told the BBC.
5) LEE ROWLEY - said on Thursday he had submitted a letter
"I've written that because sadly I have come to the conclusion that the prime minister isn't going to change her policy and I wish she would," he told ITV news.
6) STEVE BAKER - submitted his letter on Oct. 22 after an article by May in the Sun newspaper persuaded him "we could not separate the person from the policy"
"While I am clear these (proposals) will be defeated in the commons, there seems little point allowing the Captain to continue running the ship towards the rocks and so I write with regret to request a vote of no confidence in our leader."
7) SIMON CLARKE - "My letter is in," he told reporters on Thursday outside a meeting of the influential ERG eurosceptic group of Conservative lawmakers.
8) JAMES DUDDRIDGE - announced he had submitted his letter just minutes before May took to the stage for her speech at the Conservative annual conference in October
"I don't know any Conservative MPs that expect Theresa May to be leading us in the next general election ... Given that's the case, let's get on, let's make the change now and let's get someone that believes in Brexit delivering Brexit," he told Sky News at the time.
9) ANDREA JENKYNS - submitted her letter in June
"She can fight it. But I am confident she will not win it. Time to save Brexit and our party with a new leader," she said on Twitter.
10) ANDREW BRIDGEN - submitted his letter in July
"All we have asked from the Prime Minister, is that she sticks to what she has promised on repeated occasions when she declared that 'Brexit means Brexit' and pledged to take back control of our money, borders and laws. But it now appears those promises are all a pretence and a charade intended to dupe the electorate," he said in his letter, according to media reports.
11) PHILIP DAVIES - submitted his letter in July
"Politics is all about trust and once it is lost it is impossible to win back. Many people have told me that as a result of this they have lost trust in the PM to properly and fully deliver the referendum result. It is with much sadness that I have to say that I have also lost trust in her to deliver the referendum result too," he said in a letter to constituents.
12) PETER BONE - submitted his letter some time ago
"I’ve always wanted the policy to change not necessarily the prime minister but when the prime minister won’t change the policy the only way to change the policy is to change the prime minister," he told the BBC on Thursday.
13) NADINE DORRIES - submitted her letter some weeks ago
"The writing has been on the wall for some time," she said on Twitter on Thursday.
14) MARTIN VICKERS - submitted his letter in July
"It was clear at that time further concessions were inevitable & now we have a much worse agreement that fails to deliver what my constituents voted for in the referendum when they delivered a considered verdict that we should leave," he told a local newspaper reporter.
15) ADAM HOLLOWAY - submitted his letter on Thursday
"My letter of no confidence has now been delivered - with regret. Mrs May is a remarkable woman - just look at her fortitude today in the House of Commons, even more please remember her long career of public service."
16) JOHN WHITTINGDALE - told the BBC on Friday
"Yes, I have sent a letter to Graham Brady"
17) LAURENCE ROBERTSON - told the BBC his letter was submitted months ago
"I was concerned at the direction Theresa May was taking these negotiations and was dragging them out, and I wrote that letter some months ago."
18) MARK FRANCOIS - said he had submitted his letter, titled "She Just Doesn't Listen", on Friday
"For the sake of the Conservative Party and indeed for our country's destiny, I honestly believe that (it) is now time to seek fresh leadership that can carry this country forward outside of the European union and confidently into the world."
19) MARIA CAULFIELD - confirmed via her office that she has submitted a letter.
20) BEN BRADLEY - confirmed via his office that he has submitted a letter.
Published: by Radio NewsHub