ERG MPs ‘openly discussing’ plot to oust Theresa May
Pro-Brexit members of the European Research Group were openly discussing how best to oust Prime Minister Theresa May during last night's weekly meeting, it has been claimed.
The ERG, which is led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, has publicly denied that its anti-Chequers assaults including yesterday's endorsement of an alternative Brexit strategy have any bearing on the party's leadership.
However, ITV's Robert Peston last night claimed to have been told that multiple MPs were discussing "how best do we get rid of her" and how best to "use our letters" to force a formal leadership contest.
Sources suggested that around 50 MPs attended the meeting, in which a "really, really detailed discussion of the mechanics of how best you game the leadership election rules" took place.
"And zero dissent," Peston's source added. "No one, in a room of 50 Tory MPs, even raised a squeak of objection".
That is not quite the way MP Michael Fabricant remembers it, however:
I attended the ERG last night.
Reports of @theresa_may's demise are greatly exaggerated.
Of the 40-50 there, only 5-6 people discussed letters to the Chairman of the 1922 and they wrote ages ago.
The rest of us sat in uncomfortable silence.
Though most are unhappy with #Chequers— Michael Fabricant 🇬🇧🇮🇱🇺🇦 (@Mike_Fabricant) September 12, 2018
Before summer recess, ERG members had told Morning Wire they were not seeking to depose the Prime Minister, acknowledging that while they had the numbers to force a contest, they did not have enough to do more than wound her.
Based on the current numbers, 48 Tory MPs would have to write a letter of no confidence to trigger a vote of no confidence, which would then be broadened out to the 315 Conservatives currently sitting in the Commons.
If May survives a leadership challenge she effectively secures 12 months of safety – which could bolster her position during the key period running up to Brexit, making her less vulnerable to attacks from the pro-Brexit phalanx within her party.
However Chequers is thought to have altered the game somewhat, with growing numbers of Leavers and Remainers publicly expressing their dissatisfaction with the approach.