Theresa May locked in 'Mexican stand-off' with plotters trying to oust her

The Conservative Party is locked in a “Mexican stand-off” as plotters prepare to try and force Prime Minister Theresa May from office.

A group of around 30 MPs, including former ministers, is planning to go to party whips next week and ask that she stands down now “with dignity”.

But Ms May’s lieutenants and senior Tory MPs backing the Prime Minister are standing their ground, saying conspirators lack the numbers required by party rules to force a vote of no confidence.

Party insiders believe Ms May will survive for now if she chooses to, but only because no other candidate has enough backing, while others fear an unpredictable leadership contest risks Brexit and an election that Jeremy Corbyn could win.

The rebel MPs include people who served in David Cameron’s administration and a number favour Home Secretary Amber Rudd as a successor.

Boris Johnson’s chances of launching a challenge appear to have hit the rocks, with MPs “alienated” by his public interventions which destabilised Ms May during party conference.

The annual gathering of the party faithful ended with a disastrous speech from Ms May, which saw her subject to a comedian’s prank, losing her voice in a coughing fit and standing in front a disintegrating stage set.

One of the people supporting the plot told The Independent: “There have been lots of conversations, and there are around 30 to 35 names.

“The plan is to go to the whips and say we’ve got these names, we’d rather not write formal letters, but that it is time now for her to go and that she can go with dignity.”

Under Tory rules, a vote of no confidence can be forced if MPs gather the backing of 15 per cent of their number, equivalent to 48 at the moment, and deliver letters to the backbench 1922 Committee.

The individual said that if the PM refuses to go now, the group will continue to gather names edging towards the 48 they need and it will “just take a bit longer”.

The MP added: “Something has got to happen because it can’t go on like this. It wasn’t her fault, what happened at conference.

“But we needed her to be competent on Wednesday, not brilliant, but just good enough. It didn’t happen.

“So this is about just saying please don’t plough on regardless. Every time she picks herself up it becomes harder and harder. I’m sure she’s willing to do it, but it doesn’t look great from the outside.”

Former minister Ed Vaizey, a close friend of Mr Cameron and George Osborne, went on the record on Thursday saying he was finding it “increasingly difficult to see a way forward”.

He added: “I think there will be quite a few people who will now be pretty firmly of the view that she should resign.”

Extracts from a newly released political book claimed moderates in the party including Mr Cameron, Mr Osborne, Sir John Major and Ruth Davidson had already offered support to Ms Rudd in the wake of the election result.

An MP close to the plot said: “I think there is a lot of support for Amber. David Davis will stand up and have a go. Boris will be surprised by how little support he now has.”

There will be a meeting of the 1922 Committee on Wednesday next week which could become the focus of an intense debate about the party’s leadership.

But some senior backbench MPs took a dim view of the plot, with one telling The Independent he heard it had the backing of as little as 26 MPs, adding: “If they are not taking the 48 letters to the committee then they don’t have the names.”

Charles Walker, the vice-chairman of the 1922, said support for Ms May was still strong on the backbenches.

“Most colleagues that I talk to are right behind the Prime Minister and think she is doing an outstanding job in very, very difficult circumstances,” he said.

A source in Ms May’s administration said: “It doesn’t feel like they have the numbers. The messages that we have seen that are doing the rounds in Whatsapp have generally been very supportive of the Prime Minister.

“It doesn’t feel like there are suddenly a lot more people unhappy after the speech. It may be that the people who were unhappy before are just cemented in their view.”

Business Secretary Greg Clark backed Ms May on Thursday, with other ministers apparently rallying around as well.

One member of the Cabinet told The Independent: “She was a bloody hero in that speech. I’m pretty disappointed that there’s even speculation.

“Everyone needs to shut up and cut her some slack.”

But another gave less fervent support saying: “We are in wait-and-see territory. What is clear now is that she is not going to lead us into the next election.

“People want an ordered transition, but it’s not clear how that can be achieved.”

One of the key flaws in any bid to push Ms May out is the lack of a clear alternative. Mr Johnson appears to have angered many members of the party with his media interventions which appeared to undermine Ms May and her position over Brexit.

There was also talk of gathering names for a letter to the 1922 calling for the Foreign Secretary to stand down.

One backbencher who previously backed Boris told The Independent there were viable alternatives to Ms May, but none were sufficiently different from what was on offer.

“Unless it’s going to be different there really is no point in changing. All the people ready to step in are not different enough,” he said.

“David Davis? If the answer is David Davis, what the fuck is the question? He got smashed to bits by David Cameron, are we really now saying actually he was the right guy and we’re going back to him.

“Even Boris who would be the obvious choice, who might be different, has alienated too many of his colleagues over the past few months to get into the final round. This is one of the things that’s going to save Theresa in the medium term. What we have is a Mexican stand-off, with no one advancing and no one backing down.”

But with fears in some parts of the party that a coup by the more moderate wing could see a Remainer like Ms Rudd installed in Downing Street, some Brexiteers also threw their weight behind the PM. John Redwood MP dismissed the plot as being led by a “handful” of people.

He said: “We are at a very difficult and important juncture in our nation’s history. It’s full of opportunity but it requires us as a nation to show strong government and firm purpose in our external negotiations and in our domestic agenda.

“I think you’ll find the overwhelming number of MPs are with me in wishing this Prime Minister well and offering her every support.”