After what appeared to be a major Brexit breakthrough on Wednesday, Theresa May’s joy was short lived after her Brexit minister resigned less than 24 hours later, leaving the PM’s position as precarious as ever. Dominic Raab was the most high profile of several MPs to stand down in protest to the deal agreement and a leadership challenge now looks likely. The PM addressed the public in a press conference on Thursday evening, which she ended by claiming to draw inspiration from her cricketing hero Geoffrey Boycott by sticking to the task and getting the runs in the end.
To further the cricketing analogy, with key cabinet members stepping down and a leadership challenge now likely, the PM is subject to a DRS review after a top order collapse and can only hope for a recovery similar to the one seen in Kandy, Sri Lanka this morning where captain Root has dug his side out of a hole.
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Speculation surrounding a leadership challenge for May is now reaching fever pitch, as the number of dissenting voices grows ever louder and on this front it seems to have become a case of when rather than if. Time is very much of the essence here, with a EU summit scheduled for 25th November and the latest reports suggest that the 48-letter threshold will be reached later today meaning the vote of no-confidence could occur as soon as Tuesday. While this immediately seems negative to PM May, it may not actually be the case.
While only 48 letters are needed to trigger the vote, more than half of the Conservative MPs (159 or more) will have to support the motion to remove her from office and this is far from a foregone conclusion. While very few are happy with the deal on the table, many are of the belief that it is still better than a no deal and due to this, they may well be willing to support her even if it is not their optimal choice.
