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- Allies of Theresa May expect her to resign by the end of the week.
- The prime minister will meet with the chair of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers, Sir Graham Brady, on Friday after suffering the resignation of the Leader of the House, Andrea Leadsom.
- Leadsom resigned in protest over the contents of May’s Brexit legislation.
- The meeting with Brady will come after polls close in the European elections where May’s party is predicted to face a historic defeat.
- If May refuses to quit, MPs are preparing to change party rules in order to force her out.
- Visit Business Insider’s home page for more stories.
LONDON — Allies of Theresa May expect her to announce her resignation as prime minister by the end of the week after losing the support of senior members of her Cabinet.
Multiple reports suggest the prime minister will announce her departure on Friday, after polls close in the European elections.
"She thought she had a duty to have one last go but if that’s not going to be possible then she’s out of road," one ally told the Times.
The prime minister had intended for her government to bring forward her Withdrawal Agreement Bill on Thursday, as voters went to the polls in the European Parliament elections.
However, the Leader of the House, Andrea Leadsom, who was scheduled to introduce the key piece of Brexit legislation, resigned on Wednesday night in what appears to have been the final blow to May’s waning authority.
Leadsom’s departure came after several senior members of May’s government, including Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, requested to see her in order to demand she rip up her Brexit plans.
The prime minister refused the meetings on Wednesday but is expected to meet with Hunt today.
May infuriated Conservative MPs on Tuesday evening by announcing that the Houses of Commons would be given a vote on whether to hold a new Brexit referendum if they voted for her Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
May runs out of road
GettyAround 100 Conservative MPs gathered in a committee room inside the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday evening to discuss May’s future.
Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 committee which represents Tory MPs, told them that he would meet with the prime minister on Friday after voting in the European elections had included, in order to discuss her future.
Conservative MPs emerged from the meeting exasperated at May’s refusal to stand down, with one declaring the committee’s executive to be "jellyfish" for refusing to move decisively against her.
"That was a waste of time," one MP leaving the room told reporters.
"And it will be another waste of time tomorrow and another waste of time the day after that."
Earlier the executive of the committee had met to vote on whether to change Conservative party leadership rules in order to allow a vote of no confidence in May within weeks.
The result of the vote has been sealed in an envelope until Brady has met with the prime minister, according to multiple reports.
See Also:
- Theresa May is refusing to resign as her Cabinet turns against her
- Theresa May’s ‘last chance’ Brexit deal backfires as Tories urge her to abandon vote and quit
- UK government warned that a no-deal Brexit will damage the fight against climate change
SEE ALSO: Andrea Leadsom resigns from Theresa May’s government over her Brexit plans
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Adam Bienkov)