Brexit news: Theresa May facing grassroots no-confidence vote as Farage's new Brexit Party takes commanding poll lead
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Theresa May could face an unprecedented no-confidence vote among grassroots Tories, as the prospect of a crushing defeat in European elections looms.
Local party chairs have been circulating a petition that is on course to force the National Conservative Convention to hold an extraordinary general meeting where members could pressure the prime minister to resign.
The plot emerged as a poll showed Nigel Farage‘s new Brexit Party had stormed into the lead ahead of EU parliament elections next month.
A YouGov poll, commissioned by the People’s Vote campaign, puts the Brexit Party on 27 per cent, ahead of Labour on 22 per cent with the Conservatives trailing on 15 per cent.
It follows the burst of publicity the Brexit Party received with the launch last week of its election campaign, when it was announced that Annunziata Rees-Mogg – the sister of the leading Tory Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg – would be among its candidates.
It will reinforce fears among ministers the Conservatives are heading for a crushing defeat if the poll on 23 May goes ahead as planned – a result which would almost certainly see fresh calls for Ms May to quit.
The prime minister has said she is determined to get a Brexit deal through Parliament before that date, which would mean voting would be cancelled.
However, that not only means winning a “meaningful vote” on a deal – which has already been rejected three times by the Commons – but also then passing a bill formally ratifying the agreement in law.
Much is likely to depend on whether cross-party talks with Labour can agree a common way forward – with the two sides expected to take stock of progress when MPs return to Westminster after the Easter recess.
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Theresa May could face an unprecedented no-confidence vote among grassroots Tories as local party chairman look to trigger a little-known process that could be "devastating to her authority".
Party chairs have been circulating a petition that could force the National Conservative Convention - the most senior body of the Tories' voluntary wing - to hold an extraordinary general meeting where the vote could be held.
If the petition attracts more than 65 signatures, the party is obliged to hold the meeting. According to the Daily Telegraph, between 40 and 50 chairs have already signed it and that figure could hit the threshold as early as next week.
Dinah Glover, the London East area chairman started the petition, told the newspaper: "There is a lot of frustration and anger within the party – this is a route that we have to demonstrate those feelings so we can encourage MPs to make those feelings known.
“What we need is a new leader who can break the impasse, who passionately believes that Britain has a bright Brexit future.”
A grassroots no-confidence vote would put "massive pressure" on the prime minister resign, according to John Strafford, chair of the Campaign for Conservative Democracy.
"It does not force the issue but would be quite devastating to her authority," he told the Telegraph.
However, it is worth considering just how much authority Theresa May has left.
Mark Wallace, writing for ConservativeHome, notes that a no-confidence vote "would be another embarrassment for the prime minister, but she has ridden out many embarrassments before".
Lib Dem leader Vince Cable has has said it would "be better" if Remain-supporting political parties were "fighting together under the same banner" in the forthcoming European elections.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today this morning, Sir Vince acknowledged there was "not a great deal" of difference between his party's message to the electorate and that of new party Change UK - The Independent Group, which will stand on a pro-EU platform calling for a second referendum.
He added: "So, there's a variety of different parties offering the same message, something which is possible under the proportional voting system that we have.
"It's not crazy, I mean it would be better, I think, from the point of view of the supporters of British membership of the EU if we were fighting together under the same banner, and certainly that's something we would like to have seen, but that wasn't possible, we didn't get a positive reaction to that, so we are going on our own."
Theresa May's Brexit strategy has endangered MPs, undermined parliamentary democracy, and wasted billions of pounds, according to Labour politician Pat McFadden.
Writing in The Independent, the MP for Wolverhampton South East says his party leader Jeremy Corbyn must now answer "the call of leadership" by taking "co-ownership" of a Brexit deal or insisting on a second referendum.
Read the full piece:
Experts have warned Theresa May she has ‘no chance’ of passing a Brexit deal in time to stop European elections, writes my colleague Rob Merrick:
The UK will need "something that looks like a customs union, plus something that looks like a single market" to avoid a hard Brexit in Ireland, the head of the UK government's Border Delivery Group has said.
Karen Wheeler, a senior HMRC official appointed by Theresa May to oversee planning for border operations after Brexit, told businesses in Belfast yesterday there was technological solution that would mean "you could do customs controls and processes and not have a hard border".
"There is no magic solution that would make that go away. If there was, trust me, we would have found it," she told the audience.
Speaking later to the Belfast Telegraph, Wheeler added: "What you need is, at the very least, something that looks like a customs union, plus something that looks like a single market, which has no customs or tariffs or regulatory standards or controls, if you are going to have completely free movement of goods across the border."
The Liberal Democrats have accused other anti-Brexit parties of damaging the chances of success in the European elections by refusing to fight on a joint ticket.
Rob Merrick, our deputy political editor, has the full story:
The German government has slashed its 2019 economic growth forecast for the second time this year and is now predicting growth of only 0.5 per cent.
Economy minister Peter Altmaier said trade disputes and Brexit uncertainty were weighing on the German economy, as well as domestic factors such as new car emission regulations.
Today's forecast halves the 1% estimate the government presented in late January, when it cut its forecast from 1.8%. It follows a string of downgrades by economists and other groups.
The government envisages a rebound in 2020 with economic expansion of 1.5%.
Last year, gross domestic product expanded by 1.4%.
The chief executive of the Conservative Party has reportedly been forced to tip into his own pockets to fund European election campaigns as donors turn their backs on the party.
Sir Mick Davis, who is also the Tory treasurer, has told cabinet ministers Brexit chaos and party infighting is deterring supporters from donating money, The Times reported.
A Tory source told the newspaper: "Hopefully we'll recoup it later but Mick had to tell cabinet recently about the dire funding situation, particularly among Remain-leaning donors, because of the situation on Brexit."
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