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Theresa May no-confidence vote - LIVE: Tory bid to dethrone PM fails yet Jacob Rees Mogg and hard-Brexit allies renew calls for her resignation

Follow live updates from Westminster

Ashley Cowburn
Political Correspondent
,Lizzy Buchan,David Maclean
Wednesday 12 December 2018 23:52 GMT
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Theresa May wins vote of no confidence by 200 to 117

Theresa May has won a vote of no confidence as the prime minister dashed the hopes of Brexiteer MPs to topple her.

Ms May was backed by 200 Tory MPs compared to 117 rebels who hoped to oust her, following the most dramatic 24 hours yet of the Brexit saga.

A secret ballot started at 6pm after the prime minister addressed the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers, telling them she will not lead the party into the 2022 election.

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Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of what is set to be a historic day in Westminster.

Early this morning it was announced the PM would face a vote of no confidence in her leadership - after the magic 48 letter threshold of Tory MPs submitting letters of no confidence was breached after months of speculation.

It is understood the PM will address the 1922 committee of Conservative MPs in a committee room in parliaments corridors before MPs vote in the ballot.

Before that, however, the PM faces the unenviable task of facing Jeremy Corbyn at prime minister’s questions in the full knowledge it could be her last time at that despatch box.

It also expected Graham Brady - the chairman of the 1922 committee and collector of letters of no confidence - will make a statement on behalf of the Conservative Party.

Chris Baynes12 December 2018 08:23
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Theresa May is to make a statement outside Downing Street about the no-confidence vote this morning.

The prime minister has spoken by phone with Sir Graham Brady this morning, according to the Press Association.

Chris Baynes12 December 2018 08:32
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Cabinet ministers are out in force this morning - including the home secretary Sajid Javid, the environment secretary Michael Gove, and the foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt - saying they will support this prime minister. 

But remember: this is a secret ballot of Conservative MPs. The way individual MPs vote will not be revealed. 

Ashley Cowburn12 December 2018 08:44
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This is from the environment secretary Michael Gove, who says he is backing the PM "100%". This is of course, the same cabinet minister who said on Monday there would 100% be a vote on the prime minister's Brexit deal - just hours before that very vote was cancelled.

Ashley Cowburn12 December 2018 08:48
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Theresa May is now outside Downing Street - she says there will now be a vote of confidence in her leadership.

"I will contest that vote with everything I've got," she says.

'I stood to be leader because I believe in the conservative vision for a better future," she says. "Always serving the national interest' 'at this crucial time that means securing Brexit.'

May says a change of leadership will put the country's future at risk and create uncertainty. One of their first acts would be extending or even rescinding Article 50.

"The agenda I set out on my first speech outside this front door -- I stand ready to finish the job." 

Mrs May said: "We must and we shall deliver on the referendum vote and seize 

the opportunities that lie ahead." 

Ashley Cowburn12 December 2018 08:51
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Ashley Cowburn12 December 2018 09:02
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Conservative MP Simon Hoare is on Sky News accusing Labour's Barry Gardiner of "playing party politics" - just an hour after the Conservative Party says it will hold a vote of no confidence in PM during a crisis in the Brexit negotiations. That will raise many eyebrows in Westminster.

Ashley Cowburn12 December 2018 09:12
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Downing Street has just announced that this morning's cabinet meeting of senior government ministers has been cancelled. The prime minister had been due to update her top team on no-deal preparations.

Ashley Cowburn12 December 2018 09:38
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Damian Green - a close ally of the prime minister and former de facto deputy to Ms May - tells The Independent his colleagues calling the vote are "being monumentally self-indulgent" and says: "I hope she wins big so she can get back to the job in hand".

Ashley Cowburn12 December 2018 09:43
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Ashley Cowburn12 December 2018 09:54

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