Conservative MPs are warning Theresa May that they will move to remove her within weeks if the UK is forced to participate in European elections next month and extend its EU membership beyond June. The prospect of voters heading to the polls to elect MEPs three years after the Brexit referendum has infuriated many Tories, who fear the election will be boycotted by Conservative voters and boost the far right and Nigel Farage's Brexit Party.
Senior Tories have indicated that a long extension would allow them to accelerate moves to oust May and trigger a leadership contest as early as this month. Conservative MP Nigel Evans, an executive member of the 1922 Committee, said that if May fails to deliver Brexit and secures only a long extension at Wednesday's EU summit, she will face overwhelming pressure to resign. He stated that many Conservatives would prefer leaving the EU on World Trade Organisation terms to a humiliating long extension.
The prime minister made a last-ditch appeal on Saturday night for MPs to back a deal, warning that Brexit could 'slip through our fingers'. She said parliament faces a stark choice: leave with a deal or not leave at all. May emphasised the need to deliver what people voted for and get a deal over the line.
Former minister Nigel Adams, who quit last week over May's decision to hold talks with Jeremy Corbyn, said over 170 Conservative MPs signed a letter urging the PM to ensure the UK does not participate in European elections, warning that doing so 'will not end well'. Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee, described British participation in European elections as a 'massive political mistake' that would benefit more extreme parties.
Downing Street confirmed that discussions with Labour to find a Brexit compromise are ongoing at a technical level. No 10 is reportedly offering to enshrine in law a plan giving parliament a say in future trade talks with the EU, aiming to prevent a future Tory leader from pursuing a harder Brexit. The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has informed backbenchers he would prefer to leave on WTO terms rather than accept a long extension.
