Pressure mounts on May amid talk of a plot to oust her

Pressure mounts on May amid talk of a plot to oust her

An attempt to oust Theresa May has appeared to have gathered pace a day after her decision to delay a vote in parliament on her Brexit deal

With May on a tour of European capitals to try to secure "reassurances" to calm the crisis at home, the BBC and other media cited sources as saying the required number of letters from Conservative lawmakers calling for a no-confidence vote in her leadership of the party had been met.

Only one member of the party knows how many lawmakers have submitted their letters - but her position looked more precarious than ever.

With less than four months left until the United Kingdom is due to leave the EU on March 29, May's premiership and her deal to stave off a disorderly departure or a bid to stop Brexit are hanging by a thread.

If she is toppled -- and it is far from certain that she would lose a vote among all the party's members of parliament -- -- could further complicate Brexit.

The BBC cited multiple sources as saying the required 48 letters had been reached.

The chairman of the party's 1922 committee of backbench lawmakers, Graham Brady, asked to see May on Wednesday after her weekly question session in parliament, BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg tweeted.

Her chief whip, or party enforcer, entered her Downing Street residence on Tuesday night.

Lawmaker Andrew Bridgen, a critic of May, said he believed Conservative members of parliament would vote on her leadership at the first opportunity, which could be on Wednesday night.

May's postponement of the vote on her deal to maintain close ties with the EU after leaving in March infuriated lawmakers on all sides of the debate - from hardline Brexit supporters to those who want to remain in the EU.

Published: by Radio NewsHub
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