The Conservatives will be stuck with Theresa May as leader for the next general election unless they move to get rid of her now, Jacob Rees-Mogg has warned.
Amid signs the attempt by Brexiteers to force a vote of confidence in the British prime minister has stalled, Mr Rees-Mogg acknowledged they were struggling to get the support they needed.
However, the leader of the pro-Brexit European Research Group (ERG) insisted there was little enthusiasm among Tory MPs for Mrs May to take them into the next election, due in 2022.
"I think it is now or the prime minister will lead the Conservatives into the next election," he told reporters at a Westminster news conference.
"You find MPs privately who will say to you they think that is a really good idea in any number and I would be quite surprised."
Read More:
- DUP-Tory pact in jeopardy after Westminster vote abstention
- Arlene Foster says taoiseach's remarks highlight Brexit deal's 'false choices'
- European Union 'may review draft Brexit deal'
His warning came as Downing Street confirmed Mrs May will meet European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker for talks in Brussels on Wednesday ahead of a special EU Brexit summit on Sunday.
Last week senior ERG figures were confidently predicting they would get the 48 letters of no confidence from MPs needed to trigger a vote in Mrs May's leadership.
"Coup is entirely the wrong word."@Jacob_Rees_Mogg says "coup" is a "silly word" to describe what is happening in the Tory party at the moment.
— Sky News Politics (@SkyNewsPolitics) November 20, 2018
Follow the latest on #Brexit here: https://t.co/B6tQKLXuIz pic.twitter.com/rP8nwbDDd6
But with Brexiteers apparently divided over whether it was the right time to mount a challenge, the prospect of them achieving their target appeared to be dwindling.
However, Mr Rees-Mogg warned that they needed to consider whether they really wanted to carry on with her at the helm.
While party rules would permit a fresh challenge in a year's time if there was a failed attempt now, he said that in practice it was doubtful that would happen.
"Basically, if there is a vote of confidence it is not just for a year," he said.
Read More:
- Key Brexit report on Northern Ireland 'should be published'
- Backstop 'will mean taxation without representation for north'
- May tells business leaders her plan is best for jobs
"Getting the 48 letters has shown to be quite difficult, so the idea that in a year you just repeat the process and then she would go at that point, I don't think that is realistic."
Asked if his attempt to unseat the prime minister had been exposed as a "Dad's Army" operation, Mr Rees-Mogg replied: "I've always admired Captain Mainwaring."
Senior ministers sought to rally round Ms May, with Justice Secretary David Gauke warning that any move to oust her would be "dangerous for the country".
He told BBC Breakfast: "The idea that at this point, in the middle of a very delicate negotiation, that is hugely important to the future of this country, that we should remove the prime minister, essentially leave us leaderless, for certainly several weeks, possibly months, would be hugely irresponsible.
"I don't think people should be talking about removing her at this point. I think that would be self-indulgent and dangerous for the country."
The latest threat to Ms May followed a shot across the bows from the DUP, who prop up her minority government in the Commons.
On Monday night the party joined Labour in voting against the government on a Budget measure while abstaining in two other divisions in apparent breach of their "confidence and supply" agreement.
The party's Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson said the move was intended to send a "political message" to the prime minister after she breached a "fundamental" assurance that Northern Ireland would not be separated constitutionally or economically from the rest of the UK.
"We had to do something to show our displeasure," he told the BBC.
In another cause for concern for the PM, Ms May's Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez said Madrid will vote against the withdrawal deal at the summit on Sunday if Gibraltar's future is not considered a bilateral issue between the UK and Spain.
In a bid to sway opinion, Ms May has insisted that her draft Brexit deal puts Northern Ireland in a "fantastic position" for the future.
In an opinion piece published in the Belfast Telegraph, the British prime minister claimed the north's constitutional status within the UK had been guaranteed in the agreement.
Ms May acknowledged that there had been a lot of focus on the Irish border "backstop" and said she "understood and share some of the concerns that have been expressed".
But she said the backstop was an "acceptable insurance policy" due to provisions in the deal.
