“Speaker invokes fury in Commons with jibe at Conservative MP”

“John Bercow sparked uproar in the House of Commons after saying former minister Greg Hands “wasn’t a very good whip” as he admonished the MP for Chelsea and Fulham for “disorderly” behaviour.”

Evening Standard

Theresa May today came under pressure from the shop stewards of Tory backbenchers to set a date for her departure.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, was seen entering 10 Downing Street early this afternoon amid rumours the Prime Minister will announce tomorrow when she plans to step down.

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MPs were expecting Sir Graham, who represents backbench Conservatives, to tell Mrs May that such a message would be welcomed by colleagues. It emerged earlier that Mrs May will make a speech tomorrow at the 1922 Committee. Many MPs believe she will make a final plea for her twice-rejected withdrawal deal — and that she intends to gamble everything on a third meaningful vote on Thursday.

Announcing her departure date is being demanded by some MPs as their price for backing her, on the grounds they could choose a new leader to run the next phase of negotiations with the European Union.

© Provided by Independent Digital News & Media Limited MPs are expecting Sir Graham Brady to tell Mrs May that a message indicidating the timetable for her departure would be welcomed by colleagues (PA) Former minister Tim Loughton told BBC2’s Politics Live: “It’s become inevitable. For somebody who has got a huge sense of public service … it’s a great tragedy that it will end, I fear, in the way it’s going to end.”

He added: “I’m afraid … that her position has become untenable. The leadership is not there.”

A Cabinet source told the Evening Standard that Tory whips were getting ready for a possible confidence vote in the Government if the third vote was badly defeated.

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Mrs May’s chief of staff Gavin Barwell is said to have told a Whitehall meeting recently that she wants to stay for another six months before handing over the reins. That would lead to a long Tory leadership battle, giving more chance to dark horses to come from the back of the field.

Earlier Mrs May was hurtling towards a clash with Parliament as ministers said she could simply ignore the landmark Commons votes on a new Brexit plan.

MPs voted by 329 to 302 late last night to swing the plan into action, allowing proper debates on alternatives such as revoking Article 50 and a Norway-style arrangement to trade freely with the EU as a non-member.

© Provided by Local News RSS EN-GB There are rumours the Prime Minister will announce tomorrow when she plans to step down (©UK Parliament) Senior Cabinet ministers said the Government would not commit to honouring the outcome.

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom, a leading Brexiteer, declared that the Government would not adopt a plan it deemed “undeliverable”.

Mrs May’s stance met a chorus of opposition. Former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine said she was “playing with fire”, while a former clerk to the Commons Lord Lisvane said she would be seen as “somewhat subversive” if she ignored the Commons.

The Cabinet this morning postponed a decision on how to whip tomorrow’s indicative votes on Brexit Plan Bs until it sees the list of the options that will be put to the vote.

© Provided by Independent Digital News & Media Limited Sir Oliver Letwin said politicians “owe it to the country” to work together (EPA) The decision suggests that ministers have won a battle to secure the right, in principle, to vote with their consciences in some cases.

Sir Oliver Letwin, the architect of the takeover, told the Standard that politicians “owe it to the country” to work together.

“The really hard bit comes next,” he said. “There’s little chance that the House of Commons will produce a majority for an alternative way forward in just one vote.

“But we have to use this process tomorrow and on Monday to try to work towards a consensus that can carry a majority. That won’t be an easy task. But we owe if to the country to try.”

Watch: Brexiteer will back deal if May quits (Sky News)

Before last night’s vote, the Prime Minister said she refused to feel bound to accept the results. “No government could give a blank cheque to commit to an outcome without knowing what it is,” she said. But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the Government must “take this process seriously”.

Top MEP Guy Verhofstadt welcomed the result, tweeting: “An opportunity to build a cross-party co-operation leading to an enhanced political declaration & a closer future relationship!”