A record number of Tory party members think Theresa May should step aside as Prime Minister, according to new figures.
A poll by political blog Conservative Home has found that 82% of their party member panel respondents want Theresa May to stand down as party leader and to call a leadership election.
It came as a Cabinet minister said the Conservative Party could lose four million voters if it takes a harder line on Brexit and tries to “outdo” Nigel Farage.
The number of members who think she should leave is a record for the Conservative Home poll, and is up from last month, when 71% of respondents wanted Mrs May to announce her resignation.
Later in April, that figure hit 79%, itself another record number.
The snap survey was held in the wake of some of the worst Conservative local election results in more than 20 years, which saw the party lose more than 1,300 councillors.
(Image: Michal Wachucik)
It comes after former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith made calls for Mrs May to resign or be forced out of office.
Other major figures, like former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and new International Development Secretary Rory Stewart, have emerged as potential contenders in the race to replace Mrs May.
Rory Stewart, who was appointed International Development Secretary last week, said Remain supporters would abandon the Tories if they made the “mistake” of backing a hard Brexit.
“Most Brexit voters voted for the Conservative Party but four million Remain voters voted for the Conservative Party,” he told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday.
“If the Conservative Party were to make the mistake of trying to outdo Nigel Farage, which I’m sure we won’t but it is something that a few of my colleagues are talking about, then we would lose those four million voters.
“We’d lose young people, we’d lose Scotland, we’d lose London and we’d lose a lot of the most energetic parts of this country.
“We’ve got to be a broad party. We’ve got to be able to stretch all the way from Ken Clarke right the way through to Jacob Rees-Mogg .”
(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
His warning came as a spat emerged between the Government and Labour Party over newspaper reports outlining where the PM is preparing to give ground this week in the negotiations.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell accused Theresa May of jeopardising the cross-party negotiations for her own “personal protection”, saying he had lost trust in her and claimed the PM had “blown the confidentiality” of the talks.
Discussions between Labour and the Government are expected to continue on Tuesday, and Mrs May last night urged Jeremy Corbyn to work with her party to find a way to break the Brexit deadlock.
