Theresa May has survived a confidence vote in her leadership by Conservative MPs, meaning she can continue to serve as prime minister.
However, more than a third of Conservative MPs expressed their lack of confidence in the prime minister, with 117 voting for her to stand down and 200 saying she should remain in place.
The scale of the rebellion against May was significantly larger than most predictions, suggesting that she still has a mountain to climb to win over her party in order to pass her Brexit plans through parliament.
The victory also only came after the prime minister assured MPs on Wednesday evening that she would stand down before the next general election.
“In my heart I would like to lead the party into the next election but I accept that won’t happen,” May told Conservative MPs.
Reacting to the news, the opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn said the result “makes no difference to the lives of our people.”
“The Prime Minister has lost her majority in Parliament, her government is in chaos and she is unable to deliver a Brexit deal that works for the country and puts jobs and the economy first,” he said.
Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, whose European Research Group of anti-EU MPs had spearheaded the attempt to oust May, described the result as “terrible” for the prime minister.
“It’s a terrible result for the Prime Minister,” Mogg said.
“The Prime Minister must realise that on all constitutional norms she ought to go and see the Queen urgently.
“She clearly doesn’t have the confidence of the Commons. She should make way for someone who does.”
The result means May can in theory remain as Conservative party leader without a further confidence vote being held for another year.
However, the scale of the no confidence vote in her leadership and her pledge to stand down before the next election means the race to replace her will now start in earnest.
The vote was held after at least 48 Conservative MPs sent letters to Tory MP Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee, expressing no confidence in Theresa May’s leadership of the party.
Many Conservative MPs are unhappy with the Brexit plan she negotiated in Brussels, and discontent reached a tipping point when she delayed a parliamentary vote on the deal which was scheduled for Tuesday.
Brady notified the prime minister that he had received at least 48 letters on Tuesday evening. He announced the news publicly on Wednesday morning, giving Tory MPs just one day to weigh up whether to support or oppose the prime minister.
He was criticised by some Tory MPs who oppose the prime minister for organising the vote at short notice, which some believe would hand May a crucial advantage because it would not give them time to co-ordinate their opposition.
However, Brady said party rules dictate that a vote should be held as soon as possible.
This is a developing story.
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