No confidence vote in Theresa May’s leadership to take place on Wednesday -Updated

UK Prime Minister Theresa May will face a vote of no confidence in her leadership later on Wednesday.

Conservative MPs have triggered a vote of no confidence in Theresa May, plunging the Brexit process into chaos as Tory colleagues indicated they no longer had faith in the prime minister to deliver the deal.

UPDATES:

Theresa May has enough support from Conservative MPs to win a vote of confidence in her leadership tonight, a Sky News tally suggests.

A total of 170 Tory MPs have publicly said they will continue to back her as leader – but as the ballot is secret, they could vote differently behind closed doors.

The party has 317 seats, meaning the prime minister needs 159 votes to gain a majority.

Downing Street has raised the prospect of Theresa May resigning before the next election, apparently as a way to win tonight’s vote of no confidence.

The EU Commission has reiterated its backing for Theresa May ahead of a no-confidence vote by the prime minister’s party this evening.

Speaking in Brussels Margaritis Schinas, the chief spokesperson of the Commission presidency, said the Commission believed Ms May had done a good job of “managing a very difficult process”.

Theresa May has vowed to fight for her job, warning Brexit would have to be delayed or even cancelled if she has toppled by Conservative MPs.

Speaking in Downing Street, the prime minister announced she would contest the no-confidence vote of all Tory MPs tonight “with everything I’ve got”.

he also warned that any attempt to replace her would not increase the Tories’ majority. This week, she was forced to pull a crucial Brexit vote.

“A leadership election would not change the fundamentals of the negotiation, or the parliamentary arithmetic. Weeks spent tearing ourselves apart will only create more division just as we should be standing together to serve our country,” she said.

Her removal would play into the hands of Labour, she said. “The only people whose interests would be served would be Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell,” she said.

Threshold for a no confidence vote in Theresa May has been reached.

The Chairman of the 1922 backbench committee Sir Graham Brady said that the threshold of 48 letters of no confidence in Theresa May’s leadership of the Conservative Party has been reached triggering a ballot which will take place tonight between 6pm and 8pm. SKY

Sterling sat at a 20-month low on Wednesday after a late plunge in the previous trading session, as it was confirmed Theresa May would face a vote of confidence from her own MPs. The pound was down 0.6 per cent over two sessions, at $1.2493, although it was flat from Tuesday’s New York close. It was 1 per cent below its level at midday London time on Tuesday. FT

Full Statement

“The threshold of 15% of the parliamentary party seeking a vote of confidence in the leader of the Conservative Party has been exceeded.

“In accordance with the rules, a ballot will be held between 1800 and 2000 on Wednesday 12th December in committee room 14 of the House of Commons.

“The votes will be counted immediately afterwards and an announcement will be made as soon as possible in the evening.

“Arrangements for the announcement will be released later today.

“I will be available to answer questions about this process on Abingdon Green from 0800 hrs.”