May vows to fight on after leadership challenge triggered

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Conservative MPs have forced a no confidence vote in leader Theresa May, putting the British prime minister's position in peril and increasing the likelihood of Brexit being delayed or a "no deal."

May faces a challenge after at least 48 of her own Conservative MPs submitted letters expressing no confidence in her leadership, amid anger over her decision on Monday to postpone a vote on the Brexit agreement she struck with the EU.

British Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the media in Downing Street, London, December 12, 2018. /VCG Photo‍

Speaking in Downing Street on Wednesday morning, the prime minister pledged to "contest that vote with everything I've got" and warned that a leadership contest "will put our country's future at risk and create uncertainty when we can least afford it."

She added that an acceptable Brexit deal was "within our grasp," and insisted "we are making progress" on a solution to the contentious backstop issue.

Key players in Conservative Brexit splits

May will make her case to the 315 Conservative MPs at 5 p.m. local time on Wednesday, before a secret ballot begins at 6 p.m. with a result due by 10 p.m.

She can carry on as leader if she receives a simple majority in the ballot. Should she win, it would not be possible to hold another no confidence vote for another 12 months.

However, even a narrow victory would make continuing in the role difficult given the scale of opposition within her own party it would reveal.

If May is defeated in the ballot, she will lose the Conservative leadership and be expected to stand down as prime minister.

A contest for a new leader could take several weeks and the Brexit date – March 29, 2019 – is just 16 weeks away. If May were removed, the date on which Britain is scheduled to leave the EU could be pushed back.

Boris Johnson, former British foreign secretary, delivers a speech during the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, UK, October 2, 2018. /VCG Photo

Boris Johnson, Amber Rudd, Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid, Penny Mordaunt, Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt are believed to be among the many MPs considering launching leadership campaigns.

Hustings of leadership candidates would likely begin on Monday should May be forced out, the BBC reported. Under party rules, candidates would be voted on by Conservative MPs until two remain - the winner would be determined by party members.

Renewed efforts to unseat the prime minister follow her decision to delay a parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal, which she acknowledged would have been defeated by a "significant margin" had it gone ahead.

While most of the anger towards May has been among hardline MPs on the right of the party, Remain-backing MPs are also incensed by a delay which makes a "no deal" Brexit more likely.

British Prime Minister Theresa May (L) leaves after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, December 11, 2018. /VCG Photo

Attempts to gain concessions to make the agreement more palatable to MPs looked to have made little progress on Tuesday, when May traveled to European capitals for talks. Meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk yielded no immediate results.

Tusk tweeted: "Clear that EU27 wants to help. The question is how." Juncker said there was "no room whatsoever for renegotiation" but "clarifications and interpretations" could be offered.

The prime minister has cancelled a planned trip to Dublin for talks with Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Whether she will be in a position to make the journey to Brussels for a two-day EU summit on Thursda remains to be seen.