Former chancellor calls May 'dead woman walking' amid Tory civil war

Former British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne called Prime Minister Theresa May "a dead woman walking" on Sunday, amid a Tory backlash against May following disastrous general election results, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party was ready for a new election.

"Theresa May is a dead woman walking," Osborne, former treasury chief who was sacked by May last year, said on a BBC current affairs show. "It's just how long she's going to remain on death row."

George Osborne, editor of the Evening Standard and former British chancellor, speaks during The Marr Show of the BBC in London, Britain, June 11, 2017. /VCG Photo

Osborne was among a number of Conservatives to have showed signs of losing confidence in May, who called a snap election in April to strengthen her hand as the negotiator representing the UK in Brexit talks. The election call however backfired, as her party lost its majority.

With only 318 House of Commons seats, the Conservatives are eight short of an outright majority – a government needs 326 seats for a majority. May is in negotiations with Northern Ireland's right-wing Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which won 10 seats, to secure its agreement to prop up her minority government.

May under enormous pressure to quit

After the humiliating election, May faces huge pressure to resign. Not only has her opposition rival Corbyn demanded her resignation, senior Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) are also getting impatient.

On Saturday, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, two of May's closest advisers, announced their resignations, in a move seen as a bid to alleviate pressure on the prime minister. According to a BBC report, May could have faced a leadership challenge on Monday if the two aides were still in place.

Nick Timothy (R) and Fiona Hill, two of Prime Minister Theresa May's closest advisers, arrive on the final day of the annual Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, Britain, October 5, 2016. /VCG Photo

As May lost her election gamble, there are several potential challengers to her such as Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Brexit Minister David Davis, said James Glenday, a correspondent of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

A report by The Sunday Times claimed that Johnson had been urged by five cabinet members to oust May as prime minister, adding that the Conservative party has "descended into a new civil war."

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (R1) attends a cabinet meeting hosted by Theresa May (R2) at the prime minister's country retreat Chequers in Buckinghamshire, Britain, August 31, 2016. /VCG Photo

But Johnson, one of the Conservatives' most popular politicians, denied having any leadership aspirations in a tweet on Sunday. "I am backing Theresa May. Let's get on with the job," he said.

According to a Survation poll, 49 percent of all voters want May to resign, with only 38 percent wanting her to stay as prime minister. Johnson leads Chancellor Philip Hammond by a clear margin among preferred contenders to replace her.

A separate survey of Tory supporters by the Conservative Home website found that two thirds of respondents wanted May to resign immediately.

British Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip are clapped into 10 Downing Street by staff after returning from seeing Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in London, Britain, June 9, 2017. /VCG Photo

Anna Soubry, a pro-EU member of the Conservative party, told Sky News on Sunday that May's position was untenable in the long term.

"I just can't see how she can continue in any long-term way. I think she will have to go unfortunately. But not for some time, let's get this clear. We need stability," she said.

In the ABC analysis mentioned above, Glenday said May would "almost certainly be gone already" if the UK was not facing upcoming Brexit talks with EU member states on June 19.

Labour ready for new election

Corbyn said on Sunday that there could be another election this year or early in 2018. "It is quite possible there will be an election later this year or early next year and that might be a good thing because we cannot go on with a period of great instability," Corbyn told the BBC.

Labour beat expectations to take 30 more seats than it did in the 2015 election, forcing the UK into a hung parliament.

"We have a program, we have support and we are ready to fight another election campaign as soon as may be," he added. "Because we want to be able to serve the people of this country on the agenda we put forward, which is transformative and has gained amazing levels of support."

The latest Survation study puts Corbyn's party on 45 percent of support and the Tories on just 39 percent – a remarkable shift compared with the start of the campaign, when Labour trailed the Conservatives by 20 percent or so in polls.

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