Leadership challenge after pledging to quit before election as ballot

THERESA May is on course to win the leadership challenge against her after revealing she plans to quit before the next General Election.

At least 186 Tory MPs pledged to back her – with counting going on now after the polls closed at 8pm, and the result expected around 9pm.

In my heart I would like to lead the party into the next election, but I accept that won’t happen.”

That suggests she will step aside within two years at the most – with the next election scheduled to take place in June 2022.

The gambit is designed to win over MPs who want to avoid short-term turbulence but are worried about the prospect of Mrs May leading the party into another election after last year’s disaster.

Some ministers were reportedly in tears after the PM’s announcement.

Mrs May refused to put an exact date on when she will stand down despite calls for her to go next summer, after Britain formally leaves the EU.

She added that she had wanted to fight another General Election to “make up for” how badly last year’s snap poll went.

The PM also insisted her botched Brexit deal can be saved, and promised to win the support of the DUP by changing the “Irish backstop”.

Tory vice-chairman James Cleverly told reporters: “She said this would be a very, very bad time to change leader. She made it clear there’s a job to be done.”

Treasury Secretary Liz Truss added: “She said what she needed to say on the DUP and not fighting the next election – I think that was critical.

wants to do is to create chaos'
The Sun knows of at least 186 MPs who have publicly declared they will back Mrs May during the confidence vote, which took place between 6pm and 8pm.

That is more than half of the 315-strong parliamentary party – meaning that if all of them do vote for her in the secret ballot as they’ve promised, the PM will win.

But senior Tories have warned that if she only gets a small victory margin, she could still be doomed because the political pressure on her to quit immediately will be immense.

There could also be an uncertain number of abstentions from MPs who want to register a protest without actually voting against her.

This afternoon Mrs May faced MPs for what could be her last ever session of Prime Minister’s Questions – with her husband Philip watching from the public gallery in a show of solidarity.