Confusion prevailed this afternoon in London
Confusion prevailed this afternoon in London, after the information of the television network Sky News that the 48 letters required to file a motion of censure against Prime Minister Theresa May by her party, on the occasion of the latest events in the Brexit case, have been collected.
In a post on Twitter, citing "her sources in the ERG", network political editor Beth Rigby said that "some Conservative MPs" appear optimistic that several letters have already been submitted to start the process of ousting May from the leadership. For that to happen, 48 Conservative MPs would have to write letters to the chairman of the so-called 1922 Commission, Graham Brady. May could be ousted if 158 of the party's 315 lawmakers vote against her.
The ERG (European Research Group) is a group of Eurosceptic British MPs.
However, the Sun newspaper denied Rigby's information, stressing that the required letters have not yet been collected. "Graham Brady's friends say he does not yet have 48 letters," wrote political editor Tom Newton Dan on Twitter.
For his part, May's spokesman declined to comment on the report.
Joint letter from four party leaders
An open letter to Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn urging him to join them and file a motion of censure against the government within a week is being signed jointly by the leaders of the four opposition parties, arguing that what the country is going through is currently a constitutional and national crisis.
The letter is signed by Liberal Democrat leaders Vince Cable of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Ian Blackford, Welsh Plaid Cymru, Liz Saville Roberts and Greens Caroline Luke. They argue that the government's inability to pass the agreement on leaving Parliament leaves no choice for opposition party leaders other than the motion of censure. They even express their intention to submit the proposal to the Parliament in the hope that the leader of the Labor Party will join them.
Yesterday, the Labor party issued a statement claiming that it would file a motion of censure when it was more likely to be successful, that is, when T. May returned to parliament with a revised agreement.