This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Theresa May faces the stark choice of quitting or being turfed out of Downing Street by her own party, after Andrea Leadsom resigned from the cabinet amid a furious backlash against the prime minister’s “new Brexit deal”.

Leadsom quit on Wednesday evening, using her resignation letter to attack the ill-discipline of her cabinet colleagues, and warn that she no longer believed its approach would “deliver on the referendum result”.

As leader of the House of Commons, she had been expected to give details on Thursday of how the government intends to proceed with the withdrawal agreement bill, support for which continued to drain away on Wednesday.

Q&A What are Theresa May's 10 commitments in her 'new Brexit deal'? Show Hide 1 The government will seek to conclude alternative arrangements to replace the backstop by December 2020. 2 Should the backstop come into force, the government will ensure that Great Britain will stay aligned with Northern Ireland. 3 The negotiating objectives and final treaties for our future relationship with the EU will have to be approved by MPs. 4 A new workers’ rights bill that guarantees workers’ rights will be no less favourable than in the EU. 5 No change in the level of environmental protection. 6 The UK will seek as close to frictionless trade in goods with the EU as possible while outside the single market and ending free movement. 7 We will keep up to date with EU rules for goods and agri-food products that are relevant to checks at border protecting the thousands of jobs that depend on just-in-time supply chains. 8 The government will bring forward a customs compromise for MPs to decide on to break the deadlock. 9 There will be a vote for MPs on whether the deal should be subject to a referendum. 10 There will be a legal duty to secure changes to the political declaration to reflect this new deal.

Leadsom’s departure came after the embattled prime minister agreed to a pivotal meeting on Friday with Graham Brady, the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee, following European elections that are widely expected to see the Conservatives trounced by Nigel Farage’s Brexit party. This prompted speculation on Wednesday night that she would announce the date of her departure as early as Friday.

“Graham hinted that he expects her to resign. We all expect her to resign. We just wish we could do it before recess,” said one MP on Wednesday evening. MPs are due to leave Westminster on Thursday and not return until 4 June.

On a day of high drama in the corridors of Westminster, where Tory MPs met to decide May’s fate, there was a growing chorus of calls for her to drop the withdrawal bill and quit before being forced out.

Sajid Javid, David Mundell and Penny Mordaunt privately signalled their unhappiness about her most eye-catching pledge: a vote on whether a second Brexit referendum should be held.

Others, including Michael Gove, believe it will be impossible to win a majority for the bill and have suggested the promised vote on it in early June should be pulled.

Leadsom told colleagues at a meeting of the so-called Pizza Club of cabinet Brexiters on Wednesday morning that she was considering resigning, but none of them suggested they would follow suit.

Andrea Leadsom MP (@andrealeadsom) It is with great regret and a heavy heart that I have decided to resign from the Government. pic.twitter.com/f2SOXkaqmH

May declined to schedule meetings with several cabinet ministers, including Javid and Mundell, who had planned to express their displeasure at her pledge of a vote on a referendum. Downing Street sources would only say that she could meet foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt on Thursday.

Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith told ITV: “The sofa is up against the door, she’s not leaving.”

The prime minister played the final card of her turbulent premiership in a speech on Tuesday, laying out what she called a “bold” offer to MPs, including concessions on workers’ rights, the Northern Ireland border, and on parliament’s role in future Brexit talks.

But long before she stood up to present the “new Brexit deal” to MPs on Wednesday, it was clear that it had failed to win over the Labour MPs she had hoped to tempt – while alienating a string of Tory backbenchers, and infuriating several key cabinet ministers.

A meeting of the executive of the 1922 Committee, which would decide the terms for any future leadership race, was adjourned so that Julian Smith, the chief whip, could address them first.

Smith went in to the meeting for two minutes. Those present said he reiterated that May was “not going anywhere”. After a 45-minute meeting of the executive, forcing MPs, peers and journalists to wait in the corridor, MPs were invited in for a two-minute meeting and briefed on Brady and the executive’s plan.

Outside, MPs insisted that May “will be gone by Monday at the latest”. Another said: “We have kicked the can yet again. Let’s hope she goes this time.”

One 1922 Committee source said the executive had agreed in principle on a rule change that could allow May to be toppled but had then placed the decision in a sealed envelope.

The source said it would not be opened, unless May fails to signal her intention to step aside as Tory leader by 10 June – although she would be expected to remain as prime minister while a leadership contest was held.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tory chief whip Julian Smith addressed the 1922 Committee for just two minutes. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Writing to Leadsom after her resignation, May said she was “grateful for the support you have given over the last three years” in working to deliver Brexit, but disagreed with her assessment of the government’s approach. “I do not agree with you that the deal which we have negotiated with the European Union means that the United Kingdom will not become a sovereign country,” she wrote.

The prime minister said the government was not proposing a second referendum, but any bill was likely to attract an amendment seeking to bring one about. “That is why at cabinet yesterday we agreed to bring the bill forward and allow those MPs who want another referendum to put their case”.

Labour seized on the chaos in the Conservative party to renew its calls for a general election. Party chair Ian Lavery said: “While the Tories are ripping themselves apart, our country is in crisis. The government has made a catastrophic mess of the Brexit negotiations, our steel industry is under threat and universal credit is pushing people into poverty.

“For the sake of the country, Theresa May needs to go, and we need an immediate general election.”

May was granted a stay of execution last week by the 1922 Committee in order to give her one last chance to present her Brexit deal in parliament – something that looked increasingly unlikely late on Wednesday.

No 10 sources were, however, still adamant on Wednesday that that withdrawal bill would be published on Friday.

Mundell, who does not have a reputation as a cabinet rebel, was said by allies to feel that any hint that the Conservatives are open to another Brexit referendum would make it harder to win the argument in Scotland against a second independence vote.

Members of the 1922 Committee were told that the second reading of the bill is scheduled for Friday 7 June. Mark Francois, the deputy chair of the pro-leave European Research Group, said: “I bet £50 for Help for Heroes that the second reading of the [bill] will never, ever happen.”

Since May announced her 10-point plan in a speech on Tuesday, dozens of her own MPs who supported her deal in March have said they cannot support it, leaving her increasingly isolated.

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, robustly rejected May’s 10-point plan, and called for a general election to resolve the deadlock.

He said: “Our country needs leadership to bring us together. However, this prime minister is not the person to do this,” he said, responding to her statement in the House of Commons.

Play Video 0:56 Jeremy Corbyn says Labour will not support May's ‘new’ Brexit deal – video

May’s spokesman insisted she would not bow to pressure to resign immediately, saying she knew there was a “job of work to do” to persuade MPs to back her deal.

Asked whether the prime minister would quit if the Conservative vote fell below 10% in the European elections, he said: “We expect a very challenging night when the result comes through but no, the PM is focused on the task at hand.”