Anna Soubry calls for Theresa May to ‘consider her position’ Theresa May should consider her position after her decision to hold a snap election dramatically backfired, a former Tory minister […]

Theresa May should consider her position after her decision to hold a snap election dramatically backfired, a former Tory minister has said.

Anna Soubry claimed Mrs May was in a “very difficult place” after she ran what she described as a “dreadful campaign”.

Ms Soubry, who held her Broxtowe seat, told the BBC that Mrs May was in a “bad” position, following a shock night in the polls for the Tories.

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‘She’s in a difficult place’

“She is in a very difficult place. She is a remarkable and she’s a very talented woman and she doesn’t shy from difficult decisions. But she now has to obviously consider her position,” the former business minister said.

The decision to place Mrs May at the centre of the campaign had also failed, she said, which had increased pressure on her.

“It’s a dreadful night. I’ve lost some excellent and remarkable friends – proper, sound, moderate Conservatives,” Ms Soubry said.

“This is a very bad moment for the Conservative Party and we need to take stock and our leader needs to take stock as well.”

But Tory grandees warned that it was not the time for a fresh leadership battle, considering Brexit talks are just 11 days away.

‘Not business as usual’

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said it would be a “grave error” for the party to embark on another leadership contest.

“We need to, first of all, find out what the result is, what the final result – whether or not it is feasible for us to put a government together, we don’t know that yet,” he told the BBC.

“The party has to meet, they have to talk to her and decide whether or not this is what she wants to do and if she does want to do it then, frankly, we need that stability at the moment.”

But he accepted “it’s clearly not going to be business as usual”.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, who held his seat in North East Somerset, said Mrs May would have a “good deal of support”.

“She’s only been the leader for under a year, she got it without any opposition, with an uncontested election with support up and down the country,” he said.

“I don’t think the Conservative Party is so fickle or such a fair-weather friend as it would not continue to back the Prime Minister.”