Theresa May’s allies ‘planning for her to remain Prime Minister until 2021’ Senior cabinet members say Mrs May will stay Prime Minister

Theresa May’s allies are determined to keep her in power until 2021 as support for her Brexit plans grows, according to The Times .

Those close to the prime minister say there is growing confidence that she will succeed with her Brexit agreement, and that she should stay in power to see the deal through.

The Times also reported that the surge of support for the agreement has come about after talks between Brexit negotiator Ollie Robins and Europe over the last week.

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Turbulent weeks

The last few weeks have been turbulent for Mrs May, after she struggled to maintain authority within the Conservative party, winning a leadership challenge by 200 to 117 votesf14.

The Times reported that a cabinet minister is apparently floating plans that will see Mrs May remain in power until 2021, at which point she will pass the mantle onto the new Conservative leader.

MPs are preparing to support her withdrawal agreement

This suggests a huge improvement in party relations.

Just a week ago Mrs May’s senior colleagues were preparing for a second referendum without her knowledge, and now, according to those close to the party, there are a number of MPs preparing to support her withdrawal agreement.

It’s thought that Mrs May herself might have been involved in discussions, and would see her ride through two more reshuffles between now and 2021.

This would allow her to “slay the old guard” and create a new strata of loyal ministers. There has been speculation that she will hold a party on 7 January in an attempt to build on the Brexit withdrawal momentum and try to unite her cabinet.

MPs will vote on the Brexit deal the week commencing the 14 January 2019. They were meant to vote on the deal in Def1cember but May postponed it when it became clear she would lose.

There is no clear successor to Mrs May

It’s not clear who would take over from Mrs May even if she did resign.

Boris Johnson, Sajid Javid, and David Davis have long been considered to be in the running to take-over as leader of the Conservative Party.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, Michael Gove, Amber Rudd and Jeremy Hunt have also been rumoured for the top job.