One of the factors driving wavering Tory MPs towards saying they will vote for Theresa May tonight is the way in which the rebel operation appears to be being conducted. It’s not just that the airwaves were dominated this morning by rather strident Brexiteers as opposed to MPs from a range of persuasions. It’s also the heavy-handed language that May’s opponents are using behind the scenes as they argue with colleagues.
A number of MPs tell me they have been galvanised to support May after a ‘fairly brutal’ exchange in the Conservative MPs WhatsApp group in which Nadine Dorries, who has long called on May to consider her position, managed to insult her colleagues. She wrote:
Most popular
Martin Narey
How I was punished for breaking the conspiracy of silence on grooming gangs
‘Fundamental point is though, which MP with a majority less than 5,000 is going to vote to guarantee she is kept in place for 12 months and possibly lead us into a [General Election]? You know our MPs though, they have called the vote tonight so that MPs don’t have long to think, she will make her speech, they will clap like seals, float into the voting booth on the tide of euphoria and then, when they lose their seats in a GE think, why the fuck did I do that?’
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in