Tory leadership hopefuls including former Brexit Secretary Dominc Raab and Sajid Javid had stepped up secret canvassing of MPs yesterday as they prepared to pounce if the PM fell.
And insiders said the talks would only intensify over the coming days given the Parliamentary deadlock over the Brexit deal.
Hardline ine Northern Irish DUP boss Arlene Foster publicly played off Tory leadership contenders off against each other yesterday – and lavished praise on Sajid Javid.
But Eurosceptics were worried that their vote could be split if Mr Raab, Boris Johnson and David Davis all stood. Sources claim Mr Davis and his long-time apprentice Mr Raab are at loggerheads.
Ladbrokes’ Jessica Bridge said: “Betting suggests it’s between Johnson and Raab to step up.”
Sources also claimed Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd and Home Secretary Sajid Javid had both been privately sounding out supporters for days.
Insiders said Ms Rudd had been ringing MPs and claiming that the Tory “women” have to stick together.
And MPs were stunned to discover yesterday that Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom was canvassing support on Tuesday night – at the same time Theresa May was first told she was staring down the barrel of a leadership challenge.
Insiders claim Amber Rudd could eventually partner Boris Johnson on a joint ticket despite their falling out in the 2016 Referendum campaign.
One source said: “Amber’s pretty advanced. She could decide to team up with Boris as they get along well. Or Michael [Gove] could swing in behind her.
“But she’ll definitely run.”
A source close to Ms Rudd last night said: “Amber fully backs the PM.”
Others believed to be in the running include de-facto Deputy PM David Lidington, former Education Secretary Justine Greening and International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt — who famously appeared in ITV show Splash.
Ex-Army officers Tom Tugendhat and Johnny Mercer, entrepreneur Rishi Sunak and arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg cannot be ruled out either.
Yesterday DUP leader Arlene Foster, whose MPs prop up Mrs May’s minority government, lavished praise on Mr Javid after a meeting on Tuesday — saying he “understands where we come from” on the controversial Irish backstop.
She later appeared on stage with Mr Davis and Mr Raab as they presented their alternative Brexit plans.
Ms Foster, whose endorsement could be vital in a leadership election, has also held recent talks with Mr Johnson.
Her endorsement could play a decisive role in a Tory leadership election because her party’s 10 DUP MPs currently prop up Mrs May’s minority government.
The backing of the Ulster unionist party would give a candidate a massive boost.
Ms Foster gave a damning verdict on Mrs May’s leadership. Asked for her reaction to news of the no confidence vote she said: “I can’t say I’m surprised.”
She revealed she met Mr Javid on Tuesday for talks on immigration and also discussed the backstop plan.
The DUP leader told the Today programme: “I think that he understands where we come from in relation to the backstop.
“I think there are many actually who in the Conservative who not only understand but actually support our position in relation to the backstop because they want to see a deal delivering Brexit that works for the entirety of the United Kingdom and that’s very important for me obviously as a unionsist and I think it’s very important for many members of the Conservative party.”
She quipped last night that Boris Johnson was “curiously silent” during the PM’s last ditch appeal to the 1922 Committee last night.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt were among those publicly praising the PM yesterday.
But allies of both have been working furiously behind the scenes to lay the groundwork for leadership bids.
One MP told The Sun yesterday: “So much gushing public support for the Prime Minister – from those who were just 48 hours ago asking us to support them in their leadership bid.
“Saj is like a new boy at school – bless him.”
The Eurosceptic ERG Tory group were yesterday planning a mini-hustings to pick a preferred candidate to replace Mrs May in the event of a leadership contest.
They were concerned that the Brexit vote could “split” if Boris Johnson stood alongside David Davis and Dominic Raab.
Sources claim Mr Davis and his longtime apprentice Mr Raab are at loggerheads over who should run.
One said: “Have a look at the spinning in the press over the weekend and these comments that Dom hasn’t been tested yet and that it’s time for an experienced hand. It’s all coming from DD’s camp.”
David's the Goliath for Brexit fight
By Rod Liddle
PERSEVERANCE is an admirable quality.
Try, try, try again! We all admire the boxer, flat out on the canvas, who nonetheless staggers to his feet to get another seven shades of **** knocked out of him before the mercy of the bell.
But sometimes perseverance is stupid and pointless. And a grave mistake.
You might hope that our Prime Minister has learned this now.
At long last the spineless monkeys in the Conservative Party have told her to give it a rest. Go and have a lie down somewhere quiet, Theresa. Chill.
She still wants to soldier on, banging her head against a brick wall, her brain cells diminishing every time. But she has to go. And surely she will go.
Let’s be kind. Theresa May has been dealt a bad hand.
Truth be told, there is no majority in the House of Commons for ANY Brexit solution. No majority for No Deal. No majority for her deal. No majority for a second referendum. That won’t change simply because the leader changes.
But she hasn’t helped herself, either.
She called an election last year which wasn’t needed and overnight lost her entire majority. That was dumb.
And for two years she has been criminally inept at dealing with the thuggish bureaucrats of the European Union. She has been perpetually on the back foot. Too ready to agree to each and every concession demanded by these smug pygmies.
An extortionate bill for leaving — yep OK, do you want a tip with that? Restrictions upon how we trade, how we regulate our economy, on what we do with our Irish border. Yep, OK, we agree.
Perhaps she thought she was being NICE. Well, OK. But the people we’re dealing with aren’t nice.
They’re spiteful and vengeful and want to see Britain suffer. Because they know the EU is coming apart at the seams. Just look at France today.
But Theresa May has been out-manoeuvred at every single point. Perhaps worse, she has appointed decent Brexit Secretaries — David Davis and Dominic Raab — and then overruled everything they tried to do.
Went behind their backs to push HER agenda. She was for Remain, remember.
And as a result the Europeans are crowing with delight.
I heard a Latvian MEP the other day instructing us what we must do to strike a deal. Laying down the law. A Latvian!
We are not going to be told what to do by Latvians. Or people from Luxembourg. This is the United Kingdom. We are a sovereign nation and we will do as we please.
We have the fifth largest economy in the world. Latvia doesn’t make the top 100. So get real.
And that’s how we should have conducted negotiations from Day One, two years ago.
We should have said we would like to strike a nice deal with you. You are our friends and allies.
But don’t worry, we’d also be perfectly happy with no deal. In which case you get no money whatsoever.
Kick up a fuss about that and we’ll sue you for reparations from our expenditure in freeing you from tyranny in the Second World War.
A fight which bankrupted us and for which we have never been repaid. And further… try to restrict our trade and we’ll sue you again. We don’t want to do all this, but we will if we have to.
So cut the bluster, don’t get arsey and let’s see if we can come to some arrangement. Not the one Switzerland, or Norway, or Canada has. A United Kingdom agreement.
One just for us. Comprenez? Verstehen? Capice? Understand?
It’s not yet too late to take that very approach over to Brussels.
The Remainer MPs back here will try to undermine us at every step — which is one of the problems we’ve had all along.
But a new leader with a supportive and united Cabinet might at least proceed with a bit of confidence and chutzpah.
Who should it be? Sajid Javid is one of the favourites. But I haven’t got a clue what the bloke stands for, or what he believes in. He would be Maybot Mark II.
The Conservative activists would probably like Boris Johnson or Jacob Rees-Mogg. But they couldn’t hold the party together — and the voters, north of Watford, are not terribly keen.
Dominic Raab would not be a bad choice — he is a Brexiteer and it MUST be a Brexiteer.
But a bit more experience wouldn’t go amiss. We need a clever little bastard who knows his stuff. So, you Tories — get behind David Davis. Cometh the hour, cometh the man.
The bell chimed for Theresa May some time ago, in truth. We’re grateful for your efforts, Theresa… but late though it is, we need to change our leader for the fight, a deadly fight.
Out with Chamberlain, then, and in with a pocket-sized Churchill.
THE FAVOURITES TO REPLACE THERESA MAY
DOMINIC RAAB- ODDS 5/1
THE former Brexit Secretary has been tipped as a future party leader for some time.
Mr Raab, 44, who holds a black belt in karate, resigned from the Cabinet last month, saying he could not support the PM’s deal. He argued it may be worse than remaining in the EU and insists we should be willing to pursue a No Deal.
In his resignation letter he wrote: “I understand why you have chosen to pursue the deal with the EU on the terms proposed, and I respect the different views held in good faith by all of our colleagues.”
Mr Raab, whose Czech-born Jewish father came to Britain in 1938, has been the MP for Esher and Walton since he was elected in 2010. He is married with two kids.
PROS: Clear views on Brexit and great insight into the intricacies of the process.
CONS: Only served four months in the Cabinet. Leadership rivals claim that he hasn’t been subjected to the full “media glare”.
BORIS JOHNSON- ODDS 5/1
OLD Etonian Mr Johnson, a prominent Brexiteer, claims the Prime Minister’s deal will reduce Britain to “colony status”.
The ex-Foreign Secretary, a key player in the Leave campaign, quit the Cabinet after the Chequers summit in July.
Mr Johnson, 54, wants to withhold the £39billion divorce settlement until the EU negotiates a trade deal.
At the weekend he refused to rule out challenging Theresa May for her premiership. Mr Johnson — tipped to succeed David Cameron until he dropped out the leadership race — said the British people should not “underestimate the deep sense of personal responsibility I feel for Brexit”.
PROS: Charismatic and articulate with a huge public profile. Darling of powerful Tories.
CONS: Critics within the party brand him lazy and say he lacks attention to detail.
SAJID JAVID- ODDS 7/1
A EUROSCEPTIC who has urged Tory Remain rebels to drop demands for Britain to stay in the customs union with the EU.
Mr Javid, the son of a Pakistani bus driver from Rochdale, has argued for looser post-Brexit restrictions on immigrants.
He became the first Home Secretary from an ethnic minority background when he was appointed in April.
The 49-year-old did not stand in the 2016 leadership race but has since emerged as one of the favourites in Westminster to succeed Theresa May.
One of five brothers, Mr Javid, who is married with four children, has said he will back Mrs May but could still throw his hat in the ring if she quits.
He was managing director at Deutsche Bank before becoming an MP for Bromsgrove, Worcs, in 2010.
PROS: Experienced Cabinet minister with great back story.
CONS: Eurosceptic Tories have not forgiven him for coming out for Remain in 2016. Had a rocky spell as Business Secretary.
JEREMY HUNT- ODDS 10/1
THE Foreign Secretary is a Brexiteer who has compared the EU to the former USSR.
Sources say he was ready last month to urge the PM to pursue a Canada-style free trade deal. He backed Mrs May yesterday as “the best person to make sure we actually leave the EU on March 29”. He is 52 and married with three children.
PROS: Former Health Secretary has impressed in the Cabinet.
CONS: Not seen as having the X Factor necessary to take on Labour.
AMBER RUDD- ODDS 20/1
SHE makes no bones about having campaigned for Remain in 2016 — but has backed the PM’s Brexit deal.
The Work and Pensions secretary broke cover at weekend to float the possibility of deal options such as a Norway Plus or EEA membership. She offered the PM her “full support” yesterday.
PROS: Formidable. Heavily backed by female Tories. Possible moderating influence on rival wings of party.
CONS: Majority in Hastings slashed to 346 in the 2017 snap General Election.
DAVID DAVIS- ODDS 20/1
THE arch Eurosceptic unveiled his plans for a new Brexit deal just hours after the no-confidence vote was announced.
Mr Davis, 69, who lost out to David Cameron in the 2005 leadership race, wants a Canada-style free trade deal.
He quit as Brexit Secretary in July, warning the PM’s proposals would leave the UK in “a weak negotiating position”.
PROS: Experienced. Already touted as caretaker chief.
CONS: His time may have passed. Faces big challenge in persuading his apprentice Dominic Raab to stand aside.
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