Theresa May lives to procrastinate another day

THE RUMOURS of a leadership challenge to Theresa May were so long-standing that the event was something of an anti-climax. On the morning of December 12th the chairman of the Conservative Party’s 1922 committee of backbenchers, Sir Graham Brady, set off a day of feverish speculation by announcing he had received the 48 letters from Tory MPs needed to hold a confidence vote in the leader. After a rumbustious prime minister’s question time and a raucous and often emotional meeting of the 1922 committee, the vote was held that evening. Mrs May won by 200 to 117, a clear margin but not a large one. Under the party’s rules she cannot be challenged for another 12 months. But to shore up support ahead of the vote, the prime minister felt compelled to promise her MPs that she would not lead the Tories into the next election, due in 2022.

The vote was triggered by disgruntled hardline Tory Brexiteers bitterly opposed to the Brexit deal that Mrs May has negotiated with the European Union. This deal was due to be voted on by the Commons on December 11th. But faced with the prospect of defeat by over 100 votes, the government pulled it at the last minute. As a habitual procrastinator, Mrs May refuses to say when the vote will now take place, although ministers have promised it will be before January 21st.