Theresa May has been warned that she is presiding over the ‘death of the Tory Party’ after a devastating poll revealed the immense scale of the grassroots revolt against her.
The exclusive Mail on Sunday survey shows that an astonishing 40 per cent of Conservative councillors are planning to vote for Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party in May’s European elections, in protest at the Prime Minister’s failure to conclude the UK’s exit from the EU.
Three-quarters of her own councillors want Mrs May to resign – and an overwhelming 96 per cent believe that the Tory Party has been damaged by the impasse.
The exclusive Mail on Sunday survey shows that an astonishing 40 per cent of Conservative councillors are planning to vote for Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party in May’s European elections, in protest at the Prime Minister’s failure to conclude the UK’s exit from the EU
Prime Minister Theresa May acts as a marshal during the Maidenhead Easter 10 race in maidenhead. Three-quarters of her own councillors want Mrs May to resign – and an overwhelming 96 per cent believe that the Tory Party has been damaged by the impasse
Mr Farage only launched his Brexit Party earlier this month, but one poll last week put its support for the European Parliament elections at 27 per cent – well ahead of both Labour, on 22 per cent, and the Tories, who were stuck on 15 per cent
Conservative MPs preparing to return to the Commons after the Easter break have been shaken by the strength of feeling in their local associations over Mrs May’s leadership, after she agreed to delay Brexit until the end of October if she cannot strike a deal.
Such is the scale of the anger that the party’s 1922 Committee of backbench MPs will convene on Tuesday to discuss changing the rules to allow a new vote of no confidence in her leadership. Mrs May is currently protected from a challenge until December following a failed coup last year.
The Tory group on Derbyshire County Council is so disillusioned that it has gone on ‘strike’ by refusing to take any part in next month’s European election campaign.
The Survation researchers were bombarded with vitriolic remarks by the hundreds of councillors they contacted for the MoS poll.
One said: ‘The Conservative Party is dead. It will take a strong leader to dredge it out of the mud’.
Another said: ‘For God’s sake get on with it [Brexit] – it is killing us on the doorstep.’
The turmoil engulfing the Government has made Jeremy Corbyn the most likely victor of the next General Election, according to a string of recent opinion polls, prompting Whitehall mandarins to ratchet up their preparations for a Labour Government.
As this newspaper reveals today, Mr Corbyn plans to ‘boycott’ Downing Street and remain living in his North London home if he becomes Prime Minister. Officials in charge of transition arrangements have made plans to allow that to happen. A source close to the Labour leader confirmed he is ‘seriously considering’ the idea – to the dismay of aides and police and security advisers.
Mr Farage only launched his Brexit Party earlier this month, but one poll last week put its support for the European Parliament elections at 27 per cent – well ahead of both Labour, on 22 per cent, and the Tories, who were stuck on 15 per cent. The new party is estimated to have already received more than £1.5 million in donations.
Our poll shows if Boris Johnson was Tory leader for the elections, the number of defectors to the Brexit Party would nearly halve.
Out of those Tory councillors who said they were certain to vote in the elections, 52 per cent said they would vote for their own party, while 40 per cent would vote for the Brexit Party.
If Mr Johnson was Prime Minister, the proportion voting Tory would rise to 65 per cent and 22 per cent would vote for Mr Farage.
Our poll shows if Boris Johnson was Tory leader for the elections, the number of defectors to the Brexit Party would nearly halve
Out of the 96 per cent of councillors who believe that the Brexit deadlock has damaged the Tories, 39 per cent believe it has done so ‘permanently’. A total of 76 per cent of the councillors want Mrs May to resign: of these, 43 per cent want her to go now while 33 per cent want her to go only after a deal has been reached.
A slew of rivals are preparing campaigns for the moment when Mrs May does step down as leader.
Mr Johnson tops the grassroots rankings on 23 per cent, ahead of Michael Gove on 14 per cent, Jeremy Hunt on 12 per cent, Sajid Javid on 11 per cent and Dominic Raab on 9 per cent.
But if Mr Farage is included as an option for Tory leader, he would beat everyone except Mr Johnson, who is on 19 per cent to Mr Farage’s 15 per cent.
The six-month Brexit extension granted to Mrs May has infuriated the Tory grassroots. Of the councillors questioned in our poll, 64 per cent voted Leave in 2016.
The language used by many of the councillors will shock Downing Street, with a number describing the current situation as ‘the end of the Conservative Party’.
Survation founder Damian Lyons Lowe said: ‘Conservative councillors are an influential and important indicator of the party’s grassroots support. Out of those who will cast a vote, almost half will not vote Conservative, underlining the deep divisions over Europe and the difficulty the party will have in getting out the vote for the forthcoming elections’.
l Survation questioned 781 Conservative councillors between April 17 and 19.
Boris Johnson’s strong performance in today’s poll for The Mail on Sunday is part of a double boost for the former Foreign Secretary as he waits for the leadership race to start.
Mr Johnson reinforces his reputation as the darling of Tory Party members by coming top of the poll rankings, well ahead of his main rivals Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt, Sajid Javid and Dominic Raab.
The main impediment to his long-harboured dream of becoming Prime Minister has always been his lack of popularity among Tory MPs, who decide which two of their colleagues are entered into the ‘run-off’ in a ballot of party members.
It has led supporters of both Mr Johnson and fellow Brexiteer Mr Raab to express the fear that they will be kept out of the final two by collusion between Mr Hunt and Mr Javid, both former Remainers who have tacked more towards Brexit as the contest has neared.
Now Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, which determines the rules governing the leadership contest, is under increasing pressure to reform the system to allow four names to go to the membership. If agreed, it would make it almost impossible for Mr Johnson’s rivals to keep him off the members’ ballot.
The comments made by many of the councillors in our survey suggest that he would then be on a clear path to No 10.
One told us: ‘May has done nothing but vacillate. Boris has at least been consistent and would be more electable.’ Another said: ‘They are so intent on infighting – except for Boris.’
By Miles Goslett for The Daily Mail
Who funds The Brexit Party? That question is likely to be asked with increased intensity if, as bookmakers predict, Nigel Farage’s new organisation wins seats at the European elections on May 23.
Party treasurer Phillip Basey agreed to open its books to me on Thursday. And having seen a raft of data, I can report that some-thing remarkable is going on.
On Basey’s computer screen at his Westminster office was the party PayPal account. Every few seconds I saw another donation come in from a member of the public. Then another. And another. It was dizzying.
‘Most money comes via PayPal but we’re being sent envelopes of cash as well,’ he said. ‘We’ve also had scores of cheques. Our local branch of Lloyds Bank say they haven’t seen so many cheques for years.’
Basey revealed that on April 12, when the party formally launched, it received £440,000. That’s £305 a minute on average. When I went in, that average was down to £200 a minute. By my calculations, The Brexit Party has taken about £1.5 million in total. ‘Correct,’ said Basey. ‘Almost all of it will go on campaigning, in line with official limits. Our overheads are lower than the Tories and Labour.’
The mainstream parties rely on big donations. But Basey said every contribution they get is small. Most give £25.
This allows someone to become a registered supporter and receive newsletters.
Some pledge only £5. More rarely, £500 is offered. One benefactor has given £200,000, the biggest donation to date.
‘The official campaigning period has not even begun in earnest,’ Basey pointed out. ‘Everything will be reported to the Electoral Commission in due course.’
By 4pm on Thursday, the party had 57,000 registered supporters. Typically, 1,200 to
