Theresa May vote: Who submitted letters of no-confidence? WHY do they want May OUT?

In order to oust their leader, 15 percent (48 in total) of Conservative MPs must write to the chairman of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, to call a vote of no confidence. This threshold was reached on Tuesday night, and the motion will be put to a vote on Wednesday at 6pm. Theresa May vowed to fight the vote “with everything I have got,” warning a new prime minister could delay or even abandon Brexit.

Why do her own MPs want her out?

There are many who feel the Brexit deal Mrs May struck with the EU is insufficient.

They don’t think the deal gives the UK enough autonomy, and will keep the UK tied to the EU indefinitely with no say on its rules.

Most of the cause for contempt comes from the Northern Ireland border issue, the so-called Brexit backstop.

You can read more about the backstop and what it all means here. But what some MPs want is for the backstop to be renegotiated so the UK has the power cancel it unilaterally.

The EU has insisted, however, that there is no room for renegotiation, and there is no deal at all without a backstop.

Professor Alex De Ruyter, Director of Birmingham City University’s Centre for Brexit Studies, told Express.co.uk: “It all comes down to the backstop.

“But we need to think about the perspective of the other side, the other 27 EU member states, who think too much has already been conceded.

“So they could be even more stringent if it came to renegotiating.”

Professor De Ruyter added: “At face value, this is just frustration by a bunch of MPs who want to lash out at something as they’re not happy with the deal.”

As it currently stands, the Prime Minister is widely expected to survive the vote tonight.

She needs 159 votes in her favour to win, and 174 Tory MPs have publicly promised to support her (but they could yet change their mind, or vote against their promise).

Professor De Ruyter said this might, in fact, be part of the tactics of Mrs May’s critics, particularly of those more Eurosceptic critics who would see the UK leave the EU without a deal.

“I don’t think they’re doing it because they think they’ll bring her down, they know full well they don’t have the numbers,” he said.

“But it adds to uncertainty and makes no-deal more likely.”

It’s important to remember that if Mrs May wins this vote this evening, we shouldn’t read it as a sign of support for her deal.

Professor De Ruyter said: “If she’s out tonight, there will be a two-month hiatus while a new leader is elected, with a distinct possibility - if it’s Jacob Rees-Mogg or Boris Johnson - of no deal.

“But even if she gets through this, we could be looking at a no deal scenario, because she is still faced with needing to bring the deal to parliament for a vote.

“The EU has made it clear negotiations are over.

“So either way, we are running out of time.”

Who submitted letters?

MPs who submit letters of no-confidence in the leader are entitled to anonymity.

Here is a list of those we know have submitted:

• Andrea Jenkyns, MP for Morley and Outwood, confirmed to Sunday Politics Yorkshire back in July that she had sent a letter

• Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire, submitted his five days later, saying the EU negotiations had "deteriorated into a state of complete capitulation"

• Philip Davies, MP for Shipley, joined the letter writers of July, telling his constituents the Chequers plan was unacceptable, adding: "It is with much sadness that I have to say that I also lost trust in her to deliver the referendum result"

• James Duddridge, MP for Rochford and Southend East, submitted his letter at the start of October, saying the Conservatives needed a leader that believes in Brexit and that "blind loyalty" was not the way forward

• Anne Marie Morris, MP for Newton Abbot, said in November she had written her letter

• Laurence Robertson, MP for Tewkesbury, became the first of a long list to confirm his letter in mid-November, after the government announced details of its draft Withdrawal Agreement with the EU

• Jacob Rees-Mogg, MP for North East Somerset and head of the influential European Research Group of Brexiteer Tories, was next with his letter

• Nadine Dorries, MP for Mid Bedfordshire, confirmed she had submitted her letter but said on Twitter she had done so "some weeks ago"

• Simon Clarke, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, confirmed he had sent a letter after a meeting of the European Research Group

• Steve Baker, MP for Wycombe and former Brexit minister, confirmed his letter to BBC sources

• Henry Smith, MP for Crawley, confirmed his no confidence letter in a separate letter to the prime minister

• Maria Caulfield, MP for Lewes, told the BBC she had sent her letter

• Sheryll Murray, MP for South East Cornwall, tweeted her letter, saying her decision was due to fishing policy and the Northern Ireland backstop

• Lee Rowley, MP for North East Derbyshire, told ITV he could not accept the Brexit deal and had submitted a letter

• Martin Vickers, MP for Cleethorpes, tweeted in November that he had submitted his letter

• Peter Bone, MP for Wellingborough, told Newsnight he had sent in a letter

• Adam Holloway, MP for Gravesham, posted a picture on his Facebook account saying the country needed leadership

• Mark Francois, MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, confirmed he had submitted his letter in November

• John Whittingdale, MP for Maldon, confirmed to Nick Ferrari on LBC that he had submitted his letter

• Ben Bradley, MP for Mansfield, confirmed to BBC sources that he had sent his letter in October

• Chris Green, MP for Bolton West and Atherton, tweeted he had written his letter, citing his displeasure over the deal

• Zac Goldsmith, MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston and former London mayor candidate, has submitted a letter of no confidence in Theresa May, writing in the Daily Telegraph that the PM "won't change course".

• Sir Bill Cash, Conservative MP for Stone and veteran Eurosceptic, told BBC Radio Stoke the current deal doesn't fulfil promises.

• Philip Hollobone, Conservative MP for Kettering, told BBC Radio Northampton that he sent a letter in on the day David Davis resigned, four months ago

• Andrew Lewer, Conservative MP for Northampton South, explained on his official website why he had submitted his letter

• Crispin Blunt, Conservative MP for Reigate, told The Times he had submitted his letter

• Owen Paterson, former Northern Ireland and environment secretary and MP for North Shropshire, had his letter published in the Daily Telegraph