Will tonight’s 1922 Committee meeting be a firework display of Tory anger? Theresa May has decided to face her MPs after days of feverish speculation that some of them might be about to force a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister. There are plenty who have much to complain about on many different subjects. But chances are that this won’t be the forum where those complaints are really aired, or the Prime Minister’s authority improved.
For one thing, it’s much easier to give an angry anonymous quote to a Sunday newspaper than it is to shout directly at the Prime Minister in front of your colleagues. For another, the meeting will be chaired by Graham Brady, who is unlikely to encourage a show trial atmosphere. There are also Tories who are very unhappy with the state of their party’s leadership but who were nonetheless disgusted by the language used by some of the plotters at the weekend, and this has caused them to step back a little.
The whips and those around May will be ensuring that there are enough loyal MPs banging desks and making supportive statements both during and after the meeting that it appears to be an anti-climax compared to the great confrontation that some have billed it to be.
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