May's perilous position over her Brexit deal reminds me of the atmosphere in Westminster before the fall of Thatcher
The IndependentSign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. May’s perilous position over her Brexit deal reminds me of the atmosphere at Westminster before Thatcher was pushed out of Downing Street by her own party in 1990. Both prime ministers went on a pretty pointless foreign trip – Thatcher to a security conference in Paris attended by world leaders, May to last week’s G20 summit in Argentina – when they should have been wooing their MPs ahead of a crucial vote. If she loses, as everyone expects, Tory MPs will probably force a vote of no confidence in her as party leader.. For both prime ministers, the Europe issue was at the heart of their troubles, although Thatcher’s intransigence over the poll tax convinced many Tories she could not win another general election. If the 100 or so Tory MPs who have criticised May’s deal vote against it, she would lose by almost 200 votes and, along with her agreement, would surely be finished.