Rees-Mogg declares no confidence in PM May

Prime Minister Theresa May could face a challenge for her leadership of the Conservative Party after it was confirmed that prominent backbench MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has submitted a letter of no confidence in her to Conservative MPs group the 1922 Committee.

The news will be another devastating blow to May following the resignation of Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab from the cabinet earlier on Thursday morning, and the subsequent resignation of secretary of state for work and pensions Esther McVey, both in protest at May's handling of Brexit.

Rees-Mogg told reporters the move was not the launch of a leadership bid of his own, but in his letter he said May's Brexit deal "has turned out to be worse than anticipated and fails to meet the promises given to the nation by the Prime Minister".

Rees-Mogg has long been regarded as May's biggest internal threat, and gave notice of his intentions in the House of Commons on Thursday morning, when he asked if he should write to the leader of the 1922 Committee "as what my right honourable friend (May) says and what my right honourable friend does no longer match".

Shortly afterwards, following a meeting of the pro-Brexit European Research Group, which he chairs, it was confirmed that his letter of no confidence had been submitted. Were he to become Conservative leader, he would be fiercely divisive, with some MPs having already said they would consider leaving the party if he took over.

His announcement made what was already turning out to be a bad day for May even worse. On Wednesday evening, she announced that after a lengthy discussion, her cabinet had given its backing to a draft document regarding Britain's exit from the European Union, scheduled to take place at the end of March 2019, which could now be signed by other EU leaders before being presented to Parliament for approval.

But Raab's resignation, and the subsequent departure of McVey, followed by Rees- Mogg's letter, demonstrate that divisions within May's government and wider Conservative Party remain as wide as ever.

Raab had only been Brexit secretary since July, when predecessor David Davies quit. In his resignation letter, Raab wrote "I cannot reconcile the terms of the proposed deal with the promises we made to the country". Within an hour of his departure, McVey announcedthat she too was leaving, saying "it will be no good trying to pretend to (the British people) that this deal honours the result of the referendum when it is obvious to everyone that it doesn't".

While the resignations were being announced in Westminster, the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said an extraordinary meeting of EU leaders would take place in Brussels on Nov 25, at which May's withdrawal agreement and the framework of future relations between Britain and the EU will be finalized.

May, who campaigned for Remain in the June 2016 referendum, became prime minister when predecessor David Cameron stepped down following the vote in favor of leaving the EU, and prominent leave supporters including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove did not put themselves forward for the leadership.

She brought Johnson, a vocal Brexit supporter, into her Cabinet as foreign secretary, but he resigned earlier this summer over her handling of the issue. Gove remains in the cabinet as secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs and is now reported to have been offered the position of Brexit secretary.