Tory MPs are counting down the hours until Theresa May quits as she 'barricades' herself in Downing Street following Andrea Leadsom's resignation, on the eve of the European elections that will see the party wiped out.
Mrs May was expected to reveal details of her departure tomorrow after ministers savaged her concessions to Labour over Brexit - but former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith has insisted: 'The sofa is up against the door, she's not leaving.'
Leader of the Commons Ms Leadsom piled pressure on the Prime Minister by announcing her own resignation from the Cabinet last night. In a parting blast she said she could not stomach the latest version of Mrs May's Brexit deal, with its offer of a second referendum.
Other ministers are said to be ready to go too if the Prime Minister tries to cling to power after today's European elections. The Tories are set to be decimated by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party.
It is understood that Sajid Javid, Jeremy Hunt and David Mundell will use ministerial meetings with Mrs May today to warn that they also consider the Withdrawal Agreement Bill unacceptable in its current form.
Tory backbenchers were in uproar over Mrs May's decision to seek Labour support in the hope of getting her deal through the House of Commons at the fourth attempt. At one stage yesterday, some aides believed she was on the verge of quitting on the spot – and even started preparations for a resignation statement.
But chief whip Julian Smith later told the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs that Mrs May intended to campaign in today's elections and would instead meet the group's chairman Sir Graham Brady tomorrow to discuss its concerns. Mrs May refused to see rebel ministers yesterday afternoon, leading to accusations that she was bunkered down in No 10.
However sources said meetings with senior ministers were postponed because Mrs May was having her regular audience with the Queen, who she was expected to brief on her intentions. Whitehall insiders said the legislation that the Prime Minister announced on Tuesday might never now see the light of day.
She is said to have agreed to meet Sir Graham tomorrow to discuss arrangements for the election of a new Conservative Party leader.
An ally said: 'The chances of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill coming forward now are very slender – there is too much opposition in Cabinet. That was her last move – she's made her last move. I think she accepts that.'
Another said: 'We completely understand what has happened over the course of the last 24 hours. She wants to be able to say that in her own words in short order. You will see that clearly when the elections are done.'
Sources told the Mail that Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt joined Mrs Leadsom, Mr Javid, Mr Hunt and Mr Mundell in warning No 10 they could not support the legislation in its current form.
One Cabinet minister said: 'A lot of ministers are going to struggle to vote for this. I would certainly struggle with it as it is. It is opening the door to a second referendum - why would we do it?
'We cannot put this to a vote - it would expose exactly how split the party is and make life even harder for her successor.
'I don't think anyone in Cabinet is ready to call for her to go. People still want her to make her own mind up and leave on her own terms. But there is a lot of pressure to pull the Bill – and that amounts to calling for her to resign.'
Foreign Secretary Mr Hunt will today urge Mrs May to pull the planned vote on the legislation, which No 10 said was still pencilled in for the first week of June.
Sources close to Mr Javid said the Home Secretary would demand that the Prime Minister strip out the provisions for a second referendum altogether before going ahead with the legislation.
Scottish Secretary Mr Mundell is also said to be unwilling to accept anything that opens the door to a second vote, arguing it would fuel demands for Scottish independence.
Mrs May also faced a backbench revolt yesterday, with MPs demanding that the 1922 Committee tear up its own rules to allow an immediate vote of confidence in the PM.
Sir Graham came under fire at a meeting of the committee after warning that a rule change would set a dangerous precedent. One MP accused him of 'going native'. Another branded him a 'jellyfish'.
With polls suggesting the Conservatives could get just 7 per cent of the vote today, calls for Mrs May to go extended beyond the Tory Eurosceptic wing.
Leading moderate Tom Tugendhat said Mrs May had 'to go – and without delay'.
'She must announce her resignation after the European elections. And the Conservative Party must fast track the leadership process to replace her,' he added.
Amidst another day of government chaos a top Tory MEP also predicted the party's candidates will be wiped out in today's Euro elections.
In private messages, Daniel Hannan said the Conservatives will be left with no MEPs as voters flock to Nigel Farage's Brexit Party.
He also warned that the Tories faced 'the end of our party' and the election of a Corbyn government. His bleak assessment came as a poll showed the Tories could win just seven per cent of the vote. Mr Hannan, who represents the South East of England, made the comments on a WhatsApp group for Tory activists.
'I am expecting us to end up with zero MEPs,' he wrote. 'Sadly it will give Corbyn unstoppable momentum and this, paradoxically, derail Brexit. Funny old world.' In separate messages, he suggested the Tories could slip below 10 per cent when votes are counted.
'If our members stay away, or vote for another party, we may well slip below 10 per cent – a level from which no party bounces back.
'We're looking, not just at a Corbyn government, but at the end of our party as a viable movement.'
The YouGov poll for the Times showed both main parties being hammered when the results are published on Sunday. It put the Brexit Party on 37 per cent, the Liberal Democrats on 19 per cent and Labour on 13 per cent, just one point ahead of the Greens. The Tories were in fifth on seven points, just four ahead of Ukip.
In a sign of ebbing support among activists, the ConHome website urged Tory supporters to abstain rather than vote for the party unless Theresa May quits ahead of polling today.
'There are a lot of meetings going on. People are considering their options,' the source told MailOnline. 'She might not make it another 24 hours, never mind until Monday.'
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