Tory rebels renew push to topple May

Dissident Tory MPs were once again trying to garner support to unseat Prime Minister Theresa May as pressure intensified on her to provide a departure timetable.

As Brexit talks with the main opposition Labour Party faltered, hard right Tories were pushing again for changes to Conservative rules that would allow them a second attempt to topple May. The pound slipped on the news.

Members of the Conservative Party's 1922 committee, which represents backbench MPs, were scheduled to meet again on Wednesday to decide on the rule change.

May is currently insulated against a coup by guidelines that say she cannot face another internal challenge within 12 months of a previous no-confidence vote.

The prime minister saw off rebels last December, but a recent push to change the rules failed narrowly by nine to seven. Reports on Wednesday suggested there is increasing support to amend them after the Brexit deadline was extended to October 31.

Graham Brady, chair of the committee, will meet May in the afternoon to press her for a commitment to departure “road map”.

May has promised to stand down if her Brexit deal passes but has given no indication that she would go early while the issue of leaving the EU remains unresolved.

Meanwhile, tensions were raised between Labour and the government team tasked with trying to find a cross-party solution to the Brexit impasse after a series of leaks to newspapers over the weekend suggesting May was set to make significant concessions.

Pro-Brexit Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wants May to agree to a customs union after Britain leaves the EU. However, he is also under pressure from significant numbers in his own party to demand a second referendum on any deal.

Both positions could see any deal scuppered when it comes to parliament for a vote.

Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said the pound was in a "sorry state" over the state of the cross-party talks on Brexit.

"With Labour’s trust in the Tories hurt by leaks to the Sunday papers, and Theresa May under pressure to clarify her resignation date, there appears to be too much party politics at play to actually reach a compromise palatable to both sides," he said.

"This week is meant to be the ‘deadline’ for these talks - talking of cut-off points, David Lidington has claimed July 2 as the latest government deadline for passing a Brexit deal - so an outcome, positive or negative, could be confirmed in the coming days."