Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Theresa May smiles at gathered journalists as she awaits the result 
 
 Theresa May is awaiting the result of a vote by Conservative MPs on whether they want to keep her as their leader. 
 
 The UK prime minister made a last-minute appeal for support at an emotional meeting of backbench MPs. 
 
 She told them she will not lead the party into the next scheduled election in 2022 - but wants to stay on to deliver her Brexit deal, MPs said. 
 
 She faces a vote of confidence in her leadership after 48 Conservative MPs called for one to be held. 
 
 The majority of Conservative MPs have publicly said they will support the PM but it is a secret ballot and there were signs of nerves among party managers ahead of the vote in Committee Room 14 at the Palace of Westminster. 
 
 Voting finished at 20:00 with the result expected within the next hour. 
 
 The prime minister was greeted with applause, and the traditional banging of desks, as she went in to the committee room to address her MPs. Some of them were reported to be in tears. 
 
 She is understood to have promised not to call a "snap general election" and told MPs that in her heart she would have liked to have led them into the next scheduled election, partly because of what had happened at last year's election, when she lost her majority. 
 
 But, she added: "I realise that the party would like a different leader to take them into that election." 
 
 Cabinet minister Amber Rudd said "she was very clear that she wont be taking the general election in 2022". 
 
 But Jacob Rees-Mogg, a key figure in the campaign to oust Mrs May, said she had received a "half-hearted" reception from MPs. 
 
 She had said it was not her "intention" to fight the next election, added Mr Rees-Mogg, which he said was a "politician's word". 
 
 Marcus Fysh, who also submitted a no confidence letter, said Mrs May "didn't really have anything new to say" about Brexit. 
 
 She vowed to involve more people in developing policy, the MP told BBC News, but he did not think that would happen. 
 
 And he predicted that the prime minister would face a no-confidence vote of all MPs - not just Conservative ones - when she tried to get her Brexit deal through the Commons. 
 
 "Whatever happens tonight I don't think she will be able to command the confidence of the House for the type of Brexit she is trying to pursue." 
 
 Minister Margot James said she was "proud" to have voted for the PM, tweeting a picture of her ballot paper. 
 
 Conservative Party rules say that if she wins tonight she can stay on as leader, undisturbed, for another 12 months. 
 
 That takes one uncertainty off the table. But she would be weaker - lonelier - and with less authority to drive her Brexit compromise through. 
 
 Already, cabinet ministers are speculating about which way she can tack. 
 
 The parliamentary sums don't change on her current planned agreement with the EU. The cabinet, let alone the rest of the Commons, won't give their backing. 
 
 Read Laura's blog 
 
 Can she survive the confidence vote? 
 
 Immediate statements of loyalty for the prime minister were issued by every member of her cabinet, including several who have been touted as possible successors. 
 
 Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Mrs May was "the best person to make sure we actually leave the EU on March 29", while Chancellor Philip Hammond suggested the vote would "flush out the extremists" in his party whose Brexit agenda was "not in the interests of the British people". 
 
 So far, 174 Tory MPs have publicly said they will vote for her, with 34 publicly against, according to BBC research. She needs to secure the votes of 159 MPs to survive. 
 
 If Mrs May wins the confidence vote she cannot be challenged as Conservative leader for at least another year. 
 
 If she does not win the vote there would then be a Conservative leadership contest in which she could not stand. 
 
 If Mrs May won - but not overwhelmingly - she may decide to stand down as party leader and trigger a leadership contest in which she could not stand. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Sir Graham Brady says he phoned the prime minister to advise her the threshold of 48 letters had been reached 
 
 What has Theresa May said? 
 
 In her statement delivered early on Wednesday morning, Mrs May said: "A leadership election would not change the fundamentals of the negotiation or the Parliamentary arithmetic. 
 
 "Weeks spent tearing ourselves apart will only create more division just as we should be standing together to serve our country. None of that would be in the national interest." 
 
 She said she was making progress in her talks with EU leaders and vowed to "deliver on the referendum vote and seize the opportunities that lie ahead". 
 
 The Conservatives had to build a "country that works for everyone" and deliver "the Brexit people voted for". 
 
 "I have devoted myself unsparingly to these tasks ever since I became prime minister and I stand ready to finish the job." 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "I stand ready to finish the job" - Theresa May 
 
 Will there be a new prime minister if she loses the vote? 
 
 Not immediately. She would be expected to stay on as a caretaker prime minister until a new Conservative leader is selected by the party, a process that could take up to six weeks. 
 
 If there are multiple candidates, Conservative MPs hold a series of votes to choose two to go forward to a vote of party members. 
 
 As leader of the largest party in the Commons, the new Conservative leader would then be expected to be asked to form a government and become prime minister, without a general election. 
 
 It's Wednesday, so... Prime Minister's Questions 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Jeremy Corbyn criticises Theresa May at PMQs 
 
 Mrs May faced repeated calls from Labour MPs for her to quit - or hold another EU referendum - at a rowdy Prime Minister's Questions. 
 
 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "The time for dithering and delay is over. The prime minister has negotiated her deal. She has told us it is the best and only deal available. 
 
 "There can be no more excuses, no more running away. Put it before Parliament and let's have the vote." 
 
 Mrs May said the vote will take place, and as Labour MPs shouted "when?" at her she said: "We've had a meaningful vote, we had it in in the referendum in 2016." 
 
 The PM added: "And if he wants a meaningful date I'll give him one; 29 March 2019 when we leave the European Union." 
 
 Veteran pro-European MP Ken Clarke called the prospect of a leadership contest "unhelpful, irrelevant and irresponsible", prompting loud cheers from the Tory benches. 
 
 But the SNP's leader at Westminster Ian Blackford called on Mrs May to stand down, saying her government was "an embarrassment". 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption 'The inconstant gardener' - May's PMQs swipe at Labour 
 
 Who is trying to oust Mrs May? 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption Jacob Rees-Mogg: In the national interest, she must go 
 
 The challenge has been brought by Conservative MPs who think Mrs May has watered down the Brexit voters were promised in the 2016 referendum. 
 
 The PM thought she had seen off an attempt by this group of Brexiteers to get rid of her last month. 
 
 But her decision to cancel Tuesday's Parliamentary vote on her deal at the last minute proved to be the final straw for many who had previously given her the benefit of the doubt. 
 
 There needed to be 48 MPs calling for her to go - out of 317 Conservative MPs - to trigger a confidence vote and this threshold was reached on Tuesday. 
 
 Jacob Rees-Mogg, who has led backbench calls for her to go, said: "Theresa May's plan would bring down the government if carried forward. But our party will rightly not tolerate it. 
 
 "Conservatives must now answer whether they wish to draw ever closer to an election under Mrs May's leadership. In the national interest, she must go." 
 
 And Bernard Jenkin said the survival of the Conservative government depended on the support of the Democratic Unionists, who he said had lost faith in Mrs May. 
 
 Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston, who is campaigning for a further referendum, told BBC Radio 2 she hoped Mr Rees-Mogg's group would "get a kicking" in the vote and that their "pompous gesturing" will be exposed. 
 
 Why are they trying to get rid of her? 
 
 They don't like the deal she has struck with the EU, which they say will keep the UK tied to the EU indefinitely with no say over its rules and unable to strike trade deals around the world. 
 
 Anger has focused on the so-called "backstop" to prevent the return of a physical border in Northern Ireland. 
 
 Mrs May has said she is seeking guarantees that this clause will be "temporary" but the Democratic Unionist Party, which she relies on to win key votes, wants the backstop to be ditched altogether. 
 
 And her Conservative critics think she will not be able to get anything more than cosmetic changes to her withdrawal deal because EU leaders say it can not be renegotiated. 
 
 Who are the frontrunners to lead the party if she loses? 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption Jeremy Hunt, Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab, Michael Gove, Sajid Javid and Amber Rudd 
 
 There are many names being floated, with Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd among cabinet ministers rated by the bookmakers. 
 
 Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, ex-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and ex-Brexit Secretary David Davis are the ex-cabinet ministers also judged to be in the running. 
 
 But, as BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg says, the field of hopefuls could be much larger and, initially at least, resemble the start of a Grand National. 
 
 What does it mean for Brexit? 
 
 Whatever the outcome of the vote, Mrs May is still likely to represent the UK at Thursday's summit of EU leaders, although that might change if she loses the Tory leadership. 
 
 She has been invited to update her 27 counterparts on the state of Brexit before they meet to "adopt relevant conclusions". 
 
 European Council President Donald Tusk has said the "seriousness" of the situation in the UK means the EU must accelerate its no-deal planning. 
 
 Mrs May met Germany's Angela Merkel and top EU officials on Tuesday as part of efforts to get changes to her EU deal to get it through the UK Parliament. 
 
 But she was forced to call off talks with Irish premier Leo Varadkar, among others, on Wednesday to fight for her leadership. 
 
 Mrs May says any new Conservative leader would have to delay Brexit to renegotiate a deal with the EU while she has also suggested a leadership contest will effectively hand control of the Brexit process to MPs - many of whom either back leaving without a deal or having another referendum. 
 
 Many of those calling for her to go say they would be happy for the UK to leave the EU on World Trade Organization terms, without a deal. They say warnings of economic doom are exaggerated. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The moment PM called for general election 
 
 UK Prime Minister Theresa May has announced plans to call a snap general election on 8 June. 
 
 She said Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership following the EU referendum. 
 
 Explaining the decision, Mrs May said: "The country is coming together but Westminster is not." 
 
 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party wanted the election, calling it a chance to get a government that puts "the majority first". 
 
 The prime minister will refuse to take part in televised leader debates ahead of the vote, Number 10 sources said. 
 
 Mr Corbyn said Mrs May should not be "dodging" a head-to-head encounter, and the Lib Dems urged broadcasters to "empty-chair" the prime minister - hold a debate without her. 
 
 Live TV debates took place for the first time in a UK general election in 2010, and the experiment was repeated in 2015 using a range of different formats. 
 
 A BBC spokesman said that it was too early to say whether the broadcaster would put in a bid to stage a debate. 
 
 There will be a vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday to approve the election plan - the prime minister needs two thirds of MPs to vote in favour to bring forward the next scheduled election date of 2020. 
 
 Explaining her change of heart on an early election, Mrs May said: "I have concluded the only way to guarantee certainty and security for years ahead is to hold this election." 
 
 She accused Britain's other political parties of "game playing", adding that this risks "our ability to make a success of Brexit and it will cause damaging uncertainty and instability to the country". 
 
 "So we need a general election and we need one now. We have at this moment a one-off chance to get this done while the European Union agrees its negotiating position and before the detailed talks begin. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Jeremy Corbyn: "I want to lead a government that will transform this country" 
 
 "I have only recently and reluctantly come to this conclusion. Since I became prime minister I've said there should be no election until 2020, but now I have concluded that the only way to guarantee certainty and security for the years ahead is to hold this election and seek your support for the decisions we must take." 
 
 In a statement outside Number 10, Mrs May said Labour had threatened to vote against the final Brexit agreement and cited opposition to her plans from the Scottish National Party, the Lib Dems and "unelected" members of the House of Lords. 
 
 "If we don't hold a general election now, their political game-playing will continue and the negotiations with the European Union will reach their most difficult stage in the run-up to the next scheduled election," she said. 
 
 Analysis: By BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg 
 
 Senior government sources point to a specific factor that changed the prime minister's calculation on an early election. 
 
 The end of the likely tortuous Article 50 negotiations is a hard deadline set for March 2019. 
 
 Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, that's when the Tories would be starting to prepare for a general election the following year, with what one cabinet minister described as certain "political needs". 
 
 In other words, the government would be exposed to hardball from the EU because ministers would be desperate to avoid accepting anything that would be politically unpopular, or hold the Brexit process up, at the start of a crucial election cycle. 
 
 Ministers say that's the central reason for May's change of heart because "if there was an election in three years, we'd be up against the clock". 
 
 Read Laura's latest blog in full 
 
 The PM challenged the opposition parties: "Let us tomorrow vote for an election - let us put forward our plans for Brexit and our alternative programmes for government and then let the people decide. 
 
 "The decision facing the country will be all about leadership. It will be a choice between strong and stable leadership in the national interest, with me as your prime minister, or weak and unstable coalition government, led by Jeremy Corbyn, propped up by the Liberal Democrats - who want to reopen the divisions of the referendum - and Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP." 
 
 Mr Corbyn said he welcomed the prime minister's decision, saying it would "give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first", saying that this would include dealing with "the crisis" in housing, education funding and the NHS and pushing for an "economy that works for all". 
 
 He told the BBC: "I'm starting straight away and I'm looking forward to it and we'll take our message to every single part of this country... We're campaigning to win this election - that's the only question now." 
 
 Asked if he will be the next prime minister, the Labour leader said: "If we win the election - yes - and I want to lead a government that will transform this country, give real hope to everybody and above all bring about a principle of justice for everybody and economic opportunities for everybody." 
 
 Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would be fighting the election "to win". 
 
 "I think the prime minister has called this election for selfish, narrow, party political interests, but she has called it and therefore I relish the prospect of getting out to stand up for Scotland's interests and values, standing up for Scotland's voice being heard and standing against the ability of a right-wing Conservative Party to impose whatever policies it wants on Scotland." 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Lib Dem leader Tim Farron says the 8 June election presents a fantastic opportunity 
 
 In his response to Mrs May's announcement, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron tweeted: "This is your chance to change the direction of your country. If you want to avoid a disastrous hard Brexit. If you want to keep Britain in the single market. If you want a Britain that is open, tolerant and united, this is your chance." 
 
 He also accused the PM of "bottling" the TV debates and urged broadcasters to "empty chair" her if she refused to take part. 
 
 MPs known to be standing down at the election: 
 
 Alan Johnson - Labour 
 
 Tom Blenkinsop - Labour 
 
 Jim Fitzpatrick - Labour 
 
 Oliver Letwin - Conservative 
 
 Pat Glass - Labour 
 
 Kenneth Clarke - Conservative 
 
 Simon Burns - Conservative 
 
 Ronnie Campbell - Labour 
 
 Mrs May spoke to the Queen on the phone on Easter Monday to let her know of the election plan, the prime minister's official spokesman said. She also got the full backing of the cabinet before calling the election. 
 
 Former prime minister David Cameron called Theresa May's decision to hold a snap general election "brave and right". In a tweet, he added: "My very best wishes to all Conservative candidates." 
 
 Another ex-PM, Tony Blair, said voters need to put election candidates under "sustained pressure" to say whether or not they would vote against a Brexit deal which does not deliver the same benefits as single market membership - or against a "damaging" decision to leave without a deal. 
 
 "This should cross party lines," he added. 
 
 British business groups gave a mixed response to the prime minister's sudden call for a general election, as the pound jumped on the news and shares fell. 
 
 European Council President Donald Tusk's spokesman said the 27 other EU states would forge ahead with Brexit, saying the UK election would not change their plans. 
 
 He added: "We expect to have the Brexit guidelines adopted by the European Council on 29 April and following that the Brexit negotiating directives ready on 22 May. This will allow the EU27 to start negotiations." ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption John Pienaar reports on the background and aspirations of the two contenders 
 
 Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom will battle it out to become the next leader of the Conservative Party after Michael Gove was eliminated from the contest. 
 
 After the second MPs' ballot, Home Secretary Mrs May finished with 199 votes, Energy Minister Mrs Leadsom 84 and Mr Gove, the justice secretary, 46. 
 
 Conservative members will now decide the winning candidate, with the result due on 9 September. 
 
 The winner will become the UK's second female prime minister. 
 
 Mr Cameron resigned after finishing on the losing side in the UK's EU referendum, in which there was a vote for the UK to leave. 
 
 The results were announced at Westminster by Conservative MP Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee. 
 
 There had originally been five contenders to succeed Mr Cameron, with MPs voting in two rounds to get that number down to two. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Theresa May: We need proven leadership to negotiate the best deal 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Andrea Leadsom calls for 'honourable' campaigning 
 
 The contest now moves to its final stage with the Conservative Party's 150,000-strong membership deciding between Mrs May, a Remain campaigner with a long track record in government, and Mrs Leadsom, a leading light of the Brexit campaign who has stressed her City and business background. 
 
 Speaking after the results were announced, Mrs May said she had secured support from all wings of the Conservative Party and pledged to bring the Tories together. 
 
 She promised "strong, proven leadership" to negotiate the UK's departure from the EU, and to "make Britain a country that works not for a privileged few but for every one of us". 
 
 Conservative MP Tim Loughton, Mrs Leadsom's campaign manager, said she would bring a "huge and fresh skills base" to Downing Street if elected. 
 
 He played down her lack of cabinet experience, saying she would have "no problem stepping up to the job" having had a long career outside politics, adding: "She has done things outside of this place on so many different levels." 
 
 Analysis by Nick Robinson, Radio 4's Today presenter 
 
 Now we know. The name of Britain's next prime minister will be either Andrea or Theresa. 
 
 Two women. Two Tories. Two potential leaders who - whether they like it or not, whether the country likes it or not - are destined to be dubbed the new Maggie. 
 
 That though is where the similarities between May and Leadsom end. One - of course - made the case, ever so quietly, for Remain. The other argued, ever so passionately, for Leave. 
 
 One is highly experienced - the longest-serving home secretary for more than a century. The other would be the least experienced prime minister this country has had since Pitt the Younger. 
 
 Not only has Andrea Leadsom had no Cabinet experience. Unlike David Cameron or Tony Blair, she has not served an apprenticeship as leader of the opposition. 
 
 But this run-off is about much more than that. May and Leadsom are figureheads for two very different visions of Conservatism, backed by different factions which have been at war in the party for a quarter of a century. Read Nick's full article 
 
 Mr Gove said he was "naturally disappointed" not to have made it to the final two, describing the remaining contenders as "formidable politicians". 
 
 He welcomed the fact that the UK would be getting a second female prime minister - after Margaret Thatcher - and called for a "civilised, inclusive, positive and optimistic debate". 
 
 Mr Gove did not announce backing for either candidate, but several of his key backers, including Education Secretary Nicky Morgan and Culture Minister Ed Vaizey, switched their support to Mrs May. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Andrea Leadsom has "real steel" and "real compassion" - Iain Duncan Smith 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Amber Rudd doubts whether her junior colleague, Andrea Leadsom, has the experience to run the country 
 
 Anyone wanting to vote has to have been a member of the Conservative Party by 9 June. 
 
 Polling expert Professor John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, said the electorate for the contest represented a "very distinctive slice of Britain". 
 
 They would be mostly over 50, disproportionately male, and "overwhelmingly middle class", he said. 
 
 Conservative leadership election 
 
 Ballot papers sent out mid-August 
 
 Ballot closes at noon on Friday 9 September. Votes will be counted electronically. 
 
 Conservative Party members can vote by postal ballot or online. 
 
 "Qualifying party members" of more than three months' standing can vote. In practice, anyone who joined the party by 9 June. 
 
 The spending limit set by the Conservative 1922 Committee is £135,000. 
 
 Hustings to be organised across the UK. 
 
 Guide to the contest 
 
 He predicted the Brexit debate would "play a role" in the contest, but not a defining one. About two thirds of Tory members voted to leave, but a higher proportion saw a candidate's leadership credentials and vision for Britain as the most important factor, he added. 
 
 Mrs Leadsom's departmental boss, Energy Secretary Amber Rudd, is backing Mrs May and took aim at her junior ministerial colleague's lack of government experience. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Winner "will lead country well" - Michael Gove 
 
 She said: "The fact that she hasn't had experience at the Cabinet table, hasn't had much experience even as a junior minister - let's face it she's had just two years - I do think is a problem at this stage." 
 
 But one of Mrs Leadsom's high-profile backers, former worker and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, said she would "develop" over the coming weeks and get "better and better and better". 
 
 Mrs Leadsom is also supported by former London mayor and one-time leadership favourite Boris Johnson, who said she would replace the "absurd gloom in some quarters with a positive confident and optimistic approach". 
 
 UKIP leader Nigel Farage said on Twitter he was backing her. ||||| Prime minister makes surprise announcement outside No 10, saying she has delivered stability after the Brexit referendum result • Theresa May announces UK general election - live 
 
 Theresa May has said she wants to hold a snap general election on 8 June, despite repeatedly claiming that she was against the idea of an early vote. 
 
 In a surprise statement outside Downing Street on Tuesday morning, the prime minister claimed that opposition parties were jeopardising her government’s preparations for Brexit. 
 
 “We need a general election and we need one now,” she said. “I have only recently and reluctantly come to this conclusion but now I have concluded it is the only way to guarantee certainty for the years ahead.” 
 
 May claimed the decision she would put to voters in the election, the announcement of which was a tightly guarded secret known only by her closest aides, would be all about “leadership”. 
 
 May's general election announcement annotated Read more 
 
 The prime minister may have been swayed by recent polls that placed the Conservatives 21 points ahead of Labour despite a policy blitz by Jeremy Corbyn’s party. She will hope to boost a slim working majority of 17 in order to help pass both domestic and Brexit-linked legislation. 
 
 In her statement, May said her government was trying to deliver on last year’s referendum result by making sure Britain regained control and struck new trade deals. 
 
 “After the country voted to leave the EU, Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership. Since I became prime minister the government has delivered precisely that,” she said, but claimed that other political parties had opposed her efforts. 
 
 This is no general election, it’s a coup – MPs have a duty to stop Theresa May | Anne Perkins Read more 
 
 “The country is coming together but Westminster is not. Labour have threatened to vote against the final agreement we reach. The Lib Dems have said they want to grind the business of government to a standstill. Unelected members of the House of Lords have vowed to fight us every step of the way.” 
 
 The prime minister later repeated her suggestion that she was taking the decision reluctantly, arguing that she had decided to go for the election last week. “Before Easter I spent a few days walking in Wales with my husband, I thought about this long and hard and came to the decision that to provide for that stability and certainty, this was the way to do it,” she told ITV’s political editor, Robert Peston. 
 
 She added that she was asking the British people to put their trust in her. Pressed on the notion that it was more about personal and party interest than for the sake of the country, she disagreed. “This is a decision that I’ve taken reluctantly in the national interest,” said May, arguing that a decisive election victory would strengthen the government’s hand in Brexit negotiations. 
 
 Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, May cannot call an election directly, but she said she would lay down a motion in the House of Commons. This will require two-thirds of MPs to back it. The Commons vote will follow a 90-minute debate on Wednesday, after Prime Minister’s Questions and any urgent questions or ministerial statements, May’s official spokesman said. 
 
 Play Video 1:01 'I welcome the opportunity': Jeremy Corbyn on 8 June general election 
 
 Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour party, said he welcomed the decision, suggesting his MPs would back the Commons motion. 
 
 “I welcome the prime minister’s decision to give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first. Labour will be offering the country an effective alternative to a government that has failed to rebuild the economy, delivered falling living standards and damaging cuts to our schools and NHS. 
 
 “In the last couple of weeks, Labour has set out policies that offer a clear and credible choice for the country. We look forward to showing how Labour will stand up for the people of Britain.” 
 
 Currently, the Conservatives have 330 MPs, giving the party its working majority of 17. Labour has 229, the SNP 54, and the LibDems 8. Minor parties and independents hold the remaining seats, in a 650 strong Commons. 
 
 Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, said that the country was more divided than it ever had been during his lifetime. “That represents a complete failure by Theresa May to bring the country together behind a bold and confident future for Britain outside the EU,” he said. 
 
 “Every step of the way Labour has sought to put the national interest first and to build a national consensus around our future relationship with the EU – not as members, but as partners. 
 
 “That is why Labour did not frustrate the article 50 process in parliament. It is why Labour has set six tests for the final Brexit deal that would deliver the best possible deal for everyone in Britain, whether they voted remain or leave. 
 
 “This general election is a result of the prime minister’s failure to build a national consensus. It is also an opportunity for Labour to set out an inclusive, progressive and ambitious future for Britain.” 
 
 One of Corbyn’s backbench Labour critics, Tom Blenkinsop, who represents Middlesbrough south and east Cleveland, said he would not be standing for re-election. 
 
 
 
 The Lib Dems will hope to turn the election into a second referendum on the type of Brexit being pursued by the government, but Labour’s more nuanced position on leaving the EU will make it difficult for them to follow suit. 
 
 The Lib Dem leader, Tim Farron, said: “This election is your chance to change the direction of our country. If you want to avoid a disastrous hard Brexit, if you want to keep Britain in the single market, if you want a Britain that is open, tolerant and united, this is your chance. Only the Liberal Democrats can prevent a Conservative majority. 
 
 A senior Lib Dem source said the party had been preparing for a snap general election since before the referendum, with 300 candidates selected and many in place for over a year, particularly in the south-west. Battle buses have also already been reserved. Farron is this week visiting Cornwall, a key battleground for the party, and is expected to make a speech about the election later on Tuesday. 
 
 Catherine West, the Labour MP for Hornsey and Wood Green and shadow Foreign Office minister, said: “I welcome the opportunity to highlight the gross failings of the Conservative government since 2015 and their Lib Dem partners in their first term. 
 
 “The country has been badly let down by the ruthless and ideological decisions made by the government across the NHS, social care, education and the economy.” 
 
 The MP said that she voted not to trigger article 50 but wanted Labour to hold the government to account on Brexit through the campaign to ensure environmental protection, economic security and workers’ rights.
– When Prime Minister Theresa May entered a room in the House of Commons to speak to Conservative lawmakers ahead of a no-confidence vote Wednesday, she was greeted by table banging—a customary sign of approval, reports the AP. It ended up being a prescient gesture: The BBC reports she needed the votes of 159 MPs to remain the Conservative leader, and she crossed that threshold, winning the confidence vote 200 votes to 117, reports the Guardian. It adds that after the words "does have confidence in..." were announced, it could not hear the rest due to the eruption of cheers. But Reuters reports May won't be in it for the long haul. In her pre-vote comments, she pledged to step down in advance of the 2022 parliamentary election. "She did say she wouldn't be fighting the next general election," one minister was quoted as saying. "It was quite emotional the way she put it, she said in my heart I wanted to do that but now I recognize that I am not going to."