{UAH} Theresa May defeats leadership challenge by 83 votes

Theresa May defeats leadership challenge by 83 votes

Tory MPs vote to keep PM in place but level of opposition underlines battle she still faces over Brexit deal

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Heather Stewart Political editor

Wed 12 Dec 2018 21.04 GMTLast modified on Wed 12 Dec 2018 21.07 GMT

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 Theresa May promised to seek legally binding reassurances on the Brexit backstop. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Theresa May has secured the backing of Conservative MPs to stay on as prime minister and finish the job of leading Britain out of the EU – but only after promising to step aside before 2022.

Tory MPs rejected a no-confidence motion in the embattled prime minister's leadership by 200 votes to 117, as the contest underscored the bitter split in the party over Brexit.

A loud cheer erupted among MPs, as chair of the backbench 1922 Committee Graham Brady announced, "the result of the ballot held this evening is that the parliamentary party does have confidence in Theresa May" – and confirmed that she cannot now be challenged for a year.

But the 117 votes cast against her underlined the battle she will face in persuading MPs to back her Brexit deal.

May had appealed to her colleagues to let her press ahead with Brexit, at a packed meeting in a Westminster committee room on Wednesday evening.

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