Commons Letters Circulate To Oust Cameron as Scottish Independence Vote Draws Nearer

A letter calling for a no confidence vote in Prime Minister and party leader David Cameron has been drafted by Conservative backbenchers in the House of Commons, Breitbart London understands. 

Sources within the UK’s lower legislative chamber have told us that the letter is ready to be circulated with a view to getting the 46 signatories needed to force a Tory no confidence vote, in the event that Scotland opts out of the United Kingdom next Thursday.

Conservative MPs are said to view the loss of the union as the last straw in a long line of events that have kept the parliamentary party disgruntled. Other such events include the passing of the Same Sex Marriage bill, as well the defection of Douglas Carswell to UKIP.

In order to trigger a vote, 46 such letters would need to be sent to the Chairman of the powerful 1922 committee, Graham Brady MP, who would then be required to call a confidence vote. In this scenario, the Prime Minister would likely have the opportunity to resign, or face the ballot of his backbenchers as Iain Duncan Smith did in 2003.

But senior Tories have told Breitbart London that it is more likely that “the men in grey suits” would pay Cameron a visit before any such vote, and give him the opportunity to “fall on his sword” before being ousted.

Others have noted that if Cameron goes, Labour leader Ed Miliband may also face a leadership crisis, as polls show that more Labour supporters are backing the Yes campaign than Tories or Liberal Democrats. The question of Scottish Independence is said to have its most recent roots in the devolution settlement in 1997, where the Labour Party promised more and more powers for an independent parliament in Scotland.

The question as to who would succeed Cameron as Tory leader is something that has even the most experienced psephologists scratching their heads. Pressure would undoubtedly mount for a leadership election or hustings to be held at the Conservative Party conference later this month, but caretaker powers may in the interim lie with Commons leader William Hague or Home Secretary Teresa May.

Chancellor George Osborne is not thought to have enough popularity with the British public to successfully lead the party into a general election. The other candidates, Sajid Javid MP and Philip Hammond MP are not thought to be experienced enough to hold the position.

This leaves Theresa May as the front runner. The Home Secretary has polled well amongst Tory members over the past few months, with one survey showing her to be more popular than the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who has been tipped to succeed Cameron as party leader.

But critics have noted that there is “basically always a letter drafted” calling for a confidence vote in the PM, and that no major rumblings are yet reported amongst MPs. As the referendum draws closer however, plans will almost certainly be made for what a Conservative response to a Yes Vote would look like. Labour would do well to have similar schemes in place.