Theresa May has won a vote of no confidence as the prime minister dashed the hopes of Brexiteer MPs to topple her.
Ms May was backed by 200 Tory MPs compared to 117 rebels who hoped to oust her, following the most dramatic 24 hours yet of the Brexit saga.
A secret ballot started at 6pm after the prime minister addressed the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers, telling them she will not lead the party into the 2022 election.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of what is set to be a historic day in Westminster.
Early this morning it was announced the PM would face a vote of no confidence in her leadership - after the magic 48 letter threshold of Tory MPs submitting letters of no confidence was breached after months of speculation.
It is understood the PM will address the 1922 committee of Conservative MPs in a committee room in parliaments corridors before MPs vote in the ballot.
Before that, however, the PM faces the unenviable task of facing Jeremy Corbyn at prime minister’s questions in the full knowledge it could be her last time at that despatch box.
It also expected Graham Brady - the chairman of the 1922 committee and collector of letters of no confidence - will make a statement on behalf of the Conservative Party.
Theresa May is to make a statement outside Downing Street about the no-confidence vote this morning.
The prime minister has spoken by phone with Sir Graham Brady this morning, according to the Press Association.
Cabinet ministers are out in force this morning - including the home secretary Sajid Javid, the environment secretary Michael Gove, and the foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt - saying they will support this prime minister.
But remember: this is a secret ballot of Conservative MPs. The way individual MPs vote will not be revealed.
the opportunities that lie ahead."
Everything you need to know as Theresa May faces no-confidence vote
Threshold of 48 letters needed to trigger a vote has been reached
Pound climbs as Theresa May vows to fight vote of no confidence
The pound rose on Wednesday morning after Theresa May said she would contest a planned vote of no confidence by her Tory party colleagues.
The prime minister said she had cancelled plans to visit Dublin for more Brexit negotiations and will instead stay in London to protect her leadership.
The pound was up 0.46 per cent against the dollar at $1.2545 and rose 0.35 per cent against the euro to hit €1.1073 immediately after the PM’s short statement.
Sterling had been below $1.25 earlier in the day, but began inching upwards against the greenback and the euro ahead of the prime minister’s comments.
Theresa May warns Brexit could be 'stopped' if she is toppled as Prime Minister
New leader would not have time to negotiate a new deal, prime minister says - adding: 'One of their first acts would have to be extending - or even rescinding - Article 50'
"I had already explained to the Prime Minister at the beginning of last week in a one-to-one that the Irish backstop causes the biggest problem for me. I hope she has found a solution or an alternative way forward. If not, the Government could fall anyway as Northern Irish DUP MPs have said they will no longer support the Government in the House of Commons.
"All these factors will be weighing in my mind when I cast my vote this evening."
"The Prime Minister was very keen that the process should be concluded as quickly as reasonably possible," Sir Graham Brady told reporters on Wednesday morning.
"She will come at 5 o'clock this afternoon to speak to colleagues in the 1922 committee and then we will conduct the ballot immediately after that, between 6 and 8 o'clock, with a result announced as quickly as we are able.
"It was clear she was keen to have resolution. She wanted to have this process concluded as quickly as possible. I think you can take it she was keen to get on with business."
Sir Graham said it was "not a surprise" to reach the threshold given the months of "endless speculation".
As the UK remained gripped by Brexit chaos, American model and author Chrissy Teigen conveyed the thoughts of many Brits as she admitted that, try as she might, she doesn't understand it all.
Shortly after a no-confidence vote was announced on Theresa May's leadership of the Conservative Party, Teigen took to Twitter to say: "One of my goals for 2019 is to understand UK politics. I read and read and try and learn but my brain cannot grasp it."
Brits on social media clearly understood where she was coming from, with celebrities and political reporters confessing they were in the same boat.
Singer Myleene Klass replied to the original tweet, saying: "No-one gets it here either."
Comedian Sue Perkins had a similar response, telling Teigen: "Don't worry, we can't grasp it either..."
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