I will be supporting the Prime Minister in the Vote of Confidence which takes place later today.
In this desperately uncertain time in our history as we battle to find the right solution for our country's future upon leaving the European Union, I believe that the last thing we need is a Conservative Leadership contest. This will take up valuable time and will merely result in a new leader who will face the same challenges as Theresa May.
It's quite probable a new Leader would not be in place by the 21st January legal deadline, so a leadership election risks handing control of the Brexit negotiations to opposition MPs in Parliament. A new Leader would not have time to renegotiate a Withdrawal Agreement and get the legislation through Parliament by 29th March – so one of their first acts would have to be extending or rescinding Article 50, delaying – or even stopping – Brexit when people want us to get on with it.
We need to put party political squabbling to one side, put our country first and deliver for the people that put their trust in us.