UK Prime Minister Theresa May survives confidence vote in leadership

British Prime Minister resa May has survived a political crisis over her Brexit deal, winning a crucial vote of confidence in her leership of Conservative Party.

May is w immune from a leership challenge for at least a year. She secured 63 per cent votes with 200 in favour of her and 117 against, out of a total of 317 of her Conservative Party MPs.

vote h been triggered earlier in day after required 48 MPs from her Tory party filed letters of -confidence with influential 1922 Committee.

"Whilst I am grateful for support, a significant number of my colleagues did cast a vote against me and I have listened to what y have said," May said in a statement outside Downing Street soon after results were declared.

"Following this ballot, we w need to get on with job of delivering Brexit for British people and building a better future for this country. A Brexit that delivers on vote of people," she said, ding that she intended to carry on negotiating with European Union (EU) over controversial aspects of her Brexit deal when she hes to Brussels for a pre-scheduled European Council meeting on Thursday.

verdict of confidence vote was formally anunced by Graham Bry, Chair of 1922 Committee me up of Tory backbenchers, who revealed that Parliamentary Party "does have confidence in resa May as leer of Conservative Party". Under party's rules, May's leership cant be challenged for at least a year w.

MPs, unhappy with Brexit deal May has struck with EU, began voting on her future Wednesday evening. A majority of MPs h publicly said y would be voting for PM but as it was a secret ballot, re was uncertainty over result.

May was reportedly greeted with applause, and tritional banging of desks as she went into a House of Commons Committee Room reserved for vote to dress her MPs before y began casting ir ballots.

In her impassioned plea to 1922 Committee, she told her colleagues that she h listened to all ir criticism and confirmed that she would only hang on to Downing Street to see Brexit through before stepping down. This would mean she would t le party into next General Election, scheduled for 2022.

"She was very clear that she won't be taking General Election in 2022," said UK work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd.

plea seemed to have paid off in end as she survived vote, turning attention back to securing a Brexit deal that is acceptable to all sides of her deeply divided party as well as a fractured Parliament.

"I will contest that vote with everything I have got," May h said in a statement at Downing Street, warning that leership challenge will delay or even cancel Brexit.

May needed to convince a majority of her party MPs and a minimum of 159 votes to win contest.

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H she lost, party would have h to elect a new leer who would n go on to become next British prime minister. May would t have been able to stand for such a leership contest but would have to remain in Downing Street as caretaker PM while process to select a new leer was conducted.

Some possible frontrunners named in UK media included former UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson, current foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, home secretary Sajid Javid and Rudd. But re did t seem to be a candidate with consensus across pro and anti Brexit wings within Tory party.

In her defiant statement on steps of Downing Street soon after -confidence vote was anunced on December 12 morning, May said changing Conservative Party leer would "put our country's future at risk and create uncertainty when we can least afford it".

She said: "A leership election would t change fundamentals of negotiation or Parliamentary arithmetic.

"Weeks spent tearing ourselves apart will only create more division just as we should be standing toger to serve our country. ne of that would be in national interest."

She said she was making progress in her talks with EU leers and vowed to "deliver on referendum vote and seize opportunities that lie ahe". Conservatives h to build a "country that works for everyone" and deliver " Brexit people voted for".

"I have devoted myself unsparingly to se tasks ever since I became prime minister and I stand rey to finish job," she said.

leership challenge came as May was desperately trying to rescue her Brexit deal as she tried to convince EU leers to offer some concessions to convince Britain's MPs to vote for it on Tuesday, a day after she postponed a crucial parliamentary vote scheduled for this week over Withdrawal Agreement struck with EU.

She was due to travel to Dublin on Wednesday but remained in London to contest -confidence vote.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who held talks with British PM in Brussels on December 11, said EU would t "renegotiate" deal but re was room for "furr clarifications".

Britain's MPs have to give go-ahe for May's deal if it is to come into effect when UK leaves EU on Brexit Day -- March 29, 2019. But deep divisions remain on all sides of House of Commons over so-called "backstop", a temporary customs arrangement designed to prevent need for checkpoints at Irish border if a long-term solution between UK and EU cant be agreed post-Brexit. 

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