British PM May wins party confidence vote: official

The result leaves May weakened but immune from a further internal challenge for a year

LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday survived a bid by her own MPs to unseat her, winning a confidence motion by 200 to 117 votes.

The vote was triggered by hardline Brexit supporters in her Conservative party who despise the deal she struck with the EU last month.



"The result of the ballot held this evening is that the parliamentary party does have confidence in Theresa May as leader," said Graham Brady, who chairs the committee of backbench MPs that oversaw the vote.

The result leaves May, who won a majority of 83, weakened but immune from a further internal challenge for a year.

However, she only achieved her colleagues' backing after making a last-minute pledge ahead of voting to step down before the next scheduled election in 2022.



Earlier on Wednesday, the embattled leader had vowed to fight the attempt to remove her "with everything I've got".

She warned that her ouster would have sparked a leadership contest that could have derailed Britain's departure from the bloc on March 29.

The pound solidified gains through Wednesday following the result.