Prime Minister Theresa Mays leadership is hanging by a thread as she faces a vote of no confidence today.
The Prime Minister has been facing backlash since presenting a draft Brexit withdrawal agreement.
Chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs, Sir Graham Brady, has confirmed the 15% threshold has now been reached.
The no-confidence vote will take place tonight, between 6pm and 8pm.
Votes will be counted “immediately afterwards and an announcement will be made as soon as possible”, said Brady.
Theresa May vote of no confidence: What is a no-confidence vote? What happens if she loses (Pic: GETTY / PA)
What is a vote of no-confidence?
Put simply, a vote of no confidence, or no-confidence vote, calls for the leader to stand down.
This can be triggered when 15% of Tory MPs, which is 48 at present, send letters to the Chairman.
This is usually done by MPs who have lost confidence in the leader of their party, but can also be triggered by the Opposition.
The process is blind, so only Brady knows how many letters were submitted, and who sent them.
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“A motion of no-confidence, or censure motion, is a motion moved in the House of Commons with the wording: That this House has no-confidence in HM Government”
Parliament website
According to the Parliaments website: “A motion of no-confidence, or censure motion, is a motion moved in the House of Commons with the wording: That this House has no-confidence in HM Government.
“If such a motion is agreed to, and a new government with the support of a majority of MPs cannot be formed within a period of 14 calendar days, Parliament is dissolved and an early General Election is triggered.
“A motion of no confidence is one of only two ways in which an early General Election may be triggered under the terms of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011.”
Vote of no confidence Theresa May: The 48 letters have been sent (Pic: REUTERS)
Has a no-confidence vote been invoked previously?
The last Tory leader to step down when a vote of no confidence was triggered was Iain Duncan Smith in 2003.
What happens if Theresa May loses the vote of no confidence?
While only 15% of Tory MPs votes are needed to trigger a no-confidence vote, it would require a simply majority to depose the Prime Minister.
If 158 Conservative MPs, half plus one, vote to oppose Theresa May, she would no longer be the leader of the Conservative party.
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Vote of no confidence Theresa May: The Prime Minister has face backlash (Pic: GETTY)
She could then be forced to resign as Prime Minister.
In the event this happens a leadership contest would be held.
If this happens there are a number of potential candidates, including frontrunners Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid and Boris Johnson.
Contenders must first gain the backing of at least two other Tory MPs, and depending on how many candidates there are, there would be rounds of elections.
Once there are two Tory MPs left Conservative party members can select one of them to become Prime Minister.
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