The Yorkshire Post says: It's time to end the May plotting as Tories must rally round PM

Yet every time she makes the point underlines just how badly her authority is diminished.

Mrs May’s struggle against a cough to deliver her keynote speech to the Conservative conference last week obscured the worth of what she said, and it is a measure of the disloyalty among some senior colleagues that a minor ailment was seized on as evidence of weakness.

It is high time that the plotting against Mrs May stopped. The attempt by former party chairman Grant Shapps to bring her down has fizzled out, and other intrigues by Ministers more motivated by personal ambition than the good of the country should go the same way.

The fate of the country must be paramount in the minds of everybody in the Government. The negotiations with the EU over Brexit are at a delicate stage, and infighting among senior Conservatives jeopardises not just the party’s fortunes, but those of Britain.

Voters will not forgive the Tories if they allow internal party squabbles to take precedence over the national interest. The Cabinet should cease the briefings against Mrs May and rally behind her.

Yesterday brought what should be a wake-up call to the rival Tory factions, with an opinion poll showing both Labour and its leader with a clear lead over the Conservatives. If the party is not careful, the successor to Mrs May will not be one of their own, but Jeremy Corbyn.