Cheers, applause for UK PM as she faces her 'foot soldiers'

LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May survived unscathed Wednesday night after what had been billed as a Brexit showdown with her backbench Conservative MPs.

Instead she emerged from the meeting in the House of Commons with a round of applause and cheering.

The tabloid Sun newspaper said May had been rumored to be facing a leadership challenge from rebels within her own party. But instead she was greeted with a massive ovation from supportive allies.

Eurosceptic MP John Baron said: "We have decided as a party to come together and work for the Brexit we all want."

The Sun, quoting former from bench minister Amber Rudd, said May's speech was emotional and personal and won the room, while other MPs said there was no serious dissent while May was speaking.

"Only a handful of rebel MPs challenged Mrs May over her Brexit strategy -- and she was cheered when she answered back," the Sun reported.

The Guardian reported one non-aligned MP at the meeting saying the reception for May was loyal and genuine.

"People want a deal. She's not going to be replaced in short term," the unnamed politician said.

May said earlier this week that a future trade deal between Britain and the EU was 95 percent agreed by both sides, with the unresolved issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic the main sticking point.

Meanwhile the Ipsos MORI October 2018 Political Monitor revealed Wednesday that confidence in May to get a good Brexit deal in negotiations continues to fall, with now over three-quarters (78 percent) saying they lack confidence in her.

The figures compared with last month's 70 percent, while the latest poll shows only one-in-five do have confidence in May (19 percent, down from 28 percent).

Even Conservative supporters have become more skeptical that May will get a good deal with a third having confidence in her (34 percent, down 11 points) with two-thirds saying they don't have confidence (64 percent, up 11 points).

Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI, said: "As the Brexit negotiations intensify confidence in Theresa May's ability to get a good deal has fallen even further to a new low. And yet the public don't put all the blame at her door -- and nor is there much evidence that they would have much more confidence in anyone else."

In Edinburgh Wednesday, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said a no-deal Brexit may be the most likely outcome of Britain's negotiations with Brussels.

Sturgeon, who is leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) told committee leaders at Holyrood, home of the Scottish Parliament, that while the terms of Britain's withdrawal from the bloc are 95 percent agreed, there remains an "impasse" over the issue of the Irish border.

Sturgeon said: "Almost with every day that passes right now, instead of the UK Government opening up negotiating space that increases the possibility of reaching a deal that then can attract political support, they seem to be closing down that negotiating space and digging themselves deeper into the hole they've got themselves in."