It's looking very likely that prime minister Theresa May is facing a much longer delay to Brexit than she was hoping for.

May wants an extension until June 30, something she previously asked the EU for and got rejected.

Leaders of EU countries, however, support extending Article 50 until the end of the year with a flexibility clause to allow the UK to leave before then if it no longer needs more time.

That is the longest she wants to delay until but the EU now believe if she cannot meet the current "April 12 no deal/May 22 deal" timeframe then much more time is needed.

A longer delay would mean participation in European parliament elections, something the Conservatives do not want. There are many among the prime minister's MPs who are strongly against another significant delay to Brexit.

The Claim

The Guardian reports that May is facing increasing levels of unrest from within her own party at the prospect of a long Brexit delay. Some Tories want no delay at all while others cannot stand the idea of potentially still being in the EU for the rest of 2019.

Questions over how long the prime minister, who has already said she will resign in the event of a general election or a Brexit deal being passed, can stay on.

If Brexit is going to be delayed until the end of the year May will struggle to remain in charge for so many months without incident.

A long delay could also cause the prime minister more problems than she was expecting. Without the looming threat of a no deal Brexit she may find support for her withdrawal agreement falls sharply.

Prime Minister Theresa May meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Presidential Palace on the eve of a European summit to decide on the postponement of the date of Brexit.

Tory MPs that want to oust May but cannot currently do so as there is no time would also be granted a new opportunity to replace her. As it stands the UK is leaving in two days, leaving no time for challenges to the prime minister.

Too many of May's MPs have run out of patience with her. Having to put up with several more months of the prime minister could be a bridge too far for the Conservatives and their voters.

Children's minister Nadhim Zahawi said participation in EU elections, something a long delay would make necessary, would be a "suicide note" for the party.

There will come a point where a new leader is appointed and the party must prepare for a general election, they will want to avoid angering the electorate past the point of repaid.

The Counter Claim

Even if she has lost the backing of much of her own party May doesn't strictly need their support to carry on with Brexit.

The House of Commons supported May's proposal to ask for a June 30 extension date, even without the support of much of her party there is still some degree of cross party consensus that commands a strong enough majority.

There might be divisions among the Tories that accepting a long Brexit delay could worsen but the prime minister is currently attempting to negotiate a cross party deal with Labour, something else many of her MPs disapprove of.

Some Tory MPs, whether bound by collective responsibility as part of the government or belief in May, will always back the prime minister.

British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves Parliament with little chance of getting her deal through

She might not have all of her party onside but she doesn't need to have the support of every single MP as long as she continues to command a majority.

This would to some extent put her at the whims of other parties and could see her lose even more support from her own party.

She would also be utterly dependent on reaching a cross party agreement with Jeremy Corbyn, essentially relying on him to prop up her government as well as her Brexit deal.

Few things appeal to the Tories less than the idea of Corbyn having influence over the government.

The Facts

When May proposed her motion to extend Article 50 to June 30 it received the support of 131 Tory MPs while 97 voted against it and a further 80 abstained. Fewer than half of the total amount of Tories in parliament voted for an extension.

Of the Conservative MPs who do not hold some sort of ministerial position and are therefore not bound to vote with the government under collective responsibility, more than half voted against the motion.

Among the Commons MPs who voted for her motion only 31 per cent were from her own party, most of her backing comes from other parties which ties her hands somewhat for future votes. If she does not act as the opposition parties want her to then the prime minister could quickly find herself lacking support on both sides of the house.

Bloomberg reports that at tonight's emergency EU summit May will be offered an Article 50 extension either until the end of 2019 or until March 2020.

The UK will be able to leave sooner if it passes a deal and is ready to move onto future relationship negotiations.

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