May needs a miracle. She must put unheard of pressure on her own MPs to back her. She needs some threat that will make even those most opposed to her swallow hard and think again. Nothing so far suggests she's bold enough. But she *could* try this. 1/
She could threaten to resign. I don't mean to resign as party leader. Nor do I mean she could threaten an election. I mean she could threaten in advance *her resignation as PM and that of her administration* if defeated. 2/.
If she did that, a new PM and administration would have to be appointed, immediately. There is no named Tory MP who the Queen could appoint as PM immediately, as being best placed to command the House. The best placed person, whom HMQ would surely summon, is Jeremy Corbyn. 3/
PM Corbyn might want an election, or have one forced on him by an early no-confidence vote. But if any thought can chill the Brexiest Tory, it's a choice between letting minority PM Corbyn govern, or else rushed bloodletting to pick a Tory leader to fight a snap election. 4/
It could only work if she made a binding pre-commitment to it. She'd need to spell out what she'd do, saying defeat would mean not just she but her government had lost the confidence of the Commons and could not go on, nor could she ask the House for yet another election. 5/
The idea would be to show Tory MPs the true depth of the abyss. One last desperate gambit to make them really think again. I'm not predicting this. I don't think she's daring enough. But she could. 6/6
