The National:

THE Tories never stop banging on about referendums. More accurately, they never stop banging on about not having referendums, or they accuse others of always banging on about referendums.

So isn’t the irony bloody delicious when the very thing that is currently tearing the Conservative and Unionist Party apart is the prospect of a second referendum on Brexit – specifically, Theresa May offering MPs a vote on a second referendum if they ratify her deal.

So no longer should we hear the likes of Ruth Davidson at FMQs telling everyone to stop bringing up second referendums, when the very leader of her party is proposing a vote on one.

It is a desperate last-ditch attempt to save face and to pass her “new” and “bold” Brexit deal. But MPs have seen through this and are fully aware that all that means is that May has had a new cover put on her deal and had the font made bold.

In the last week or so, things gone from the absolute worst to somehow worse for the PM.

Polling in the build-up to the European Parliament election has had the Brexit Party on course for victory, as disaffected Tory voters leave in their droves and pile behind Nigel Farage’s latest one-issue party.

READ MORE: Tories set for historic defeat as voters quit party

Then, last night – on the eve of an election – Commons leader Andrea Leadsom quit May’s Cabinet, which definitely is not an appeal to the hard Brexiteers in the party and is in no way related to her own visions as a leader. Nope...

In her resignation letter, Leadsom questioned whether or not May’s deal is hard enough and said holding another referendum would be “dangerously divisive” and "risk undermining our Union which is something I passionately want to see strengthened".

Many more Tories are either openly or privately angry with the PM, including the likes of Jeremy Hunt, Sajid Javid and Dominic Raab.

Yet more rumours are abound that this is the end for May, but we’re not holding our breath as the teflon PM has survived on many an occasion when anyone with a modicum of self-awareness would have quit.

But when she does quit, it will be a matter of into the frying pan and into the fire as hard Brexiteers line up to replace her...