A group of right-wing Conservative MPs believe Penny Mordaunt should lead the Conservative Party at the next election as they consider a plot to oust Rishi Sunak, The Telegraph understands.
MPs on the right have announced they are ready to unite around Ms Mordaunt to avoid major losses at the ballot box.
It is understood a meeting was held between leading figures on the Conservative Right and Ms Mordaunt’s previous prominent supporters when she was a candidate for the Conservative Party leadership.
The statement follows a week in which former Conservative Party deputy leader Lee Anderson joined Reform and Mr Sunak ruled out holding a general election at the beginning of May.
The debates reflect despair among some Conservative MPs at the current state of opinion polls; Labor remains nearly 20 percentage points ahead of the Conservative Party despite tax cuts in the budget earlier this month.
On Friday, James Heappey became the 62nd Conservative Party MP to announce he will resign at the next election, and he is also set to resign as Armed Forces minister this month.
A source from the Conservative Right said: “Some Right MPs met with Team Penny this week to express their view that they are prepared to support him. They are now of the view that Penny is preferable to Rishi Sunak.”
The source added: “Penny Mordaunt is now seen as the person most likely to stop losses.”
A well-placed source said Sunak’s critics are expecting a fresh resignation from the Cabinet that could trigger wider unrest. “The Cabinet is currently refusing to abandon the Prime Minister,” the source said. “But there is a growing view that if even a single member of the Cabinet leaves, the dam will break.”
A spokesman for Ms Mordaunt said: “Penny continues her job of serving the nation as Leader of the House of Commons and serving her constituents in Portsmouth North.”
While there is widespread pessimism in Tory seats about the party’s re-election chances, it is far less clear whether Conservative MPs are actually willing to take action to replace the leader.
Only two Conservative MPs, Dame Andrea Jenkyns and Sir Simon Clarke, both prominent supporters of Boris Johnson, have called for Mr Sunak to go.
Mr Sunak’s meeting with 1922 Committee executives this week fueled speculation they were concerned about his leadership. But sources insisted the meeting was routine and said members called the election after Mr Sunak “went long” on the election and asked for his views in the autumn.
No vote of confidence
To trigger a vote of no confidence, 53 Conservative MPs must submit a letter to the 1922 Committee; This equates to 15 per cent of all Conservative MPs.
In the weeks before the threshold was breached under Mr Johnson, the number of Conservative MPs publicly calling for him to leave was in the thirties.
But the decision by leading figures on the Conservative Right to announce that they will rally behind Ms Mordaunt is remarkable given that she is on the moderate wing of the party.
Ms Mordaunt has been criticized by some Tory MPs for being too soft on trans issues; His stance on the issue has overshadowed his leadership bid in summer 2022 following Mr Johnson’s resignation.
He also ran again in the autumn of 2022 following the ouster of Liz Truss, leaving him the only candidate facing Mr Sunak at the end of the parliamentary nominations. Mr Sunak won without the votes of Conservative Party members after Ms Mordaunt withdrew.
It was reported on Bloomberg this week that some cabinet ministers who backed Mr Sunak were nevertheless discussing what would happen if he stood down as leader before the next general election.
Some ministers have been calling on rebels in recent days not to act against Mr Sunak. One of them told The Telegraph: “If we don’t all hang out together, we all hang out separately, the party needs to learn very quickly.”
Ms Mordaunt is a former defense minister who has been praised by colleagues for her rhetorical style and appeal to the party base.
A new poll of voters on Thursday found Ms Mordaunt is the only Conservative rated as an asset rather than a liability to the party.
He recently made a statement criticizing defense cuts. Ahead of the budget, Jeremy Hunt, as he faced calls to announce more funding for the Ministry of Defence, posted a photo of himself in a meeting with the Chancellor telling him that the Government’s “first duty” was to protect Britain.
But critical Conservative MPs have questioned his strength on economic issues in the past. His record as a minister has been targeted by rivals during the 2022 leadership races.
There are some right-wing groups who are unhappy with Mr Sunak’s performance. A poll conducted by Savanta in the days after Mr Hunt unveiled his economic plan found the Conservative Party had its lowest level of support since Liz Truss’ resignation.
The Prime Minister faces a new political headache as he tackles the racism row involving Frank Hester, a leading donor to the party.
Mr Hester, who donated £10 million to the Conservative Party last year, is alleged to have said of Diane Abbott that she “makes me want to hate all black women” and “should be shot”.
On Tuesday, Mr Sunak described comments reportedly made in 2019 as “racist and wrong”. Downing Street had previously refused to classify the remarks as racist, instead describing them as “clearly unacceptable”.
The Conservatives face growing pressure to return Mr Hester’s money, including from Sir Keir Starmer and Tory West Midlands mayor Andy Street.
