Rishi Sunak’s chancellorship is under threat from a chaotic plot by backbencher Conservative MPs who want to replace him with Penny Mordaunt before the general election.
As the Conservatives lost 24 per cent of the vote in the polls, nervous MPs from across the party are said to be meeting for talks about Ms Mordaunt’s “coronation” as prime minister.
The desperate attempt to shore up support will see the Conservatives impose their sixth prime minister on the country since the 2010 general election and their third without leaving the country.
But an ally of Commons leader Ms Mordaunt denied there was a plot to install her as Tory leader and described the plans as “ridiculous”.
Meanwhile, former Conservative Party minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns, who has publicly backed the appointment of a new leader before the country goes to the polls, denied right-wing Tory MPs would unite behind Mordaunt.
Former business secretary Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg condemned the idea as “madness”.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper told Sky News on Sunday that Mr Sunak would “take us through this election” and insisted the government’s “plan is working” and he was “confident we will win”.
“I will support him all the way and I’m sure my colleagues will too,” he said.
Mr Harper also said reports of a snap election in May were “nonsense”.
Labour’s shadow treasurer general Jonathan Ashworth said the Conservative Party was in disarray and MPs were debating whether Mr Sunak could continue as Prime Minister.
He told Sky News: “This is no longer in the national interest. This is irresponsibility. We need stability in this country.
“He can stabilize this by stating the date of the general election. “Otherwise, I fear we could face a Conservative Party leadership election before the general election.”
With many Tories increasingly worried about losing their seats at the election. Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph MPs on the right of the party are alleged to have met with moderates this week to discuss uniting behind Ms Mordaunt if the prime minister faces a confidence vote.
Pressure on the Prime Minister will only increase after May 2, when the Conservatives could lose the number of local council seats across the country.
It comes after a difficult week for Mr Sunak, in which he faced criticism for his handling of racist comments allegedly made by a major party donor and for Lee Anderson, whom Mr Sunak promoted to the Tory deputy leader, moving to the right. wing populist Reform UK party.
Ms Mordaunt, one of the candidates in the party leadership race to replace Boris Johnson in 2022, did not comment on the allegations but allies suggested she was focusing on her ministerial role.
Ms Jenkyns tweeted: “Interesting to hear numerous reports in the media that centre-right Conservative MPs are pushing for a particular leadership candidate to replace Rishi.
“From speaking to many of my colleagues, no one seems to have heard of or pushed for such a thing!”
It is interesting to hear reports in the media that centre-right Conservative MPs are putting pressure on a particular leadership candidate to replace Rishi. From speaking to many of my colleagues, no one seems to have heard of or pushed for such a thing!
— Andrea Jenkyns MP 🇬🇧 (@andreajenkyns) March 16, 2024
The noise over Mr Sunak’s position has grown louder in Westminster this week after Jeremy Hunt’s budget failed to boost the Conservative Party’s dismal poll figures and No 10 struggled to deal with the fallout from comments made by Frank Hester about MP Diane Abbott . Mr Sunak eventually condemned it, saying: “ After 24 hours of evasion, the businessman branded a “racist” is still refusing to return the £10 million he donated to the Conservative Party.
But a No 10 source said: “The Prime Minister is focused on delivering his plan to build a brighter Britain.
“The plan is starting to work with inflation falling, mortgages falling, wages rising, the economy projected to grow and boats reduced by a third. But there is more to be done; This is what the Prime Minister is focusing on. “By contrast, Sir Keir Starmer has no plans and will take us back to square one.”
The heated mood in Mr Sunak’s ranks was revealed when he opposed holding a general election to coincide with local elections on May 2, having previously stated he would send the country to the polls in the second half of 2024.
A growing number of Conservative MPs, including Armed Forces Secretary James Heappey, former party leader Sir Brandon Lewis and former prime minister Theresa May, have announced they are leaving Parliament.
More than 60 Conservatives have so far said they do not plan to stand, prompting Sir Ed Davey to accuse many of them of “running away from the Liberal Democrats because they know we can beat them in these seats”.
Speaking to the PA news agency ahead of his party’s spring conference in York, the Liberal Democrat leader expressed optimism about capturing Conservative constituencies “in the south-west of England and across the whole blue wall where the Liberal Democrat-Conservative fight is”.
“The response we’ve had is phenomenal. The switch of Lifetime Conservatives to the Liberal Democrats gives us very, very great confidence that we can beat many Conservative MPs come the election,” he said.