MPS call for ‘invisible’ Tory party chairman to go

CONSERVATIVE MPS are demanding the party’s chairman step down as anger is growing that no one has taken responsibility for their “terrible” general election result.

Ministers and backbenchers are calling for Sir Patrick Mcloughlin to quit by the party’s annual conference in October after claims that he was “completely invisible” during the campaign.

One frustrated MP told The Daily Telegraph Sir Patrick had been prepared to resign immediately after the shock result but that Theresa May had asked him to stay in post before the topic could be discussed. The MP said: “There is a feeling that heads haven’t rolled after the election and [Mrs May’s aides] Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill’s resignations don’t count.

“It’s been getting worse in the last few weeks because the Prime Minister has been acting like it’s business as usual but there is a lot of anger behind the scenes that no one has paid the price for what happened. Patrick is well-liked but he should have gone already. It really was a terrible campaign.”

A minister added that Sir Patrick should quit as chairman by the time of the party’s conference in October, telling The Telegraph: “He has got to go – this is not about the campaign but about the future of the party.”

Another party source said MPS have been left fuming by the decision to keep Sir Patrick in his post despite the fact that he was “completely invisible” during the election battle. The MP for Derbyshire Dales has been in the Commons since 1986 and served in a number of different roles, including in the Cabinet as transport secretary. He was given the job of party chairman in July last year, after Mrs May took over as leader.

Frustration has been growing among senior Conservative MPS in recent weeks about Mrs May’s continued refusal to consult her colleagues more widely on key policy decisions.

Earlier this week, Anna Soubry, Tory MP for Broxtowe, Notts, spoke publicly of the need for the Prime Minister to “step up” and “listen”.

Others have reportedly begun plotting for a leadership contest later this year, possibly as early as the forthcoming party conference.