Sunak facing rising tide of unrest from within party

Rishi Sunak met the chairman of the Tory backbench committee on Monday as it was claimed that a “flurry” of letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister had been submitted.

Conservative MPs are becoming increasingly alarmed, an insider said, at the potential scale of defeat in the upcoming general election and believe they have one last chance to change leader before polling day.

The lack of a votewinning policy in the Budget, the defection of

Lee Anderson to Reform

UK and the race row involving a Tory donor are all fuelling dismay in Conservative ranks at Mr Sunak’s leadership.

The Prime Minister met Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee, in private on the margins of a scheduled meeting of the group’s executive on Monday evening.

Sir Graham and Number 10 both declined to comment on the meeting.

But i has been told by two separate Conservative sources that disaffected MPs are beginning to send in letters of no confidence to Sir Graham (inset).

It is not known how many letters have been submitted, but if the threshold of 53 – 15 per cent of MPs – were reached, Sir Graham would have to make an announcement.

Conservative MPs said last week’s “lacklustre” Budget did not “move the dial” for the party in the opinion polls and that this had compelled some to submit a letter.

A Tory source, close to those who have been plotting to remove Mr Sunak, said a “flurry” of letters of no confidence in single figures had been sent to Sir Graham in recent days, but it was unclear if the threshold for a leadership challenge had been met. And a former minister, who is not affiliated to that plot, said: “This was not a Budget for a general election. Nobody is talking about a May election any more. For the first time last week I heard a colleague saying, ‘I wonder when people will start putting letters in.’ That is starting.

“All this talk of ‘you cannot possibly change a leader now so close to an election’ is not true. I think many people are starting to realise this.

“Anyone would be better than Rishi, given the opinion polls.

“Of course there is time to change leader. The last one was elected in less than a week.

“It needs 15 per cent of the parliamentary party, which is a lot smaller since 2019 because we have lost so many by-elections.

“Word gets around that people are starting to put in letters, that gives others the courage to do so.”