Sunak allies try to alter rules to block coup

Attempt to triple number of MPs needed to trigger a leadership contest rejected by the 1922 Committee

POLITICAL EDITOR

CONSERVATIVE MPs loyal to Rishi Sunak have attempted to change the party’s rules to protect the Prime Minister from a leadership challenge.

Harriett Baldwin, the chairman of the Commons Treasury Committee, proposed tripling the number of MPs required to submit a no-confidence letter to the 1922 Committee to trigger a ballot. She wanted the threshold raised from 15 per cent to 50 per cent, or 175 MPs rather than 53.

The idea is understood to have been discussed on Wednesday evening at a 1922 Committee meeting but was firmly rejected.

A 1922 Committee source said: “We have a settled position. We are not changing the rules.”

The proposal follows Sir Simon Clarke’s public demand for Mr Sunak to quit.

Ms Baldwin floated her suggested rule change on a Tory WhatsApp group, according to

She is said to have written: “One practical thing we could do as a parliamen‘We have a settled position. We are not changing the rules’ tary party is ask the 22 exec to change our rules so that it takes 50 per cent of backbenchers to challenge a sitting PM, rather than 15 per cent of the parliamentary party.”

Sally-Ann Hart, the Tory MP for Hasting and Rye and an executive member of the 1922 committee, reportedly said she would take up the idea.

Contacted for a response, Ms Baldwin said: “Call me old-fashioned but I like to adhere to the privacy and discretion of the 1922 Committee as a forum for backbench colleagues to raise discussion points about topical matters.”

The no-confidence letters system has recently proved one of biggest threats to Conservative Party leaders as it has the potential to expose them to backbench frustrations.

Theresa May and Boris Johnson were ousted after no-confidence votes were triggered during their leaderships.

Mrs May was backed to continue in the role by the majority of Tory MPs but ended up resigning six months later.

Mr Johnson also won his no-confidence vote but was forced out two months later.

Tory MPs can give no-confidence letters privately to Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee, and and only he knows the true number that have been submitted at any one time.

Allies of the Prime Minister believe around a dozen MPs have submitted ‘Prime Minister’s uninspiring leadership is the main obstacle to our recovery’ no-confidence letters, while even the optimistic Tory rebels put the figure at around 30, well short of the 53 needed.

Two MPs have publicly called on Mr Sunak to resign: Andrea Jenkyns last year and Sir Simon this week in an article published in The Telegraph.

Sir Simon wrote: “It is now beyond doubt that whilst the Prime Minister is far from solely responsible for our present predicament, his uninspiring leadership is the main obstacle to our recovery. Rishi Sunak has sadly gone from asset to anchor.”

But Downing Street insiders have been heartened by the number of Tory MPs who have publicly criticised Sir Simon and called for loyalty to Mr Sunak.