Minister ‘confident’ Sunak will lead the Tories into election

Rishi Sunak will lead the Tories into the general election this year, cabinet minister Mark Harper has insisted amid reports of a plot to oust the prime minister.

With many Tories increasingly concerned about losing their seats, there have been claims that some MPs are considering replacing Mr Sunak with Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt before the nation goes to the polls.

Asked whether Mr Sunak will still be Tory leader at the election, Mr Harper told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “Yes he will. He will take us into that election and he will set out very clearly that we’re a government with a plan.

“I’m going to be supporting him all the way through, and I’m confident that my colleagues will.”

The transport secretary also said: “Politics is a team game.”

Asked for his message to mutinous Tory MPs, Mr Harper said: “What I would say to all of my colleagues is this: I spend my time as transport secretary focusing on doing what I think is the right thing for the country, making decisions I think are sensible.

“That is the approach the prime minister takes as well. He focuses on making the right decisions.”

Senior Tories have sought to downplay reports of backbench plotting, with a source close to Ms Mordaunt rejecting claims about an effort to elevate her to the Tory leadership as “nonsense”.

Former Conservative Party chairman Sir Jake Berry denied any involvement, blaming Downing Street for briefing his name to the media.

He told Times Radio: “It’s categorically incorrect. I understand that No 10 is briefing it out purposely.

“It speaks to how incompetent the advisers around Rishi Sunak are. If you’ve got a problem with Conservative MPs being unhappy, briefing names to newspapers, creating a blue-on-blue media furore, just gives the story more legs.”

The febrile mood within the party comes as Mr Sunak ruled out a general election on May 2, having previously indicated he will send the country to the polls in the latter half of 2024.

Labour and the Lib Dems, who had talked up the prospect of a May vote, have accused the prime minister of “bottling” it and “squatting” in No 10.

But Mr Harper rejected the talk of a May election.

“The prime minister made it quite clear at the beginning of the year that his working assumption was the election was going to be at the end of the year,” the minister said.

PRESSURE: Demonstrators dressed as chickens protest opposite Downing Street as Labour call for an election.