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Last night, the former cabinet minister and long-standing ally of Liz Truss, Simon Clarke, launched a scathing attack on Rishi Sunak.
Sir Simon said his party is facing an election “massacre” unless the leader is ousted.
An intervention that might have once seemed shocking, Mr Clarke’s comments come after years of infighting in the Conservative party – and days of underhand attempts to undermine Mr Sunak’s leadership.
Writing in the DailyTelegraph, Sir Simon dubbed Mr Sunak’s leadership “uninspiring” and said he was “the main obstacle to our recovery”.
Sir Simon Clarke is leading calls for a new leader of the Conservative party
(PA)
“The unvarnished truth is that Rishi Sunak is leading the Conservatives into an election where we will be massacred,” he wrote.
His comments follow a series of difficult polling results for the Conservatives, including a YouGov analysis last Monday that predicted the Tories were on course for a 1997-style wipe out, retaining as few as 169 seats.
But allies of Mr Sunak are now suggesting this is an orchestrated campaign to remove their leader from post before the next election.
Next to Mr Clarke’s op-ed last night was yet another YouGov opinion poll, this time showing that the public overwhelmingly supported Keir Starmer over Rishi Sunak as prime minister.
Former minister Lord Frost has commissioned a series of polls that have predicted crushing defeats for the Tories
(PA Archive)
Critics were quick to notice that this survey was commissioned by the very same group that funded last week’s poll, a group of shadowy Tory donors – known solely as the Conservative Britain Alliance – led by the long-standing Sunak critic Lord Frost.
The polling company behind last week’s research were forced to defend themselves this morning, admitting on BBC radio 4 that Lord Frost was the man fronting the campaign, but also that the construction of the questions were designed to produce a particular set of results.
Yesterday’s poll asked if voters preferred Labour leader Keir Starmer or a “new Tory leader who was stronger on crime and migration, who cut taxes and got NHS waiting lists down”. Critics say this was bound to generate negative responses against the incumbent prime minister.
Meanwhile, on Monday, a new faction of Conservativism was announced. Popular Conservatism – set up by disgraced former prime minister Liz Truss and backed by fellow Sunak critic Jacob Rees-Mogg and Sir Simon – describes itself as “aiming to restore democratic accountability to Britain” and deliver “popular” Tory policies.
It’s official launch is expected to be a conference-style event on 6 February, where it is expected to try and shape policy in the upcoming Conservative manifesto.
All of this follows the most testing week of Mr Sunak’s premiership, where he managed to stave off a right-wing rebellion on his flagship Rwanda legislation.
Sixty conservative MPs signed rebel amendments to Mr Sunak’s legislation, and although they did not pass, the two days of public infighting were a serious blow to the prime minister’s authority.
Loyal Conservative MPs have rallied around the prime minister since the attack late last night. Senior Conservatives said Mr Clarke had “lost his senses”, whilst former Tory leader, Sir David Davis, called Sir Simon’s intervention ‘silly’ and ex Home Secretary Priti Patel dubbed it “facile and divisive”.
According to one report a Conservative MP privately called Sir Simon a ‘self indulgent tosser.’
Though a number have come out publicly fighting for the prime minister, some Tory sources suggest that there is a silent yet significant group who support Mr Clarke’s comments – and the next few days will see a flurry of no-confidence letters submitted to the 1922 committee.
The question remains: who would replace Mr Sunak? Former Culture Secretary and Boris Johnson acolyte, Nadine Dorries, suggested last week that the foreign secretary, David Cameron, is the most likely to return to 10 Downing Street.
When rumours of Mr Clarke’s op-ed started circulating late last night, Ms Dorries posted on X: “And we’re off” – signalling her view that a plot to oust Sunak and replace him as leader was in the works.
Others have suggested that some MPs have still not come to terms with the resignation of Liz Truss or Boris Johnson, who were forced to resign in quick succession following a series of scandals and blunders, and may wish to see their return.
Then there are a number of new names for the leadership. Former immigration minister and ally-turned-rebel, Robert Jenrick, has been rumoured to be eyeing up a bid, as has his long-standing friend and former home secretary Suella Braverman.
But there are many within the party who say any new leader would severely undermine the authority of the Conservative party – and the public may never forgive yet another leadership election.
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