Tories plot to oust Rishi Sunak as he struggles to contain party's civil war

07 December 2023 , 18:13

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Rishi Sunak appeared tetchy at a press conference in Downing Street (Image: ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Rishi Sunak is fighting to cling onto his job as he struggles to contain the Tory civil war.

The PM’s leadership is in turmoil after his close pal Immigration Robert Jenrick quit in a row over the Rwanda migrant deportation scheme. Downing Street will spend the weekend twisting the arms of MPs before they vote on Tuesday on emergency legislation they hope will finally get flights off the ground.

But they face a fight on two fronts as hardliners claim it is not tough enough, while those on the opposite side of the party are concerned that it could lead to the Government breaching international law.

Amid fevered speculation Mr Sunak could face a move to oust him, a Tory rebel told the Mirror they personally knew the names of 18 MPs who had already put in letters of no confidence even before Mr Jenrick’s resignation. It is thought the squabbling could provoke a fresh flurry of missives. If 53 submit letters then Mr Sunak will face a vote of all Conservative MPs on whether he should remain as party leader and PM.

Tory sources believe more frontbenchers could follow Mr Jenrick in resigning. One said hardliners Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith, who are both Conservative Deputy Chairmen, are under pressure to show if they are “all mouth”. Several Parliamentary Private Secretaries - who are the lowest rung on the ministerial ladder - also are understood to be thinking about quitting.

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Lord Garnier, who advises the One Nation group of moderate Tories, told the BBC's PM programme the Bill was political and legal "nonsense". He said: "It's an extraordinary Bill because it's trying to define things when there is no evidence - or no safe evidence for that being the case. It's rather like a bill which says that Parliament decided that all dogs are cats."

The former Minister added: "I find it difficult to think it acceptable that we should be just passing a Bill of this nature when it makes political nonsense and it certainly makes legal nonsense. I won't vote for it."

Former Chancellor George Osborne said the “Tory civil wars have completely reopened”. On his Political Currency podcast he said: “Rishi Sunak's big claim was, ‘I've come after the chaos of Boris Johnson and the chaos of Liz Truss….I've stabilised things.’ He can't now claim anymore to have stabilised things. His government is fragmenting around this immigration issue.”

But Tory chairman Richard Holden insisted the “fight is not over” as he claimed the party will actually gain seats at the next election. The Cabinet minister argued that holding another leadership contest to change PM would be "insanity".

Speaking at lunch in Westminster, he told journalists: "The only way to victory is if we get out there and fight for it, fight for people's votes and show them we're on their side. I think if we're introspective - we all know that divided parties don't win elections." He pleaded with his party to start "fighting the opposition rather than ourselves". "I don't want to see us in opposition", he added.

At a Downing Street press conference, Mr Sunak dodged questions on whether he'll call an election if he loses the vote on the Rwanda legislation next week. "I'm confident I can get this thing done,” he said.

Labour’s Shadow Paymaster General Jonathan Ashworth said: “The Tory Party is tearing itself apart before our eyes. After 13 years working people are desperate for change. People want a government solving the real crisis people are facing every day - an NHS on its knees, soaring mortgages, and rising energy bills.

“Instead after 13 years of the Tories we have a weak, chaotic, divided government completely out of touch with the realities facing families across Britain. The British people deserve a Government that will fix the issues that matter to working people, not a Tory circus that is focused on themselves and their leadership ambitions. It's time for a general election."

John Stevens