24 January 2024 , 18:58
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Tory MPs are tearing chunks out of each other as they argued over whether Rishi Sunak should be dumped as PM.
Mr Sunak faced ridicule in the Commons as Keir Starmer claimed he was being "bullied" by his backbenchers as they take part in the "longest episode of EastEnders ever put to film". Amid loud shouts from Tory MPs, the Labour leader mocked: "I love this quaint tradition where the more they slag him off behind his back the louder they cheer in here.”
The party descended into infighting after former Cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke called on his colleagues to oust “uninspiring” Mr Sunak. MPs traded barbs as supporters of the PM labelled him “self-indulgent”, “facile”, “divisive” and “unwise” for warning the party faces “massacre” But Sir Simon hit back declaring: “Personal insults don’t change the facts.”
In an interview with BBC, he brushed off the criticism, saying: "No one likes that guy that's shouting 'iceberg' but I suspect that people will be even less happy if we hit the iceberg.” The Tory, who is a close ally of Liz Truss, insisted he was acting alone and was not part of an orchestrated plot.
He repeatedly declined to say who he wants to become Tory leader, but said there are a "number of people who could do it". "I don't want to tarnish anyone by saying this. I've done this on my own, I've been really clear that I've done it deliberately on my own so I don't make anyone else the subject of the sort of criticism that I've incurred,” he added.
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Tory MPs including Ms Truss are preparing to start a new group, Popular Conservatism, that has been nicknamed PopCon. The ex-PM will appear at a launch event next month alongside Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg. Sir Simon had also been due to join them but it is understood he will no longer take part.
Home Secretary James Cleverly warned colleagues against ousting Mr Sunak. "If we were to do something as foolish as have an internal argument at this stage, all it would do is open the door for Keir Starmer,” he said. Post Minister Kevin Hollinrake acknowledged there is a sense of "panic" in some sections of the party, but insisted Sir Simon's view is not widely held.