Senior Tories are rallying behind Rishi Sunak amid claims that some Conservative MPs are plotting to replace him with Penny Mordaunt before the next general election. Former cabinet ministers Jacob Rees-Mogg and David Davis denounced the idea as “mad” and “bonkers”, as did senior backbenchers, including former vice-chair of the 1922 Committee Sir Charles Walker. With many backbench Tories increasingly fearful of losing their seats in an election wipeout, accounts of a “plot” to oust Sunak surfaced on Saturday in the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph. The Mail said MPs on the right of the party had “held talks with moderates” about uniting behind Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, and anointing her as leader in a “coronation” in the coming weeks. Mordaunt made no public comment about the claims but her supporters said she was not party to, or aware of, any such plot, and that she believed the stories were an attempt by her detractors on the right to damage any potential challenge she may make in future, after a Tory election defeat. Several Tory MPs maintain, however, that Mordaunt has been “on manoeuvres” for months, making clear she would be happy to visit MPs’ constituencies and get to know their local party officials. Davis, who is close to Mordaunt and backed her campaign against Liz Truss in 2022, said the idea was “completely bonkers at all levels” and would mean calls for an election would become “irresistible”. “We need to fight this election together and we won’t do it if we are fighting each other,” Davis said. “Whoever won such a contest would be the shortest serving prime minister ever – even shorter than Liz Truss.”
Rees-Mogg said any attempt to hold yet another contest would backfire: “Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad. The idea that changing the prime minister now would make the Conservatives more popular, with an election in view, is madness. It would be destructive for the Tories.”
Walker insisted a majority of Tories would ensure another contest or coronation did not take place. “It is beyond belief that sensible people in the Conservative parliamentary party would allow a leadership contest to happen,” he said. “It will not be allowed. It is about a faction of the Conservative party that thrives on drama and chaos.”
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Several senior figures argued that far from being a unifying figure, Mordaunt would actually be “hugely divisive” herself. They said her views on Israel, gender and other issues would mean “most of the right” would never support her.
During the leadership contest…
2024-03-16 14:32:34
Link from www.theguardian.com