Rishi Sunak will launch a political fightback today as he tries to persuade plotting Tory MPs that the economy is poised to ‘bounce back’ under his leadership.
The Prime Minister will use a speech in the Midlands to try to shift the political debate on to the economy after a bruising week which triggered speculation he could be deposed before the election.
Allies of the Prime Minister are furious with Commons leader Penny Mordaunt after she failed to publicly distance herself from weekend reports that she is being lined up as a potential unity candidate to replace Mr Sunak.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper warned plotters that politics was a ‘team game’ – and insisted that Mr Sunak will lead the party into the election. ‘I’m going to be supporting him all the way through, and I’m confident that my colleagues will,’ he said.
Tory grandees also appealed for calm, with Sir Iain Duncan Smith telling the party to ‘stop turning inwards on ourselves’.
Rishi Sunak will launch a political fightback as he tries to persuade plotting Tory MPs that the economy is poised to ‘bounce back’ under his leadership
Allies of the PM are furious with Penny Mordaunt after she failed to publicly distance herself from reports that she is being lined up as a potential unity candidate to replace Mr Sunak
Rebel MPs are targeting the May bank holiday for a potential push against the Prime Minister if the Conservatives take a drubbing in the local elections on May 2. One source said it would be the ‘May Day from Hell’ for Mr Sunak.
Senior Conservatives acknowledge there is widespread dismay at the party’s standing in the polls, but insist that active plotting is confined to a ‘small minority’. Mr Sunak will attempt to fight back today by saying the UK economy is ‘turning a corner’.
Later, the Government will take the fight to Labour over the Rwanda Bill as it tries to overturn a series of wrecking amendments passed with the help of Sir Keir Starmer’s peers in the House of Lords.
The PM is also considering making a direct appeal to MPs at a meeting of backbenchers in Parliament on Wednesday.
One government source said Mr Sunak would ‘put the pedal to the metal’ as he tries to draw a line under a damaging week which saw the headlines dominated by the defection of former deputy chairman Lee Anderson to Reform and a row over the botched response to racist remarks by Tory donor Frank Hester.
The PM will today unveil plans to boost apprenticeships, including £60 million funding and cuts to red tape to make it easier for small firms to take on trainees.
But he will also make the case that the Government’s economic plan is starting to bear fruit – and urge both the public and his colleagues to stick with it.
The PM will acknowledge that ‘the last few years have been tough for the British economy’ in the wake of the pandemic and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
But he will point out that inflation has fallen sharply – with new figures on Wednesday set to show a further slowing in price rises – and that real wages are rising, with government action set to give the average worker £900 in tax cuts and boost the state pension by £900 next month.
Mr Sunak is trying to draw a line under a damaging week which saw former deputy chairman Lee Anderson (pictured) defect to Reform
‘There is now a real sense that the economy is turning a corner with all the economic indicators pointing in the right direction. This year, 2024, will be the year Britain bounces back,’ Mr Sunak will say.
‘But while the economy has turned a corner, we are not out of the woods yet, and we know things remain tough for people. That’s why we need to stick to the plan.’
The Mail revealed at the weekend that Tory MPs on the Right of the party held secret talks with moderates last week about the possibility of burying their differences to unite behind Ms Mordaunt.
In a further blow to No 10, The Mail on Sunday yesterday revealed dire private polling suggesting that the Conservatives are on course for their worst election defeat in history and could be reduced to fewer than 150 seats.
In this scenario, Ms Mordaunt’s Portsmouth North seat would be among the casualties, prompting one rebel source to observe: ‘She’s got nothing to lose.’
Friends of the Commons leader insisted she had played ‘no part’ in stoking speculation that she was ready to take over from Mr Sunak in a ‘coronation’ by Conservative MPs.
One supporter urged her to distance herself from the plot, saying: ‘Penny would be great, but we should not be looking to change leader now – the public just would not put up with it.’
Former Cabinet minister Sir David Davis, who backed Ms Mordaunt’s leadership bid in 2022, warned that installing a fourth leader in two years would be ‘completely bonkers’ and make Labour calls for an immediate election ‘irresistible’.
But another former minister on the moderate wing of the party said the ‘balance of opinion is starting to shift’ over whether to stick with Mr Sunak or gamble on a new leader.
Allies of the PM believe Ms Mordaunt is being used as a ‘stalking horse’ to persuade Tory moderates to submit letters of no-confidence in the PM.
Former Cabinet minister Sir David Davis warned that installing a fourth leader in two years would be ‘completely bonkers’
One said a ‘small group’ of Right-wing Tory MPs was plotting to remove the PM – and would field its own candidate against him in the event of a contest.
Another said bluntly: ‘She could kill off this speculation immediately if she wanted to, but instead she’s playing footsie with these people on the Right who do not have her best interests at heart. But then she’s always been an idiot.’
Former Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry yesterday denied reports that he had been ‘whipping’ MPs on behalf of the rebels – and claimed the story had been briefed to the Sunday Times by the PM’s ‘incompetent’ advisers.
Shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth called for Mr Sunak to name the date of the election and expressed concerns there could be a Tory leadership election before it. He said another Tory contest was ‘not in the national interest’.