Conservatives slam ‘bonkers’ plot to topple Rishi Sunak before election

On Saturday evening, a group of high-ranking members of the Conservative party came together in support of Rishi Sunak, who has been facing increasing challenges. There are rumors circulating that certain MPs within the party are planning to replace Sunak with Penny Mordaunt before the next national election.

Ex-cabinet members Jacob Rees-Mogg and David Davis openly opposed the proposal, labelling it as "insane" and "ridiculous". Additionally, respected members of parliament, such as past vice-president of the 1922 Committee Sir Charles Walker, also spoke out against it.

Several Conservative Members of Parliament who typically support the government but have sizeable vote winning margins in their constituencies are becoming more concerned about the possibility of losing their seats in an upcoming election. Recently, reports have emerged in both the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph claiming that a "conspiracy" to remove Sunak from his position is underway.

According to an article in the Mail, conservative MPs who align with the right wing of the party recently had discussions with those who hold more moderate views. The topic of these talks was the possibility of rallying behind Penny Mordaunt, who currently serves as the leader of the House of Commons. The plan would be to appoint Mordaunt as leader of the party in a swift coronation process, which would take place in the upcoming weeks.

Mordaunt didn't publicly respond to the allegations. However, her advocates claimed that she had no part in or knowledge of any scheme. They also stated that she thought the rumors were an effort by her opponents on the conservative side to harm her ability to run for office in the future, if the Tories lose an election.

A number of members from the Conservative Party argue that Mordaunt has been actively trying to pursue plans for months, indicating her willingness to visit the constituencies of MPs and familiarize herself with their respective party representatives.

Davis, who has a close relationship with Mordaunt and supported her in the 2022 campaign against Liz Truss, expressed his disagreement with the proposal, describing it as nonsensical on all fronts. He argued that such a move would make it inevitable for calls for an election to arise.

Davis stated that it's important for us to join forces and tackle this election as a unified team. Bickering amongst ourselves will only impede our progress. If we were to engage in such a competition, the victor would have the distinction of being the prime minister with the shortest term in history - a title presently held by Liz Truss.

Rees-Mogg stated that trying to organize another political competition would have negative consequences. He compared it to the saying, "Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad." Replacing the current Prime Minister in hopes of gaining more popularity leading up to an election would be a foolish move. He believes it would only harm the Conservative party.

Walker was adamant that a majority of Tories would prevent any further leadership contests or coronations. He expressed astonishment that rational individuals within the Conservative parliamentary party would permit such an event to occur, stating unequivocally that it would never happen. He attributed the desire for such turmoil to a small faction within the Conservative party.

Many important people claimed that instead of bringing people together, Mordaunt would actually create division. They believe that her opinions on Israel, gender, and different topics would make it so that a large portion of the right side of politics would not back her up.

In 2022, when there was a leadership competition to replace Boris Johnson, Mordaunt was criticized by members within her political party and by conservative media outlets for her stance on gender self-identification.

Another high-ranking member of the Conservative Party expressed their opinion, stating that the notion of everyone suddenly supporting Saint Penny, despite her evident inadequacies and unusual stance on the subject of gender, is even more absurd.

The emergence of these rumors indicates a tense environment within the party, with a feeling of despair about their chances in the upcoming election after being in charge for 14 years.

Several high-ranking members of the Conservative party have abandoned their hopes of defeating the Labour party. Instead, they now focus on minimizing their own party's setbacks.

Sunak and his party, the Conservatives, have recently experienced several setbacks. Despite Jeremy Hunt's proposal to reduce national insurance by 2p for those in employment, their popularity in the polls remains unchanged. Furthermore, one of their former deputy chairman, Lee Anderson, defected to Reform UK, while the Guardian also published articles exposing racist comments made by Frank Hester, the Conservative party's largest donor, towards Labour MP Diane Abbott.

Leaders from opposing political parties are growing more self-assured that the Conservative party could disintegrate during the upcoming election in a manner that has not been witnessed since 1997.

Ed Davey, who leads the Liberal Democrats, spoke to the Observer and shared that the upcoming spring conference could lead to an extremely important election. He described it as a “once in a generation” opportunity, where the Conservatives won’t be able to undo the damage that has been done.

He said the current situation is similar to the mid-1990s when the Conservative party used their financial resources and the first-past-the-post system to their advantage. However, he doesn't believe they will be able to do so in this election. This is his eighth election and he is reaching out to voters who have never supported him before.

A significant group of people are indicating their support for me at the polls, as they are unable to vote for the Conservative party. We are witnessing remarkable outcomes as a result.

During my lifetime, our party has only been successful in winning one seat in Surrey. However, I believe that we will have more than one seat in this election. The Surrey Heath constituency, which is represented by Michael Gove, seems to be promising. I am not suggesting that we will surely win it, as we have other constituencies in Surrey that we would win before. Nevertheless, the fact that we are considering Surrey Heath as a potential seat is a reflection of the changing times.