Right-wing Tories plotting to replace Rishi Sunak with Penny Mordaunt

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Various groups within the Conservative Party are said to have had talks about replacing Rishi Sunak as the prime minister. They are considering rallying behind Penny Mordaunt instead.

Conservative politicians on the right side of the political spectrum have been taking urgent measures to improve their poor electoral chances. Reports from the Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail claim that they have held meetings with both centrist figures and members of Ms. Mordaunt's team this week.

According to reports, the rebellious members of the Tory party have allegedly talked about replacing the current prime minister with a new leader in a "coronation" ceremony if a vote of no-confidence is passed. Instead of subjecting their party and the country to another leadership contest before the upcoming general election, this option could be considered since Chancellor Sunak has now confirmed that a May ballot will not take place.

Rebellious members of the Conservative Party have reportedly talked about ousting the current leader through a swift and uncontested process, after a vote of no-confidence.

There are reports stating that they hope a new member resigning from the cabinet will result in Mr. Sunak's government collapsing, leading to the appointment of the fourth leader from their party since the last election. While Robert Jenrick's exit from his role as immigration minister wasn't able to encourage others to leave, they still have high hopes for another resignation to bring the desired result.

Tory MPs have become gloomier after the Budget had no effect on the recent polls, which showed the lowest level of support for their party in 40 years. Moreover, No 10 faced difficulty in handling the aftermath of the allegations of racist comments made by one of their major donors, Frank Hester. Eventually, Mr Sunak acknowledged the comments as "racist and inappropriate" after some cabinet ministers expressed their condemnation.

Several Conservative Members of Parliament were confused by the speech made by Mr. Sunak regarding extremism outside No. 10. This was following George Galloway's victory in the by-election. Other MPs were frustrated that he did not predict the defection of former deputy chair Lee Anderson to Reform. GB News reported that one MP stated that "unfortunately, he lacks political acumen."

According to an insider who aligns with the Tory right, a group of conservative MPs met with Team Penny recently and conveyed their willingness to support her. They believe that Penny is a better choice than Rishi Sunak at this current time.

According to a source, Penny Mordaunt is now considered the person most likely to stop the losses. Mordaunt, who currently serves as the leader of the House of Commons, was the final candidate to be eliminated by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and eventual winner Liz Truss in the 2021 Conservative Party leadership contest. Since then, her public image has been given a boost by her role in the coronation, where she wielded a sword.

In May of 2023, Penny Mordaunt had the honor of bearing the sword of state during the coronation ceremony of King Charles III.

A representative for Ms Mordaunt informed the publication that she is focused on fulfilling her duties as the leader of the House of Commons and representing her voters in Portsmouth North.

According to an article in the Telegraph, some members of the Conservative party have not been supporting Ms. Mordaunt due to concerns about her views on transgender rights. However, there has been talk of a potential agreement where they would offer their support if Ms. Mordaunt allowed them to handle the issue themselves. Ms. Mordaunt has denied these claims.

According to the source, this week there has been a significant change in attitude. The general consensus is that the current situation is no longer sustainable and even Penny would be a more desirable alternative.

If she can overlook the fact that others will be deciding on social policies, she may have the support of the right-wing if it means getting rid of Rishi without having to face a competition.

An ex-minister, who belonged to the moderate faction of the party, disclosed to the publication that the prospect of replacing Mr. Sunak was growing increasingly probable. The same source added that Ms. Mordaunt was the sole candidate that the party could gather behind without the need for an election.

According to the source, they previously found the concept of switching leaders to be absurd. However, due to No 10's poor handling of certain recent occurrences, the likelihood of this happening has increased significantly.

Just last week, Ms Mordaunt surpassed another contender for leadership, Kemi Badenoch, and rose to the top of the popularity charts for Conservative cabinet members in the Tory members survey on Conservative Home website. This is the first time she has received such recognition since serving as defence secretary back in June 2019.