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Nadine Dorries has taken an almighty swipe at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this weekend, claiming that he has not ‘owned the failure’ of twin by-election defeats. Her criticism comes at a time where more than 20 MPs are reportedly planning to file letters of no-confidence against Mr. Sunak.
It’s not yet been made public who some of these potential dissenters are, nor who they’d want to replace Rishi Sunak. However, it does appear that the PM is now facing stern opposition from figures within his own party – and he recently felt the wrath of Nadine Dorries.
The former MP for Mid Bedfordshire, whose stalled resignation eventually triggered a by-election, blamed Sunak for ‘engineering’ her departure from office. She also launched a tirade at him during her Friday night show on TalkTV.
As reported earlier, it is understood that ’20 to 25′ elected Tory politicians in Westminster have submitted letters of no-confidence in the PM to Sir Graham Brady, who serves as the chair for the influential 1922 Committee. One of their sources, however, was spooked by the move.
“It’s clear they want to get rid of the prime minister; what was less clear was who they wanted to replace him with. I told them I didn’t think the British public would forgive us for changing Prime Minister again, and that it would likely hurt not help our electoral fortunes.”
Given the upheaval that has plunged the Tories into chaos recently, another change in leadership isn’t likely to win-over the public. A General Election looms in 2024, and although the temptation to change will be alluring for some, other analysts on the right are not convinced.
Piers Pottinger is one such commentator – and he says any no-confidence letters should be ‘ripped up and binned’.
“While we’ve got Keir Starmer playing things so carefully, I would say to those 25 MPs who are planning to submit their no confidence letters on Wednesday to rip them up and put them in the waste paper basket, that’s where those letters belong!” | Piers Pottinger