Liz Truss faces 70-strong Tory rebellion from grumbling backbenchers if polls don’t improve
LIZ Truss faces a 70-strong Tory rebellion from grumbling backbenchers if dire Tory poll ratings don’t improve.
The PM is under threat from fuming MPs who are pushing for leadership rules to be ripped up within weeks to bring her dismal premiership to an end, The Sun can reveal.
It came as another damning poll put Labour on 53 per cent, with the Conservatives lagging behind on 24 per cent, according to Redfield and Wilton Strategies.
One MP who backed Ms Truss told The Sun they were actively looking at how to force her out if the chaos and uncertainty continues.
They told The Sun: “There are 70 to 100 MPs who are ready to put letters in to demand change within weeks.”
Under the current rules the new leader is safe for a year from a challenge - but the 1922 executive may be able to alter them to force her out sooner.
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One MP warned: “If there’s an existential threat, the (1922) executive will act.”
Rutland and Melton MP Alicia Kearns said the PM needed to “love bomb” the party and listen to backbenchers properly to get her out of this mess and back on track.
She told PoliticsHome: “It needs heavy engagements with backbenchers. Love bomb the party, talk to the party.
“Bring us on board with the growth agenda and then we can all crack on and get on with it. These hurdles are not insurmountable, she can overcome them.”
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But the PM faces a battle if she presses ahead to uplift benefits in line with wages rather than inflation, as previously promised.
Ex-Cabinet minister Johnny Mercer joined a string of MPs who said they could rebel over the issue - and said he would be willing to be “kicked out” of the party over it.
He said: “I won’t vote for a Budget that doesn’t see an uprating of benefits and Universal Credit in line with inflation. And if that means I get kicked out of the Tory party, fine.”
Party chairman Jake Berry urged colleagues to wait it out to see her “bold vision” for the country - and promised there was more to come.
He told Times Radio: “I hope and believe that the country will listen to that, and I hope colleagues will listen to it and see that we do have a bold vision for our country to transform it to better the lives of families and people up and down this country.”
But Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer accused her of being the “destroyer of growth” following her disastrous mini budget.
He said: “The Prime Minister has taken the economy, driven it into a wall, and (is) pretending that this is pro-growth.”
The PM said last night she hopes nurses would accept the current pay deal and help the nation to push down huge backlogs.
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She told reporters: "We now face a huge backlog after the Covid crisis. They do a great job.
"What we have offered nurses is a £1,400 pay rise. That was recommended by the pay review body. So I do hope that they will continue to work through this winter."