“Something will need to happen as we can’t go on like this for over 2 years”.
As Liz Truss’s premiership enters only its second month, her own MPs have begun tearing into her, amid reports of a ‘devastating collapse of confidence’ in her leadership.
After a disastrous mini-budget that has seen an intervention from the Bank of England as well as warnings from the IMF to change course and significant poll leads for the Labour Party, many Tory MPs fear a total wipeout at the next general election should matters continue as they are.
A disastrous meeting with the 1922 committee yesterday evening saw Truss face hostile questioning as well as briefings after the event. The Guardian’s Jessica Elgot tweeted: “One Tory MP describes Truss’ appearance at the 1922 committee as “funereal.” Another, asked if she had done more to reassure colleagues, replies “absolutely not.”
Robert Halfon was reported to have told the prime minister that she had trashed “the last 10 years of conservatism”, while Politico’s Esther Webber tweeted: “Tory MP on Truss at the 1922 Committee: “Worst since I’ve been to since 2015. Unspeakably bleak”.
One MP told ITV’s Paul Brand: “Something will need to happen as we can’t go on like this for over 2 years”. With just over a month since Truss became prime minister, already some MPs are suggesting she will have to go sooner rather than later.
Newsnight’s Nicholas Watt highlighted how the focus of a dinner attended by multiple Tory MPs in the last few days, was how ‘do we get rid of Liz Truss’.
Meanwhile, cabinet ally James Cleverly has warned his colleagues that removing Truss would be a “disastrously bad idea” and only worsen market turmoil.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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