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The Telegraph
The Telegraph
National
Camilla Turner

The Tory MPs calling for Liz Truss to resign

Liz Truss enters Downing Street on Monday morning as she faces her toughest challenge yet as PM - Nigel Howard
Liz Truss enters Downing Street on Monday morning as she faces her toughest challenge yet as PM - Nigel Howard

Pressure is mounting on Liz Truss to step down as Prime Minister - with a number of her own MPs now publicly calling for her resignation.

New Tory prime ministers currently enjoy a year of immunity from confidence votes under the party rulebook.

But George Osborne, the former chancellor, predicts the beleaguered PM will likely be gone by Christmas, adding that "there will be a way" for the party to remove her from Downing Street.

Here are the Conservative MPs calling for Ms Truss to quit.

William Wragg (October 19)

William Wragg, the vice-chairman of the 1922 Committee, said he was "personally ashamed" by the mini-Budget after he confirmed he had submitted a letter of no confidence in the PM to Sir Graham Brady.

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Wragg said the "trashing" of the Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility by Tory figures over the summer had been "near-Maoist" in its nature.

 "I am a Conservative, and I suppose orthodoxy goes hand-in-hand with that - that is Conservative orthodoxy," he said.

"Conservative orthodoxy is sound financial management and a balanced budget, not stick some pamphlets into a test tube, shake it up and see what happens. That is not the way the Conservative Party should ever govern.

"What occurred with that financial statement, I am personally ashamed - because I cannot go and face my constituents, look them in the eye and say that they should support our great party and the polls would seem to bear that out."

Steve Double (October 19)

Steve Double, a former environment minister, told Times Radio on Wednesday: "I think her position is becoming increasingly untenable.

"We've seen a complete reversal of just about everything she stood for in her leadership election campaign. I think many of us are asking exactly what does Liz Truss now believe and stand for because she seems to have abandoned virtually everything that she told us she was about. I think she is absolutely the last chance saloon.

"I think it's becoming abundantly clear when you look at the loss of confidence in her as Prime Minister from the general publc, and increasingly I think the loss of confidence in her from the parliamentary party, that we are going to get to the point where she really does have to consider her position and for the good of the country, step aside - and I think we will probably come to that place quite soon."

Charles Walker (October 17)

Senior Tory backbencher Sir Charles Walker became the fifth Conservative MP to call on Ms Truss to give up her position on Monday.

He told Sky News' Beth Rigby: "I think her position is untenable. She has put colleagues, the country, through a huge amount of unnecessary pain and upset and worry.

"We don't need a disruptor in No 10. We need a uniter."

The situation "can only be remedied" with "a new prime minister", he said.

He predicted Ms Truss would have another "week or two" before she steps down or is forced to resign, adding that he is "so cross" about how "catastrophically incompetent" the Government has been.

Angela Richardson (October 17)

Angela Richardson told The Telegraph that it would be "better for the party and for the country to have a change in leadership at the top", adding that the party must "unite around whoever the new leader is".

Ms Richardson said that Ms Truss should resign and then a truncated leadership election should take place "very quickly" this week. Her call came on Monday as Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, junked most of the mini-Budget previously announced by Kwasi Kwarteng.

The MP for Guildford, who was elected in 2019, went on to say: "Whoever comes up top in the ballot, there should be a coronation. MPs should exercise common sense about that. This is a very pivotal point in time where mucking around is just not in the national interest.

"It could be the case that everybody who is frustrated with the PM wants a different outcome - our biggest difficulty is settling on someone."

Ms Richardson explained: "If you think about the significance of what has just been announced by the Chancellor today, this feels like even more of an unwinding of what she put together with Kwasi. We should never have been in this position in the first place. And now it's very hard for me to see how she can credibly continue."

Jamie Wallis (October 16)

Jamie Wallis became the third Conservative MP to break ranks by calling for Ms Truss to quit Downing Street on Sunday night.

Mr Wallis, the MP for Bridgend and Porthcrawl since 2019, said Ms Truss had "undermined Britain’s economic credibility and fractured our party irreparably".

Sharing a letter to the Prime Minister on Twitter, he wrote: "Enough is enough. I have written to [her] to ask her to stand down as she no longer holds the confidence of this country."

And speaking to the Telegraph, Mr Wallis hinted he could quit the Tory party if Ms Truss remained in situ.

"Given what I wrote today, I think at the very least I would have to consider my position as a Conservative Member of Parliament," he said. "I could not say what I said today and then not have that chat with myself."

Andrew Bridgen (October 16)

Andrew Bridgen was the second Tory MP to call for Ms Truss to resign, telling the Telegraph his party and the country "deserve better".

The MP for North West Leicestershire, who supported Rishi Sunak's leadership campaign, also savaged Ms Truss in a blog post earlier today, writing: "Liz has sunk her own leadership and her predecessor's potential comeback at the same time, all in record time.

"Beleaguered Liz Truss has now run out of friends. She only ever had the support of a third of the elected MPs. We should expect more fireworks in Parliament this week. Unless this is resolved quickly, we are heading for a general election."

Crispin Blunt (October 16)

The veteran MP for Reigate urged the Prime Minister to resign "now" following her failed mini-Budget last month and weeks of fiscal turmoil.

Asked by Andrew Neil why he believes "the game's up" for Liz Truss after just six weeks, Crispin Blunt told his Channel 4 programme: "Well, we have the experience of the last few weeks.

"We also only have two years until the next General Election and we have to get a grip and show the country that we are capable of delivering sound money, sound administration, and all things the Conservative Party is expected to deliver in office.

"We've had a shocking few weeks, we’ve been taught a very harsh lesson by the markets, we're being taught an even harsher lesson in terms of the opinion polls, and we have to sort ourselves out so the country gets effective government for the next two years.  

"And, as importantly, the Labour Party is then put to the test under the alternative proposition that will be then put to the electorate in two years' time."

Mr Blunt added: "I would be very, very surprised if there are people dying in a ditch to keep Liz Truss as our Prime Minister.

"What we need to effect is a transition to some kind of transition to a combination of the talents of Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Jeremy Hunt in the top leadership positions in the party.

"They probably need to sit down and have a conversation between themselves about how to best effect the chance. And I think that the collective position from those three would command very great support among the parliamentary and among the party in the country who are just desperate to get this sorted out."

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