Theresa May’s leadership has been compared to a “second-rate horror film” by former chancellor George Osborne’s London Evening Standard.
A damning editorial in the newspaper likened her premiership to the “living dead” and claimed that support for her was so weak that she could only count on “half a dozen fans” within the Conservative Party.
It comes after the Prime Minister gave a series of interviews during a trip to Japan, where she said she was “not a quitter” and indicated she would fight the next general election.
The newspaper said: “Like the Living Dead in a second-rate horror film, the premiership of Theresa May staggers on oblivious. This was not supposed to be in the script.”
It warned that Ms May was a “Prime Minister in office but not in power”, which would place Britain in a weakened position during the Brexit negotiations.
The Prime Minister can only count on the support of “Brexit headbangers” who would rather lose the next election than give ground on leaving the European Union, and “solid centre-of-Government” ministers who do not care who leads the party, the newspaper said.
It added: “For the country it means we continue to have a rudderless Government when we face huge challenges beyond Brexit, as our economy falls behind and our place in the world is diminished. Britain deserves a better movie than this.”
Mr Osborne, who stood down at the general election after being sacked from the Cabinet by Ms May, has been highly critical of the Prime Minister since becoming editor of the London newspaper in May.
He previously described her as a “dead woman walking” and predicted she would be forced to resign in the wake of the disastrous election result in June.
Senior Conservatives have also cast doubt on Ms May’s future, including former party chairman Grant Shapps who said it was “too early” to talk about her leadership going “on and on” and her comments on remaining Prime Minister would “raise eyebrows” among party members.
Former cabinet minister Nicky Morgan said it would be “difficult” for Ms May to fight the next election, while Tory grandee Lord Heseltine questioned her long-term future.
