Knives are out with a vengeance - apparently !!!

Multiple Tory MPs 'held special dinner to discuss how to get rid of Liz Truss’

Andy Wells
13 October 2022, 11:23 am

• Some Tory MPs are furious with the prime minister's economic agenda and vision for the country
  
  
• The reaction to the mini-budget and a collapse in support in the polls has seen Tory MPs begin to plot against Truss
  
  
• It comes as polling in the 'Blue Wall' shows Tory support collapsing by 22% – with Labour now leading by 13%
  
  
• Read the full article below to find out what Tories have been saying about Truss – in public and in private
  

Liz Truss is facing mounting anger from Tory MPs as the popularity of the party continues to drop.

Polling from Conservative strongholds has shown support collapsing in the wake of the disastrous mini-budget, while Labour continues to enjoy a commanding lead of 20 to 30 points overall.

Truss herself is now far more unpopular than Boris Johnson ever was, with recent polling put her net favourability at -59%.


And furious MPs are reportedly plotting how to remove Truss from her job, with some saying she should go immediately.

According to BBC’s Newsnight, “multiple Conservative MPs” held a dinner within the last few days where “the main topic of discussion was ‘how do we get rid of Liz Truss?’”
An MP reportedly told Newsnight’s Nick Watt: “You'd be astonished by the people round the table. It was the nicest, most modest MPs, the people who never cause trouble.”

A former minister reportedly added: “I think she has to go, and she has to go tomorrow.”

Existing Conservative rules mean Truss cannot be directly challenge by MPs for a year from her election – but it is understood that these could be changed in extreme circumstances.

Watch: King Charles holds audience with Truss amid political turmoil


The reports come after Truss came under fire from MPs as they demanded more U-turns on her tax-slashing agenda after she ruled out spending cuts to balance the books.

Truss was accused of “trashing the last 10 years” of the Tories’ record at a bruising meeting with backbenchers at the 1922 Committee on Wednesday.


The Blue Wall is crumbing following Liz Truss' disastrous mini-budget. (Twitter)
Addressing the group, Truss said small businesses would have faced “devastation” if the government had not acted to cap energy prices, according to aides.

But she was met with open criticism, with MPs reportedly raising concerns about soaring mortgage rates and the Tories’ slump in the polls.

HuffPost UK reported one MP saying: "She was crap and the atmosphere was pretty flat in the room."

Another MP said: “I would say it was worse than anything Theresa May ever faced when she was leader."

Commons education committee chair Robert Halfon, who supported her leadership rival Rishi Sunak, told Truss she had “trashed the last 10 years of workers’ Conservatism”.

'Disastrous to sack her'
In response, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has warned any attempt to oust Truss would be a “disastrously bad idea”.

“We have got to recognise that we do need to bring certainty to the markets," he said. “I think changing the leadership would be a disastrously bad idea politically and also economically."

But Paul Goodman, the former MP and editor of the Conservative Home website, confirmed Tory backbenchers are considering pushing for Sunak and Penny Mordaunt to replace the Prime Minister.

“All sorts of different people are talking about all sorts of different things because the Conservative backbenchers are casting around for a possible replacement for Kwasi Kwarteng, even for a possible replacement for Liz Truss," he told the BBC on Thursday morning.

“All sorts of names are being thrown about, Rishi Sunak, even Boris Johnson, Kit Malthouse, Sajid Javid."

The PM and Kwarteng are expected to meet with critical MPs from next week to try to assure them that the chancellor's medium-term fiscal plan on 31 October will address their concerns.

Since Kwarteng’s 23 September mini-budget, the value of sterling has fluctuated and yields on government bonds, the cost of state borrowing, rose to such an extent that the Bank of England was forced to intervene to prevent problems for pension funds.

Truss was also warned by senior advisers that it was “no longer credible” to press ahead with large tax cuts without risking a financial crisis, The Times newspaper reported.

She has already abandoned plans to cut the 45p rate of income tax for top earners, while her refusal to encourage the public to use less energy amid warnings of potential blackouts this winter was branded "bonkers" by former government adviser Will Tanner.