Half of Sunak’s Cabinet are lining up to replace him, says Starmer – The Telegraph

Mr Sunak hit back by accusing Sir Keir of trying to talk down Britain, arguing that new figures showing a fall in inflation proved that his plan for the country was working.

He talks about his ideas but we are two weeks on from the Budget, the shadow chancellor found time to make a one-hour speech last night and we still dont know how they are going to pay for their 28 billion black hole, he said.

But while he tries to talk down Britain and the progress that we are making, todays news shows that the plan is working.

Inflation down, energy bills down, wages up, pensions up, and taxes cut by 900. And that is the choice. Higher taxes and back to square one with Labour or tax cuts and real change with the Conservatives.

It came as a Government minister rebuked Tory backbenchers said to be plotting to replace Mr Sunak with Ms Mordaunt.

Esther McVey, the common sense minister, said it was correct to say there are a handful of disgruntled Members of Parliament, absolutely.

But she told GB News: Penny had her chance to become the leader, she didnt win. So thats where it is, it goes to bed, Penny wont be the leader, its Rishi Sunak.

However, when we did those 10 Rwandan votes the other night, we were there for hours. I spoke to all the Conservative MPs and they fully support him, except for those disgruntled ones.

If there was a vote of confidence in Rishi Sunak, hed win by a country mile.

Sir Keir also said Mr Sunak was so diminished that his entire focus was on stopping his MPs holding the sword of Damocles above his head, perhaps even literally in the case of Ms Mordaunt, who carried the Sword of State during the Kings Coronation in May 2023.

At a meeting of the 1922 Committee on Wednesday night, Sir Jake Berry, a former Conservative Party chairman, used a question to Mr Sunak to voice his suspicions that No 10 was briefing against him.

Sir Jake is understood to have said: I havent put a letter in but anonymous briefings are corrosive to everyone. That needs to stop.

A second source added: It wasnt him attacking Rishi in any way but he wanted to push that out to make sure we all come together. It is a real problem that briefings about MPs are happening and just creates more division in the party.

Rishi Sunak told the committee that those briefing against him were hurting everyone in the parliamentary party, according to one in attendance.

Jonathan Gullis, MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, told journalists that the Prime Minister stressed the long list of successes that the Government had achieved.

The general message was, heres a long list of things, heres a long list of successes that weve had, and the tiny minority thats seeking to continually undermine and brief against him, youre not briefing against him and hurting him, youre hurting everyone in the parliamentary party and therefore its time to grow up and actually pull together.

Grow up was my words not his words, just so you know, he added.

Mr Gullis said that there had been a broad range of MPs from both wings of the Tory Party that had attended the 1922 committee to support the Prime Minister.

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Half of Sunak's Cabinet are lining up to replace him, says Starmer - The Telegraph