The Conservative party was sent into a fresh round of anguish and infighting after the historic double by-election defeat to Labour in the safe seats of Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire.
While the Tory right immediately called for changes and accused Rishi Sunak of being in “denial”, Tory moderates who remain loyal to the PM warned him against a lurch to the right.
Many pointed the finger at Boris Johnson and Liz Truss for leading the party in electoral oblivion, as despair about the chances at the general election expected in 2024 took hold once again.
Tory chairman Greg Hands blamed the “legacy issues” left by Mr Sunak’s predecessors – and Johnson allies Nadine Dorries and Chris Pincher for creating “fury” among voters by forcing the by-elections in the first place.
Writing for The Independent, Tory grandee Dominic Grieve said the public thought of Mr Sunak as a “decent man” but he was hurt by the legacy of Ms Truss and the “charlatan” Boris – dubbing them the “architects of disaster”.
Mr Grieve warned Mr Sunak against listening to “people on the Tory right who are the architects of the disaster”. And he revealed he feared another “lurch to the right” if the party does lose the general election.
“The best-case scenario for the Conservatives is that Sunak pursues sensible policies which create a degree of economic revival,” the former attorney general added. “I still doubt that it will be enough to keep the party in power – but it might prevent a complete wipe-out.”
The Independent contacted Mr Johnson, Ms Truss – as well as Ms Dorries and Mr Pincher – and asked what they thought of the party’s electorate woes. But they did not wish to comment.
However, their allies were out in force on Friday despite the humiliating defeats. David Frost, the former Brexit minister ennobled by Mr Johnson – accused Mr Sunak of sticking to a “strategy of denial” which is not working.
Liz Truss and Boris Johnson accused of being ‘architects of disaster’— (PA)
Lord Frost – who is pushing for tax cuts and a dialling down of net zero policies – tweeted: “The current national polls are dreadful for us but these results are even worse. If your voters don’t want to come out and vote for you then you don’t win elections. It’s as simple as that.”
Right-wing Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns, another big backer of Mr Johnson, demanded “far-reaching change now” after the shock results. Tory peer Peter Cruddas, a staunch Boris ally, said “clearly Rishi Sunak isn’t working as leader of our party”.
Lord Cruddas, a major donor currently withholding money from the party, told The Independent: “Rishi’s record is dire and Tories are heading for electoral disaster under Sunak. Things need to change starting at the top.”
Tory right-winger Danny Kruger, a key figure in the New Conservatives group of 2017 and 2019 MPs, said the results were a “wake-up call” and Mr Sunak had to be “braver” on issues like immigration, net zero and other so-called culture war issues.
“I think we need to continue in that direction and be more coherent, more robust and braver,” he told the BBC’s World at One. “I think we need to go a bit further and faster. In Parliament and the media they [culture war issues] tend to be disregarded but actually these things matter.”
“So the guidance on sex education in schools, proposals around transgender rights are significant and matter and they have real cut-through. We need to be bolder on taxation than we have been.”
But Tory moderates were scathing of efforts to move the party further to the right. Former cabinet minister Robert Buckland said Mr Sunak was “on the money” with his focus on inflation – but warned against clutching at culture war issues in a lurch to the right.
Rishi Sunak under pressure from left and right— (via REUTERS)
“Focus on economic security. The culture war staff is the hard left versus the far left – it should have nothing to do with us,” Mr Buckland told The Independent. “Colleagues have to trust Rishi Sunak to listen to concerns, rather than going into blind panic.”
Tory peer and polling guru Robert Hayward said Mr Sunak must “keep calm and carry on” by focusing on an attempted economic recovery – urging him not to get pulled into culture war distractions by those on the right.
Lord Hayward told The Independent: “The maxim keep calm and carry on would be the best piece of advice, because the public is still angry about the period between 2020 and 2022 and a period of calm, stable government is what they are looking for.”
Former No 10 chief of staff Gavin Barwell said the results showed that Mr Sunak’s “pivot” away from net zero policies and Tory conference speech have had “no impact”. He said it was now clearly “a mistake” to have watered down climate change targets.
It comes as backbench MPs argued among themselves in a Tory WhatsApp group. According to Sky News, one MP wrote: “Our voters stayed at home they DIDN’T switch. Come the general the public who sat in their hands will come out to back us.”But another Tory MP told the broadcaster some colleagues were “deluded”.
Pleading for unity, one former Tory minister told The Independent: “Starmer is a dud – he doesn’t inspire. The Conservative Party needs to restore its self-discipline and support the PM.”
Polling guru John Curtice said the Tories were on course for an even “heavier” general election wipe-out than in 1997. The elections expert also said the legacy of Johnson and Truss was largely blame for the “extraordinary swings” to Labour.
“The Conservative party faces the serious prospect of losing the next general election heavily – and maybe even more heavily than they did in 1997,” he told the BBC.
He added: “A big what if: let us say those Partygate happenings had never happened, or at least we’d never heard of them and a result Boris Johnson was still in No 10 today. Would Labour be doing as well as they are at the moment?”
