Crisis-hit Prime Minister Liz Truss has only been in power for five weeks but Tory MPs are already openly talking about replacing her.
The mood in Westminster is febrile following by the economic turmoil from the calamitous mini-Budget, the sacking of Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and another tax climbdown.
In a day of high drama, Mr Kwarteng jetted back from Washington to be brutally fired after a 38-day spell as Chancellor.
He was replaced by former Cabinet Minister Jeremy Hunt as Ms Truss frantically tried to steady the ship.
In a painful nine-minute press conference, Ms Truss admitted she had gone "further and faster" than markets expected and performed another screeching U-turn on her tax-cutting plans.
She has already junked the decision to scrap the 45p top income tax rate and today confirmed another climbdown on her proposal to axe a planned corporation tax rise.
Mr Hunt must now scramble to deliver the medium term fiscal plan on October 31 in a Halloween showdown that could determine the Government's future.
The embattled Prime Minister faces an uphill battle to woo mutinous Tories, who have been openly plotting to oust their second leader in a matter of months.
And Ms Truss's brief press conference - where she refused to apologise or resign - is unlikely to calm the disquiet.
How angry are Tory MPs?
The mood in the party has been dire and today's events don't appear to have helped.
Tory backbencher Sir Christopher Chope yesterday told critics of the PM to "shut up" and insisted she could lead the party to an election victory.
But today he expressed outrage at her U-turn on corporation tax, saying the Tories were a "laughing stock".
"I'm probably like a lot of real Conservatives in a state of despair and utter disbelief, frankly," he told TimesRadio.
Sir Christopher warned that the parliamentary party was "out of control", adding: "The hyenas are on the hunt".
Tory veteran Roger Gale criticised Ms Truss for forcing Mr Kwarteng to carry the can for their botched mini-Budget.
"Hard to understand why the Prime Minister has sacked her Chancellor - a good man - for promoting the policies upon which she was elected," he said.
One gloomy Liz Truss backer said the mood was "very flat" after the PM's press conference.
Cabinet ministers attempted to rally the troops, with Levelling Up Secretary Simon Clarke tweeting his support with a pre-prepared graphic about the plan for growth.
Deputy PM Therese Coffey summoned all MPs for a joint call in a desperate bid to steady the ship.
Can Liz Truss be ousted?
Liz Truss only became Prime Minister on September 6 but less than five weeks on, she's sacked her Chancellor and performed a string of U-turns on key parts of her agenda.
Mutinous Tories have been openly plotting her downfall, with no confidence letters already winging their way to 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady in recent days.
Tory leadership rules say that Ms Truss is safe from a no-confidence vote during her first 12 months in office.
But as ever with the Tories, nothing is ever set in stone.
Even if she is safe under the rules, she could still be forced to quit if it becomes clear she has lost the support of her MPs.
Backbench chiefs could pay a visit to the PM to tell her it's over if it becomes clear that Tory MPs want her gone.
1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady went to see her at Tory conference to inform her that her income tax plans were dead in the water.
Theresa May also received a visit from 1922 chiefs before she resigned in 2019.
One Tory MP told the Mirror that Sir Graham Brady could end up having to tell her privately that her Budget would not get through, or even that she’d lost her parliamentary party’s support.
She could become “an empty vessel in Downing Street”, the MP warned.
If Ms Truss quit, this could trigger a leadership contest - something the party may be keen to avoid after the toxic race over the summer.
A contest could be avoided if there is only one candidate, such as when Theresa May succeeded David Cameron in 2016, when Andrea Leadsom dropped out.
Tory grandees are said to be considering proposing a unity candidate who could replace the PM without a members vote.
Who could replace her?
Senior Tories are said to be discussing replacing Ms Truss with a joint ticket of Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, who were Liz Truss's main rivals in the race.
Paul Goodman, editor of the Tory bible ConservativeHome, said backbenchers were discussing a "coronation" for the pair, where MPs unite behind one candidate and cut out the membership
"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 said.
"All sorts of names are being thrown about, Rishi Sunak, even Boris Johnson, Kit Malthouse, Sajid Javid.
"But one idea doing the rounds is that Penny Mordaunt and Rishi Sunak, who, after all, between them got pretty much two-thirds of the votes of MPs, come to some kind of arrangement and essentially take over."
A group of Tory grandees were said to be preparing to publicly call for her to go next week in the wake of sacking the Chancellor, according to the BBC's Nicholas Watt.
There is some speculation that Jeremy Hunt may have taken the job as Chancellor with an eye to being caretaker Prime Minister if Ms Truss is forced out.
Of course, the elephant in the room is Boris Johnson.
The ousted PM has kept a low profile in recent weeks, missing out on Tory conference and staying away from Westminster while he licks his wounds and focuses on making money.
But he still has his fans, and even some former critics who now have a bad case of buyers' remorse.
Tory peer Lord Cruddas has been campaigning to bring back Mr Johnson and warned Conservatives today that "without Boris as leader, they face near-certain wipeout at the next general election. Idiots."
Could Liz Truss call a general election?
Going to the country would be the nuclear option for Liz Truss, with the Tories languishing some 30 points behind in the polls.
She has the power to call an early election after the Fixed Terms Parliament Act was repealed.
If she wanted to cling onto power, letting voters decide could be her only option.
However this is likely to enrage Tory MPs who fear losing their seats - and risks a resurgent Labour party storming to victory.
