Boris Johnson should quit and make way for "new leadership" after a double by-election blow for the Tories, former Conservative leader Michael Howard has said.
The Tory peer broke his silence amid growing anger among the party's rank and file over the Prime Minister's divisive Downing Street operation.
The PM narrowly survived a motion of no-confidence this month, following Partygate and Tory sleaze allegations.
His premiership has been rocked again today after the party lost both the Red Wall seat of Wakefield to Labour and 'true blue' West Country seat Tiverton and Honiton to the Lib Dems.
Lord Howard has now called on the PM to go - and stressed to Cabinet ministers propping up Mr Johnson's beleaguered premiership that they should "very carefully consider their positions".
Tory chair Oliver Dowden furiously resigned after the results arrived in the early hours of the morning, saying the party "cannot carry on with business as usual" and that "somebody must take responsibility" for the catastrophic defeats, which follow a pummelling for the party in May's local elections.
Lord Howard has told the BBC's World at One programme: “The party and more importantly the country would be better off under new leadership.”
He added: ““ think members of the Cabinet should very carefully consider their positions as Oliver Dowden has done, and it may be necessary for the executive of the 1922 Committee to meet and to decide to change the rules so that another leadership election could take place.
“Those are the two things which I think could make a difference. But we shall have to see whether either of them comes about.”
Other senior Conservatives have lashed out following the by-elections.
Leader of the Welsh Conservatives Andrew RT Davies said Boris Johnson needs to “look in the mirror” and ask himself whether he should stay in office.
“Each and every day the Prime Minister gets up, like any leader, they have to look in the mirror and ask themselves ‘can they continue to deliver for their country and for the people who have put them into office?’
“I presume that’s getting far more challenging when the Prime Minister looked in the mirror these days with the messages that are coming from the ballot box such as by-elections we had last night.”
Speculation is rife that the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers could make to change rules which bar a Tory leader from a new challenge for 12 months, once they have won a no-confidence motion.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, a committee member, who retained his Cotswolds seat with a majority of 20,000 at the 2019 general election today accepted it would be a challenge to retain it next time round.
“I think, factually, if I were to run under a bus today it would be difficult to hold my seat. There’s no doubt about that,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Former minister Jesse Norman said Mr Johnson was insulting the electorate and making a decisive change of government at the next general election “much more likely” by prolonging “this charade”.
Veteran Tory MP and long-standing critic of Mr Johnson, Sir Roger Gale said the Prime Minister had “trashed” the party’s reputation.
He told BBC Breakfast Mr Johnson was choosing to “hang on to the door handle at No 10” but “it can’t go on forever, and it certainly won’t go on until the next general election”.
Sir Robert Buckland said he had told Boris Johnson personally that the Prime Minister needs to “look in the mirror and do better”.
The former Lord Chancellor admitted it was “frustrating” for those on the party’s sidelines to see a “lack of focus” from the Government, but he stopped short of calling for the Prime Minister’s resignation, saying he did not believe “throwing over the captain now” would be the right response.
“What is frustrating for those of us now on the side, if you like, is that lack of focus and a real sense of a coordinated message here about what the Government is doing and what it needs to do,” he said.
He added: “This is a much bigger story than the story of one man and his career. He needs to, as I’ve said to him myself, look in the mirror and make sure that he does better.”
Mr Johnson is in Rwanda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali where he will hold a press conference with media later today.
A Tory source said he would not be returning to the UK and would be heading to the G7 meeting in German.
They said: “To not be at the G7 would be an abdication of responsibility for any prime minister.”
Meanwhile, the PM appeared to have the backing of his Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
Mr Sunak tweeted he was “sad” over the resignation of Oliver Dowden but added he was “determined to continue working to tackle the cost of living”.
Writing on Twitter, he said: “I’m sad that my colleague and friend @OliverDowden took the decision to resign this morning.
“We all take responsibility for the results and I’m determined to continue working to tackle the cost of living, including delivering NICs changes saving 30 million people on average £330.”
