Rishi Sunak is desperately trying to keep the exodus of disillusioned Tory MPs down to 25.
Former Cabinet minister Sajid Javid became the 13th Tory MP to throw in the towel when he announced on Friday he would be giving up his Bromsgrove, Worcestershire seat.
But one in five Conservative MPs are now reportedly considering quitting before the next election and the PM will have to water down his plans to stop them.
That means rethinking planning reforms on housing and onshore wind farms to please the nimbys and scrapping constituency boundary changes which reduce majorities.
The party has given MPs until Monday to say whether they plan to seek re-election so replacements can be found.
But one senior Tory said: “Most MPs thinking of quitting ignore that deadline in case they change their mind.
“But with General Election defeat looming at least another dozen will certainly go. Rishi will pull the stops out to ensure it stays at that rather than the 60 - 70 predicted.”
The new PM is still up to 25 points behind in the polls and was given a drubbing at last week’s Chester by-election as Labour ’s Samantha Dixon romped home with a 13.6% swing from her Tory rival.
Polling expert Sir John Curtice told GBNews: “The progress Mr Sunak made has pretty firmly come to a halt.”
Tory high command claims the number of MPs quitting is nothing unusual at this stage of the electoral cycle and point to the 12 Labour MPs who also say they will stand down.
But the average age of Labour MPs going is 70 compared to just 48.6 for Tories.
They include former Labour deputy leaders Margaret Beckett, 79, who first became an MP in 1974 and Harriet Harman, 72, who has served 40 years in Parliament.
The Tories are losing big names such as Chloe Smith who is 40, and 29 year old levelling up minister Dehenna Davison.
One Tory said: “They have seen the writing on the wall and want to climb over it to escape before it is too late.
“No one wants to be looking for a job after polling day when the market is awash with defeated Tories.”
And Henry Hill of website ConservativeHome told Radio 4 yesterday: “An unusual number of Tory MPs are now standing down. A lot are not interested in being in opposition.”
Mr Javid, 52, has already begun lining his pockets in preparation for a career outside the Commons.
He earned £30,000 for a speech to HSBC executives in September and another £36,000 for a Deutsche Bank gig in October.
