RISHI Sunak is reportedly preparing to host a Downing Street barbeque in a bid to unify his party.
According to Politics Home, the event is due to take place on Wednesday evening with Sunak inviting all Tory MPs to a hog roast in the garden of No 10.
It comes as the Tories face a number of by-elections in seats they have traditionally held, including in Boris Johnson’s old constituency.
The event will give MPs a chance to quiz the Prime Minister on the state of the Conservative Party before they depart for the lengthy summer recess next week.
A recent YouGov poll of 1100 Scots found that 59% of respondents believed that Sunak was doing a bad job.
A poll last week also put the Labour Party 12 points ahead in Selby and Ainsty – where the Tories will also fight another by-election following the resignation of Nigel Adams.
Meanwhile, some Tory politicians have said they want to see more from Sunak. MP Mark Garnier told Politics Home’s podcast that he wanted to see “much more” than Sunak’s five pledges.
“These are issues which every government is going to have to deal with and dealing with them just demonstrates that we are competent.
“What Rishi has got to do is create an image which people want to subscribe to.”
One such pledge is to “stop the boats” – a topic which Cabinet Secretary Mel Stride was asked about on Radio 4 on Tuesday morning where he consistently mixed up Albania and Romania.
