by A group of right-wing Conservative MPs believe Penny Mordaunt should lead the Tories into the next election, the Telegraph understands, as they consider a plan to oust Rishi Sunak.
The MPs from the Right have indicated that they are willing to join forces with Ms Mordaunt to prevent catastrophic losses at the polls.
It is understood that a meeting took place between prominent figures on the Tory Right and prominent supporters of Ms Mordaunt from her previous Tory leadership run.
The revelation comes after a week in which former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson joined Reform and Mr Sunak ruled out a general election in early May.
The talks reflect the desperation among some MPs at the current state of the polls, with Labor around 20 percentage points ahead of the Tories despite a tax cut Budget earlier this month.
On Friday, James Heappey became the 62nd Tory MP to announce he would stand down at the next election and is also due to stand down as Minister for the Armed Forces this month.
A right-wing Tory source said: “A number of right-wing MPs met with Team Penny this week and expressed their willingness to support her. They think Penny is better than Rishi Sunak right now.”
The source added: “It now appears that Penny Mordaunt is the most likely person to bear the losses.”
The well-placed source said Mr Sunak’s critics were waiting for him to resign from his Cabinet which could spark wider unrest. “At the moment the Cabinet is refusing to walk out on the Prime Minister,” said the source, “But there is a growing perception that if only one member of the Cabinet were to go, that the dam would break.”
A spokesman for Mr Mordaunt said: “Penny is getting on with the job of serving the nation as Leader of the House of Commons and serving her constituents in Portsmouth North.”
While the Tory benches are widely gloom about the party’s re-election chances, it is far less clear whether the Dála MPs are willing to act to change the leader.
Only two Tory MPs, Dame Andrea Jenkyns and Sir Simon Clarke, who have been prominent supporters of Boris Johnson, have gone public calling for Mr Sunak to leave.
Mr Sunak met executive members of the 1922 Committee this week, fueling speculation that they were concerned about his leadership. However, sources insisted the meeting was routine, with members urging Mr Sunak to “go long” on the election and call one in the autumn after asking for their opinion.
No vote of confidence
To trigger a vote of no confidence, 53 Dáil Deputies must submit a letter to the 1922 Committee, which is 15 percent of all Dáil Deputies.
In the weeks before the portal was removed under Mr Johnson, the number of Dáil MPs who publicly asked him to leave was in the thirties.
But the decision by leading figures on the Tory Right to signal that they would be rallying behind Ms Mordaunt is attractive, given her position on the moderate wing of the party.
Ms Mordaunt has been criticized by some MPs for being too soft on devolution issues, with a row over the issue overshadowing her bid for the leadership in the summer of 2022 after Mr Johnson steps down.
She also ran again in the autumn of 2022, after Liz Truss was ousted, and was the only other candidate still standing against Mr Sunak at the end of the MP nominations. Mr Sunak eventually won without a vote from Tory members after Mr Mordaunt withdrew.
Bloomberg reported this week that some Cabinet ministers who supported Mr Sunak discussed what would happen if he was forced to step down as leader before the next general election.
Several ministers have been urging rebels in recent days not to move against Mr Sunak. One told the Telegraph: “The party has to learn very quickly that if we don’t all stand together we will all hang separately.”
Miss Mordaunt is a former defense secretary who has been praised by colleagues for her rhetorical style and appeal to the party’s base.
On Thursday, a new poll of voters suggested that Ms Mordaunt was the only Conservative seen as an asset to the party rather than a liability.
She recently went public criticizing defense cuts. Ahead of the Budget, as Jeremy Hunt faced calls to announce more funding for the Ministry of Defence, she published a picture of herself with the Chancellor at a meeting where she told him the Government’s “first duty” was to protect Britain.
But critical Tory MPs have in the past questioned his strength on economic issues. During the 2022 leadership races rivals focused on her record as a minister.
Some right-wing groups are unhappy with Mr Sunak’s performance. One poll, carried out by Savanta in the days after Mr Hunt set out his economic plan, put the Tories at their lowest level of support since Liz Truss resigned.
It comes as the Prime Minister faces new politics over his handling of a racist row involving Frank Hester, a major party donor.
Mr Hester, who donated £10million to the Tories last year, alleged he told Diane Abbott she “makes you want to hate every black woman” and “she should be shot”.
On Tuesday, Mr Sunak described the comments, which were reported in 2019, as “racist and wrong”. Downing Street has previously refused to categorize the remarks as racist, instead calling them “clearly unacceptable”.
The Conservatives are under pressure to return Mr Hester’s money, including from Sir Keir Starmer and West Midlands Tory mayor Andy Street.
