Margaret Thatcher would not have been impressed with Rishi Sunak's Tories, said Ann Widdecombe (Image: GETTY)

       Margaret Thatcher would be “absolutely horrified” by the current state of the Conservative Party, ex-Tory minister Ann Widdecombe has said.

       With the Conservatives facing another potentially damaging by-election after a recall petition against Wellingborough MP Peter Bone, and the party continuing to bicker over immigration, Rishi Sunak, the current occupant of Number 10, is struggling to assert himself.

       The passage of his controversial Rwanda Bill through the House of Commons is still far from certain, with the PM facing opposition on both the right and left, and he was yesterday involved in a very public spat with Foreign Affairs committee chairman Alicia Kearns MP on the subject of the Israel-Hamas war.

       It’s all a far cry from the 1980s, when Mrs Thatcher’s three thumping election victories put her in a position of unprecedented authority, and portraits of the grocer’s daughter from Grantham adorn the walls of Conservative associations up and down the UK.

       Her sheer popularity was illustrated by a poll of Express.co.uk readers this week in which readers were asked to name the best Tory Prime Minister since World War II.

       READ MORE: Rishi channels Maggie in immigration pledge

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       Ann Widdecombe was first elected to Parliament in 1987 - when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister (Image: GETTY)

       Out of 10,952 votes, a massive 7,250 (66 percent) opted for Mrs Thatcher - dwarfing the 1,388 (12.5 percent) who plumped for Sir Winston Churchill and the 1,171 (10.5 percent) who went for Boris Johnson. Mr Sunak attracted just 56 votes (0.5 percent), marginally ahead a long way ahead of Boris Johnson, her nearest rival, on 34 percent (3,301).

       The former MP for Maidstone, more latterly a Brexit Party MEP and now a member of Reform UK, told Express.co.uk: “I don’t find that remotely surprising.

       “I would have been surprised if it had gone any other way.”

       Ms Widdecombe, first elected to the House of Commons in 1987, says her former party has squandered the opportunity presented by Mr Johnson’s 80-seat majority at the last general election - and believes it is on course for a “hiding” at the next one.

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       She continued: “What would Mrs Thatcher be thinking if she saw what was happening at the moment?

       “She would be exactly the same as me: she'd be absolutely horrified.

       “I don't even know what she would say because it's such just such an appalling situation.

       “It goes against everything she stood for, her sense of discipline, her intellectual rigour and her strong ideology.”

       Ms Widdecombe is not alone in her assessment. Speaking to Express.co.uk earlier this month, Henry Smith, the Tory MP for Crawley, also felt his party had not made full use of the opportunities presented by Mr Johnson's 2019 victory.

       Mr Smith, who is not seeking re-election, said:"I really think we have squandered what was an 80-seat majority, almost exactly four years ago. I appreciate we've had a global pandemic and all of that.

       "But, you know, we could have been so much more bold in terms of the Brexit freedoms that we have to act on things. And we've just missed that opportunity of that big majority to do some really radical and exciting things.

       “A risk of sounding nostalgic, had Margaret Thatcher been PM she would have used that maturity and we would have done some really exciting things. But we haven’t.”

       The Wellingborough by-election is likely to prove a significant headache for Mr Sunak when it is held early next year, not least because it appears Mr Bone is not minded to go quietly.

       North Northamptonshire Council confirmed that 13.2 percent of the electorate in the constituency backed a petition to recall him, comfortably passing the 10 percent threshold required for a by-election contest.

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       Henry Smith, pictured in Parliament, is not seeking re-election (Image: Parliament TV)

       The petition had been prompted after Mr Bone was handed a six-week suspension from the House of Commons after an inquiry found he had subjected a staff member to bullying and sexual misconduct.

       He has been sitting as an independent after losing the Conservative whip in the aftermath of the ruling.

       In a statement published on social media, Mr Bone said having a by-election seemed "bizarre as 86.8 percent of the electorate did not want to remove me from office, nor for there to be a by-election, and yet we are still to have one".

       The veteran politician, who has been spotted in Westminster in recent days, insists the allegations against him were "totally untrue and without foundation".

       Mr Sunak and Ms Kearns, the Tory MP for Rutland and Melton, clashed when he appeared before the committee on Tuesday.

       She asked him where the UK had succeeded in achieving restraint in the Israeli Defence Forces' actions.

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       UK Prime Ministers factfile (Image: Express)

       Rishi Sunak told her: "I'm obviously not the one making operational decisions on the ground, but we have consistently urged Israel, where they can, to avoid harming innocent civilians, far too many have died.

       "And that it's about providing notice, providing safe areas, safe passage during the early phases of the conflict, but also about making sure that aid reaches those people who need it."

       Ms Kearns then asked whether he had received advice from government lawyers or submissions about whether Israel's actions were in accordance with international law.

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       He replied: "The Government never comments on the legal advice it receives. But what is absolutely clear, I've been consistent throughout on this, from day one: We can't forget what happened, Hamas perpetrated an appalling terror attack on Israel, and innocent people were slaughtered.

       "And Israel has every right to defend itself, to ensure its security, make sure that nothing like that ever happens again to its citizens. We would do exactly the same if it was us."

       At one point, when asked by Ms Kearns to say where responsibility for civilian deaths lay, Mr Sunak appeared to become exasperated, describing it as an “extraordinary question”.

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