Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email
Please enter a valid email address
Please enter a valid email address
SIGN UP
I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice
Thanks for signing up to the
View from Westminster email
{{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}
Rishi Sunak tried to cheer up deflated Conservative MPs by comparing the party to England cricket’s heroes.
The prime minister likened the Tories to the English cricketers who produced an unlikely comeback by beating India in the first test.
The Conservatives have been trailing Labour in the polls by around 20 points for months – but the Tory leader told his troops this year’s general election could still be won.
The PM made the comparison at a dinner with around 100 of his MPs on Thursday night, according to Politico – insisting the party was down but not out.
The Tories’ general elections chief Isaac Levido is said to have used the event at the Londoner hotel to tell MPs than there are an estimated 10 million voters who “don’t know” which party they will back.
RECOMMENDED
British filmmaker Isabelle Thomas dies aged 39 after ‘fall from LA hotel’
Undo
Death in Paradise star ‘annoyed’ by original character’s return
Undo
Healthy Natural
Belly Too Big? Do This Tonight!Healthy Natural| Sponsored Sponsored
Undo
Dr. Kellyann
Dr. Kellyann: "Weight Loss After 60 Comes Down To This Daily Habit"Dr. Kellyann| Sponsored Sponsored
Undo
Powered by Taboola Powered by Taboola
And Mr Levido promised the MPs that they would be getting another 15,000 leaflets for their constituency after chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s March 6 budget.
Current polls predicts a Tory wipeout for Sunak and the Conservatives
" srcset="https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/02/01/00/0f5a67642b244e45d20c133e77ebea27Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzA2ODA0Njk1-2.75159799.jpg?quality=75&width=320&auto=webp 320w, https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/02/01/00/0f5a67642b244e45d20c133e77ebea27Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzA2ODA0Njk1-2.75159799.jpg?quality=75&width=640&auto=webp 640w" src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/02/01/00/0f5a67642b244e45d20c133e77ebea27Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzA2ODA0Njk1-2.75159799.jpg" data-gallery-length="3" class="i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content" pinger-seen="true">
Current polls predicts a Tory wipeout for Sunak and the Conservatives
(PA Wire)
The Tory strategist recently attempted to gee up MPs by insisting he wouldn’t waste his own time on a doomed enterprise. “I wouldn’t be here unless I thought we could win,” he said.
Promoted stories
GoSearches
Here's How To Fly Business Class For The Price of EconomyGoSearches
Undo
by Taboola by Taboola
Sponsored Links Sponsored Links
Promoted Links Promoted Links
CCHQ is grasping at the idea of winning over enough “don’t knows” to force a closer contest, perhaps denying Sir Keir Starmer a majority even if Labour win the most seats.
One minister recently revealed that internal polling shows that at least 20 per cent of Tory voters in 2019 have not made up their minds which party they will support.
Mr Sunak’s address comes as cabinet minister Kemi Badenoch shrugged off claims that she is a member of a WhatsApp group titled “Evil Plotters”.
The grassroots Tory favourite told ITV News on Thursday: “I think this is a nonsense story. This is the media trying to fuel lots of gossip about Westminster.”
The business secretary is not believed to be pushing to replace Mr Sunak – but she has reportedly been holding regular lunches with key backers including housing minister Lee Rowley and digital minister Julia Lopez.
Dougie Smith, a senior Tory strategist who has worked as an adviser to successive PM, is aiding a group of rebels MPs and ex-advisers actively plotting to oust Mr Sunak, according to The Times.
Although Ms Badenoch has no involvement with the plotters, the group of disgruntled right-wingers are said to believe she is best placed to succeed Mr Sunak if he is pushed out in the months ahead.
Kemi Badenoch reportedly a member of an ‘Evil Plotters’ WhatsApp group
(PA Wire)
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, another leadership favourite, was urged to reveal if she is a traitor or a faithful after being accused of giving a “bizarre” tribute to Mr Sunak – akin to the misdirection efforts in the hit BBC show.
Labour raised questions about Ms Mordaunt’s recent defence of the “best of Great Britain” PM after senior Tory Simon Clarke had called for Mr Sunak to be sacked.
Shadow Commons leader Lucy Powell compared it to The Traitors, the BBC reality programme in which a small group of “traitors” remain undetected as they plot to remove a wider group of “faithfuls” in order to win a cash prize.
Ms Mordaunt did not directly answer the accusations – instead insisting that she and the Tory party had been “faithful” to the British public. “I will make the case that we are faithfuls on this side of the House.”
LBC host Nick Ferrari is also said to have joked about the BBC show as he spoke at the Tory dinner last night – saying his listeners now believed party is “more like an episode of The Traitors”.
More about Rishi Sunak Conservatives Labour General Election Sir Keir Starmer Kemi Badenoch Penny Mordaunt
Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
30Comments
1/ 3Sunak tells Tories they’re like England cricket team – down, not out
Sunak tells Tories they’re like England cricket team – down, not out
Current polls predicts a Tory wipeout for Sunak and the Conservatives
PA Wire
Sunak tells Tories they’re like England cricket team – down, not out
Kemi Badenoch reportedly a member of an ‘Evil Plotters’ WhatsApp group
PA Wire
Sunak tells Tories they’re like England cricket team – down, not out
REUTERS
CCPA Notice Promoted stories
GundryMD
Top Doctor: If You Eat Oatmeal Every Day, This Is What HappensGundryMD| Sponsored Sponsored
Learn more
Undo
BuzzDaily Winners
If Players Knew This They Would Never Stop PlayingBuzzDaily Winners| Sponsored Sponsored
Play Now
Undo
DateMyAge
Dating Site Where Women Message FirstJoin the Site Where Women Initiate Conversations!DateMyAge| Sponsored Sponsored
Try Now
Undo
Read More Comments
Collapse Comments
？ Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Subscribe
Already subscribed? Log in