Supporting Conservative MPs Rishi Sunak have personally admitted that ‘It’s over’ as panic hits his leadership campaign.
Insiders told The Mail on Sunday that some supporters refused to campaign for the former chancellor.
MPs would get cold feet after the Minister of Defense Ben Wallace and former leadership rival Tom Tugendhat threw their support behind Liz Truss quickly after eachother.
However, other MPs who supported Mr Sunak insisted that he did well with Tory members, and said private polls showed that Ms Truss’ supporters could easily be convinced to turn their support over to him.
Insiders told The Mail on Sunday that some supporters refused to campaign for the former chancellor
Wallace topped the member polls as the most popular candidate to succeed Boris Johnson before shutting himself out of the race. His approval weighs heavily, and last week he called Ms Truss “authentic, honest and experienced.”
Tugendhat, the chairman of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, said her campaign was “based on genuine conservative principles”, scoffing at Mr Sunak, saying it was “not right” for the tax burden to increase amid a crisis. in the cost of living.
A source who had spoken to ‘wobbly’ Sunak supporters said MPs who had supported him had no intention of defecting to Mrs Truss’ camp but would be ‘busy’ if they met him in the coming weeks. publicly support or campaign for him.
“They say it’s over,” the source said.
Sunak and the team around him have been accused of “not getting” Conservative membership. A Tory MP said: ‘All this is a misunderstanding of who his audience is. You don’t have to appeal to the public, you have to appeal to the electorate. They read two newspapers: the Mail and the Telegraph. If it’s not in one of those, they probably haven’t seen it. I don’t think Rishi’s fate ever understood who they’re talking to.”
The MP said an illustration of this was when Mr Sunak did not wear a tie in televised debates, adding: ‘If you really knew who your audience was, you would put on a bloody tie. You’re not trying to show that you disagree with the cool kids. Members want to know that you are in charge. A tie speaks of efficiency and purpose.’
But a high-ranking Tory MP who backed Mr Sunak told The Mail on Sunday: “It’s not over,” saying Mr Wallace and Mr Tugendhat were “huge opportunists” who had supported the frontrunner to create jobs in the to get a cabinet.
Sunak was charged last week with ‘stabbing Boris in the back’. But the MP dismissed the idea that he had betrayed Mr Johnson by quitting, adding: ‘Boris stabbed himself with a knife. It was untenable. Those of us who defended Boris got a hell of voters.”
A number of MPs have recruited their association members in recent days and report that ‘the pledges for Sunak are much higher’. Two sources described Ms. Truss’ voice as “malleable.”
But it is feared that Mr Sunak’s message will not get through. A MP who spoke to members revealed that several said: ‘My head says Rishi, but my heart says Liz’. This weekend is seen as a high point for Mr Sunak as ballots will arrive on Tory members’ doorsteps during the week.
Yesterday a rally for Mr Sunak, organized by Gloucestershire Conservatives, to take place today, has eliminated the £20 entry fee. Sunak’s spokesman said his team had always asked for the event to be free, but the association had wrongly charged people.
To revive his campaign, Mr Sunak spoke loudly yesterday about identity politics and pledged to end “wakeful nonsense” if he became prime minister.
Last week’s tax policy, when Mr Sunak pledged to temporarily cut VAT on utility bills, despite previously saying it was not the time for tax cuts, proved counterproductive. One MP described it as a ‘nail in the coffin’ for Mr Sunak’s leadership bid.
A Tory Party insider said his team “came up with the campaign last year, at a time when Rishi was the most popular politician.” But the insider added that after that came the Spring Statement, “which was not well received,” the fine from the police and revelations about the non-dom status of Mr Sunak’s wife, adding: “They have not adapted.’
MPs would get cold feet after Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and former leadership rival Tom Tugendhat gave their support to Liz Truss in quick succession
Critics also said Mr Sunak’s “squad” treated MPs with disdain, with a minister telling the Times they behaved like a “cool” gang at school. Last night, a spokesman for the Sunak campaign said: ‘We have the most support from the parliamentary party. We have very supportive MPs. The momentum is increasing.’
But the center of gravity seems to be shifting to Mrs. Truss. Sources said Mr Johnson’s ally and strategist Sir Lynton Crosby has personally supported the Foreign Secretary. The pair spoke at length last month at the Conservative Summer Party at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Strategist Mark Fullbrook, an ally of Sir Lynton, is already working on Mrs Truss’ campaign, and there is speculation that Mr Johnson’s deputy chief of staff David Canzini – another of Sir Lynton’s ally – could be considered for the same role in a government of Truss. . A source on her campaign said: ‘Liz and the team are completely focused on meeting members and winning the competition. She doesn’t even think about who gets which job if she wins.’ Sources close to Mrs Truss said Sir Lynton is in no way involved in her campaign.
Asked on Friday if she was now confident of winning the leadership contest, Ms Truss said: “I’m not complacent at all. I fight for every vote in the whole country.”