The UK prime minister Liz Truss faced a further blow to her leadership on Sunday night, when three Tory MPs broke ranks to demand that she quits.
It marked the start of what is likely to be another dramatic week in Westminster, as Ms Truss bids to cling on to her premiership.
Her new chancellor of the exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, insisted on Sunday that the prime minister was still in charge of her government, even while he signalled plans to effectively scrap the economic vision that brought her to power.
On Sunday, Crispin Blunt, Andrew Bridgen and Jamie Wallis all called on Ms Truss to go, while other senior figures within the parliamentary party expressed deep unease with her leadership but stopped short of calling for her to go.
David McWilliams: Britain, the former workshop of the world, is now a beggar. It is tragic how far it has fallen
Fintan O’Toole: Liz Truss farce was death rattle of the Brexit project
Pat Leahy: Stop laughing and start worrying about what is happening to Britain
Jonathan Coe: ‘The morning after the election felt like waking up in a safe room, having been in an abusive relationship for 14 years’
Mr Blunt told Channel 4′s Andrew Neil Show: “I think the game is up and it’s now a question as to how the succession is managed.”
He was followed by Rishi Sunak supporter Andrew Bridgen on Sunday evening, who said: “We cannot carry on like this.”
Tory MP Jamie Wallis also confirmed he had written to Ms Truss asking her to stand down, as he hit out at the “very basic and avoidable errors in your approach”.
The chancellor, brought in to replace the sacked Kwasi Kwarteng and restore credibility to Downing Street, was at pains to stress that Ms Truss had changed and his fiscal plan on October 31st — now effectively a full budget — would be enough to reassure the country and the markets.
He told the BBC Ms Truss remained “in charge” and insisted voters could still put their faith in her. “She’s listened. She’s changed. She’s been willing to do that most difficult thing in politics, which is to change tack,” he said.
While Mr Hunt warned of “difficult decisions” and fresh “efficiency savings” for all departments, he declined to get into specifics about potential new cuts or what promises could be axed in a bid to save money.
Ms Truss, whose first month as prime minister has been dominated by a ‘mini-budget’ with controversial unfunded tax cuts which caused turmoil in the markets, met Mr Hunt at Chequers on Sunday but that meeting came amid a backdrop of fresh attacks on the prime minister’s authority.
Tory MP Robert Halfon, chairman of the Commons education committee, did little to quash reports of plots against Ms Truss during an appearance on Sky News, when he declined to deny that MPs were considering installing a new leader.
“Of course, colleagues are unhappy with what is going on,” he said. “We’re all talking to see what can be done about it.”
US president Joe Biden also appeared to join in the criticism of Ms Truss’s plan, telling reporters “I wasn’t the only one that thought it was a mistake” and calling the outcome “predictable”.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said on Sunday that uncertain economic conditions in the UK would settle down — and that it was in the Irish interest that they did do. — Additional reporting: PA
