World

Which Tory MPs are calling for Truss to go – and how could the PM be ousted?

Published

3 years ago

October 18, 2022

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Liz Truss’s premiership is hanging by a thread after a tumultuous first six weeks in office.

The prime minister sacked Kwasi Kwarteng in an attempt to quell the unrest on Conservative benches.

But new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has since axed almost all of her ill-fated mini-budget – less than a month after it was unveiled.

Chancellor Hunt urges Tories to ‘give Truss a chance’

On Monday, Ms Truss apologised for the mistakes she made over the government’s economic policies and said she intends to lead the Conservative Party into the next election.

But, ultimately, this may not be her choice if MPs move against her – and five of her own backbenchers have already done just that.

Crispin Blunt

The Conservative MP for Reigate was the first MP out of the blocks to call for the prime minister to resign following her failed mini-budget last month.

Mr Blunt, a justice minister in the early years of David Cameron’s premiership, told veteran broadcaster Andrew Neil that Ms Truss should go “now” as “the game is up” after just six weeks.

Describing the “shocking few weeks” for the party, Mr Blunt told Mr Neil’s programme on Channel 4: “I would be very, very surprised if there are people dying in a ditch to keep Liz Truss as our prime minister.

“What we need to effect is a transition to a combination of the talents of Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Jeremy Hunt in the top leadership positions in the party.

“They probably need to sit down and have a conversation between themselves about how to best effect the chance. And I think that the collective position from those three would command very great support among the parliamentary and among the party in the country who are just desperate to get this sorted out.”

Andrew Bridgen

The Conservative MP for North West Leicestershire was the second of Ms Truss’s backbenchers to call for her to resign.

Mr Bridgen, who supported Ms Truss’s rival Rishi Sunak in the leadership campaign over the summer, announced his position in a scathing blog post which declared that Ms Truss had “run out of friends”.

“Liz has sunk her own leadership and her predecessor’s potential comeback at the same time, all in record time,” he wrote.

“Beleaguered Liz Truss has now run out of friends. She only ever had the support of a third of the elected MPs. We should expect more fireworks in Parliament this week.

“Unless this is resolved quickly, we are heading for a general election.”

Beth Rigby analysis: ‘It can’t go on like this’ – it looks to be over for PM Truss

But Mr Bridgen is not a stranger to the no confidence system.

Back in May, he became the twenty-seventh Conservative politician to tell Boris Johnson to quit over the partygate scandal – a series of events held in Downing Street and across Whitehall in breach of coronavirus rules.

Jamie Wallis

The MP for Bridgend became the third Conservative MP to break ranks by calling for Ms Truss to quit.

Mr Wallis, who has been on the government’s backbenches since 2019, said the PM had “undermined Britain’s economic credibility and fractured our party irreparably”.

Sharing a letter to the PM on social media, he wrote: “In recent weeks, I have watched as the government has undermined Britain’s economic credibility and fractured our party irreparably.

“Enough is enough. I have written to the prime minister to ask her to stand down as she no longer holds the confidence of this country.”

Earlier this year, Mr Wallis released a highly personal statement saying he wants to transition to be a woman.

In his letter to Ms Truss, he called out senior members of the party for “exploiting the issue of transgender rights” during the leadership contest.

“Observing the hostile nature of the debate and then witnessing increased hostility towards transgender people on social media and in-person was distressing,” he wrote.

Mr Wallis acknowledged that “mistakes can be undone” but said he did not believe this was possible with Ms Truss as leader.

Angela Richardson

The MP for Guildford became the fourth Conservative MP to call for Ms Truss to depart Number 10, telling the Telegraph newspaper that it would be “better for the party and for the country to have a change in leadership at the top”.

Ms Richardson, who was also elected in 2019, said Ms Truss should resign and then a truncated leadership election should get underway “very quickly”.

“Whoever comes up top in the ballot, there should be a coronation. MPs should exercise common sense about that. This is a very pivotal point in time where mucking around is just not in the national interest,” Ms Richardson said.

“It could be the case that everybody who is frustrated with the PM wants a different outcome – our biggest difficulty is settling on someone.”

She continued: “If you think about the significance of what has just been announced by the chancellor today, this feels like even more of an unwinding of what she put together with Kwasi.

“We should never have been in this position in the first place. And now it’s very hard for me to see how she can credibly continue.”

Ms Richardson has previously spoken up against the government, having resigned from her role as an aide to former housing secretary Michael Gove in January amid growing discontent within the party.

Sir Charles Walker

The outgoing MP for Broxbourne became the fifth MP to publicly call for Ms Truss to go, telling Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby that the PM’s position is “untenable”.

Sir Charles, who has said he will stand down at the next election, said Ms Truss has “put colleagues, the country, through a huge amount of unnecessary pain and upset and worry”.

He continued: “We don’t need a disruptor in No 10. We need a uniter. I just think… it is just a situation that is… it can only be remedied I think, with a new prime minister.”

Asked whether Ms Truss could stay in her position, Sir Charles said: “Look, the prime minister has had a very torrid six weeks.

“Personally, I don’t think her position is recoverable. She would obviously take a different view.

“But if you read the mood of the parliamentary party, she has lost authority and you can’t lead a party if you don’t have some authority. She doesn’t have much of that.”

Sir Charles said he believes Ms Truss has “a week or two” left of her premiership.

He continued: “I’m just so cross. I’ve just had enough. And I think quite a few of my colleagues have had enough.”

How could Truss be ousted?

Under Conservative party rules, a new leader cannot be challenged through official procedures for at least a year after entering office. For Ms Truss, this would be until September 2023.

However, Conservative MPs who are disgruntled with Ms Truss’s leadership are still able to submit letters of no confidence in her to chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs, Sir Graham Brady.

It is thought that if many letters are received, Sir Graham could have a mandate to change the rules of the leadership election process so that one could take place imminently.

If senior Conservatives and the chief whip were to find that Ms Truss had lost the support of the majority of her party in parliament, it would be difficult for her to fight on.

A rule change could potentially be agreed for Tory MPs to draw up a shortlist of two candidates from the backbenches who would then agree between themselves who would be PM and who would be deputy without going to the Conservative members.

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Another option is that, as discontent from the backbenches grows, Ms Truss decides to fall on her sword and resign.

The Conservatives would then have to try and mobilise to unite behind a successor as quickly as possible.

Ms Truss could also call a general election to let the general public seal her fate, but would be unlikely to do so imminently with the Conservatives doing so badly in recent polls.

World

UK joins NATO operation to bolster Europe’s eastern flank after Russian drone incursions into Poland

Published

2 hours ago

September 12, 2025

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UK joins NATO operation to bolster Europe's eastern flank after Russian drone incursions into Poland

NATO is to bolster Europe’s eastern flank, including the use of UK military resources, after Russia’s “reckless and unacceptable” violation of Polish airspace.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced operation ‘Eastern Sentry’ on Friday, involving the deployment of equipment on the border with Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to deter potential Russian aggression.

Poland shot down Russian drones which flew over the country on Wednesday, something the military alliance has portrayed as an attempt by Moscow to test NATO’s military response.

It underlines long-held concerns about the potential expansion of Russia’s three-year war in Ukraine.

Russia said its drones went astray because they were jammed, but European leaders believe the incursions were a deliberate provocation by Russia.

“It’s reckless and unacceptable. We can’t have Russian drones entering allied airspace,” Mr Rutte told a news conference.

He added that allies, including the UK, France, Germany and Denmark, have so far committed to the mission with others set to join.

In a statement, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said: “The UK is fully committed to playing our part in NATO’s Eastern Sentry following the reckless and dangerous airspace violations by Russia”. It added that the details of the UK’s contribution would be announced soon.

Yvette Cooper visited Ukraine on Friday, her first visit to the country since becoming foreign secretary after a cabinet shake-up by Sir Keir Starmer.

Ms Cooper described her trip, which included a meeting with the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as a demonstration of solidarity with Ukraine.

“The UK will not stand idly by as Putin continues his barbaric invasion of Ukraine,” Ms Cooper said, noting what she said was the Russian president’s “complete disregard for sovereignty” by sending drones into NATO airspace.

Prince Harry also made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Friday, where he met with wounded service members.

NATO already has substantial forces in eastern Europe, including thousands of troops, but the alliance did not explain how many additional forces would be involved in the new operation.

Speaking at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters, US General Alexus Grynkewich told reporters the additional resources will enable the alliance to “plug gaps in the line” and concentrate forces wherever they’re needed while improving communications across NATO’s entire eastern flank.

NATO detailed a modest number of additional military assets – including two F-16 fighter jets and a frigate from Denmark, three Rafale fighter jets from France and four Eurofighter jets from Germany.

The announcement also coincided with a joint military exercise involving thousands of Russian and Belarusian troops, which began on Friday.

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Meanwhile, new measures were announced by the UK against Russia on Friday.

They included bans on 70 vessels the UK says are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that transports Russian oil in defiance of sanctions.

Some 30 individuals and companies – including Chinese and Turkey-based firms – were also sanctioned for their part in supplying Russia with electronics, chemicals, explosives and other weapons components.

Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, dismissed Donald Trump’s suggestion that the drone incursion into Poland may have been “a mistake”.

“We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake,” Mr Tusk wrote on X. “But it wasn’t. And we know it.”

US-led efforts to steer Moscow and Kyiv toward a peace settlement have so far failed to progress.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said talks to end the war were currently on “pause” even though channels of communication remain open.

World

Russia-Belarus drills begin as tensions high after drone incursion in Poland

Published

8 hours ago

September 12, 2025

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Russia-Belarus drills begin as tensions high after drone incursion in Poland

Thousands of troops are taking part in a joint military exercise between Russia and Belarus, as tensions with the EU run high following a Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace earlier this week.

The Zapad joint military exercise which began on Friday will involve drills in both Russia and Belarus as well as in the Baltic and Barents seas, the Russian defence ministry said.

Belarusian defence officials initially said about 13,000 troops would participate in the drill, but in May, its defence ministry said that would be cut nearly in half.

It comes just two days after Poland, with support from its NATO allies, shot down Russian drones over its airspace.

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Friday morning hit back at a suggestion by US President Donald Trump on Thursday that the incursion may have been a “mistake”.

He said in a post on X: “We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it.”

Russia said its forces had been attacking Ukraine at the time of the incursions and that it had not intended to hit any targets in Poland.

Friday also saw Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper travelling to Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv on the same day the UK announced fresh sanctions against Moscow.

Prince Harry was also in Kyiv for a surprise visit to help with the recovery of military personnel seriously injured in the three-year war with Russia.

Ms Cooper, who was appointed foreign secretary last week, posted about her visit on X saying: “The UK’s support for Ukraine is steadfast. I am pleased to be in Kyiv on my first visit as Foreign Secretary.”

The UK’s new sanctions include bans on 70 vessels that Britain says are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that transports Russian oil in defiance of sanctions already in place.

Some 30 individuals and companies – including Chinese and Turkey-based firms – have also been sanctioned for their part in supplying Russia with electronics, chemicals, explosives and other weapons components.

Meanwhile on the frontline, Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s oil-loading Primorsk port overnight, an SBU official said.

The attack caused fires and suspended oil-loading operations, the official added.

Russian defence systems also intercepted and destroyed 221 Ukrainian drones overnight.

World

Prince Harry makes surprise visit to Ukraine

Published

14 hours ago

September 12, 2025

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Prince Harry makes surprise visit to Ukraine

Prince Harry has made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, a spokesperson for the royal has said.

Harry, who served 10 years in the British Army, visited the city at the invitation of the Ukrainian government.

The Duke of Sussex travelled to the capital to help with the recovery of military personnel seriously injured in the three-year war with Russia.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will also be travelling to Kyiv on Friday in what will be her first foreign trip since being appointed to the job last week.

Her visit coincides with the UK launching a new package of Russia-related sanctions targeting ships carrying Russian oil as well as companies and individuals supplying electronics, chemicals and explosives used to make Russian weapons.

It comes as Russia and Belarus began a major joint military exercise on on NATO’s doorstep on Friday, just two days after Poland, with support from its NATO allies, shot down suspected Russian drones over its airspace.

The Zapad-2025 exercise – a show of force by Russia and its close ally – will involve drills in both countries and in the Baltic and Barents seas, the Russian defence ministry said.

Meanwhile on the frontline, Russian defence systems intercepted and destroyed 221 Ukrainian drones overnight,
including nine over the Moscow region, the ministry said on Friday.

The duke told the Guardian while on an overnight train to Kyiv: “We cannot stop the war but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process.

“We can continue to humanise the people involved in this war and what they are going through.

“We have to keep it in the forefront of people’s minds. I hope this trip will help to bring it home to people because it’s easy to become desensitised to what has been going on.”

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Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan, previously travelled to Ukraine in April, when he visited war victims as part of his work with wounded veterans.

The prince visited the Superhumans Center, an orthopaedic clinic in Lviv that treats and rehabilitates wounded military personnel and civilians.

Earlier this week, Harry said the King is “great” after he reunited with him at Clarence House for a private tea.

It was their first meeting in 19 months and lasted just 54 minutes.

The last time the father and son saw each other was in February 2024 when the prince flew to the UK after the monarch announced his cancer diagnosis.

Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have lived in California since they quit roles as senior working royals in March 2020.