Conservative MPs have been submitting letters of no confidence in Rishi Sunak, according to Westminster insiders.
The prime minister has faced a fresh headache this week after the top spin doctor in Downing Street quit after less than a year in the job.
Amber de Botton, who had a decade-long career as a broadcast journalist, was hired by the PM as his director of communications a few days after he entered Number 10.
Unlike an impartial civil servant, she was a special adviser able to give political advice to ministers, defend the Government’s actions and criticise opposition parties.
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ms de Botton said: “It has been an honour and a privilege to serve as the Prime Minister’s director of communications but I have decided it is the right time to move on.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Prime Minister for his support and his leadership.
“The team he has built around him is dedicated and focused because those are the qualities he inspires. I also want to thank my colleagues – No 10 is a demanding and high pressure place to work – yet the professionalism and talent they display every day is exceptional.”
But with tens of Tory MPs already announcing their intention not to run in the next general election, all the signs point to the wheels falling off for the Sunak campaign.
According to David Maddox, several members within his party have submitted no-confidence votes in the PM, as appeals for fresh leadership ring out.
“It just feels like we have completely lost control, the country is falling apart. Nobody really believes the PM can win the election anymore”, he said.
No sh*t!
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