Everyday is a Civil War with the Tories

The halls of Westminster echo with nervous whispers as a political storm brews. Though Labour dominates the polls, rumours swirl that Rishi Sunak may call a snap summer election to consolidate his fragile grip on power

Sunak nervously denies election speculation as the local contests loom. Yet behind the scenes, tensions reach boiling point, with angry backbenchers threatening to oust the unelected PM if voters deal a crushing blow this week.

The Tories stare down the barrel of calamity, set to shed nearly half their council seats. Morale has evaporated, discipline has collapsed, and unity vanished. A cadre of hardcore rebels now openly conspire against Sunak’s rickety rule.

Even loyalists plead for unity while accusing Labour of economic sabotage, but to no avail. The febrile Tory ranks ignore such platitudes, their frustration boiling over after years of bungling and scandal atop Downing Street so much so that they have detailed a 100 day blitz plan to cover for Sunak’s missteps.

But will the scheming rebels hold firm if Sunak makes a surprise election dash, or will they blink first?

Sunak Scare Tactics

The halls of Westminster are abuzz with chatter about a potential early general election this summer, despite Labour’s strong lead in the polls.

Though Downing Street has downplayed the rumours, influential Tory MPs believe the threat of an election is being used by Number 10 to keep rebellious colleagues in check before a perilous set of local elections this week.

As one unnamed senior Tory noted, “If the prime minister went to the palace saying this is hopeless, we’d end up going to the country. That will act as a discipline on colleagues. Most don’t want an election, but some would.”

The mood among MPs is resignation rather than rebellion ahead of expected crushing local losses. But a wipeout including defeat for high-profile mayoral candidates could spur efforts to oust Sunak.

Sunak was never properly elected by party members, taking power amid chaos under Johnson and Truss. With minimal loyalty to an unelected leader, some hardcore rebels may agitate against Sunak after this week’s results.

While no organized coup is underway currently, backbench grumbling persists. Sunak allies like Oliver Dowden have discussed a summer election, hoping to project confidence. But other senior Tories claim party unity under Sunak is worse than after Blair’s 1997 win.

As one ex-minister put it, “People aren’t grouping around Sunak. He wasn’t elected by members, just took over after Johnson and Truss. So loyalty seems pointless now.”

This rumoured election threat suggests Sunak is struggling to control the febrile Tory ranks.

Sunak and The Tories Expect Losses

The Tories are expected to lose as many as half the council seats they are defending, after riding high in 2021 amid the vaccine rollout.

With morale low and unity fractured, a big loss this week including defeat for high-profile mayoral candidates like Ben Houchen and Andy Street could ignite an attempt to oust Rishi Sunak.

Some loyalists like Matt Warman have called for unity, arguing a divided party guarantees opposition while Labour poses a threat to the economy if elected.

But discipline under Sunak is worse than even after Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide, as MPs question the point of loyalty to an unelected occupant of No 10. Even Sunak’s allies like Oliver Dowden and campaign chief Isaac Levido differ on the best election timing.

Warman claims divided parties are doomed to opposition. The Tories have been divided from day one of this parliament, with Boris Johnson’s calamitous premiership beset by internal feuding.

Riven by factionalism and plummeting in the polls, the party’s fate is already sealed no matter how much faux-unity drivel is spouted.

Some optimists think Sunak could cling on until late autumn and an election once modest economic recovery emerges. Yet Britain has suffered enough damage already through Tory misrule.

But do you think rebel Tories that are already fed up with Sunak and his weak leadership will just stand by and be threatened by Sunak’s corrupt and sleazy plans?

Tories Plan Ahead

Rebel Tory MPs definitely went ahead and touted plans for a 100-day policy blitz if local elections bring disaster for the floundering Conservatives.

The embattled PM said Sunday he won’t be distracted by his abysmal personal ratings, while refusing to rule out a July general election amid escalating rumours of a backbench plot to oust him if high-profile Tory mayors like Andy Street and Ben Houchen lose on Thursday.

The dramatic defection of ex-Tory health minister Dr. Dan Poulter to Labour on Saturday over the party’s failures on the NHS presages potential carnage this week.

Losing half their councillors could spur rebel Tories to submit letters of no confidence and openly defy Sunak’s enfeebled authority.

In quitting, Poulter scathingly declared the Tories are now a nationalist right-wing party failing the NHS, saying only Labour can cure its ills. His brazen abandonment exposes the simmering backbench discontent.

Hardline Tory rebels now threaten a 100-day policy blitz if results are calamitous, supposedly to secure quick wins and prove they care about people’s concerns.

But their extreme agenda exposes the ideologically-driven disdain for ordinary Britons among many Tory MPs.

Their meager blitz includes ending the junior doctors’ dispute with an inadequate 10-12% pay offer, further slashing legal migration, hiking defence spending to unaffordable highs, jailing more offenders in inhumane rapid detention cells, and outrageously targeting disability benefits.

This dystopian vision lays bare the cold-hearted zealotry of the Tory right. Their policies exacerbate inequality, divide communities, harm the vulnerable and weaken Britain’s place in the world.

Polls Are Not Looking Good

An Ipsos poll showed Sunak’s dire personal ratings matching John Major’s nadir in 1994, with just 16% satisfied. Highly revealingly, Penny Mordaunt also trails far behind Labour’s Keir Starmer, exposing the weakness of potential leadership rivals.

Despite allies denying her ambitions, Mordaunt seems to be blatantly laying the groundwork for when Sunak falls. But all potential successors peddle the same out-of-touch dogma that has left Britain broken after 12 disastrous Tory years.

Appearing tetchy in interviews, Sunak insists an election remains months away. But the menacing rumblings of rebellion may test that assumption if this week brings the expected losses. Sunak’s uneasy grip on his fractious party looks ever more precarious.

And the Tory party doesn’t need a corrupt leader when it is already filled to the brim with sleazy cronies that are only looking after themselves and will never give a damn about the average British citizen. Need more proof? Just check out how many Tory MPs including Sunak themselves indulge in luxuries at the behest of every taxpayer.

Corruption is Their Motto

Recently, David Cameron has sparked outrage by splurging taxpayers’ money on hiring an obscenely opulent £42 million private jet for a recent central Asia trip.

The Embraer Lineage 1000 boasts a sommelier-curated wine menu and relaxation suite with extra-long sofas – hardly appropriate use of public funds during a cost of living crisis.

Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry rightly slammed this profligate waste. Charter flights may be occasionally needed for extensive foreign tours, but hundreds of thousands on an ultra-luxury plane is indefensible. This typifies the entitled, out-of-touch mentality of today’s elitist Tories.

While the trip aimed to promote British business and send aid, such worthy goals don’t justify outrageously lavish spending. This follows last year’s eye-watering £348,000 bill when James Cleverly hired the same plane for a Caribbean tour. Rishi Sunak has also shown a penchant for pointless domestic flights, including helicoptering to London from Dorset.

These flagrant abuses highlight the hypocrisy of a Tory party lecturing ordinary citizens on belt-tightening while its top ministers live like kings on the taxpayer dime. Sunak especially, as a private jet-flying millionaire, is hardly well-placed to understand the plight of cash-strapped families now relying on food banks.

At heart, this shows the rotten state of today’s Conservative Party – fiscally reckless, morally bankrupt and wholly disconnected from the lives of ordinary voters. Is it any wonder that chaos and division is rife in today’s Tory party?