Sunak navigates internal challenges as Tories regroup

As tensions mounted, Labor issued a warning. Mr. Sunak, they cautioned, risks becoming a prisoner of the right wing of his party. Those on the extreme right of the Conservative Party, they noted, hold dangerous views. With calamitous local election results, Sunak is trying to cling to power.

It came as former home secretary Suella Braverman led right-wing calls for the prime minister to take a tougher stance on issues like immigration. But Andy Street, the Tory defeated in the West Midlands mayoral contest, urged him not to drift to the right.

The prime minister spent Sunday in seclusion at No. 1Following the local elections, his party lost almost all council seats.Suffered a stunning defeat in the West Midlands mayoral race. In London, Labour publicly embarrassed me. Sadiq Khan triumphed in his re-election bid with ease.

Efforts to stick to his political targets

He was disappointed by the local election results. However, he vowed to redouble his efforts and stick to his political targets.

Ms. Braverman accused Mr. Sunak of not being conservative enough, leading Tory voters to withhold their support.

Mr. Street drew a different lesson from the local election results. He urged the Tories not to abandon “moderate, tolerant, inclusive conservatism.”.

The events of the last few days have initiated a new, fierce fight for the Conservative Party’s direction. Leading figures have exchanged blows on this issue.

The right wing of the Tory party has attempted to capitalize on Mr. Sunak’s weakness. Tory MPs have debated his future behind the scenes over the weekend, revealing a lack of support.

A meeting between the prime minister and two grandees from the party’s right wing, Sir John Hayes and Sir Edward Leigh, took place in the last fortnight.The meeting saw Mr. Sunak being advised to adopt a more right-wing approach if he wanted to keep his job as prime minister.

A source told The Independent that the two MPs represented a larger group of parliamentarians. The source added that they had laid out the facts to the prime minister, indicating the need for him to become more conservative.

Discussions with the prime minister

It was one of a number of discussions the prime minister has had with different factions.

But it was noted that he moved to appease the right ahead of the local elections by pushing through his controversial Rwanda bill to allow deportations of asylum seekers to east Africa. The filming of asylum seekers being gathered into vans took place under his authorization, right before the election.

Last Saturday, Sir John openly backed the prime minister in his decision to remain in office after the incident.The importance of showing asylum seekers being apprehended for deportation was emphasized by him. This was in addition to the possibility that we might have lost those seats otherwise.

He said: “We need half a dozen more headlines like that and then we can win again.”

It has fed Labor’s allegations that Mr. Sunak is now “a prisoner of the right.”.

The shadow paymaster general, Jonathan Ashworth, stated that Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is being urged by his Trussite MPs every week to move more to the right.

He added that Rishi Sunak faces weekly pressure from his own MPs to shift to the right.

It’s clear that he is a prisoner of those with the most dangerous views within his party. He is too weak to say no to them.

“The British public deserve better than this constant psychodrama under the Tories. Only the changed Labour Party can deliver that.”

But now plans are in place to push the government even further to the right, fuelled by fears over burgeoning support for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

The Tweet

A tweet by Tory chair Richard Holden seemed to confirm that the party believes Andy Street lost in the West Midlands because 34,471 voters peeled off to Mr Farage’s right-wing party.

Mr. Holden quoted Reform leader Richard Tice, saying, “We stopped Andy Street from winning in the West Midlands. We’re excited and happy about that.

The Tory chair added: “A vote for Reform is a vote to help Labour win. Mr Tice’s own words.”

A senior Tory MP told The Independent that the election results “prove Reform cannot win” but show that “they can be wreckers in tight seats for the Conservatives.”.

The influential Common Sense Group of conservative MPs, centered on immigration and cultural disputes, is planning to pen a letter to Mr. Sunak next week, requesting an immediate audience and presenting a set of demands.

Ms. Braverman, who is close to Sir John and the Common Sense Group, has already demanded that Mr. Sunak bring right-wingers like her back into his cabinet, adopt a policy of leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, and cap legal immigration.

She told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that she now “regrets” supporting Mr. Sunak when he ran against Boris Johnson for the leadership, but said that “there is no superman or superwoman to replace him now.”.

Ms. Braverman

Ms. Braverman added, “The plan is not working, and I despair at these terrible results.

1. I love my country.

2. I care about my party.

3. I want us to win.

4. I am urging the prime minister to change course.

5. He should reflect on what voters are telling us.

6. He should change the plan.

7. He should alter the way he communicates and leads us.

Dame Andrea Jenkyns, another right-winger, stated that Mr. Sunak should allow Boris Johnson to run for parliament at the next election.

She has put in a letter of no confidence in the prime minister. Mr. Johnson’s return is described by her as a “plan B alternative” to changing leaders.

Allies of the former prime minister

Meanwhile, allies of former prime minister Liz Truss are planning to launch a new push for massive tax cuts on Monday. They point out that the tax burden is currently at an 80-year high.

Several respected Tory voices have warned Mr. Sunak not to “drift to the right.” This includes the defeated West Midlands mayor, Mr. Street.

With a deficit of only 1,508 votes against Labour’s Richard Parker, Mr. Street was approached by Sky News and inquired about the possibility of choosing a new leader from the right.

He replied, “Categorically yes! In the West Midlands, which is the most urban, youngest, and most diverse place in Britain, we have come within a small number of votes of winning. The reason for this is that our campaign has been very competitive in this region.

Former London minister Paul Scully expressed concern that the party was “going full circle back to its old ways of being ideologically right-wing” when he first joined. He added that the party was out of power for 13 years before moving to the center again.

He said, “If we want to govern, we have to govern from the centre. If you look at voters, more and more older people are considering Conservative parties before they reach voting age. This trend is not sustainable.

Former Tory MP Phillip Lee, who left the Conservative Party and joined the Liberal Democrats over Brexit, issued a warning. He stated: “Mr. Sunak is now irrelevant.” “The Conservative Party is ‘in danger of being a prisoner of the right.'”Sunak navigates internal challenges as Tories regroup after a local election setback