Sunak must be more Conservative or he’ll lose next election, Dame Andrea Jenkyns warns

Tory MP says Prime Minister must now ‘be bold and radical’ as she calls for ‘major war cabinet reshuffle’

Rishi Sunak must “wake up” and be more Conservative or he will lose the next general election, a Tory MP critic of his leadership has said after the local election losses.
Writing for The Telegraph, Dame Andrea Jenkyns said the Prime Minister must now “be bold” and “be radical” in proposing a more traditionally right-wing policy platform.
Dame Andrea also called for a “major war cabinet reshuffle” to see prominent Tories on the Right return to the top of government, including making Boris Johnson the party chairman.
The intervention from Dame Andrea, one of two Tory MPs already on record calling for Mr Sunak to step down, marks the start of the backlash from Conservative MPs over the results.
More Tory MPs are expected to publicly call for a change of direction throughout Friday and Saturday.
One Tory source helping rebel MPs with their plans said of the results: “This is at the extreme upper end of how bad it could be.”
Dame Andrea wrote in her Telegraph article: “Yes, we were expecting a bloody nose in these elections and yes, turnout was predictably low, but nonetheless, I know my colleagues will be feeling jittery this morning as they question whether they will be next on the chopping block.”
She said it was possible that other Tory MP colleagues could join her in submitting no confidence letters in Mr Sunak, which if a total of 52 Tory MPs do so would trigger a vote. But she noted others have not followed her call to do so to date.
Dame Andrea said in a separate interview with BBC Radio Four’s Today program that it was “unlikely” other Tory MPs would submit letters of no confidence over the results so far declared. 
On policy direction, Dame Andrea wrote in her Telegraph piece: “Prime Minister, if you are still around, be bold, be radical, and tackle this leftist silencing of common sense which has progressed at such a rate throughout our institutions. 
“The British public wants a government that is unapologetically proud to be British. Let’s give it to them. After all, Rishi has now been told by the electorate, wake up, be Conservative or you lose!”
On a reshuffle, she wrote: “I would ensure that Boris is fighting a seat at the next election and is our party chairman demonstrating that we have set aside our differences and are uniting to save our country from the socialists.”
Dame Andrea remains one of the most prominent supporters of Mr Johnson on the Tory benches. In her article, she said Mr Sunak should bring in figures like Priti Patel, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick back into the Cabinet.
Much focus is being put on whether Tory mayors Ben Houchen in Tees Valley and Andy Street in West Midlands can be re-elected.
Mr Houchen’s result is expected to be announced around lunchtime on Friday. Labour sources insist he will win. Mr Street’s result is due to be announced on Saturday.
David Campbell Bannerman, the former Tory MEP and chairman of the Conservative Democratic Organisation, has already called for the Prime Minister to go.
Mr Campbell Bannerman tweeted: “New leader; CCHQ clearout.” CCHQ is the acronym for the Conservative Campaign Headquarters.
In another tweet, he said, “it’s time” for a leader switch.
Mr Campbell Bannerman later elaborated in a comment to The Telegraph: “Once again local elections under Sunak have been absolutely disastrous. A year ago we should have won seats under him; we lost 1,000 councillors.
“This time is the worst performance in 40 years, so far.”
Justine Greening, the former Tory cabinet minister seen as being on the moderate wing of the party, said on Sky News that Mr Sunak’s position was still at risk. 
Asked if the Prime Minister was safe, Ms Greening said: “No I don’t think he is. And I think a lot of MPs will take the bank holiday weekend to consider what these results mean in their own communities and for them personally. 
“So whether or not they say that in public I think a lot of MPs will be thinking through that question in private.”
Comment
It remains to be seen exactly how bad Thursday’s Tory showing at the council elections is compared to recent history.
Prof John Curtice, the BBC polling guru, said the results look like being one of the worst for the party in 40 years, but counting will continue throughout Friday and Saturday.
He added: “Sunak is not a natural campaigner and wasn’t even seen campaigning. The lesson is clear: enough of this disastrous, visionless, vacuous leadership. Rishi must go and go now.
“This is a reality check for Conservative MPs: enough avoidance of the problem. If you don’t dump Sunak now the party is finished for at least a decade or more and the country is in danger under a hard-Left woke Labour. Do the necessary and do it quickly!”
Richard Holden, the Conservative Party chairman who toured broadcast studios defending the Prime Minister on Friday morning, said that Mr Sunak remains “the right man for the job”.
Asked if Mr Sunak was safe, Mr Holden told LBC: “Yes, very much so. I think the truth is that we are coming off very, very high watermark results when we had the vaccine bounce in 2021.
“What we’re trying to do now is really cut down on taxes on work, end that double tax on work in a fiscally responsible way at the same time as protecting people’s pensions and putting that cash into public services, while dealing with the international issues we face.
“All those are tough challenges, but I genuinely think, when we’re facing those tough challenges, we’ve got the right man for the job.”
By Dame Andrea Jenkyns
It was no doubt a nail-biting 24 hours for our Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as he awaited the local election results. There was, after all, a great deal at stake for him.
In the corridors of Westminster in recent weeks, I have heard many whispers from my Conservative colleagues detailing how they wanted our Prime Minister to own what would be catastrophic local election results before submitting their letters of no confidence to the 1922 Committee. One even asked me to “pipe down being so critical for the time being!”
When I publicly submitted my vote of no confidence letter back in November, I honestly thought, just like in the Theresa May years, more would soon follow suit and maybe, just maybe, in this last chance saloon period, we could be given yet another chance to gain the trust of the electorate with a Prime Minister who really engages with them and, most importantly, delivers true conservative policies. This turned out to be a pipe dream as six months on, only two of us have publicly declared as submitting letters to Sir Graham Brady.
Given the tremendous losses overnight (at the time of writing, 122 Conservative councillors have lost their seats), the main focus will be on the Blackpool South by-election that saw just 117 votes between the Conservatives and the Reform party. Which clearly demonstrated a major protest vote, the collapse of the Tory vote and the realisation that Reform will not muster enough votes to win seats – but them standing will certainly ensure seats will be handed to Labour. However, Reform will feel bolstered by narrowing the gap despite not getting anywhere near power.
Yes, we were expecting a bloody nose in these elections and yes, turnout was predictably low, but nonetheless, I know my colleagues will be feeling jittery this morning as they question whether they will be next on the chopping block.
There is also the added pressure on the Prime Minister that this weekend we could also lose our two excellent Conservative mayors, Andy Street of the West Midlands and Ben Houchen in the Tees Valley. Now, that could really put the cat among the pigeons and cause shockwaves among fellow Conservative MPs.
So, in truth, I believe we could go in one of three directions following on from these losses.
First, my colleagues may panic and submit enough letters to trigger a vote of no confidence that Mr Sunak would probably win given the size of the payroll vote, leaving us in a state of paralysis.
This could still damage the Prime Minister enough that he believes his position to be untenable, perhaps sparking his resignation and triggering a leadership election decided by the members. That is, provided Sir Graham Brady doesn’t do what he hinted at this week and ensure that only MPs and not the Conservative grassroots get a say. How democratic!  Why did we get rid of Boris again?
Second, we could live through more trouncing in the polls and limp on until the general election. Although we are all bracing ourselves for the seemingly inevitable, I personally do not think that Labour will have as large a majority as the recent polling shows. In my constituency, there is certainly no appetite for Starmer. About a third in my canvass returns favour him, a third have stayed with the Conservatives and 40 per cent are fed up, disengaged, and angry at our party or angry at politicians full stop!
The third possible scenario could be that Rishi Sunak, whilst looking down the barrel of a gun, flexes his muscles and shows some radical thinking. That’s what I would do if I was him. I would put together a major war cabinet reshuffle and bring back talent from the right of the party. Maybe Priti Patel as deputy prime minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg taking on the culture wars as culture secretary, Suella Braverman as education secretary to sort out the ridiculous RSHE sex/trans education, and Robert Jenrick back in the Home Office.
But most importantly, I would ensure that Boris is fighting a seat at the next election and is our party chairman, demonstrating that we have set aside our differences and are uniting to save our country from the socialists, who will no doubt be as bad as the SNP if they got into power with their out-of-touch ideology.
This is probably too radical for our Prime Minister, but if he is still in position, he does need to do something, especially policy-wise. Disenfranchised Conservatives are constantly saying to me on the doorstep, “Please, give me a reason to vote Conservative, as at the moment we can’t see much difference between the two main parties!”
So, let us start delivering true common sense conservatism. It is time to be tough on crime and put an end to this two-tier policing. Let’s get several flights off to Rwanda and stop using taxpayers’ money to house illegal migrants in hotels. And let’s commit to having a referendum in our election manifesto on coming out of the ECHR, so we will have the true power to control our borders.
There should be no more “Soft-Touch Britain”. We must deport those who harm our country, and once again be low-tax, small-state, financially frugal Conservatives. We need to champion the individual to make their life choices and say no to the nanny state, including the ridiculous smoking ban and net zero targets. Let’s trust the British public to decide how to heat their homes and what cars they wish to drive. We need to be on the side of those who strive, work hard, and do the right thing.
Prime Minister, if you are still around, be bold, be radical, and tackle this leftist silencing of common sense which has progressed at such a rate throughout our institutions. 
The British public wants a government that is unapologetically proud to be British. Let’s give it to them. After all, Rishi has now been told by the electorate, wake up, be Conservative or you lose!
Dame Andrea Jenkyns is the Conservative MP for Morley and Outwood