The Tories face “complete wipeout” at a general election, Nadine Dorries said today as she refused to rule out a comeback for Boris Johnson.
The former Culture Secretary said she was “still one of Liz [Truss]’s biggest supporters” but sounded the alarm over a recent poll putting her party 33 points behind Labour.
“If there was a general election tomorrow that would probably mean complete wipeout for the Conservative Party,” she told the BBC ’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
It comes after reports Boris Johnson is being urged to abandon his 7,210 majority in north west London and move to Ms Dorries’ safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire.
Ms Dorries ruled out a job under Liz Truss and is widely expected to be offered a peerage by Mr Johnson, sparking a by-election in her seat.
Today the former loyal ally of Boris Johnson refused to rule out a surprise comeback for him as Prime Minister.
Ms Dorries told the BBC : “The only message from Boris Johnson to anyone is to support Liz and to back Liz
“There is no process for that to happen and I think it would take a bizarre reversal of what normally happens.
“I think it's something Conservative MPs would have to really want.
“But at the moment, I can tell you it's not even something Boris Johnson is thinking about.”
Told she was not ruling it out she replied: “I have been in politics a long time, I don't rule anything out. But I would say it is highly, extremely unlikely."
Lib Dem Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney said: “Nadine Dorries is right that voters won’t forgive the Conservatives for tanking the British economy in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
“The only growth people are seeing under this government is the size of their mortgage bills, energy prices and taxes.
“Conservative MPs need to listen to their constituents, change course now and scrap their botched Budget before it does any more damage.”
Boris Johnson is allowed to name new peers, Sirs and Dames in two final honours lists on his departure as Prime Minister.
One is a regular “ad hoc” honours list while the other would be a special “resignation honours”, which past PMs have used to reward their allies.
A leaked version of the first list is said to include 25 peerages, including for 15 Tories such as ex-newspaper editor Paul Dacre and billionaire Tory donor Sir Michael Hintze.
Eight peerages are expected to be handed to Labour figures, including the party's former leader Tom Watson, who resigned in 2019, and the former MP Ruth Smeeth.
The second list has not been revealed but is widely expected to include a peerage for former minister Ms Dorries.
Ms Dorries today said it would be "right" to go to the country for a mandate on a "completely fresh set of policy ideas".
But she said Liz Truss does not need to do this, as she called for the party to unite behind its leader.
Asked if the PM should call a general election, or if the party should try to remove her if she does not change course, Ms Dorries told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: "I believe that it's not so much changing course as perhaps nuancing the policies and the mandate that she's taking forward in a slightly different way.
"The fact is that just after a leadership election, and at the start of a new administration, what we don't need is a disrupter, what we need is a unifier. And I think probably that the new Prime Minister has realised that over the last few weeks."
Pressed on what should happen if Ms Truss does not go back to the 2019 manifesto, she said: "The simple principle of our democracy and our unwritten constitution is that if you're going to have a completely fresh mandate, a completely fresh set of policy ideas and a new prime minister, it would be right to go to the country.
"Liz doesn't need to do that. And I really hope she won't do that when we're 30 points behind in the polls."
