Rishi Sunak is facing discontent among his backbenchers as he heads into the one-year anniversary of his time in No 10, with Jacob Rees-Mogg calling for the government to wake up from a “torpor”.
The prime minister is under pressure from rightwingers for tax cuts and more Conservative policies, while moderates are pushing for more centre-ground plans that deal with the cost of living to stop votes being lost to Labour.
With the one-year anniversary of his premiership due on Wednesday, up to 25 Conservative MPs are prepared to put in letters of no confidence in his leadership following the disastrous byelection losses in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire, according to the Sunday Times.
However, many more Tory MPs are resigned to Sunak leading the party into the next election because of the number of leadership changes the party has already seen since 2019.
Theresa May was replaced that year by Boris Johnson. He gave way to Liz Truss in 2022, and Sunak got the job when her tenure ended after 44 days.
Sunak will face a key test in the week ahead as he seeks to push through the renters reform bill, which is likely to face a rebellion among Tory backbenchers.
But he is believed to have bowed to pressure from the Conservative right to ditch a long-promised ban on conversion therapy for gay and trans people from the king’s speech due on 7 November.
He and Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, are also considering whether to signal possible future tax cuts. Pledges to raise the 40% income tax threshold, lower stamp duty and abolish inheritance tax are among the options under consideration.
Public opinion is being tested by Downing Street to figure out which tax reduction could give the party the biggest political pre-election boost, with the 2024 spring budget considered the earliest it could be announced.
Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, told broadcasters on Sunday that inflation will have to be brought under control before tax cuts can be considered.
“You can trust the Conservatives to make sensible, prudent decisions on the future of the economy and to bring down taxes where it is capable to do so,” he told the BBC.
There are also some nerves within the Treasury over the impact of tax cuts, with the Institute for Fiscal Studies saying last week that they could risk stoking inflation, leading to higher interest rates and recession.
However, many of Sunak’s backbenchers are pressing for more decisive action on tax.
Rees-Mogg, a former business secretary, delivered a blistering critique of Sunak’s time in No 10 so far and his party conference offerings, writing in the Mail on Sunday: “No one is excited about maths to 18 or changes to A-levels in 20 years’ time, or indeed a smoking ban set for an arbitrary date.
“It is high time to stop hitting our own voters with policies that make them worse off or with woke nonsense that offends them.
“Instead, we need to start cutting the size of the state, tax cuts that give people back their own money and a solution to the migration issue.”
George Osborne, a Tory former chancellor, was also scathing about Sunak’s attempt to position himself as a “change candidate” at the election, saying it would be difficult to pull off when he looks like the “ultimate insider” in Westminster.
He said it was not impossible for the Conservatives to win the next election but warned in the Sunday Times: “When the swing is on, the swing is on. The swing is clearly on in Britain. It’s very hard, then, to resist that tide.”
