- Clarke claims the Conservatives lost key voters due to a lack of boldness on immigration.
- Other ex-ministers criticize Clarke's article, including former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel.
- A general election is expected in the second half of this year.
Former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel accused Sir Simon of "engaging in facile and divisive self-indulgence." Former Brexit secretary Sir David Davis stated, "The party and the country are sick and tired of MPs putting their leadership ambitions ahead of the UK's best interests."
Lee Anderson, who joined Sir Simon in rebelling over the Rwanda Bill last week, asserted that there was "no chance" of Mr. Sunak being removed before the next election.
He urged his colleagues to get behind the PM, telling the Telegraph "Our only chance to win the next election is by keeping Rishi in No 10".
Home Secretary James:
Home Secretary James Cleverly strongly disagreed with Sir Simon on this particular issue. He argued that Mr. Sunak cut inflation and reduced the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats."If we were to do something as foolish as have an internal argument at this stage, all it would do is open the door for Keir Starmer," he said.
Sir Simon denied he was "positioning myself or on behalf of another".
"I am speaking out because the stakes for our country and my party are too high to stay silent," the MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland added.
A general election is expected in the second half of this year, with January 28, 2025, being the latest legally allowable date. Sir Simon is now the second former minister publicly advocating for Mr. Sunak's resignation. In November, former education minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns submitted a letter of no confidence in the prime minister.
Having served as chief secretary to the Treasury while Mr. Sunak was chancellor, Sir Simon became an enthusiastic supporter of Liz Truss's leadership bid and joined her cabinet.
A source close to Ms. Truss stated that she "had no idea what Simon Clarke is/was up to and is in no way supportive of what he is saying."
Conservative MPs can trigger a leadership election only if 53 MPs write to the chair of the 1922 Committee requesting one.
In his Telegraph op-ed, Sir Simon said "The Conservative Party under Rishi Sunak once again stands on the opposite, crumbling bank of this widening precipice".
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