As others criticizes Sir Simon’s position as “not the overwhelming view of the party”.
THE British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing rebellion from his party as a former cabinet minister, Simon Clarke has said he should be replaced or be massacred during the general election. The former cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke said the Conservatives needed a leader who “shares the instincts of the majority”.
Sir Simon, who rebelled on the Rwanda Bill, said the party has lost “key voters” by failing to be bold on immigration and government reform. The prime minister delivered a statement on recent Houthi strikes in the House of Commons on 23 January. Following the statement, Downing Street is yet to comment.
However, Minister Kevin Hollinrake said Sir Simon’s position was “not the overwhelming view of the party”.
“The vast majority of us believe that Rishi Sunak’s absolutely the right person to be in No 10,” he told BBC Breakfast, adding that the PM had “turned the economy round” and reduced the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats.
Several ex-Tory cabinet ministers, including Dame Priti Patel and David Davis, have criticised Sir Simon’s article. Former Home Secretary Dame Priti accused her colleague of “engaging in facile and divisive self indulgence”. Mr Davis, a former Brexit secretary, said: “The party and the country are sick and tired of MPs putting their own leadership ambitions ahead of the UK’s best interests.”
Writing on X, 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,” he added. A general election is expected in the second half of this year. The latest the next election could legally be held is 28 January 2025. Sir Simon is now the second former minister publicly calling for Mr Sunak to resign. Former education minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns submitted a letter of no confidence in the prime minister in November.
After serving 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. Conservative MPs can only trigger a leadership election 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”.
The former levelling up secretary said Tory MPs might be “afraid” of electing a fourth leader in two years but asked: “Which is worse: a week of chaotic headlines in Westminster, or a decade of decline under Keir?” “Every Conservative MP will need to live with the decision they make in the coming days for the rest of their lives. Failing to act would itself represent a decision,” he added.
Sir Simon’s comments come after a week of open rebellion against Mr Sunak over his flagship Rwanda Bill – to deter migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats. Last week 61 Conservative MPs voted to change the bill as it went through Parliament – the biggest rebellion of Mr Sunak’s premiership. The debate over the legislation has exposed on-going divisions among Conservatives with two deputy chairmen, Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith, quitting their roles in order to vote for the rebel amendments. Mr Sunak is the third Conservative prime minister since the 2019 election, after MPs deposed both Boris Johnson and Liz Truss in 2022.
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