As Tory MPs ponder whether to stand down at the next election in the face of grim polling, the Prime Minister is facing an uphill task to show he has a grip on his party. Ahead of a difficult winter with the NHS and public sector strikes, Rishi Sunak is facing a two pronged rebellion on the levelling up bill. Theresa Villiers is leading blue wall rebels against mandatory housing targets and Simon Clarke is railing against the ban on new onshore wind farms. Meanwhile, there are concerns in government that more MPs could announce this week that they plan not to seek-re-election, with the deadline to tell CCHQ 5th December.
The public and MPs are still forming their view of the new prime minister
When it comes to the rebellions, it’s Clarke’s that currently has the most momentum behind it. The former levelling up secretary is thought not just to be supported by former prime ministers in the form of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss – but also many MPs who served under Truss.
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