The Liz Truss survival plan

At the first stage of the Conservative leadership race, when Liz Truss was trying to win MPs’ support, her message was that she was the one who could ‘unite the right’. Now, her plan to survive in No. 10 relies on dividing the Tory left.

Regicide is a messy business. ‘It’s very hard to push her out,’ says a former cabinet minister. ‘We would need to change the rules. It could be seen as an establishment stitch-up. I think she needs to do the right thing and resign.’

Everyone in the Tory party agrees that there needs to be a unity candidate when Truss goes, but there is absolutely no unity on who that should be. ‘Until we know who to replace her with, we shouldn’t move,’ says a former government member. The Tories know the country cannot be subjected to another drawn-out leadership contest, so a new leader would be chosen either by an MPs’ vote – cutting out the broader party membership from the process – or by a coronation.

Some senior Tories have suggested establishing ‘a papal conclave’ whereby, in the same manner cardinals elect a pope, MPs would go into a room and not leave until a new leader has been selected. But MPs who are scarred by the last contest want a sense of who the successor is likely to be before they agree to take part.

Truss is betting her future on the fact the party won’t be able to unite around a candidate. Her allies believe that the Tory left poses a greater threat to her than the right. ‘The problem is they have a few candidates they could get behind – like Penny or Rishi,’ says a government aide. ‘But where does the right go? I don’t think they have many options.