Rishi Sunak revolt deepens as Tory MPs team up to publish stinging criticism of PM
Tory MPs Danny Kruger and Miriam Cates have published a damning letter accusing the Prime Minister of "walking away from 2019 voters"
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Tory MPs Danny Kruger and Miriam Cates have published a damning letter accusing the Prime Minister of "walking away from 2019 voters".
Kruger told GB News that they are "not trying to cause trouble" or "destabilise" the Government with their letter but called for the Government to "honour the commitment that we all made as MPs standing on that manifesto in 2019".
The group, made up of MPs elected in 2019, also launched a fundraising drive to help fund election campaigns for Conservative MPs that align with their mission.
Cates told GB News: "Before an election, individual MPs have to fund their campaigns. In some parts of the country, particularly the Red Wall, there aren't necessarily many Conservative Party donors.
WATCH: Christopher Hope speaks to Danny Kruger and Miriam Cates
"So we want to make sure that MPs that stand for what we believe in - that are committed to that realignment, that common sense agenda - have what they need to campaign".
The intervention comes just one day after Suella Braverman was sacked as Home Secretary and replaced with moderate James Cleverly. Former prime minister David Cameron was brought in to replace Cleverly in the Foreign Office.
The reshuffle triggered backlash from some Tory MPs, with Andrea Jenkyns submitting a no-confidence letter and claiming Sunak had "purged" the centre-right of the party.
In today's open letter, the co-Chairs of the New Conservatives Group said: “We are concerned that yesterday’s reshuffle indicates a major change in the policy direction of the Government.
“The Conservative Party now looks like it is deliberately walking away from the coalition of voters who brought us into power with a large majority in 2019.”
They added: “In political terms, it appears the leadership has decided to abandon the voters who switched to us last time, sacrificing the seats we won from Labour in 2019 in the hope of shoring up support elsewhere.”
The duo said that they “remain committed to working for a Conservative victory at the next election”.
In an interview with GB News, they said many backbench MPs are "being ignored" by the Government.
Kruger said: "We want the policies that reflect our manifesto commitment, and there are very large numbers of people on our side in Parliament on the back benches of the Conservative party too - and frankly in Government too - who share our concern.
"We are trying to speak in a way that's constructive. We absolutely don't want to destabilise the leader.
"He absolutely has every right to lead us into the election. All this talk of splits and factions - its totally unhelpful to the Government but also to our agenda.
"We are trying to push for what we were elected to do. And we think that's totally appropriate for an MP. We're not trying to cause trouble."
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Suella Braverman was sacked as Home Secretary and replaced with moderate James Cleverly
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In yesterday's no-confidence letter, Jenkyns said she was speaking out “to stand up and fight for true Conservatism”.
She said: “If it wasn’t bad enough that we have a party leader that the party members rejected, the polls demonstrate that the public reject him, and I am in full agreement. It is time for Rishi Sunak to go."
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHRISTOPHER HOPE