'People are exasperated': MPs warn change is needed as Rishi Sunak marks one year anniversary
As Rishi Sunak hits his one year anniversary in office tomorrow, Conservative MPs are demanding change
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As Rishi Sunak hits his one-year anniversary in office tomorrow, Conservative MPs are demanding change.
Sunak has long been facing demands from the right of the party to action more Conservative policies but these have only grown louder since last week's double by-election defeat in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire.
One former minister told GB News the losses are a clear representation of "people becoming exasperated" by Sunak "not delivering Conservative policies for Conservative voters".
While many acknowledge that they are "stuck with him" until the next election, there is an urgent call for a change in approach.
WATCH: Christopher Hope looks back at Rishi Sunak's first year in office
The MP added: "Reform polled more than the margin between Labour and the conservatives, which shows Conservative voters are either sitting on their hands or moving to other conservative parties."
They said Sunak needs to show the public that he is "not just a manager but a prime minister that actually wants to make a real difference".
Sunak's failure to act, he said, is becoming "demoralising for parliamentarians", warning: "He’s had ample time to put his stamp on the party and show what sort of leader he is. He needs to get on and do it."
Veteran Conservative MP John Hayes - the chair of the Common Sense Group of Conservative MPs - agreed, telling GB News he is "confident" in Sunak's ability, but urged him to "set out a vision for the future".
He said: "His job was to introduce a degree of stability which I think he’s done. He’s been credible in office and shown he is capable.
"But what he needs to do now is set out a vision. We need to know what the purpose of a Conservative government is.
"We need to have some grasp of what Rishi’s vision of the future looks like - done without delay."
Hayes added: "We need a real sense of direction, and we have to become more Conservative not less to show people that a Conservative govt will deliver on their expectations".
The MP for South Holland and The Deepings shot down any suggestion that the party should take one final roll of the dice before the next election and try a different leader.
He said: "He is capable and we just need to do it without delay.
"I don’t buy the argument that he is not the man to do it. I know him, I know he shares many of the views I’ve articulated.
"I think he will be very acutely aware that his first job was to unite and stabilise the party. And to be fair to him it was a very substantial job. But he has to move onto setting out a vision for the country."
The former minister agreed that the party has no other option but to stick with Sunak, pessimistically noting that "there is no obvious alternative" to the current PM.
He added: "The public would start wondering what the heck we’ve about - if they're not already."
A Red Wall MP told GB News the PM urgently needs to tackle conservative priorities, including tax cuts and migration - pointing to both legal and illegal migration to the UK.
He warned that the Tamworth by-election was a reflection of Sunak's "failure to deliver".
But Tobias Ellwood told GB News that Sunak's first year in power has seen him "commendably stabilize the party, demonstrating prowess in international relations and leadership during global events".
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While many Tory MPs acknowledge that they are "stuck with him" until the next election, there is an urgent call for a change in approach
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Instead, he blamed last week's by-election defeats on the poor financial situation inherited from Labour, but said his party is unable to capitalise on it as a result of "internal ill-discipline and tribal politics".
Ellwood said: "We inherited a miserable balance sheet - something our Party Chair Greg Hands constantly reminds us of. Labour infamously left that note after losing in 2010 saying ‘there is no more money’ because they’d lost control of public spending after the 2008 financial crisis, overspending to the tune of £150billion every year."
He added: "But sadly, these alarm bells are not heard by the electorate because our internal ill-discipline and tribal politics hog the headlines and consequently make Labour look good. The more Labour is subject to scrutiny the more the polls will narrow."
Another senior Conservative MP was also positive about the Prime Minister's one year in power, blaming the twin by-election defeats on the chaos of Liz Truss and Boris Johnson that preceded Sunak.
They said Sunak's first year in office has seen him bring "order and principles and integrity back into the political sphere", saying it was "seriously lacking before".