Conservative MPs have been warned they could face 15 years out of power if they stick with Liz Truss as leader.
Senior backbencher Sir Charles Walker – who has called on Ms Truss to quit as prime minister – says the party will be wiped out of she leads them into the next general election.
“I don’t think the position is sufficiently recoverable with the current prime minister,” said the former vice-chair of the 1922 Committee said.
He told Times Radio that “the right person at the helm” might persuade the electorate “that we are a serious organisation, and if discarded at the next general election, we might be worth taking a look at in five or 10 years’ time”.
Asked what happens if Ms Truss stays, Sir Charles: “I think we’ll be out for 15 years. I think it’s that existential.”
One Monday the senior figure said Ms Truss had proved “catastrophically incompetent” with her handling of the economy, as he became the fifth MP to publicly call for her resignation since the disastrous mini-Budget.
Labour has a 36-point lead, according to the latest Redfield & Wilton survey. Ms Truss is almost as popular with the public as Prince Andrew, according to new YouGov polling which shows 80 per cent of the public hold an unfavourable view.
A majority of Tory members (55 per cent) now want Ms Truss to resign, with 83 per cent members she is doing badly as prime minister.
If the Tory leadership election were being run again now, 55 per cent of Conservative members would back Rishi Sunak, with only 25 per cent prepared to stick with Ms Truss.
Most party members appear to acknowledge the leadership question should not be put to the grassroots in the event that Ms Truss stood down. Some 60 per cent said they would support MPs backing a single unity candidate without the need for an election. One in three (37 per cent) would oppose this.
Ms Truss has apologised for her “mistakes” – but pledged to lead the Tories into the next general election as she fights for her job.
She met Tory MPs in the One Nation group on Monday and said she was “sorry” for mistakes made, with many MPs expressing relief that Jeremy Hunt now appeared to be in charge of the economy.
She is expected to hold more meetings with Tory MPs this week as she tries to reassure despairing backbenchers that she understands the scale of the reversal needed.
Some MPs are hoping a flood of no confidence letters could persuade the 1922 Committee of backbenchers to change current rules which prevent a vote on her leadership for 12 months.
1922 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady is said to held a meeting with Ms Truss on Monday to update her on the current scale of backbench opposition. But the number of letters is unknown.
Meanwhile, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary suggested Brexit was behind the UK’s economic “car crash”.
“The mini-Budget was a kind of spectacular failure of the whole concept of Brexit,” the airline chief told a news conference in Rome.
“The Remainers are coming back, the adults are taking charge again… we will return to some sensible economic policies,” he said – referring to Mr Hunt becoming chancellor.
This article was amended shortly after publication to remove the claim that Anne-Marie Trevelyan was unable to say whether or not the cabinet was fully behind the prime minister. The claim was made by the Press Association, but subsequently withdrawn.
