- Boris Johnson loyalists in the Conservative party will attack Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak will come under attack from Boris Johnson loyalists today at the first meeting of a new Conservative grassroots group.
The Prime Minister will be attacked at the Conservative Democratic Organization conference for his party’s terrible performance in last week’s local elections, and will face warnings that the Conservatives will lose power in the next general election unless he reduces the tax burden .
There will be fresh criticism over how he reached No 10 in the autumn without the vote of the party faithful, after bringing about Johnson’s downfall by resigning as chancellor and then losing the subsequent leadership contest to Liz Truss.
The CDO, which is backed by former Conservative co-treasurer Lord Cruddas, is calling for radical reform of the party to make it more accountable to ordinary members.
This would include introducing an elected president, allowing local associations to elect candidates and giving members more say over policies.
Rishi Sunak (pictured) will come under attack from Boris Johnson loyalists at the first meeting of a new Conservative grassroots group today.
The Conservative Democratic Organization conference will renew criticism over how it reached number 10 in the autumn without the vote of the party faithful, after bringing about the downfall of Boris Johnson (pictured) by resigning as chancellor and then losing the contest for leadership before Liz Truss.
At today’s conference in Bournemouth, former Home Secretary Priti Patel will accuse CCHQ of being out of touch with party activists who spend their time knocking on doors and confronting voters.
“Maybe if they spent more time with us, they would be more in touch with the people and our values,” he will say.
“And maybe if they had, last week we wouldn’t have seen 1,000 of our friends and colleagues lose their seats in local elections and dozens of councils left outside Conservative control.”
He will say the party was badly damaged by the loss of Mr Johnson as Prime Minister, adding: “If we continue a controlled decline, there will be no future for Conservative values and beliefs.”
Former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and former Cabinet Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, allies of Johnson, will also speak at the conference.
Conservative Party Deputy Chairman Paul Holmes will attend and respond on behalf of CCHQ.