The mood in the Conservative Party is moving really fast.
Asked where Tory MPs’ heads are now in relation to Liz Truss, one replied: “In their hands.”
Her meeting with Tory MPs on Wednesday evening was described as delusional, trying to pin everything on Vladimir Putin and saying people should be giving her government more credit.
Truss is out ‘and we have the numbers’, says Tory MP – politics latest
Her PMQs promise that her government would “absolutely” not cut spending may technically end up being true, but will not match people’s experience in the squeeze to come.
And the government is making a very good impression of being in a public war with the Bank of England.
So it’s not hard to find the plots.
At dinners, over drinks, many, many want them gone.
Maybe even straight after the 31 October statement on how they will balance the books. Maybe later.
But there are problems. Nobody wants a leadership contest involving the members.
But that means a coronation of a new prime minister – a unity candidate who stands unopposed.
But who can unify this governing Conservative Party, with all its contradictions, facts and emotions?
And if they can’t find someone, what then?
Could 40-plus MPs vote with the opposition, pull the emergency cord and force a general election, knowing huge defeat is imminent but thinking it is better for the sake of the future Conservative Party for Labor to own the handling of this disaster so they can crawl back faster into power?
It’s toxic. It’s uncertain. It’s not resolved. And the economy could be about to get worse.
Boris Johnson says the herd instinct is powerful and when the herd moves, it moves.
Ms Truss should watch out.
