Tory MPs have told reporters that the Conservatives are “in danger” ahead of the next general election – but it seems Twitter has little pity for them.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Tory backbencher Jonathan Gullis suggested his party’s future, particularly among the Red Wall seats they won in the 2019 election, was far from certain.
Gullis was elected three years ago as the first Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent North and briefly served as the schools minister under Liz Truss.
Despite his relatively short tenure in the Commons, he has caused significant division himself through his comments on immigration, his support for Boris Johnson throughout partygate and, most recently, his bizarre attack on the Church of England.
According to the FT, Gullis was not the only Conservative MP worrying about the Tories’ future, with some of his Red Wall colleagues fearing “we won’t hold any of the seats we won at the last election”.
But, the MP’s remarks about his party also come after the Tories elected three different prime ministers in three months, caused major economic disruption with the mini-budget, and oversaw the start of the cost of living crisis.
So it’s not a surprise that the Conservatives have been falling behind their opponents in the polls for months now – a December survey from Ipsos Mori gave Labour a 26-point lead if all voters were to head to the ballot box right away.
So, after the political chaos of the last year, Twitter was hardly sympathetic to Gullis’s fears....
The responses ranged from sarcasm...
...to pointing the finger of blame...
...to classic Simpson memes...
...along with outright delight at the thought of Tory downfall...
And, of course, schadenfreude ...