A senior Tory MP has become the latest to publicly declare that he wants Liz Truss to quit.
William Wragg, who is vice-chair of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, revealed in the Commons that he has submitted a letter of no confidence in the prime minister to the committee’s chair, Sir Graham Brady.
Wragg said he was “personally ashamed” by last month’s mini-Budget, which contained £45 billion-worth of unfunded tax cuts and led to economic chaos.
In a bizarre move, Wragg also announced that he would vote with the government on fracking this evening against his own wishes so he does not lose the Tory whip, because that would mean his letter no longer counted.
He said: “If I vote as I would wish, then I would lose the whip.
“I would no longer be vice chair of the 1922 committee. I would no longer maintain a position as a chair of one of the select committees of the House.
“And indeed, because of that, my letter lodged with [Graham Brady] would fall, and I wish to maintain that letter with my honourable friend.”
The Hazel Grove MP is the seventh to confirm he wants Truss to leave 10 Downing Street as she desperately tries to cling on as PM.
At PMQs earlier today, Truss declared she was a “fighter not a quitter” but her performance did nothing to convince her MPs that she should remain in post.
In a further sign of the precariousness of her position, the prime minister was forced to confirm that pensions will rise by inflation after Tory MPs threatened to rebel if they did not.
Truss was dealt a further blow when one of her closest aides was suspended over negative briefings given to journalists about senior Tory figures including former cabinet minister Sajid Javid.
Meanwhile, Truss also cancelled a visit on Wednesday afternoon at which she was due to be interviewed by broadcasters as speculation about her future continues.