It has been a tough start to the tenure for newly elected British Prime Minister Liz Truss. The economic measures introduced in the mini budget faced extreme criticism from all corners and it resulted in the pound dropping to its lowest ever against the United States dollar.
While the measures were rolled back for the time being, reports suggest that a number of Tory MPs can be looking to end her term as PM. Paul Goodman, former Tory MP and editor of the influential conservativehome blog, said that rebellion can quietly be brewing in the Conservative Party.
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“All sorts of different people are talking about all sorts of different things because the Conservative backbenchers are casting around for a possible replacement for (finance minister) Kwasi Kwarteng, even for a possible replacement for Liz Truss,” he told BBC in an interview.
According to Goodman, one of the major contenders to challenge Truss in this situation is former finance minister Rishi Sunak who was defeated in the race for PM.
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“One idea doing the rounds is that Penny Mordaunt and Rishi Sunak, who, after all, between them got pretty much two-thirds of the votes of MPs (in the leadership contest), come to some kind of arrangement and essentially take over,” he added when asked about possible options.
Stories of a possible rift between Truss and finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng have also been doing the rounds following the criticism but both of them defended the recent economic measures in the parliament.