New data released this morning from the polling firm, YouGov, has suggested that Liz Truss has lost the support of conservative party members.
In the latest poll, YouGov, sought the views of 530 ordinary Conservative party members. Some 55% of those polled said that they wanted Liz Truss to resign, with just 38% of party members saying they wanted Liz Truss to remain as prime minister.
These findings mirror an earlier poll from JL Partners, which suggested that if the Conservative party leadership election was re-run today, Rishi Sunak would have a 43% to 28% lead over Liz Truss.
Asked who they wished to see replace the prime minister, 32% of party members in the latest yougov poll opted for Boris Johnson, with Rishi Sunak coming in second at 23%.
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The defence secretary Ben Wallace attracted support from 10% of members surveyed, with the Leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt securing support from 9% of those members polled.
Although it is considered implausible that Conservative MPs would countenance the return of Borsis Johnson, these polls as to who party members favour as a replacement take on an increased significance given the current situation.
Keen to avoid the political vacuum that a second membership ballot would entail, one thing that Conservative MPs appear to agree on, is that if the moment comes, they need to unite around a single candidate as her successor. In that sense, polls of party members become a proxy for a full membership ballot.
This latest polling setback for the prime minister comes as the number of Conservative MPs openly calling on her to resign has increased to five. This morning, Sir Charles Walkes and Angela Richardson, have joined similar calls made by Andrew Bridgen, James Wallis, and Crispin Blunt.
Under current Conservative party rules, a new leader such as Liz Truss, cannot be challenged within the first 12 months of taking office. Although these rules can be changed, any such process is currently on hold, until a new set elections for vacancies on the executive of the 1922 committee are held later today.
The Chairman of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady MP, is said to be taking soundings from his colleagues as to the position of the prime minister. It is understood that Sir Graham had a meeting with Liz Truss yesterday afternoon, and it has been suggested that the pair have agreed to have a further discussion later in the week.
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