Rishi Sunak’s aide joins plot to oust him with warning country deserves better

25 January 2024 , 08:19

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Former aide Will Dry said the Government isn't providing the leadership the country needs (Image: PA)

Troubled PM Rishi Sunak has been rocked after one of his top aides quit, warning the Tory Party could be destroyed by Christmas.

Will Dry, a special advisor responsible for polling and opinion research at No10, said the Conservatives are heading for "the most almighty of defeats". Mr Dry, 26, added that the public want better and said Tory MPs "owe to the country" to reflect on who leads them as they continue to tear strips out of each other.

He helped produce a blistering YouGov poll, funded by Tory donors, which found Mr Sunak and co are headed for a general election wipeout this year, winning just 169 seats. In a statement the former aide said he quit after becoming "dispirited" - as the Government "won't provide the leadership we need".

Mr Dry wrote: "Everyone in this country can see just how colossal the challenges we face are. Sadly, it became clear to me we weren't providing the bold, decisive action required to overcome those challenges."

Will Dry warned the Tories could be destroyed by Nigel Farage

And he warned that Nigel Farage could do fatal damage to the party in the upcoming election. Mr Dry said he'd concluded the Conservatives face "the most almighty of defeats", and went on: "Be in no doubt we are on course for at least a decade of Labour rule. And if Farage comes back, the Conservative Party essentially won't exist by Christmas."

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He said that since quitting late last year, he has been working to alert the party to "the danger the country and it is in". And hinting that a change of leader might be necessary he said: "Conservative MPs decide who leads the Conservative Party, not unelected advisors like me. And it looks like they may not want to change leader.

"But this is a big decision they owe it to the country's future to reflect on. Those who think we can't do much better than this are dead wrong. Those who think the public don't want much better than this are also dead wrong."

He said that Mr Sunak and his team were "good people" who "do what they think is right for the country". But he continued: "We have a government that won't provide the leadership we need but will deliver a different government that also won't deliver the change we need. You can see why the British people are so depressed with politics."

The intervention comes as Tory in-fighting again takes centre stage following an astonishing broadside by former minister Sir Simon Clarke. Sir Simon - who has been widely condemned and insulted by his colleagues - penned a blistering call for Mr Sunak to step down.

After provoking an outcry the Liz Truss supporter doubled down, telling the BBC: "No one likes that guy that's shouting 'iceberg' but I suspect that people will be even less happy if we hit the iceberg. And we are on course to do that. That is the point that I need to land with colleagues respectfully and calmly. We are not at the moment responding to the situation with the seriousness that it warrants."

In a jab at the Tory chaos, Keir Starmer told the Commons at PMQs: "We have seen this story time and time again with this lot: party first, country second. Safely ensconced in Westminster, they get down to the real business of fighting each other to death. The country forced to endure their division and chaos, the longest episode of EastEnders ever put to film."

Dave Burke