Top Tories have been plotting to oust Kemi Badenoch as Conservative Party leader after allies of Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick started collecting no-confidence letters to hand to the 1922 Committee.
Nearly a dozen of Mr Jenrick’s supporters are believed to have signed letters, set to be used after November 3 in a “show of strength” to urge Mrs Badenoch to step down “when the time is right”.
The Tory leader can be formally challenged from that date, as she was given immunity from removal for a year after taking over as Conservative Party leader.
Mr Jenrick’s team has denied the plans, saying the Shadow Justice Secretary is not involved in the plot or had any knowledge of a potential coup.
A spokesman stated: “This is b******s,” adding that no friend of the senior Tory would make these claims.
However, Mr Jenrick is thought to still harbour leadership ambitions, having narrowly missed out to Mrs Badenoch last year.
Speculation of a Tory plot puts pressure on Mrs Badenoch just days before the Conservative Party Conference, which begins this Sunday in Manchester.
Mrs Badenoch will aim to convince her MPs to withstand pressure from Reform UK and Nigel Farage, who are now being viewed as the main opposition to Labour.
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Sources have suggested that around 12 letters have already been written, but are yet to be submitted to 1922 Committee chairman Bob Blackman.
Mr Blackman would then file letters until the threshold for challenge has been reached.
However, Mr Jenrick’s allies have decided to hold on to the letters to remain in greater control of a potential challenge.
Top Tories now fear that waiting until after next May’s local elections may be “too late” to save hundreds of council seats.
“I don’t know anyone who now doesn’t think she will be gone either in November or May,” a Tory MP told The i Paper.
“November is possible because that’s when the rules change for a challenge.
“So, the judgment is, do you just do it fast? Because we just don’t have any time. And if you wait until after May, then what party is left?
“We were on about 26 points in the polls about the time she became leader, and there was a poll the other day that put us on 14 points. This is really f**king serious stuff.”
Mrs Badenoch could face a no-confidence vote in November
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GETTYA YouGov poll found that only 20 per cent of voters feel that Mrs Badenoch has done well as Tory leader.
Some 45 per cent of Britons believe that she has done badly, with 33 per cent of Tories agreeing.
The MP added: “I think it is probably likely to be Rob. But I also think that whoever takes over, we can’t have a five-month national leadership contest. The membership would probably accept that we can’t have a prolonged contest in the middle of the Parliament.”
A source close to Robert Jenrick said: “That sounds like rubbish. If anyone is clowning around, they’re not acting in Rob’s name.”