Conservative rightwingers are planning to present Rishi Sunak with demands for tougher action on immigration and human rights law before the election if the prime minister's manifesto promises published today fall flat.
Prominent party figures including Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick are said by Tory insiders to be among those waiting to see how their manifesto is received by the public before they act.
If Sunak's launch today fails to shift the dial on the Conservatives' foundering election campaign, one option under discussion is a press conference next week to set out a series of alternative pledges.
They are hoping to capitalise on an already weakened Sunak who was forced to vow to fight on until the last day of the campaign after a torrid weekend in which he was criticised for missing part of the D-day commemorations.
On the campaign trail in West Sussex yesterday, the prime minister said he believed he could still win back voters and he did not accept that the election result was a foregone conclusion.
Asked if he had considered quitting, Sunak said: "Of course not" and added he was energised by the campaign, after ministers were forced to insist that he would not be replaced as leader during before the election.
In the run-up to the launch of the Tory manifesto, MPs on the right of the party launched a last-ditch attempt to toughen up the position on the UK's membership of the European convention on human rights.
Two sources from the New Conservatives grouping said they had pushed hard for it to commit to a referendum on ECHR membership or full withdrawal. "A lot of us will be making our position clear publicly," one MP said.
This story is from the June 11, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the June 11, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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