‘Stupid, stupid, stupid’ – Tory MPs savage Grant Shapps over coup attempt
3 min read
Tory MPs have piled into Grant Shapps after the former party chairman’s attempt to unseat Theresa May.
One prominent backbencher told PoliticsHome the move was “stupid, stupid, stupid” while another said it had “not much traction” in the parliamentary party.
Meanwhile, a new poll released this morning suggested Mrs May’s speech fiasco had not done the Tories much damage with voters, although Labour are still slightly ahead.
The former secretary of the influential 1922 committee, Mark Pritchard, said the coup attempt was “un-British” and doomed to failure.
In a blistering article for PoliticsHome, Mr Pritchard wrote:
“The current plot against Theresa May will fail. Fail, because the main protagonists are unconventional, precipitous, and just far too keen…
“The truth is, the Prime Minister has got more political balls than most male MPs. She is tenacious, a fighter, not a quitter, someone shaped in the real word not in an avatar world of self illusion.
“The Prime Minister has the support of the majority of Conservative MPs and will continue to lead the Conservative Parliamentary Party and the country.”
Elsewhere Chelmsford MP Vicky Ford poured scorn on Mr Shapps, telling BBC News he is not even a member of a social networking group for Tory MPs.
“Grant, you’re out of touch, you haven’t been talking to your colleagues - he’s not even on our WhatsApp group – please, listen to what the rest of us are saying, stay with the Prime Minister.”
Backbencher Nadine Dorries claimed that former ministers Nicky Morgan and Anna Soubry – both strong advocates for the Remain camp – were among those backing the move against Mrs May.
A string of ministers and MPs piled in on Twitter to give Mrs May her backing.
Braintree MP James Cleverly pointed to a YouGov poll which put the Tories a point up since Wednesday’s speech.
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