‘Morally unavoidable’: Minister Zac Goldsmith leads Tory calls for general election

Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries is also among Conservative MPs calling for a public vote on next PM

A general election is now “morally unavoidable,” Conservative minister Zac Goldsmith has said, as other Tory MPs called for the public to select the next prime minister.

Rishi Sunak was announced as the leader of the Conservative Party and the next prime minister by the chair of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady.

Supporters of Boris Johnson, including Nadine Dorries, warned the party will be “ungovernable” under Liz Truss’s successor Rishi Sunak.

Mr Goldsmith, the minister of state for Asia, energy, climate and environment, said it was inconceivable to have a third new prime minister and policy “miles away from the original manifesto” without a general election.

“Conservative MPs understandably won’t want to and are legally not obliged to, but it will be morally unavoidable,” he wrote on Twitter.

Mr Goldsmith threw his weight behind a Boris Johnson return in the leadership race but blamed “relentless noise from too many in Parliament and media would have made governing impossible” for the former prime minister’s decision to quit the contest.

He added that Mr Johnson did the “honourable thing” to step down.

Sir Christopher Chope, another Johnson backer, said on Monday morning the Tory party was “ungovernable” and a general election is “the only answer”.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the Conservative MP for Christchurch said: “If people who are now seeking the crown want to have the respect which comes from having a mandate, then what I'm saying is that the best way they can get that respect is by winning a mandate with the people, and that's why I think a general election is essentially the only answer, otherwise we're just going to go from bad to worse.

“The party is ungovernable in the House of Commons and so we're going to have continuing rebellions as we try to change policies and so on, and so I must say I'm very pessimistic, I'm very angry, and I feel that Boris has been let down once again and undermined by our parliamentary colleagues.”

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Ms Dorries, one of Mr Johnson’s most loyal supporters, said a general election as “impossible to avoid” after the PM quit the race.

She wrote on Twitter: “Boris would have won members vote - already had a mandate from the people. Rishi and Penny, despite requests from Boris refused to unite which would have made governing utterly impossible.”

The calls come despite Labour enjoying a huge lead over the Tories in the polls, with some research indicating the Conservatives would face a wipeout if there was a vote today.

Following Mr Johnson’s withdrawal from the race, Rishi Sunak praised his former boss for delivering Brexit and rolling out the coronavirus vaccine.

“He led our country through some of the toughest challenges we have ever faced, and then took on Putin and his barbaric war in Ukraine. We will always be grateful to him for that,” Mr Sunak wrote on Twitter.

He added: “Although he has decided not to run for PM again, I truly hope he continues to contribute to public life at home and abroad.”

Calls for a general election came as members of Penny Mordaunt’s camp claimed they are “confident” the leadership hopeful will reach the required numbers of endorsements to enter the race against Mr Sunak. However, Ms Mordaunt later withdrew from the race insisting Rishi Sunak has her full support.

Fewer than half of Britons think Rishi Sunak will be a good PM – but that’s still better than his defeated rivals’ ratings, according to this chart by Statista (The Independent/Statista)

Conservative MP Damian Green BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There are a lot of people who weren’t declaring publicly what they were doing, I mean, indeed, Penny’s numbers are well above the published figures already.”

Andrea Leadsom has said there is "no prospect" of an early general election under Penny Mordaunt.

The former Cabinet minister, who is also backing the Commons Leader in the race for No 10, told Sky News: “Absolutely there is no prospect of an early general election under a Penny Mordaunt leadership.

“You know, we have a mandate from 2019 from the people to fulfil the promises that we made to them then.”