Tory plotters are tapping up 70 MPs in a bid to topple Liz Truss over fears she is trashing the economy.
Senior Conservatives say that is the number needed for their backbench shop steward Sir Graham Brady to go to the PM to tell her she must consider her position.
One plotting MP said: “A flurry of no-confidence letters into Sir Graham would be enough to force him to act.
“We know this is the nuclear option so soon after the last leadership contest but we must think of the best interests of the country.”
The warning came as tens of thousands of people protested in dozens of cities and towns over the latest jump in power bills.
Last week the pound tanked to a record low against the US dollar of $1.03, although it has rallied since.
And the Bank of England had to step in to save pension pots after Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s £45billion of unfunded mini-budget tax cuts.
But how are the current circumstances bearing up on the state of the nation?
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AFP/Getty Images)Poll
Some 44% of voters would rather have a drink with Keir Starmer than Liz Truss.
Only one in five opted to go to the pub with the PM and four in ten have more trust in the Labour leader to hand back a £20 note he borrowed.
Fewer than one in three Tory voters think Ms Truss more charismatic than Sir Keir, according to a Savanta ComRes poll for communications agency MHP.
And only 36% of 2019 Tory voters say Liz is on their side.
Jamie Lyons of MHP said: “Many Tory MPs already believe the party membership chose the wrong leader and now it seems their voters are having doubts.”
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Getty Images)Prices
For every pound shoppers paid for food last year they now shell out an average £1.12.
But some items are rising faster than others.
Milk costs up to 34% more as farmers struggle with fuel and fertiliser prices. Butter is 27% up for the same reason.
Poor wheat harvests in Canada and Italy and the Ukraine war have sent flour rocketing by nearly a third and pasta by 24%.
The average UK household spends £3,312 a year on groceries. At the present rate of inflation that will cost up to £400 more.
Tom Holder of the British Retail Consortium said: “If producer costs are consistently high, supermarkets have to pass some on.”
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Getty Images)Mortgages
Home owners are facing huge hikes in monthly mortgage repayments.
A 2% loan fixed two years ago is likely to turn into a remortgage rate of 5% from this week.
That means monthly payments for a £200,000 mortgage over 25 years would go up from £848 to £1,169 – an extra £321.
And economists fear that will get worse next year as the Bank of England raises interest rates from 2.25% now to 6%.
A 20% drop in house prices has been predicted over the next two years.
Graham Cox of Self-Employed Mortgage Hub said: “First-time buyers won’t be able to borrow as much so they won’t be able to offer as much.”
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Getty Images)Travel
A week's holiday in Spain costs £505 more than it did a year ago and that’s not including flight price rises.
Car hire is up 136%, hotel accommodation up 36% and restaurant meals up 9% because of a 13% plunge in currency exchange rates, according to cash provider eurochange.
One night in a Spanish hotel costing £64 last year is now £84 and a typical dinner costing £17.50 in 2021 is now £19.
Charles Stewart of eurochange said: “Take more money away with you than previously to make up for the drop in rates.”
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Getty Images)Work
More than four in ten workers are looking for second jobs to make ends meet.
And 63% do not believe their pay is enough to eat and heat homes.
Almost half are thinking of looking for better paid jobs in the next 12 months but reckon they will be able to find one within six months because there are so many vacancies.
Valerie Beaulieu-James of work finders Adecco Group, which did the survey, said companies must offer a strong work-life balance if they want to hang on to staff.
She added: “This will make a difference for those workers who are on the fence between staying or leaving.”
Image:
Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF)Benefits
Liz Truss is threatening to tear up ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s April pledge to uprate benefits in line with inflation.
That would see the poorest 10% losing £214 a year while the top 10% income earners gain £5,000 from her tax cuts.
Katie Schmuecker of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said: “Reneging on the promise would be a hostile and harmful act.”
Becca Lyon of Save the Children added: “No child deserves to be caught up in this economic experiment.”