London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Cabinet minister urges Tory MPs to unite behind Liz Truss

Cabinet minister urges Tory MPs to unite behind Liz Truss

Cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi has urged Tories to rally behind Prime Minister Liz Truss after weeks of unrest over her policies.

Mr Zahawi told the BBC that division would delay the growth plan and risk defeat at the next election.

But ex-culture secretary Nadine Dorries warned Ms Truss needed to be a "unifier", not a "disrupter".

Mr Zahawi's call for unity was echoed by other cabinet ministers in Sunday newspaper articles.

When asked if he could see a situation where the Conservatives oust Ms Truss, Mr Zahawi told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: "No, I think what the party will do is get behind Liz Truss."

Calling delay "our great enemy", Mr Zahawi said the government had to focus on delivering its plan for economic growth and lowering energy bills, adding how it would "demonstrate in 24 months' time how we have delivered".

Mr Zahawi also accused Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of using "dangerous language" when she took a swipe at the Conservatives on the same programme.

Speaking ahead of the SNP's party conference in Aberdeen on Sunday, Ms Sturgeon said she would prefer a Labour rather than a Tory government, adding: "I detest the Tories and everything they stand for."

Ms Dorries told the programme the Tories faced electoral "wipeout" and urged the prime minister to "reflect on what's gone wrong" in recent weeks.

When asked about her suggestion in a tweet that the prime minister should call a general election if she wanted to drop the policies of Boris Johnson, she said if Ms Truss introduced a "completely new set of policy ideas", it would "be right to go to the country".

But she continued: "Liz doesn't need to do that. And I really hope she won't do that when we're 30 points behind in the polls [to Labour]."

Ms Dorries, who insisted she was "still one of Liz's biggest supporters", called on Tory colleagues to unify behind the prime minister.

The calls to cease the public divisions within the party follow a turbulent week for Ms Truss, with interventions from former ministers and backbenchers forcing a U-turn over plans to scrap the top 45p rate of tax on the highest earners.

Disagreements also emerged over calls to raise benefits in line with inflation.

When asked if Boris Johnson could return as prime minister, Ms Dorries said she did not "rule anything out" but it was "extremely unlikely".

Mr Zahawi said he could not see Mr Johnson returning, saying the former prime minister was "telling all colleagues to get behind Liz".

Mr Zahawi and other cabinet colleagues - including Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt - penned opinion pieces in Sunday's newspapers. Ms Braverman and Mr Zahawi both suggested any future Labour administration would be propped up by the SNP.

BBC political correspondent Ian Watson says No 10 is keen to quell any talk of rebellion among Conservatives as MPs return to Westminster this week after the party conference season.

But he says despite the co-ordinated messages from cabinet ministers, Ms Truss's internal critics could interpret the need for such explicit declarations of support as a sign of vulnerability.


Watch: I detest the Tories and everything they stand for - Nicola Sturgeon

Watch: Dorries quizzed over potential Boris Johnson return



Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×