In a contentious opinion piece, Clarke, who was part of Liz Truss's cabinet, expressed his view that Sunak's lack of inspiring leadership threatens the party's future and urged for new leadership to help the Tories recover.

This call to action led to a flurry of Conservative party disputes, with multiple party figures criticizing Clarke on social media.

Priti Patel and David Davis, both former secretaries, along with other senior Conservative MPs, lambasted Clarke's comments as divisive and cautioned against destabilizing maneuvers during an election year. Some also questioned Clarke's judgment given his association with Liz Truss's brief leadership.

Despite resistance, Clarke maintained in his article that it would be more ridiculous for the party to ignore public calls for change and "sleepwalk" into a major defeat.

This assertion, along with the cited Telegraph poll predicting a substantial election loss, has sparked speculation of a concerted effort by certain party members, including Lord Frost, to challenge Sunak's leadership.

The Conservative Party is facing internal conflict over leadership, with the possibility of appointing a fourth Prime Minister in just over a year.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats have highlighted the Conservative infighting as further justification for a change in government, emphasizing the need to end the Conservatives' internal battles and to involve the electorate in decisions on national leadership.