Truss and Kwarteng will face fury of Tory MPs in week of crisis meetings
The prime minister, Liz Truss, and the chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, will face the wrath of Tory MPs at a succession of crisis meetings in parliament this week as their high-risk economic policies hit their poll ratings and spread panic in all wings of the party.
After a turbulent first five weeks at No 10 and an ill-disciplined, chaotic annual conference in Birmingham last week, Truss is expected to address the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers on Wednesday evening after taking on Keir Starmer at prime minister’s questions.
Both the prime minister and the chancellor are also holding meetings early this week with anxious “red wall” Tory MPs, who are deeply worried that tax cuts will mean less money for roads and other infrastructure projects in their areas.
The 40-strong Northern Research Group of Tory MPs has been pushing for immediate reassurances that pledges to level up the country, made in the party’s 2019 manifesto, are not downgraded.
There is also mounting dismay among Conservative MPs in rural seats at Truss’s enthusiasm for fracking, with backbenchers seeing her interest in the issue as hugely provocative with voters.
Already the parliamentary party has fractured into a series of factions under Truss, with even cabinet ministers such as the business secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg, opposing her over real-terms benefits cuts and her decision to block a public information campaign on how to use less energy.
Former Truss loyalists, including one of her most vocal backers, Nadine Dorries, also appear to have abandoned her.
Kwarteng, who is scheduled to take Treasury questions on Tuesday, is holding a succession of meetings and calls with MPs worried about his and Truss’s plans for £43bn of unfunded tax cuts, which will
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