Liberal Tories are in a gloomy mood – and they’re plotting rebellion

Centre-right Conservatives may find a home for themselves outside of the party, writes Andrew Grice. However, breaking up is hard to do – and in politics, it rarely has a happy ending

Liberal Tories fear Sunak is lurching to the right to appease his hardline MPs and to shore up the Tories’ core vote (PA Wire)

The liberal wing of the Conservative Party, which has been too nice and too quiet for its own good in the past few years, decided recently to launch a fightback against the noisy right-wingers who dominate the party’s debates.

The liberal Tories drew two “red lines” Rishi Sunak should not cross: a firm commitment to net zero, and remaining in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In the past 10 days, Sunak has blown up their campaign, diluting some measures to achieve net zero and allowing Suella Braverman, the home secretary, to float the idea of leaving the ECHR.

So One Nation Tories are in a gloomy mood ahead of the party conference in Manchester starting on Sunday. They regard Sunak as a member of the “sensible right” and many of them voted for him in last year’s leadership contest. They view Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, as “one of us.” But they fear Sunak is lurching to the right to appease his hardline MPs and to shore up the Tories’ core vote.