Suella Braverman’s position as Home Secretary is understood to be under threat as Rishi Sunak is expected to wield the axe in his underperforming Cabinet in a bid to save his Government.
It comes as an exclusive Techne UK poll on Thursday night showed that Labour’s lead over the Tories has increased by three points to 19 percent.
While the polling came before the Rwanda Appeals Court verdict which saw deportation flights blocked by judges, the failure to tackle illegal migration has continued to dog Mr Sunak’s Government.
And it has reignited speculation that Ms Braverman could be a high-profile casualty in a reshuffle expected within the next three weeks before the summer recess.
One senior Conservative source said: “The Prime Minister has to do something. At the moment he is on course to miss all five of his pledges. Somebody has to take the blame and it won’t be him.”
Ending the small boats crossing the English Channel had been one of Mr Sunak’s five pledges which currently he is not set to meet.
Instead, after bad weather reduced the figure early in the year, more than 10,000 have arrived across the Channel this year with the number rising.
However, the poll is more likely to reflect failures in economic policy with the aim to bring inflation down to below five percent off target and mortgage interest rates threatening thousands of people with losing their homes.
According to Techne UK’s survey of 1,631 British voters, Labour has seen its share rise by one point from last week to 46 percent.
The Tories have dropped two points to 27 percent while the Lib Dems are up one to 11 percent, Reform UK up one to six percent and the Greens remain on five percent.
According to Electoral Calculus if this result happened in a general election the Conservatives would be facing their worst-ever defeat with just 112 seats while Labour would have a majority of 270.
Techne UK chief executive Michela Morizzo said: “The scenario for Rishi Sunak and his Conservatives continues to change and not in a positive way.
“There are many reasons for the fall of the Conservative support. Last week for example we had a significant 0.5 percent interest rate hike that had a negative on public opinion, even if this is strictly the Bank of England’s decision.
“This week, too, with today’s announcement that the millions of pounds spent on Rwanda asylum proposals are deemed not lawful by the Court of Appeal.
“This is a key moment where it seems clear that public opinion wants to be taken more into consideration, especially with regards to the daily problems that are facing.
“Moreover, people feel a lack of strategy and vision within the party, and that leads to uncertainty.”
The polling puts the Tories behind in every age group apart from 64-year-olds and over where they lead Labour 41 percent to 34 percent.
Among 45-to-54-year-olds, the age group most likely to have a mortgage, Labour now lead the Conservatives by 46 percent to 24 percent.
Labour even leads in the wealthiest economic categories by 38 percent to 35 percent.
In addition, the Tories have now lost one-third (34 percent) of their 2019 vote.
Ms Braverman is not the only potential target in a reshuffle.
One MP said: “There are far too few politicians and far too many managerial types.”
Penny Mordaunt is tipped for promotion from Leader of the House because “she knows how to win a political fight”.
There had been speculation about Ms Braverman’s future when details of a speeding fine were leaked to damage her and Mr Sunak took days to come out in support of his Home Secretary.
One Tory insider said: “After the Rwanda debacle today he will not have a better chance to move Suella if that’s his wish.”
However, friends of Ms Braverman, who is still seen as a future leadership candidate, believe she “is the victim of a whispering campaign” but MPs “on the left of the party who want high immigration.”
