Tories are increasingly turning their ire on Rishi Sunak as MPs grow impatient over a much-delayed cabinet reshuffle.
Promises of a reshuffle started in spring this year, but so far the only change has been Grant Shapps as Defence Secretary after Ben Wallace’s resignation.
One cabinet minister told Katy Balls, Deputy Political Editor of The Spectator magazine: “Colleagues are so p***** off over the delay.”
Ms Balls, writing an opinion piece for iNews, revealed that many Tory MPs fear that the Prime Minister missed his opportunity to reset momentum with a wider reshuffle this summer.
A senior aide said: “We should have gone in July, it was a mistake.”
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It is thought that No 10 failed to act because they were panicked by the triple by-elections in July, which saw the Tories hold onto Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
Tory MPs who are expected to be promoted in an eventual reshuffle include Claire Coutinho, Oliver Dowden, Mel Stride, Laura Trott and Richard Holden.
Conservative insiders also expect that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Home Secretary Suella Braverman could face the chop in any future reshuffle.
Several MPs think any reshuffle now would be too late to change anything ahead of an election next year.
One Government aide said: “A lot of people think a change of government is inevitable.”
One MP dismissed any hopes for a reshuffle promotion: “It takes months to grasp a brief.
“I would rather focus on campaigning in my seat.”
However, Mr Sunak’s allies see November, starting with the King’s Speech, as an important month to kick-start the Tories’ electoral prospects.
One senior government source told Politics Home: “It’s about acting, not talking.”
Mr Sunak is desperate to cut down Labour’s commanding, double-digit lead in the opinion polls.
