George Osborne said Tory MPs are “not persuaded” Rishi Sunak can lead them to a general election victory. 

But the former chancellor said it would be a “huge mistake” to oust the Prime Minister. 

He made the comments after Sir Simon Clarke’s call earlier this week for Mr Sunak to be replaced stunned Westminster. 

Mr Osborne told his Political Currency podcast: “Let me be absolutely clear, I think it would be a huge mistake to replace Rishi Sunak, who’s brought order and sense after years of chaos to the leadership of the Tory Party…”

He continued: “The only leadership strategy that works in the Tory Party is having a poll lead. The only thing that works as a unifying strategy is the promise that you might win the election. And you can announce any amount of policy, you can make any amount of promises to the Conservative Party. If you don’t look like you’re going to win, you’re going to have huge leadership problems. 

“And I think this is a sign of that. Simon Clarke’s intervention is a sign that, you know, the party is not persuaded, partly because of this opinion poll funded by the Conservative Britain Alliance… the Conservative Party at the moment thinks it’s going to lose. And that is very destabilising for the leadership.”

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