Conservative MPs have warned that if Jeremy Hunt is elected leader, they will leave the party.
Brexiteers have privately warned that allowing Mr Hunt into Downing Street would force them to resign the Tory whip, in a sign of vicious blue-on-blue infighting.
Meanwhile, a Cabinet minister has warned rebels that if they don’t stop fighting, they’ll spend the next decade in opposition.
Despite the fact that Boris Johnson won a confidence vote in his leadership last week, 148 of his MPs – or 41% of the parliamentary party – expressed their disapproval of the Prime Minister.
Mr Hunt is the first person to challenge the Prime Minister’s leadership. After discreetly preparing for a challenge for almost a year, the former Cabinet Minister demanded Mr Johnson’s resignation on Monday, claiming that ‘we are no longer trusted by the voters. we are likely to lose the next General Election.’
In response, one MP told The Mail on Sunday: ‘If Jeremy Hunt or another Remainer is elected leader, I will leave the party.’
Mr Hunt, according to one insider, made a’mistake’ by being the first to openly criticize the Prime Minister, adding that he only done so after learning that another leadership contender, Penny Mordaunt, was planning to resign as a Minister on Monday.
Ms Mordaunt, the International Trade Minister, did not resign or indicate she would vote against the Prime Minister on the day, despite her stated support for him.
Former Treasury Minister Jesse Norman’s letter criticizing the government’s performance ahead of the confidence vote has been branded a “Cameroon plot.”
Mr Norman’s letter, according to one MP, echoed arguments made recently by former Prime Minister David Cameron’s friends, including criticizing the policy of sending migrants to Rwanda.
‘That Cameron faction is trying to make it look like we’re heading in a fascist direction, which is complete nonsense,’ the MP added. They’re attempting to agitate everyone.’
‘It’s all the ‘Cameroons,’ a Cabinet Minister said after Mr Norman’s letter was published.
MPs are concerned that Mr Cameron’s allies in Parliament are collaborating with Theresa May’s supporters in an attempt to destabilize the Prime Minister.