A Tory MP has taken aim at the prime minister and the Conservative Party itself in a shockingly honest take on the latest chaos surrounding Liz Truss.
Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, Charles Walker, the MP for Broxbourne since 2005, told the BBC that he thought the latest drama surrounding the government was just “inexcusable”.
He also accused “talentless” MPs of backing Truss in order to become ministers and told them: “I hope it was worth it.”
Walker was speaking after the home secretary Suella Braverman resigned from government after breaking security rules – but also hit out at the “direction” of Truss’s government in the process.
Then there was a Commons vote on fracking where senior Tories were accused of “bullying” MPs into voting in line with the government or losing the whip.
And Walker was deeply unhappy with it all, as 2 million people have now seen in a brutal clip of one of his interviews being shared on Twitter.
Standing in Central Lobby, he told the BBC: “To be perfectly honest, this whole affair is inexcusable.
“It is just a pitiful reflection of the Conservative parliamentary party on every level.
″It reflects really badly obviously of the government of the day.”
The journalist asked: “Do you think there’s any coming back from this?”
“I don’t think so. I have to say, I’ve been of that view since two weeks ago.”
The government has struggled ever since the mini-budget was announced in September, prompting the pound to plummet in value, forcing Truss into a series of embarrassing U-turns.
Walker continued: “This is an absolute disgrace. As a Tory MP of 17 years, who has never been a minister, who has got on with it loyally most of the time, I think it is a shambles and a disgrace.
″I think it is utterly appalling.
“I’m livid. And I really shouldn’t say this, but I hope all those people who put Liz Truss in No.10, I hope it was worth it.
“I hope it was worth it for the ministerial red box, I hope it was worth it to sit around the cabinet table, because the damage they have done to our party is extraordinary.”
Truss’s victory in the Tory leadership contest was narrow, and before it went to the wider members of the Conservative party, she was actually trailing her competitor Rishi Sunak in terms of votes.
“I’m sorry, it’s very difficult to convey – you look just furious about this,” the reporter added.
“I am, I am. I’ve had enough. I’ve had enough of talentless people putting their tick in the right box, not because it’s in the national interest, but because it’s in their own personal interest to achieve ministerial position.
“And I know I speak for hundreds of backbenchers who, right now, are worrying for their constituents all the time, but now worrying about their own personal circumstances.
″Because there is nothing as ex as an ex-MP.
“And a lot of my colleagues are wondering, as many of their constituents are wondering, how they’re going to pay for their mortgages if this all comes to an end soon.”
Walker said he was going to leave parliament voluntarily at the next election, but “unless we get our act together and behave like grown-ups”, he predicted up to 200 Tory MPs would lose their seats.
″That’s all I’ve got to say – patience: reached the limit.”
“And you’re probably not the only one.”
“I’m not,” Walker added.