Rishi Sunak warned he will be toppled by Tory rebels 'before he gets to see the King' if he pushes for 'political suicide' of June general election
Tory rebels have threatened Rishi Sunak with a move to topple him as Prime Minister if he pushes to hold the general election in June.
There has been renewed speculation at Westminster that Mr Sunak will go to the polls this summer - rather than wait until the Autumn - amid claims of a bleak mood in No10.
But some Conservatives have warned the PM it would be 'political suicide' to go for an earlier election and claimed Mr Sunak could be ousted if he tried to do so.
Earlier this month, the PM ruled out holding the general election on 2 May to coincide with local elections across England and Wales.
Many within Tory ranks expect a fresh move against Mr Sunak by rebel MPs should the Conservatives suffer a widely-expected routing in those contests.
The PM had previously said his 'working assumption' was the general election would be in the second half of this year.
But the prospect that Tory rebels will step up their plotting after the local elections saw claims that No10 aides are urging him to hold a summer general election.
Mr Sunak's inner circle were said to believe the situation is untenable and the PM should go to the polls as early as June.
Tory rebels have threatened Rishi Sunak with a move to topple him as Prime Minister if he pushes to hold the general election in June
Amid consistently dire polls, election guru Sir John Curtice has estimated a 99 per cent chance of Labour being in power in the next Parliament
Yet there has been a strong pushback against the idea of a summer election by some Tory MPs, who warned Mr Sunak would face a flurry of letters of no confidence.
One told The Telegraph of a June election: 'If he does that, the letters will go in before he gets to see the King.
'Colleagues don't want an election yet. They're trying to be as loyal as they can, but they think it will be political suicide.
'Someone's clearly floating a June election to stop the plotters. He would obviously prefer to be ousted by the election than fellow MPs.'
Another said: 'It would be disastrous. It would cause a move against the PM.
'There is an increasing view that he's just not up to it. People are thinking 'we are not having you lead us into the next election'.'
Conservative unrest has been mounting over dire polls showing Keir Starmer on track for a landslide when the country goes to the ballot boxes.
Election guru Sir John Curtice has estimated a 99 per cent chance of Labour being in power in the next Parliament.
The mood darkened further this week when two ministers quit to join an exodus from the Commons, while Reform UK has been gaining ground.
Cabinet minister Michael Gove has suggested the general election will be held on November 14 or 21, but insisted he has 'no inside knowledge at all'.
Cabinet minister Michael Gove has suggested the general election will be held on November 14 or 21, but insisted he has 'no inside knowledge at all'.
Despite being a member of Mr Sunak's top team, the Housing, Levelling Up and Communities Secretary said he had not discussed the election date with the PM.
'If he had told me, I couldn't tell you… therefore the fact that I've told you what I think is proof that I didn't know,' Mr Gove told the Political Currency podcast.
The frenzied speculation about the date of the election came as the PM publicly bemoaned his 'hospital pass' from predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, saying he had inherited the 'worst' situation for 'decades'.
One former minister told MailOnline that they were increasingly wondering if Mr Sunak would go for a summer election.
The premier could use the Lords refusing to give way on the Rwanda Bill after Easter as a 'trigger' to go to the country, they suggested.
The MP, who represents a northern seat, said the question Downing Street needed to ask was 'do we lose by a bit, or do we lose by a massive amount'.
They said that anecdotally a lot of the Reform UK votes were coming from Labour.
'You ask any Tory MP, the doorstep is not reflecting the catastrophic numbers in the polls,' they said.
'Labour has not sealed the deal. People don't hate the Tories. They don't love Starmer but they don't hate him. We've got to get our vote out and hope for the best.'
However, the ex-minister said No10 might be trying to 'scare' MPs into thinking there may be a snap election so they do not challenge Mr Sunak.
'That is high risk, though. It could become a self-fulfilling prophecy,' the MP added.
The Tory mood is increasingly bleak with Sir Keir Starmer seemingly on track for a big majority
Another veteran Tory played down the prospect of an early election. 'November is the time to go for it,' they said.
'People will feel better about inflation. They will have more money in their pocket...
'It takes time for these things to filter through and for people to feel better.'
The Conservative added that they did not believe rebels were anywhere near the 53 MPs sending letters needed to trigger a no confidence vote.
'None of them have a plan of what to do if they did get rid of Rishi,' they said.
Figures at the top of the Tory party last night moved to play down the idea of a June election.
A senior Conservative source told The Telegraph: 'I think everyone needs to enjoy a long weekend and have a cold shower.
'We have been working on the assumption of Oct/Nov for over a year and I've not seen anything to suggest that's changed.'
Speaking on The Story podcast from The Times, Mr Sunak said of his inheritance following the Johnson era and Ms Truss's meltdown: 'Someone described it as the worst hospital pass for any incoming prime minister in many decades.
'And that clearly it's been, there's lots of frustrations. We've been through a lot as a country over the past few years, which people are understandably frustrated about and makes the environment trickier.'
