Nadine Dorries calls for a general election and accuses Liz Truss of not having a mandate for her policies
3 October 2022, 15:41 | Updated: 7 October 2022, 13:39
Former cabinet minister Nadine Dorries has said Liz Truss "must" call a general election if she wants a mandate for her policies that have put three years of work "on hold".
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The former Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said the Prime Minister needs to call a general election if she wants to have a mandate for her policies.
Ms Dorries, who was a loyal supporter of Truss during the leadership bid, has turned on the Prime Minister after she halted cabinet policies which had already been signed off prior to her becoming leader of the Conservative party.
She said: "Widespread dismay at the fact 3 years of work has effectively been put on hold. No one asked for this.
"C4 sale, online safety, BBC fee review - all signed off by cabinet all ready to go, all stopped.
"If Liz wants a new mandate, she must take to the country."
Ms Dorries' criticisms followed on from those of 2019 Tory manifesto co-author Rachel Wolf who argued Liz Truss partly won the leadership contest because she pledged loyalty to Boris Johnson, but that she has since ditched most of his policies.
This is the ex-culture secretary's second criticism of Liz Truss in 24 hours. On Sunday she accused the Prime Minister of "throwing" chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng "under the bus" when she told BBC's Laura Kuenssberg that income tax cuts for the wealthy had been the chancellor's decision and not that of the cabinet.
Comparing Liz Truss to the former Prime Minister, Ms Dorries said: "One of Boris Johnson's faults was he could sometimes be too loyal."
The next general election is currently due to take place in 2024.
