Rishi ‘offers knighthoods to woo Boris’s awkward squad’

SUPPORTERS of Boris Johnson claim they have been offered honours in exchange for their ‘good behaviour’ in the Commons while Rishi Sunak struggles to rein in Labour’s opinion poll lead.

The MPs say that the promises of knighthoods and other gongs have been whispered to them in the Commons’ tearooms.

One said: ‘No10 is trying to disband the awkward squad who are very restless about Rishi’s failure to make any inroads into Starmer’s lead of 20-points plus. But they haven’t got long to turn it around.’

The claims come amid concerns from Mr Sunak’s allies that he could face a challenge from the Boris wing of the party if the local elections on May 4 are as bad as feared.

One Tory MP said: ‘The elections could be a moment of maximum danger for Rishi if they point to a real meltdown when it comes to the General Election.’

He warned that a crushing defeat would ‘put flesh’ on the Tories’ dire opinion poll ratings and potentially spark panic among party colleagues who would see their Commons’ majorities disappearing.

However, other Sunak allies hope that King Charles’s Coronation two days after the local elections in May could ‘deprive the rebels of the oxygen they need’.

They were also heartened by Tory election adviser Isaac Levido’s message on the Cabinet away-day last week where he argued Labour’s massive poll lead was softer than it looked. However, in a new potential threat to the PM, his predecessor Liz Truss is expected to make a return to the political frontline before the March 15 Budget, where she is likely to disclose to her ‘progrowth’ policy agenda.

Her intervention – the first since she was forced to quit No10 – is likely to be seized on by Tory critics of what they see as the Government’s high-tax approach to balancing the books.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt responded to mounting Tory calls to cut taxes last week by insisting ‘the best tax cut right now is a cut in inflation’.