TWO weeks ago, a gaggle of Tory MPs placed what seemed like an outside bet: that Penny Mordaunt would become Prime Minister by the end of the year.
It was the eve of Conservative Party conference and they got odds of 100 to 1.
Now they could be just days away from cashing in.
Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt leaves No10
After a disastrous week Liz Truss has seen her authority shredded and is hanging on as PM by a thread.
She has been forced to tear up her mini Budget and sack her closest friend in politics – Kwasi Kwarteng.
As one senior government official remarked: “She is very isolated”.
Liz and her closest aides are hunkering down in her grace and favour country house, Chequers, to try to plot a way out of her political and economic troubles.
But she is not the only one plotting.
Tory MPs have been back in their constituencies this weekend. And for many, the time back has hardened their positions.
Liz Truss (pictured at No10 press conference) is battling to stay on in No10
One despairing senior Tory said: “People are stopping me in the street telling me the country is going to hell in a handcart. She has got to go.”
Other backbenchers say they have been cornered in their local pubs by angry Tory voters railing against their rocketing mortgage bills.
In between visits to local farms and community fetes they have been busy sending hurried Whatsapps and making whispered phone calls to fellow rebels.
The biggest gang of rebels are backing Rishi Sunak. They say the ex Chancellor should form a unity ticket with Penny Mordaunt to take control of the government.
Another name in the frame is hugely popular Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.
Some at the top of government are even suggesting we “bring back Boris” and return to the 2019 general election manifesto.
Part of the problem for Liz is that now she has torn up her tax slashing agenda, even her previous backers are left wondering – what is the point of her as PM?
One senior Tory and former Liz fan said: “She has effectively tied a big blue Tory rosette to every mortgage rate rise.
“She has toxified tax cuts for a generation. No Tory can campaign on that ticket for years to come.”
This is the dilemma now facing Liz and her party. What does the Truss project mean now she has been forced to ditch Trussonomics?
Can someone who promised to shrink the state carry on in power while taxes are gobbling up more of our pay cheques.
One former Cabinet minister said: “getting rid of her Budget kills her. What’s the point?”
