Let Rishi Sunak ‘get on with the job’, says Grant Shapps

His intervention came after James Cleverly, the home secretary, advised Conservative MPs on Thursday not to “feed the psychodrama” by submitting no-confidence letters in Sunak.

Ahead of local and mayoral elections on Thursday, which are forecast to be a disaster for the Conservatives, Sunak has spent this week seeking to bolster his leadership with a pledge to spend 2.5% on defence by 2030 and finally passing his Rwanda deportation plan into law.

Conservative MPs have said they believe Mordaunt is at risk of losing her Portsmouth North seat, despite her 15,780 majority, and so may be hoping for a leadership race before the general election.

Kemi Badenoch, who is considered the frontrunner due to to her popularity with the party’s grassroots membership, was seen as boosting her libertarian credentials when she announced that she would not back Sunak’s smoking ban this month.

Shapps has been accused by one former minister of being “particularly blatant” in his ambitions, inviting Tory MPs to briefings on defence issues and following up with them directly if he did not hear back.

Sunak has insisted he intends to call a general election in the second half of the year, with many analysts considering October or November to be the preferred period.