Conservative message to voters must change, MPs tell Rishi Sunak

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Rishi Sunak faces a clamor from senior Tories to improve their pitch to voters as they warn disastrous by-election results mean Sir Keir Starmer is headed for Downing Street.

The Labor leader says his 'changed' party is on course to become the next government as he celebrates historic victory in Selby and Ains type.

And Mr Sunak was forced to insist the result was not ‘a done deal’ after losing two of three previously secure seats.

The senior Tories were buoyed by a surprise victory in Uxbridge – where the party clung on by 495 votes thanks to hatred of Sadiq Khan’s Ulez project – but were disappointed by the bigger picture. -costing green policies', such as the 2030 ban on new petrol cars, after the London mayor's emissions zone cost Labor the seat. Nigel Mills, the Conservative MP for Amber Valley in Derbyshire, has warned the party will lose "a lot of seats" in the general election. Another Tory MP said the loss of those safe seats would 'really send the jitters' to all Tory MPs.

A former cabinet minister said the Tories must have a better message than just 'the job would be worse'. And a minister said the party's narrative of why the public should vote Conservative "has to change".

"We need to be in a position where we can make a good retail offer in the election," they said. “To do that, we have to show progress on the five (Prime Minister's) promises. But it is difficult to imagine what this (progress) will be.

However, they dismissed the idea of ​​abolishing inheritance tax, describing it as "the right policy at the wrong time." We need to wean ourselves off big government".

It came as staunch Boris Johnson supporters, including Jacob Rees-Mogg, called on Mr Sunak to abandon "high-cost green policies", after Labor failed to take Uxbridge due to a row over the mayor of London's emissions zone.

A former cabinet minister has told The Independent the huge move away ment from the party showed Sir Keir Starmer was now on course to win the keys to No 10. Another ex-Tory minister said it was clear Labor would win the...