Saturday 26 November 2022 11:38 PM Red Wall Tories in threat to form breakaway party trends now
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Panicking Tory MPs in the so-called 'Red Wall' seats of the North and Midlands have held discussions about forming a breakaway party, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
With Labour now consistently more than 20 points ahead in the polls – and an increasing number of Tory MPs announcing plans to quit before the next general election – the 'wallers' have discussed forming a new party that would be tougher than Rishi Sunak's Government on issues such as immigration, crime and Brexit.
The MPs fear that unless they act they will become 'one-termers' after being elected in former Labour strongholds in 2019.
Rising Tory star Dehenna Davison became one of the latest to stand down next election, with a majority of just 7,962 in her Bishop Auckland constituency
They have also discussed devising a 'backbench immigration policy' which they can present to Downing Street in an attempt to force the Government to act: small-boat migration across the Channel is an issue mentioned frequently on their constituencies' doorsteps, they say.
Last night, one Red Wall source said: 'There have been discussions about forming a separate Northern group along the lines of the Scottish Tories. A couple of senior figures from the Northern Research Group [set up by Red Wall MPs in 2019 to campaign for greater investment] were told off for mooting the idea, but it hasn't really gone away. They had a meeting with Rishi and there's a conference next year.'
Another Red Wall MP added: 'Small boats is an existential issue for many of us and it's about making sure Government pays attention. We like what the Prime
