David Cameron shrugs off threat of leadership challenge to reopen warehouse destroyed by fire in the riots

  • Up to 14 MPs have signed letters calling for the Prime Minister to go, according to reports
  • With no time limit on a challenge, there risks being a 'drip, drip' processof collecting more signatures
  • Allies of the Tory leader insist he is just getting on with the job as he returns to site of summer rioting

By Jason Groves and Matt Chorley

PUBLISHED: 19:58 EST, 13 September 2012 | UPDATED: 07:20 EST, 14 September 2012

David Cameron today shrugged off reports 14 Conservative MPs have launched a secret plot to oust him as Tory leader.

The Prime Minister went ahead with a visit to a Sony warehouse, destroyed in last year's riots, amid reports of a 'drip, 'drip' process to challenge his leadership.

It is understood the 14 have written to Graham Brady, chairman of the powerful backbench 1922 Committee, demanding a leadership contest.

Prime Minister David Cameron was today shown round the warehouse by General Manager of Sony UK Natasha Tyrell

Prime Minister David Cameron was today shown round the warehouse by General Manager of Sony UK Natasha Tyrell

Shipping out? David Cameron today visited the Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation (DADC) warehouse in Enfield, north London which was damaged by fire during last year's riots

Shipping out? David Cameron today visited the Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation (DADC) warehouse in Enfield, north London which was damaged by fire during last year's riots

Under Tory rules a contest is automatically triggered if 15 per cent of the party’s MPs write letters to Mr Brady calling for the leader to go.

The 14 letters, reported in the Spectator magazine, which has close links to the Tories, remain well short of the 46 needed to trigger a leadership contest.

But, because of a quirk in the rules, the letters remain on file indefinitely, meaning that Mr Cameron could face a ‘drip, drip’ process of discontent.

 

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Today the PM was shown round the newly-reopened Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation (DADC) warehouse in Enfield, north London which was set on fire during the riots last summer.

Allies played down the significance of the revolt against the PM, noting that making spending cuts while being in coalition was always going to be unpopular with some sections of the Tory party.

A source said: 'He is getting on with the job, as usual.'

Heading for the exit: The PM has shrugged off talk of a challenge to his leadership, with allies noting that making spending cuts was always going to be unpopular

Heading for the exit: The PM has shrugged off talk of a challenge to his leadership, with allies noting that making spending cuts was always going to be unpopular

Rebel Tories and loyalists alike dismissed claims that an organised coup was under way.

One rebel MP said there was no serious threat to the Prime Minister’s position for now because there was no alternative leader waiting in the wings.

But he said the situation could change if Mr Cameron failed to turn round the party’s fortunes before the next election, or if London Mayor Boris Johnson, viewed by some as a possible future leader, returns to the Commons.

‘There is no organised campaign against the Prime Minister at the moment,’ he said.

‘You could easily get 46 names if there was an alternative leader, but there isn’t. If Boris was here things might be very different.

On the up: Mayor of London Boris Johnson's popularity has continued to rise, and should he return to the Commons he could be a potential Tory leader

On the up: Mayor of London Boris Johnson's popularity has continued to rise, and should he return to the Commons he could be a potential Tory leader

‘But if we find ourselves running towards a cliff like lemmings as the next election approaches then the party would change leadership overnight. It is that brutal.’

Loyalists also dismissed claims of a concerted move against the Prime Minister.

Mr Brady last night declined to comment on the report. But he stressed that it was impossible for anyone else to know how many, if any, letters he had received from colleagues about the Prime Minister.

‘No-one other than me could possibly know because I do not discuss it with anyone,’ he said.

Supporters of Mr Cameron attempted to toughen up the leadership rules before the last election by raising the threshold for triggering a contest and placing a time limit on letters sent to Mr Brady.

But the move was abandoned after the Tories failed to win a majority at the election.

 

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To have leader ship challenge would be fun to the press ,But the thing is the new leader we still be a tory ,This is no help to any one ,What we need is a election. unfortunetely they will not give us one,Till they killed the NHS,and there still a job in this land for a public servants,

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To have leader ship challenge would be fun to the press ,But the thing is the new leader we still be a tory ,This is no help to any one ,What we need is a election. unfortunetely they will not give us one,Till they killed the NHS,and there still a job in this land for a public servants,

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To have leader ship challenge would be fun to the press ,But the thing is the new leader we still be a tory ,This is no help to any one ,What we need is a election. unfortunetely they will not give us one,Till they killed the NHS,and there still a job in this land for a public servants,

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I detest liars, Cameron is a liar, he lied to the electorate when he promised a referendum on the EU. For that reason alone the Tories should remove this utterly poisonous snake from the party.

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Mr Cameron, please GO you are a cowardly, incompetent embarrasment!

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If a coalition is to be the order of the day at the next election, ideally David Davis would be PM with Michael Farage as the duputy. At last we would have two people who would put the country first. Now there's a novel thought.

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It amazes me that after so long on the political sidelines the tories decided to give the public exactly what they didnt want...a pompous posh boy...This plays straight in to the hands of Labour and Scots/Welsh nationalists as DC is not only spineless but he is the stereo typical nasty tory toff. The Conservative party made a huge mistake going with Cameron and will live to regret it.

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Leadership from Cameron is in one direction only - The Abyss

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hhh

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The Prime Minister needs to start thinking ahead and planning for the next election. The British public obviously now have a taste for coalition politics and he needs to start sending out feelers to Labour as well as keeping in with his current partners. It is pretty apparent to me that we will have another coalition government and Cameron needs to get Labour on his side before Clegg does.

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