Boris Mourners

Big name: Nadine Dorries

Surveys suggest that around a third of party members would still prefer Boris Johnson to be prime minister, and there are those on the Tory backbenches who agree with them and are not afraid to say it.

Chief among them is Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary, who this week said Ms Truss should call a general election to win a mandate for her policies, and that she was “baffled” at the party’s decision to ditch Mr Johnson, “one of the world’s great leaders”.

Others include the trade minister Conor Burns and the former foreign office minister Nigel Adams.