Who are the Conservative Britain Alliance? Former No 10 aide Will Dry takes aim at Rishi Sunak's government

Will Dry takes aim at former boss – but why would this group of Tories want to self sabotage?
William Mata26 January 2024
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Rishi Sunak’s government is facing challenges, not just from the issues of the day and the Labour opposition, but seemingly from former and existing Tory party members

The prime minister’s former advisor Will Dry has become the latest to speak up against the No 10 leadership, having left his post in November. 

Mr Dry’s statement read: “Everyone in the country can see just how colossal the challenges we face are. Sadly, it became clear to me we weren’t providing the bold, decisive action to overcome those challenges.

“You cannot dent them without internalising how just how fundamentally broken our political system is.”

Mr Dry added: “I further concluded, again sorrowfully, that the Conservatives are heading for the most almighty of defeats. Be in no doubt: we are on course for at least a decade of Labour rule.

“And if [Nigel] Farage comes back, the Conservative party won’t exist by Christmas.”

This is not the first shot fired. 

The 26-year-old is now working with the Conservative Britain Alliance, the organisation which was behind a poll that predicted an election wipeout for the Tories. 

But who is in the alliance and what do they want? 

Jeremy Hunt would lose his seat if the poll stands to be correct
Victoria Jones / PA Wire

Who are the Conservative British Alliance?

On January 15, the Daily Telegraph reported that a YouGov poll of 14,000 respondents had projected that Labour would win the next general election (set to take place this year) by a mega majority of around 120 seats. 

Under the poll’s projection, Tory MPs losing their seats would include Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt, and the Uxbridge constituency that used to belong to Boris Johnson. 

Concerning as that data would have been for Tory voters, what was also a worry is where the information came from. It was said that the £70,000 put forward to YouGov was from an unknown group called the Conservative Britain Alliance. 

This is not one of the infamous ‘five families’ – the name given to the conflicting and occasionally united faction groups of Tory MPs who have sought to influence or defy Mr Sunak. 

Instead, this is a very little known group with zero web presence and a closed membership. 

The Guardian has said they are a “group of Conservative donors” who exist without status as a business, a political movement, or a charity. 

Mr Dry is among the first to have publicly associated himself with the CBA and he reportedly drew up questions for the poll. 

Reports have claimed CBA could be working with up to 10 Tory MPs, who include some rather prominent political figures.

Lord David Frost, the Tory peer and former Brexit negotiator, is also linked to the group, having presented the YouGov study to the Telegraph. 

While it is not known if he is part of the CBA, Simon Clarke, who was a cabinet member for Liz Truss, has said that Mr Sunak’s “uninspiring leadership is the main obstacle to our recovery”. 

Meanwhile, Paul Marshall, the hedge fund manager behind GB News, has denied any involvement within CBA.

Many Tories have been quick to plead ignorance about the group.

Tory grandee Jacob Rees-Mogg told the Guardian: “I don’t know who they are. I hadn’t come across them before.”

Jacob Rees-Mogg denies being part of the rebel group
Hannah McKay / PA Wire

What does Conservative British Alliance want?

The CBA did not put the YouGov poll to the Telegraph with any statement or address.

The group seems to want to be rid of Mr Sunak as prime minister, something Tim Bale, the professor of politics at Queen Mary, has told the Guardian

“Clearly, there is some sort of concerted plan by someone to get rid of Rishi Sunak,” he said. 

“It’s not simply about wanting to push the Conservative Party in a certain direction, they’ve got so desperate they might want to precipitate a leadership challenge.”

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