Liz Truss is battling to contain the fallout from a calamitous 24 hours for her premiership which saw a Cabinet minister resign and an open revolt in the Commons.

Tory MPs are wondering how long the Prime Minister can go on following the chaotic events, but a Cabinet ally said “at the moment” Ms Truss will still lead the party into the next election.

Read more: Tory MP Charles Walker slams 'talentless' Liz Truss government in 'livid' BBC outburst

The Northern Echo:

Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the Government is seeking to provide stability and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt should be given the time to set out his financial plans at the end of October.

But a senior MP said Ms Truss has just hours to turn the situation around following the chaos in Parliament on Wednesday.

As Ms Truss battles for her political life, The Northern Echo this week asked Conservative MPs in the North East if they still have faith in the Prime Minister - and the silence from the majority of them was deafening.

Only Simon Clarke, Levelling Up Secretary and MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, was the only who has responded prepared to go on record to defend the PM.

The Northern Echo:

As well as pointing to supportive tweets in the last week, Mr Clarke said he "absolutely supports the PM".

He added: "Mistakes have been made but this is a world where interest rates are rising everywhere as central banks combat the inflation caused by Putin’s horrific war."

Writing on Facebook, Darlington MP Peter Gibson said politics was in a more "turbulent time than I can recall" and "when Westminster events become the daily stuff of news headlines something has to change".

Describing the last few days as 'difficult', he added: "We do need a period of certainty and stability as we face the challenges of the war in Ukraine, the economy, and rising costs of food fuel and living.

Read more: ITV Political Editor makes Jeremy Hunt name blunder by dropping c-word

"I stood for election to help make Darlington a better place and to serve the town as the best MP that I possibly could be,.

"Whilst we have had incredible successes with Darlington Economic Campus, Darlington Train Station, improvements in our town, new job opportunities, new education opportunities and all that the Tees Valley regeneration is bringing, it concerns me greatly that Westminster events overshadow the hard work that myself and our hard working councillors are doing.

"Please rest assured that whatever the national political distractions present I will continue to work as hard as I possibly can for improvements for Darlington."

The Northern Echo:

Elsewhere, Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison, a vocal supporter of Ms Truss during her leadership campaign, was unavailable to comment earlier this week when approached.

Richard Holden, North West Durham MP, Matt Vickers, Stockton South MP and Jacob Young, Redcar MP, were also all unavailable for comment.

Sedgefield MP Paul Howell and Hartlepool MP Jill Mortimer did not respond to requests for comment.

The Northern Echo:

The events of Wednesday saw Suella Braverman lash out at Ms Truss’s “tumultuous” premiership as she resigned and accused the Government of “breaking key pledges” including on immigration policy.

Her departure, coming just five days after Kwasi Kwarteng’s sacking as chancellor, means the Prime Minister has lost two people from the four great offices of state within her first six weeks in No 10, with all eyes on whether other Cabinet ministers could follow suit.

The exodus appeared to continue with speculation that Chief Whip Wendy Morton and her deputy, Craig Whittaker, had resigned in fury at the handling of a vote on a Labour motion over fracking.

At 9.49pm – more than two hours after the vote – No 10 issued a statement saying both remained in post.

In an extraordinary further update at 1.33am, Downing Street said the Prime Minister has “full confidence” in both of them.

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