Tory leader confronts plot rumours

Duncan Smith tackled the rumours at the shadow cabinet

Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith has told his shadow cabinet he will not be forced out of his job as rumours of plots to topple him intensify.

Tory chief whip David Maclean has dismissed as "fantasy" suggestions that he had privately told Mr Duncan Smith he had lost the party's confidence.

But it is thought Mr Duncan Smith did meet Mr Maclean and other chief officials to discuss how to deal with the plotters.

The weekly meeting of Conservative backbenchers broke up on Wednesday evening without a confidence vote in Mr Duncan Smith's leadership being triggered.

Leadership speculation is rife after a £5m Tory donor said the case for replacing the Tory leader was "overwhelming" and argued that MPs had a duty to act.

Multi-millionaire businessman Stuart Wheeler said the Conservative leader did not come across as a potential prime minister, but Mr Duncan Smith has insisted he is staying in his job.

'Here to stay'

A spokesman for Mr Duncan Smith explained that the Tory leader had tackled the issue head on when his shadow cabinet met on Wednesday morning.

"He said he was aware of the rumours and speculation which has been going on since the party conference," said the spokesman.

"He said he had a very clear message for the party and the shadow cabinet: 'I am staying on as leader of the party. I have earned the right and I am going to stay doing that job and lead this party into the general election.'"

The leader of the party is not going to allow a small group of people to hound him from office Edward Leigh Tory MP

The spokesman said the leader's comments had been "extremely well received".

One source told the BBC that about party members in the constituencies of the suspected hard core of rebels will be encouraged to put pressure on their MPs.

Tory MP Edward Leigh said: "The leader of the party is not going to allow a small group of people to hound him from office."

And shadow culture secretary John Whittingdale said most MPs were "extremely fed up" that leadership plots were distracting from the party's core message to voters.

Mr Wheeler, chairman of spread betting company IG Index, gave £5m to the Tories under William Hague's leadership.

But on Wednesday he said: "He doesn't come over at all as a potential prime minister. He comes over as weak."

MPs' duty

Mr Wheeler said Conservative MPs had a duty to start the process of ousting Mr Duncan Smith by gathering the 25 signatures needed to force a vote.

"All one hears is that they all take the view that I have just expressed or virtually all of them," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"That being so, not to be too pompous about it, it is almost their duty to have these 25 letters and get the thing going and that is what I think should happen and very quickly."

Wheeler said Duncan Smith's problem was communication

He added: "I think we should all be extremely grateful to Iain Duncan Smith for what he has done for the party.

"He has done two wonderful things in particular. He has stopped the quarrelling over Europe, I believe, and he has produced some wonderful policies at Blackpool which will make the basis of a manifesto at the next election.

"But in spite of that, I'm afraid my view is that he should go because, the crucial thing is, he is terribly bad at communicating."

Former Tory frontbencher John Greenway said: "What I would say is that the party has to settle this issue once and for all."

The MP said Mr Duncan Smith had united the party on Europe and presided over some excellent policies which would prove attractive to voters.

"But clearly if people are not happy with his leadership, then that has to be tackled right now," he added.

Donation boost

Conservative Party treasurer George Magan said Tory finances were in good order despite Mr Wheeler's words.

"We have had a significant inflow of money to the tune of over £3 million during the past few months," said Mr Magan.

"There is no doubt that the policies announced at the party conference have been approved widely and I am confident that this will be reflected in further fund-raising."

Former Tory treasurer Lord Ashcroft told BBC Radio 4's PM programme he would fund the party at the time of the next election and predicted Mr Wheeler would do the same.

"Generally across the donor base I have found they do not want a leadership election at this particular point of time."

But donors and activists did want the squabbling to stop, he said.