Nadine Dorries calls on Liz Truss to hold general election if she wants 'mandate' for her policies

Nadine Dorries has called on Liz Truss to hold general election if she wants a “mandate” for her new policies.

The former culture secretary and ultra Boris Johnson loyalist claimed there was "widespread dismay" at the Prime Minister for ditching her predecessor's agenda.

Her comments came after the Tory 2019 manifesto co-author Rachel Wolf claimed Ms Truss partly won the leadership race due to her loyalty to Boris Johnson, only to abandon his approach.

Ms Dorries said: “Widespread dismay at the fact that three years of work has effectively been put on hold.

Nadine Dorries backed Liz Truss but has now called for a general election.

“No one asked for this. C4 (Channel 4) sale, online safety, BBC licence fee review, all signed off by Cabinet all ready to go, all stopped.

“If Liz wants a whole new mandate, she must take to the country.”

Ms Dorries has become increasingly critical since leaving the cabinet, accusing the Prime Minister of throwing Kwasi Kwarteng "under a bus".

She also tweeted that "one of" Mr Johnson’s faults had been that “he could sometimes be too loyal".

Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg disagreed with his former Cabinet ally.

He told a Telegraph event at the Conservative conference that they used to get on “like a house on fire” around the Cabinet table and agreed on “almost everything”.

But he added: “I don’t think there’s going to be an immediate election and I don’t think there’s a requirement for one.”

It came as Michael Gove claimed Ms Truss “won the debate and the contest” in the leadership election and she is “entitled to the time and space to make her case and to make the changes that she argued for” during the campaign.