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The catastrophic wipeout would see two cabinet ministers – Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers and Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd – lose their seats, while 35 of the casualties would be Brexiteer MPs. It would leave Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour as the biggest party with 288 seats, opening the door for a Remain alliance with the Lib Dems and SNP. The threat to the Tories from the Brexit Party comes as speculation grows there will be another general election following a no confidence vote in Parliament.

The Conservative Party may lose 50 seats

Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd would lose her seat in the wipeout

Brexit Party sources have revealed they have been approached by senior Tory ministers who support leaving the EU, begging Nigel Farage to keep putting up candidates to “keep the government honest on Brexit”. With another 150 Brexit Party candidates set to be unveiled this week, a senior party source said: “We have spoken to two [pro-Brexit] senior ministers who told us that putting up candidates against them will mean they will lose their seats. “But they said, ‘Please keep putting candidates up because it is the one thing keeping the Government honest on Brexit. If you don’t do it we won’t leave [the EU] on 31 October’.” The predicted loss of 50 seats is based on the latest ComRes poll for Britain Elects, which put Labour on 30 per cent, the Conservatives on 29, the Lib Dems on 16 and Brexit Party on 15. In the event of the result, the Brexit Party could still win up to two seats – including the safe Tory constituency of Boston and Skegness, the Electoral Calculus website claims. This is Britain’s biggest Leave supporting constituency. However, in the majority of cases, the Conservative/Brexit Party vote would allow the Lib Dems or Labour through the middle, as happened in the recent Brecon and Radnorshire by-election.

In the event of the result, the Brexit Party could still win up to two seats

ComRes chairman Andrew Hawkins said his polling company estimates that around two thirds of the Brexit Party vote has come from the Conservatives. He said: “We can’t tell how its voters would split between the main parties if BXP stood down but, of the 15 percent vote share we have overall for the Brexit Party, almost two-thirds is accounted for by past Tory voters. “It would seem reasonable to assume that if the Tories can deliver Brexit, and the Brexit Party were to stand down, the Tory vote share is likely to go from the 29 percent we registered in that poll, up to around 33 percent.” With a confidence vote in Parliament expected in the first week of September when MPs return, Mr Johnson is relying on support from 17 independent Labour and Change UK parties to prevent an election – because they would all likely lose their seats. But the Prime Minister is also facing a new assault from Remainer MPs in his own party. A senior Remainer Tory MP has told the Sunday Express that there have been discussions for letters to be sent to the 1922 committee to arrange a vote of confidence in Mr Johnson’s leadership.

ComRes estimates that two third of the Brexit Party vote has come from the Conservative party

This would be an internal Tory vote relating to the party leader, rather than the Government. The MP said: “This is being considered by a number of colleagues. “We might still be able to stop this situation getting worse –however, it relies upon enough colleagues being courageous and principled.” It is thought that former ministers led by Philip Hammond, David Gauke and Rory Stewart could now boost the numbers of the rebels aiming to destabilise Mr Johnson. However, in a sign that the turmoil gripping the Tories is far from over, there is also anger among some of the Brexiteers because Mr Johnson gave key ministerial posts to Remainers. From the so-called group of 28 “Spartans” who refused to back Theresa May’s deal, only three were given ministerial jobs.

It is expected that former ministers, led by Hammond, will aim to destabilise Johnson