Tory MPs are calling on the education secretary, Nicky Morgan, to ensure that plans to force all state schools to become academies are not included in next month’s Queen’s speech, following warnings from Conservative whips that they face inevitable defeat in the House of Commons.

With anger over the proposals rising in Tory ranks, Morgan has been asked to appear before the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers before the Queen’s speech on 18 May, with many of the party’s own MPs demanding that she goes back to the drawing board to avoid a parliamentary bloodbath.

With a majority of just 17 in the Commons, Tory whips believe legislation on “forced academisation” would have no chance of passing through parliament unless the policy was watered down and the compulsory element removed.

Since the academies plan was announced by the chancellor, George Osborne, in the budget in March, Tories in local government, backed by MPs, have spoken out against what they say would be an unwanted and costly “top-down” reorganisation of thousands of schools, including many judged as good or outstanding by Ofsted.

Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, told the Observer last night there might be a place for limited legislation on aspects of school reform in the Queen’s speech – such as measures to help schools leave academy trusts they found unsatisfactory and to define more clearly the future role of local education authorities – but the element of compulsion should be dropped.

“Good academies can bring enormous benefits and it is right that we should be helping those that want to convert to do so,” said Brady. “But I hope the white paper will be adapted to reflect the need to support and ease the process, rather than impose the change in areas where schools are already performing very well.”

Opponents of the plans complain that the white paper proposes that local councils would still be under a legal obligation to find places for all children in their areas, but would lack the power either to build new schools or force academies to expand in order to provide them. Many believe they will weaken the role of parent governors and put schools in the hands of remote, inexperienced new management.

In another sign of mutiny, the Tory-dominated County Councils Network (CCN), which represents local authorities with education responsibilities, today says the government’s new national funding formula for schools, coupled with plans to force them to become academies, could harm councils’ ability to support young children and those with the greatest need.

Councillor David Borrow, CCN’s finance spokesman, said: “Schools, in partnership with their local authorities, have delivered an excellent standard of education, despite the historical underfunding in county areas.

“We welcome the prospect of fairer funding for county schools. However, a one-size-fits-all national funding formula and the continued push by government towards full academisation will remove any local discretion on how best to distribute funding to deliver the best outcomes for local children and counter any short-term difficulties faced by rural schools.

Last week, after David Cameron defended the policy, official auditors said the entire academies plan created significant risks for the government’s finances. The National Audit Office described the Department for Education’s annual accounts as “adverse”, adding that there was no clear view of academies’ spending. Adverse is the most negative opinion that an auditor can give.

West Sussex’s Conservative-led county council joined the chorus of opposition, saying it could hurt provision for vulnerable children and undermine the local economy. In a letter to Morgan, West Sussex’s Tory county council leader, Louise Goldsmith, said: “I have reservations that the ‘one-size-fits-all’ academies approach that ministers are proposing does not seem to promote any benefits to pupils and parents in West Sussex. We have very specific concerns about how vulnerable children will fare under the proposals – a statutory responsibility that will rightly remain with the council but with very few powers to help us to fulfil that duty.”

The DfE refused to be drawn on whether there would be legislation in the Queen’s speech. It added: “We are giving schools a six-year timetable to become an academy, so no school has to rush into an arrangement that isn’t right for them and we will support schools, local authorities and multi-academy trusts through this process.”