Although Conservative MPs have managed to keep a lot of their anger under wraps at this year’s conference, others have chosen to be less subtle when it comes to airing annoyance at losing the Tory majority in the snap election. Over the weekend, Grant Shapps wrote a blistering editorial for the Mail on Sunday where he suggested Patrick McLoughlin should be axed as party chairman over the election debacle:
‘Patrick is well liked by colleagues but, unfortunately, he was officially the head of a campaign which lost our majority in June.
Theresa May’s decision to put him back in the same role signals to many a lack of understanding about the scale of the challenge we face. Although Patrick will doubtless turn in a faultless performance, he shows every sign of hating the job.’
So, it came as a surprise to Mr S to discover a certain Grant Shapps in the queue for the Chairman’s reception the next day.

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