Duncan Smith: should 'bring the thing to a head'

Sir Patrick Cormack, a member of the executive of the backbench 1922 committee, said Tories "from the shadow cabinet down" were unhappy with Mr Duncan Smith.

But the Staffordshire South MP said that if the party leader won the vote, his opponents should rally round him.

His remarks were dismissed by former party chairman Lord Cecil Parkinson, who reiterated the call for party unity.

Blunt message

But former Tory minister Edwina Currie also weighed into the row, saying she wished Mr Duncan Smith had "never existed".

Earlier Sir Patrick told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There is no point in being disingenuous about this.

"The fact of the matter is there are those from the shadow cabinet down who are not happy with what is going on at the moment.

"Let us be blunt about it and say it would be completely dishonest to say he has the united support of a united party in Parliament at any level," he said.

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Sir Michael Spicer, the chairman of the 1922 Committee, is empowered to call a leadership contest if he receives 25 letters from MPs.

He is not believed to have received that many letters, although some commentators believe Tory malcontents may be holding fire for the time being.

Edward Garnier, who also sits on the 1922 committee executive, said Sir Patrick was representing only his personal views and not those of the committee.

While conceding there was discontent in the party, he said he did not think Mr Duncan Smith should or would act on the call for a vote of confidence.

Mr Garnier, MP for Harborough, said: "Iain is the elected leader of the party and he won't resign.

"And he won't allow a contest unless there are 25 signatures and the constitutional procedures cut in."

Until that happened, he said, Mr Duncan Smith would be "entitled to carry on".

The Tory leader is currently being investigated by Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Sir Philip Mawer over the office role played by his wife Betsy.

But Sir Patrick suggested the Tory leader should "bring the thing to a head" and call the vote himself.

"If he wins that, everybody should belt up and get behind him. If he doesn't we have to move on in a very seemly way to choosing a successor."

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He said without a demonstration of support Mr Duncan Smith had no hope of leading a successful general election campaign.

His comments come against a backdrop of senior Tory figures lamenting the infighting.

On Thursday former prime minister John Major said the divisions left him "heartbroken".

And a day later the former chairman Chris Patten said he was "deeply saddened" by the state of the party, which he said even its greatest historical leaders would struggle to run.

'Temporary aberrations'

Ms Currie, former health minister, said she wished Mr Duncan Smith had never "plagued the party".

"I wish he would go away. But that doesn't solve the problem of the party," she said in an interview for ITV1's Granada region Sunday Supplement show.

She suggested power be handed over to a "triumvirate" before the job was passed on to a new figurehead - who is probably yet to emerge.

But Lord Parkinson dismissed Sir Patrick's proposal for a vote.

I wish he would go away Edwina Currie

Both Ted Heath and Margaret Thatcher had faced criticism as leaders in opposition, he said - and Mr Major had remained the target of snipers despite winning a confidence vote.

And he said no shadow cabinet member was "remotely interested" in challenging Mr Duncan Smith.

"These temporary aberrations should be put on one side and people should concentrate on the big picture and Iain is doing pretty well," he told Today.