After a bruising few weeks for Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister this evening appeared before the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers to make his case. As MPs prepare to go into the Easter recess, Sunak tried to encourage his party to unite rather than descend further into plotting.

He told MPs:

This battle will define us, when the going got tough, when the polls were against us did we dig deep and fight or did we turn in on ourselves?

I know that the overwhelming majority of people in this room are determined to fight: to stand up for our values, our vision and our record.

He added that the local elections were a critical point for the party: ‘We have a chance in these local elections to puncture Labour’s arrogance, to show that we Conservatives are going to fight.’

As one MP puts it: ‘The longer the banging, the more the leader is in trouble’.

The 1922 committee tends to be filled with loyalists. Tonight’s event was well attended – with MPs on a three-line whip – and there was heavy desk banging to show support. But as one MP puts it: ‘The longer the banging, the more the leader is in trouble’.

During the Q&A session, the majority of interventions were supportive, with two exceptions. Former minister Jake Berry said he had been accused of plotting which he linked to No. 10 and wanted this to be looked into. Sunak said he would. Then another Tory MP told Sunak that he needed to make his message on the economy cut through to voters: less in the way of technical talk and more in the way of emotion.

Following the meeting, one attendee told Coffee House: ‘He has bought himself time until the May elections – but the results will still be crucial when it comes to his future’.