Home Secretary Sajid Javid has moved to quell speculation a snap general election is on the cards, warning “people will never forgive” the government for such a move.
It comes amid reports Prime Minister Theresa May is preparing to call a fresh poll as early as 6 June as Brexit splits tear Westminster asunder.
Key EU figures have said Brussels is unwilling to renegotiate the Northern Irish backstop, which has proved so controversial with Tory backbenchers and the DUP, and ministers look set to delay Brexit beyond the March 29 deadline.
But Javid, in what reads as a warning to his boss, has cautioned against calling a new election.
“The last thing we want is a general election, the people will never forgive us for it,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.
“They want politicians to get on with the job. They have been given a very clear mandate, now it’s our job to get on with it.”
The home secretary also attempted to pour cold water on rumours CCHQ was pumping cash into Facebook ads in preparation for a nation-wide poll.
“I know that Conservative party headquarters is planning on only one set of elections, which is the local government elections. The last thing this country wants is an election; they want parliament to deliver Brexit in an orderly way,” Javid said.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn attempted to force a general election earlier this month by tabling a vote of no-confidence in the government.
May’s administration emerged victorious, comfortably winning the vote 325 to 306, and the PM insisted in parliament a general election “would be the worst thing we could do”.
On Sunday, she said she will be “battling for Britain” when she returns to Brussels in the weeks ahead.
But her backbenchers and the government’s confidence-and-supply partners, the DUP, are unlikely to settle for anything other than legally-binding changes to the Withdrawal Agreement.
Former Brexit minister Steve Baker warned of “trouble ahead” if she returned with assurances or a “codicil”.
Corbyn, meanwhile, repeated his call for a fresh poll on a visit to Glasgow on Saturday.
“People are suffering under austerity as a direct result of Tory cuts in Westminster passed down by the SNP in Holyrood,” he said.
“The people who are bearing the brunt of nine years of austerity cannot wait years for a general election.
“They need a general election now.”