Gillian Keegan said there are “no magic answers” to reverse Tory fortunes after the double defeat in last week’s two-by-elections.
Sir Jake Berry, a former chairman of the Conservative Party, wrote in the Sunday Express that the Tories are facing “a potential extinction event” at the next general election. He said Rishi Sunak should “take a step back and think again” about his approach.
Asked about Sir Jake’s comments, Ms Keegan, the Education Secretary, told Times Radio: “We have got a plan. Obviously it has been very difficult times, it has been difficult times for the last couple of years and it is difficult times at the moment.
“We know the impacts of inflation, we know that there is a war going on in Ukraine, we know that there is obviously the conflict in the Middle East as well. So it is very, very difficult times and all of those impact us here as well. We have to stick with the plan, the plan is working.
“We are going to continue to try and grow the economy and the forecasts are looking more hopeful on that front. But there is no magic answers here. The magic answer is we have got a plan, we stick with the plan. Nobody else has a plan.”