Ben Houchen has admitted "things don't look great for the Conservative Party at the moment".
The newly re-elected Tees Valley mayor was asked if Rishi Sunak was to blame, and he replied that "ultimately it lies with Rishi”, but added others were also to blame.
In a BBC Tees interview, Lord Houchen warned colleagues to “stop messing about” by fighting each other.Rishi Sunak to blame for Tory 'chaos', Ben Houchen says