Truss boosterism puts her in the driving seat
WHEN a politician pledges to do something in seven years’ time, it should invariably be taken with a large pinch of salt.
If a week is a long time in politics, seven years ranks as a geological epoch.
So many will see Rishi Sunak’s promise to cut 4p off the basic rate of income tax by the end of the next parliament more as wishful thinking than firm policy.
We don’t doubt his intent. But he stood in 2019 on a manifesto promise not to raise national insurance, then did just that.
Who can say his latest pledge would be any more reliable?
With voting forms now having gone out to Tory members for the final ballot on who should become party leader and prime minister, we understand why Mr Sunak is trying to seize the narrative on tax.
While rival Liz Truss pledges immediate cuts, his cautious approach is not cutting much ice with families who are struggling with a cost of living crunch right now.
There’s no doubt Miss Truss is growing steadily stronger in this contest and is clearly relishing the hustings.
In today’s Daily Mail she fleshes out parts of her prospectus for a freer, smaller-state, lower-tax Britain.
She would not support new ‘sin’ taxes or ‘BOGOF’ bans on calorific food and drink, preferring education and personal responsibility to official nannying.
She plans to strengthen immigration controls but abandon the indiscriminate net targets introduced under David Cameron. And she commits to a zerotolerance approach to sexual harassment within the party and vows to cut £11billion in civil service waste.
Miss Truss has already proved as Foreign Secretary both her steadfast support for Ukraine in the face of Vladimir Putin’s barbarism and her determination to stand equally firm against EU bullying over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
With each passing day, more senior Tories are declaring their support for Miss Truss – most recently former leadership contenders Penny Mordaunt and Nadhim Zahawi.
A Boris Johnson loyalist to the end, Miss Truss is mapping out a ‘boosterist’ agenda to take forward his legacy. It is clearly resonating with the parliamentary party and the grassroots membership.