Liz: I’m Labour’s worst nightmare
Bullish Truss hits ground running with warning to the doubters
‘BULLDOZER’ Liz Truss boasted yesterday she was Labour’s worst nightmare as she set out her vision to help families deal with the cost of living crunch.
The Foreign Secretary, who has six weeks to convince Tory members she is best placed to take on Sir Keir Starmer, said she was the candidate who ‘got things done’.
Tory leadership rival Rishi Sunak said this week he was the only candidate who can beat Sir Keir at the next election. But a bombshell YouGov poll yesterday revealed Miss Truss had a 24-point lead over the former chancellor among Conservative members.
Miss Truss, whose campaign is gaining momentum as the party Right falls in behind her, said she had always been Labour’s least favourite candidate.
She added: ‘What Labour don’t like about me is that I’m not from a traditional Conservative background.
‘I was brought up in Paisley and Leeds. I went to a comprehensive school – I know how Labour failed kids.
‘Leeds City Council in the 1980s and 1990s were utterly useless – and that’s why huge
‘I don’t take no for an answer’
swathes of people have turned away from the Labour Party in places like Peterborough, in places like Middlesbrough.
‘This is why Labour do fear me – because I am prepared to take them on. I’m prepared to challenge their orthodoxy, and I’m prepared to get things done. I bulldoze through the blockages. I get stuff done, because I don’t take no for an answer.’
Last night’s YouGov poll showed Miss Truss leading Mr Sunak among Tory members by 62 per cent to 38.
Previous polling revealed that 57 per cent of Conservative Party members thought Miss Truss would be a good leader, compared to 50 per cent for Mr Sunak. And just 20 per cent think Miss Truss would be a poor prime minister, compared to the 44 per cent who think the former Chancellor would be a poor leader.
Miss Truss took aim at Mr Sunak’s tax plan, which the Institute for Fiscal Studies said would see tax heading towards its highest sustained level in 70 years.
‘The problem is that if we continue with our current economic policy, which is forecast to lead to a recession, it will be very hard for Conservatives to win an election,’ she said. ‘ I’m somebody who pushes through, gets things sorted out and get things done. That’s why I want to be prime minister. This is a critical time.
‘We need bold action. We are in economic difficulty, the whole world is an economic opportunity.
It’s not time for business as usual.’
Miss Truss said she would not slash public spending after reversing the rise in national insurance, claiming the £30 billion of proposed tax cuts were ‘affordable within our current headroom’.
It is a stark contrast to Mr Sunak, who plans to delay any tax cuts until autumn next year to give him time to get inflation under control.
Miss Truss yesterday visited a children’s charity in Peterborough – the type of marginal seat which both candidates are bullish about holding on to at the next election following a string of by- election losses – where parents spoke of the cost of living squeeze.
It is the type of constituency where Mr Sunak – accused of being ‘out of touch’ with the ordinary Briton due to his lavish lifestyle – may struggle to make an impact against the Foreign Secretary’s more humble upbringing. Miss Truss said: ‘My upbringing is what motivated me to go into politics, because I do want to change things and I’m frustrated.
‘I’ve got friends from all kinds of backgrounds, and I do think that gives me a perspective on what people want, what people need, and how we need to move forward.’
Miss Truss admitted she had been ‘wrong’ to back Remain in the EU referendum.
In a bid to neutralise Mr Sunak’s attacks over her support for staying in the bloc, the Foreign Secretary said she now ‘fully embraced’ the outcome.
She added: ‘I was wrong and I am prepared to admit I was wrong.’
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have to put up with it,’ she said. ‘That’s the problem with being a politician. We can’t fire the press.’
Her new friends seemed disappointed. What’s the point of being in charge of the country if you can’t sack all the people you don’t like?
‘Where’s Boris Johnson?’ enquired one girl. Truss informed her he was back in Downing Street still beavering away at his desk. The young interrogator wrinkled her nose crossly and barked: ‘When you’re Prime Minister can you evict him?’ This seemed more an order than a request.
Truss assured her Boris would be leaving No 10 entirely voluntarily. Well, that’s the plan anyway.
Later, she endured some more serious questioning from the Press. Mildly more serious anyway. Someone asked Truss
who her inspirations in life were. Awkward pause.
One scribe teasingly suggested Philip Hammond’s name. ‘Er, he’s not on my shortlist,’ she tittered. Background: Truss was Chief Secretary to the Treasury when Lord Doomandgloom was Chancellor. Relations between the pair were not what you might call fragrant.
There was some light ribbing over footage Newsnight recently unearthed of Truss pledging to abolish the monarchy. When did she change her mind about that? ‘Almost immediately after I made that speech!’ she replied.
She acknowledged she still lacked Mr Sunak’s presentational skills. ‘I’m not the slickest out there. But I get stuff done,’ she said. A good line. Maybe one for the campaign leaflets.