Liz ‘is the best bet to preserve the Union’
tOP tories from across the UK today come out to back Liz truss, saying she has the ‘best plan’ for protecting the Union. Writing jointly in the Daily Mail, the trio of senior conservatives from Scotland, Wales and Northern ireland hail the Foreign Secretary’s record and character. Stephen Kerr, chief whip for the Scottish conservative Group, Andrew rt Davies, leader of the Welsh conservatives, and Matthew robinson, chairman of the Northern ireland conservatives, say Miss truss is the candidate who can ‘deliver for the whole country’. they write: ‘ We have jointly concluded that Liz truss has the best plan, character, and understanding of our Union to be Prime Minister. ‘Liz’s record on the Union is impeccable. She grew up in Paisley and her affinity for our whole United Kingdom is clear in both her speech and her record.’ the tories commend her record as trade Secretary – securing ‘dozens of trade deals around the world that proved a huge boost to our regional economies’ – and as Foreign Secretary where she has ‘proved that the Union is at the top of her priority list by standing up to the EU’.
And they conclude: ‘Ultimately we believe that Liz is the right person to take our Party and country forward because she is the best placed to bring what we need above all else – unity.’
their comments come after former Northern ireland First Minister Dame Arlene Foster said Miss truss would be the best prime minister to counter ‘threats to the Union’.
She said the Foreign Secretary had the ‘determination and creativity to persuade voters who may be wondering what benefits the Union really brings to them’.
‘Given ongoing threats to the Union, we need a prime minister with the determination and creativity to persuade voters who may be wondering what benefits the Union really brings to them,’ she wrote in the Sunday telegraph. Yet polling guru Sir John curtice said yesterday that neither candidate is likely to bring any ‘immediate boost to support for the Union’.
Writing in the Sunday times, he said: ‘Simply arguing that another referendum should not be held at all seems unlikely to win many converts. While 44 per cent oppose a referendum in the next five years, 48 per cent are in favour.
‘Ultimately the Union will only be safe if people in Scotland come to believe in it. But it is far from clear that the next prime minister will have the right strategy to achieve that.’
the winner of the tory leadership race will be announced in two weeks, with polls suggesting Miss truss is on course for a decisive victory.
however, there have been concerns within conservative ranks that the protracted contest over the summer is damaging the party’s electoral prospects, with the final two candidates rubbishing each other’s ideas.
A poll released over the weekend by Opinium gave Labour an eight-point lead over the conservatives, the largest since the pollsters introduced a new methodology in February.