‘Rishi’s the right choice’
HAGUE BACKS SUNAK AS POLLS REVEAL ‘TIGHTENING’ LEADERSHIP RACE
FOR the good of the Conservative party and the country at large, it is now time for Liz Truss to recognise that Rishi Sunak would make by far the better prime minister and step aside.
If she can get over her personal ambition – she has been dressing up comically as Margaret Thatcher for months – she should do the decent thing and hope for a job in Rishi’s cabinet. But perhaps not foreign secretary, which requires someone with diplomatic skill. Trade secretary would be appropriate.
Who comes out top in a debate is, of course, usually a matter of opinion. But there is now a consensus that ordinary voters would prefer Rishi to be the next prime minister. Most people also seem to think Truss would lose to Sir Keir Starmer at the next general election in 2024.
After the first Tory hustings in Leeds, the LBC presenters thought Truss had edged it, but then expressed surprise that “80 per cent” of listeners were tweeting Rishi had won. The battle between them is “neck and neck”, according to the head of a polling company.
Among local Tory party representatives and councillors who have decided which candidate to back, Truss is on 31 per cent, Rishi on 29 per cent, and, significantly, 32 per cent are still undecided. This is despite a campaign by the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Daily Express and the Sun to back the foreign secretary.
Chris Hopkins, associate director at Savanta ComRes, said: “The fact that Sunak and Truss are neck and neck among councillors would lead me to question whether Truss is really as comfortably ahead as some would believe.”
Paul Goodman, editor of the website ConservativeHome, which tries to reflect grassroots opinion in the party, commented: “Of the two, Sunak, with his neatlyassembled five-point plan for migration, criminal justice, schools, security and the cost of living has come closest to telling members the truth.
“He’s also the candidate that most voters seem to prefer, though the evidence is inconclusive, and certainly the one with the most support among Tory MPs. However, telling the truth is one thing and persuading people of it another. And to date, Truss is proving the more persuasive salesman of the two.”
It is true that Penny Mordaunt, Ben Wallace, Tom Tugendhat and Nadhim Zahawi have declared
for Truss, but they have been outgunned by William Hague, the former Tory leader and foreign minister. In a new video he said: “I want
to address
my fellow Conservative party members directly. I think about the next prime minister sitting late at night in Downing Street, working out how to help people with energy bills, sort out the Northern Ireland Protocol, maintain the unity of the West. The best hope is a highly disciplined, rational individual, one who always does their utmost to understand.
“Such a person is a very rare find in British politics. Members should realise they have one in their midst. His name is Rishi Sunak. He has my full support.”
This is not meant to be unkind. Truss is a competent county player up against someone who would bat at number four in Test matches. Against pace bowling she will be found wanting.
Do the Tories really crave 10 years in the political wilderness? They should
not be in a rush to vote.