Advantage Truss in the race to be PM
Foreign Secretary the favourite to defeat Sunak after Tory MPS vote her into final two
LIZ TRUSS is the front-runner to be the next prime minister after Conservative MPS voted her into the final two in the party’s leadership contest alongside Rishi Sunak.
The Foreign Secretary picked up more votes than any rival yesterday as she leapfrogged Penny Mordaunt to knock her out of the contest.
Mr Sunak, the former chancellor, today softens his critique of Ms Truss, writing in The Daily Telegraph that he respects his opponent and that tax cuts are ultimately needed for growth.
But Ms Truss launched an attack on the former chancellor’s record, saying that the Government has been “going in the wrong direction on tax”.
Bookmakers last night had Ms Truss as the favourite after a string of recent polls found Conservative Party members – who will decide the contest – preferred her to Mr Sunak.
Mr Sunak topped the ballot of Tory MPS yesterday with 137 votes, up 19. Ms Truss came second on 113, up 27, while Ms Mordaunt amassed 105, up just 13.
When Boris Johnson and Theresa May won their leadership contests, both got the backing of more than half of Tory MPS to enter the final two – Mr Sunak got just over a third.
Mr Sunak, 42, last night accepted that Ms Truss, 46, was the front-runner in the race, saying in a video released by his campaign that he started the second phase of the contest “behind”.
He said: “Now we’ve got a job to do to take that message to the membership, right? And yes, look, do we start behind? We do. But we’ve already moved the numbers a huge amount in the space of a week.”
An intense summer of campaigning is to come, with a dozen hustings and at least two TV debates. About 160,000 party members will decide the result due on Sept 5.
It is felt crucial to influence party members swiftly as ballot papers land on doorsteps the week after next.
Mr Sunak’s allies believe an increased number of media appearances and public events will win over support.
“The more people see him, the more they’ll like him,” said one leading MP.
Mr Sunak writes in The Telegraph today: “I believe in hard work, family and integrity. I am running as a Thatcherite, and I will govern as a Thatcherite. I believe in national sovereignty. Strong borders – tight control of both legal and illegal immigration.
“The best way to achieve economic growth is cutting taxes and bureaucracy, and boosting private sector investment and innovation.
“I am sure Liz Truss, who I like and respect, shares some of these values. But the most important question is: who in government will best advance these values? And who gives our party the best chance of defeating Keir Starmer at the next election?
“Because this contest is about more than just being the next Conservative leader – it is about becoming the custodian of our United Kingdom.”
Ms Truss vowed to “immediately” cut taxes, writing in the Daily Mail: “We cannot have business-as-usual managerialism on the economy. We have been going in the wrong direction on tax, with the tax burden at its highest in 70 years. I will beat Labour in 2024 by governing as a true tax-cutting, freedom- loving Conservative.”
The Foreign Secretary pledged to “drive tax-cutting, enterprise-boosting, business-friendly Conservative policy through the Whitehall Blob”.
She also said she “will stand up to people who talk down our country” and “reject dehumanising identity politics and cancel culture.”
Ms Mordaunt had been in second place in all of the four rounds of Tory MP votes, but fell into third place by just eight votes on the final ballot.
The trade minister’s supporters blamed a “smear campaign” for damaging her bid. Simon Case, the UK’S top civil servant, launched a leak inquiry yesterday after government information about Ms Mordaunt’s private ministerial views made the press.
Ms Mordaunt, 49, said: “I want to congratulate both Rishi and Liz in getting through to the next stage. I pay tribute to anyone who puts themselves forward for such a demanding role.”
Within hours of the result yesterday, figures in Ms Truss and Mr Sunak’s camps were picking out the flaws in the other candidate, as battle lines were drawn for the six-week run-off.
Figures close to both Mr Sunak and Ms Truss’s campaign last night offered insights into how they will approach the next six weeks. Ms Truss’s decision to vote to stay in the European Union in the 2016 referendum and what critics dub a stilted communication style are sure to be targeted by Sunak allies.
The Foreign Secretary’s supporters will double down on arguments that it is time to change the economic approach by borrowing to cut tax now in order to trigger economic growth.
Mr Sunak’s record in the Treasury, with the UK gripped by soaring inflation and stuttering growth as the tax burden rises to its highest point in 70 years, will be put front and centre.
“Liz talks about levelling up in a conservative way. Rishi by his own admission is a bit more business as usual,” said a Truss ally last night.
There will also be a new scramble for endorsements, with former Tory leadership rivals Ms Mordaunt, Sajid Javid, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat yet to announce who they back.
Mr Sunak today picked up the support of Baroness Davidson, the former Scottish Conservative leader, who writes in The Telegraph that he is “the person best placed to steer us through those choppy economic waters”.
Mr Johnson, delivering his final Prime Minister’s Questions, appeared to issue a coded rebuke at Mr Sunak as he warned future leaders against listening to the Treasury, which Mr Sunak headed up for much of his premiership.
More than 4,000 party members have also now backed a drive to change the rules to allow Mr Johnson to be allowed into the leadership contest.
Lord Cruddas, the Tory donor leading the push, writes in today’s Telegraph: “We must not underestimate the sheer indignation amongst members, who are sending emails in their thousands to the Conservative Party chairman demanding a Boris ballot.”
Mr Johnson is understood to have voted in some of the Tory MP ballots in the past week. No 10 declined to say whom he backed.
The Prime Minister is due to leave office on Sept 6, making way for either Mr Sunak or Ms Truss.