If you want to cut tax, stamp out poisonous identity politics and defeat the people smugglers ...VOTE FOR LIZ

IHAVE always said we have a duty to deliver on our promises to the British people. I am proud so many people across our party and great country came out to support my campaign for the leadership of the Conservative party. But now is the time to be hardheaded about the best way forward. We face tough times ahead, including the hardest economic climate in any generation. We need a leader who can be trusted to deliver.

I have worked closely with Liz Truss and Kemi Badenoch but the fact is they cannot both

The party has had a difficult six years and stability is swiftly needed

be in the final two. We need to back the one who can make it: Liz can, Kemi cannot.

Liz is undeniably better placed to unite the party and fight for the things that all three of us believe.

At this critical moment, our common beliefs must come before the ambitions of any one of us.

I respect the right of those colleagues who still support Kemi. To them, I would just say this: Liz is ready now to be Prime Minister. She won’t need to learn on the job. And the job is hard and needs to be done properly. The party has had a difficult six years and stability is urgently and swiftly needed.

I’m also impressed by the range and depth of Liz’s backing. She has supporters from Ed Argar and James Heappey to Steve Baker and Iain Duncan Smith. Colleagues have seen and approved of her record in office, and that is very telling.

Liz has given me a personal guarantee that she’ll do what it takes to end the appalling human misery of the illegal Channel crossings. She understands the need to stop the criminal gangs who exploit immigrants and to deliver on the promise of the British people to control immigration. This was one of the key issues of my campaign and I am grateful for the assurance.

I was very pleased when I heard that Liz wanted to cut taxes from day one and to reverse April’s National Insurance increase to help people with the cost of living.

But it’s also encouraging that Liz wants to keep corporation tax competitive so we can attract business and investment into Britain.

It’s amazing that we still need to argue the case for low taxes, but Liz doesn’t tire of doing so. She has consistently made the argument for lower rates.

Liz recognises that the Government has no money of its own, but only what is collected from individuals and businesses.

As Conservatives, we know that you can’t tax your way into prosperity and we know that it’s good for everyone when responsible businesses succeed.

We simply can’t go into the next General Election with a historically high tax burden, or reduce rates at the last minute as a preelection stunt.

We need to face up to the economic crisis facing the West. But we also need to address how a warped belief in identity politics misleads and distorts public debate in this country.

In 2014, I was pleased to help found Michaela Community School alongside Katharine Birbalsingh and chaired it for four years. Michaela instils the highest of standards in pupils regardless of race, and rejects the idea that Britain is fundamentally racist.

Liz gets this vision and she appointed Katharine to chair the Social Mobility Commission, the body that monitors social mobility in the UK.

This demonstrates her understanding of how important it is to proactively take on the hard Left.

They try to rank us based on our race, skin colour or gender, but we know their ideology is just oldfashioned racism in pseudo-academic clothing. Schools and universities should be places of open debate, not a hot-bed of Critical Race Theory.

Liz knows what a woman is. From personal experience, Liz has consistently and sincerely been on the right side of the argument in opposing identity politics.

I have always been able to rely upon her to stand up for the truth and the facts — however unpopular or unfashionable it may have been at the time.

The best placed candidate to deliver on our priorities is clearly Liz Truss. It’s vital that we honour our election-winning manifesto: that we cut taxes, deal with the people smugglers and stamp out the poison of identity politics. She is determined to do all of this.

Liz has the vision, the experience, and the boundless energy to pick up the torch of liberty that is so often dropped by British politicians. She will deliver on the manifesto and the people’s priorities and that way we can avoid an early General Election.

Together, the whole party can be strong and united under Liz’s leadership. I look forward to playing my part in helping us level up the country in a Conservative way, and to win the fight for freedom.

Liz has vision, the experience and boundless energy needed to deliver