Tory leadership race: Liz Truss insists U-turn over regional pay policy shows she is ‘decisive’
Rishi Sunak has insisted that there is no point in which he would stand aside for Tory leadership rival Liz Truss, despite multiple polls placing the foreign secretary significantly ahead of the ex-chancellor.
The two contenders set out their differing views on a range of policies in another live hustings debate, as opposition parties called for Ms Truss to face a “sleaze” probe over an apparent failure to declare thousands of pounds donated to an event where she schmoozed Tory MPs in her leadership bid.
Labour appealed to the cabinet secretary, and the Liberal Democrats wrote to the parliamentary commissioner for standards, asking her to open an investigation into the funding of a hospitality event, including champagne, attended by around a dozen Conservative MPs.
The Independent has revealed how she did not declare the thousands of pounds put towards the “Fizz with Liz” dinner, although MPs are obliged to disclose hospitality worth more than £300.
The event was paid for by club owner, multimillionaire aristocrat Robin Birley.
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Sunak accuses Truss of plans that would pour ‘fuel on the fire’ of recession
Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin has this report on tonight’s leadership hustings, in which she leads on Rishi Sunak’s accusation that Liz Truss’s economic plans would pour “fuel on the fire” just hours after the Bank of England warned the UK was heading for recession.
In a direct appeal to party members, Mr Sunak warned the Conservatives had to “get real and fast” because “the lights on the economy are flashing red and the root cause is inflation.
“I’m worried that Liz Truss’s plans will make the situation worse,” the ex-chancellor said.
You can read the full report here:
Sunak accuses Truss of plans that would pour ‘fuel on the fire’ of recession
Rival insists shrinking economy is not ‘inevitable’
Sunak appears to win backing of hustings audience
There was a glitch with handheld voting machines intended to allow the Sky News hustings audience to show which candidate they were most likely to vote for following tonight’s event.
However, a show of hands suggested that a large majority of those watching would vote for Rishi Sunak.
Sunak plays down wide ministerial support for Truss
Pressed on the wide range of ministerial support for Liz Truss’s leadership bid, Rishi Sunak pointed to his greater success during earlier rounds of voting by Tory MPs.
“Every single round of the parliamentary process, I led. I was the person that MPs chose every round, ahead of everyone else. And since it finished, more and more people have come and joined the team.”
He added: “That support is drawn really widely from across the parliamentary party.”
Sunak denies tax haven claims and addresses comments on having no working class friends
In a more quickfire round of questioning, Rishi Sunak has said he would not “fistbump” Saudia Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, but would shake his hand as “you do have to engage with people around the world”.
Asked about a resurfaced video in which he said he did not have any working class friends, Mr Sunak said: “I think I was a student when I said that and we all say silly things when we’re younger.
“At the same time I was, as you know, I was working in my mum’s shop. I was out and about, biking around, running around, delivering medicines to people from all walks of life.”
Pressed on whether he now has working class friends, he replied: “I don’t go around asking them [how] they define themselves, I think we’ve moved beyond that as a country actually.”
Asked whether he had ever benefitted from an offshore tax haven, he said: “No … I personally have absolutely never ever benefitted and have paid absolutely full, normal taxes wherever I’ve lived.”
Sunak appears to back new coal mines
Here is what the ex-chancellor had to say about the climate and his “green credentials”.
Rishi Sunak said new coalmines were “local decisions” but added that we should not be importing coal from other places when we have it at home.
He said he backed fracking when it had the support of local communities – which has previously proved incredibly rare. Pressed on previous earthquakes caused by fracking, he cited a study by various royal societies which he said showed that fracking was “safe” and that seismic activity is not out of the ordinary.
The ex-chancellor said he would not raise flight taxes, saying he had already made a change to flight taxation which he insisted was a “green” move.
He insisted he had not changed his position on onshore wind, and was not in favour of it.
Mr Sunak insisted the UK would get to net-zero by 2050 by attracting investment and talent to the UK.
Sunak pressed on Rwanda policy support
Rishi Sunak has been pressed on whether he says “one thing in private” and “another for voter consumption”, pointing to claims on his private policy positions on subects like the Northern Ireland Protocol and Rwanda asylum plan.
“I do believe in the Rwanda policy, but do I ask tough questions when Cabinet ministers come to me and say ‘we’d like to do this new thing’. Yeah, because my job is to make sure … everyone’s money is spent properly.”
He repeats a previous assertion that “it’s not good enough just to announce things” and government must actually deliver things.
Sunak says he is ‘tough enough’ to stand up to Putin
Asked whether he is really “tough enough to stand up to Vladimir Putin” in what host Kay Burley suggested was Rishi Sunak’s “hell, yeah, moment”, the ex-chancellor said: “How are we standing up to Vladimir Putin?
“We’re doing two things,” he said, pointing to sending funds and arms to Ukraine and placing economic sanctions on Russia. “It’s not diplomatic measures that are making a difference, it’s economic.”
Mr Sunak added: “Who do you think put all those things together? I did, with all my finance minister colleagues around the world.”
He continued: “Yes, I’m tough enough. And I’m already delivering the measures that are actually causing him the most trouble.”
Tackling inflation a priority, insists Sunak
Tackling inflation would be Mr Sunak’s priority, he said. In a dig at Liz Truss, he said the lights on the economy are flashing red and inflation was the root cause – but it was important not to put fuel on the fire by cutting taxes first.
He said he would support people through the winter crisis and he would not introduce tax cuts until inflation was under control.
‘We need to reject more asylum-seekers’
Mr Sunak says he aspires to a tighter definition of asylum-seekers to be able to reject more, and to insist on other countries taking more back.
But he wanted an immigration system that supported the best and brightest to come to work in the UK, he said.
