Rishi Sunak has hinted he would consider abolishing inheritance tax if he became prime minister as he faced the latest hustings in Cardiff.
He told the audience that it was “not what he set out a plan to do” but it was something he could look at.
Mr Sunak said: “I’ve set out a plan to consistently cut income tax over time because I want to reward hard work. But I very much, as you heard from my earlier remarks, I’m someone who believes in supporting aspiration.
“I think that is a Conservative value that many of us in this room will hold dear and inheritance tax is a way to do that. So, over time, is that something that we should look at? Of course we should, because people who are working hard should be rewarded for that.”
Meanwhile, Liz Truss again blamed “the media” for having “misinterpreted” her £8.8 billion policy to cut public-sector pay outside London that she abandoned after criticism from Conservative colleagues.
It comes as a new poll found the former chancellor is trailing Ms Truss by a gap of 32 points. The ConservativeHome poll of 1,003 Tory members found 58 per cent backed the foreign secretary, while 26 backed Mr Sunak.
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Rishi Sunak suggests he could cut inheritance tax as PM
Former chancellor Rishi Sunak hinted that he could cut inheritance tax.
His Tory leadership rival Liz Truss is favourite among Tory members to succeed Boris Johnson, opinion polls have suggested.
At a hustings in Cardiff, Mr Sunak was asked if he would scrap the tax that is unpopular among the 160,000 Conservative Party members that will soon be voting for either him or Ms Truss to become the next prime minister.
Mr Sunak said that he would not axe it altogether, but that he would “look at” reducing it.
Whitehall Editor Kate Devlin has the full story here:
Rishi Sunak hints he could cut inheritance tax as prime minister
Polls suggest former chancellor is trailing his rival Liz Truss
Exclusive: Truss faces fresh questions over ‘Fizz with Liz’ event
Liz Truss faces fresh questions over her non-disclosure of an event in which Tory MPs were wined and dined in the run-up to her Conservative Party leadership campaign.
A leaked email shows that about 12 MPs attended a “Fizz with Liz” dinner last year hosted by the foreign secretary at Mayfair members club 5 Hertford St.
The event, that cost about £3,000, was paid for by club owner and multimillionaire aristocrat Robin Birley.
When The Independent asked why Ms Truss has not declared the function in the Commons register, where MPs are obliged to disclose hospitality worth more than £300, her spokesperson denied she had organised it.
The full story by Simon Walters is here:
Truss faces fresh questions over ‘Fizz with Liz’ champagne dinner
Exclusive: MPs must declare any gifts, benefits or hospitality with a value over £300
We must use more gas and fracking, says Truss
Ms Truss claimed to be an environmentalist “before it was fashionable”.
She said she wanted to use more North Sea gas in the short term as well as allow fracking, she said.
She was willing to have a government that would underwrite nuclear power.
Challenged on her promise to scrap the green levy, she said it was wrong to put the tax on people’s fuel bills.
The priority should be reaching net zero but without punishing people, she insisted.
I’ll fix rigid planning system, Truss pledges
On housing, Ms Truss said she wanted a positive renting history to count towards someone’s credentials.
She said the planning system was rigid and cumbersome, which she promised to fix.
She also slated council anti-car policies.
Mudslinging ‘unfortunate’
In future she would have fewer public debates but talk to each other in private “rather than wash our dirty linen in public”, Ms Truss said.
She admitted there had been “some unfortunate occurrences” when asked about mudslinging during the election contest.
I’ll scrap EU rules, pledges Truss
Asked to describe herself in three words, Ms Truss chose “determined, loyal and fun”.
Challenged over instances when she has changed her mind, such as having voted remain, she said she had done more than most in government to deliver on Brexit.
She was determined to get EU rules off the statute book, she said.
Truss repeats attack on Sturgeon
Ms Truss has also repeated her attacks on Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP, saying the Scottish government was being used to campaign for Scottish independence.
Wales was different, she said, but there opportunities were not being taken up. Her government would build the M4 relief road, she said.
Truss repeats attack on the media
Liz Truss has repeated her accusation that “the media” misrepresented her regional pay plans – on which she did a U-turn after they prompted outrage.
It was “never intended to apply to nurses, teachers and doctors”, she said.
This was her press release when she announced it:
Sunak hints at axing inheritance tax
Mr Sunak hinted he would consider abolishing inheritance tax if he became prime minister.
He told the hustings crowd that it was “not what he set out a plan to do” but it was something he could look at.
“I’ve set out a plan to consistently cut income tax over time because I want to reward hard work. But I very much, as you heard from my earlier remarks, I’m someone who believes in supporting aspiration,” he said.
“I think that is a Conservative value that many of us in this room will hold dear and inheritance tax is a way to do that.
“So, over time, is that something that we should look at? Of course we should, because people who are working hard should be rewarded for that.
“If they want to build something and leave that for their family, that’s an entirely Conservative instinct and a Government that I’m privileged to lead would very much want to support that instinct. That’s what a Conservative prime minister should do.”
