Rishi Sunak has claimed Tory MPs who accuse him of betraying Boris Johnson are applying “rose tinted” glasses to the last days of his government.
At the weekend, the Cabinet minister in charge of online safety, Nadine Dorries, was criticised for sharing a picture appearing to show Mr Sunak wielding a knife at MrJohnson in a parody of the murderous overthrow of Julius Caesar.
Asked about accusations he was a “backstabber”, Mr Sunak told the BBC declined to comment on specific claims made against him, but said: “I do think there is a risk that people are looking at the last few months of the government with slightly rose-tinted glasses about what it was really like.”
Earlier, the former chancellor insisted that his pledge to cut tax was “perfectly affordable” as he defended his promise to reduce the basic rate to 16 per cent by the end of the next parliament if he becomes prime minister
His rival Liz Truss vowed to “unleash” British farming through deregulation, without specifying in detail which laws she would abolish.
Sunak downplays growing Cabinet support for Truss
Rishi Sunak has sought to downplay growing Cabinet support for his leadership rival Liz Truss.
Speaking to reporters in Devon and asked if an increasing number of Cabinet endorsements for the foreign secretary is a sign that his campaign is losing momentum, Mr Sunak said: “You have to remember that actually in the parliamentary stage of this contest I topped the ballot in each and every round, with more support from MPs than any other candidate.
“And since the close of that ballot we’ve had lots more people coming on board as well. So actually I feel very confident that there’s an enormous amount of support, in fact the most support in a parliamentary party, for my candidacy.
“But this is now about all our members, and that’s why I’m going out around the country here in the south west, but absolutely everywhere, talking to members about my vision.”
Opinion: Three things the Conservative Party can learn from Labour
A party that isn’t in touch with the country will not remain in favour with said country for very long, writes Marie Le Conte.
Read Marie’s full piece here:
Three things the Conservative Party can learn from Labour | Marie Le Conte
A party that isn’t in touch with the country will not remain in favour with said country for very long, writes Marie Le Conte
Boris Johnson to take summer holiday as his time in No 10 nears end
Boris Johnson will go on holiday from Wednesday with a little over a month left in office.
The prime minister will remain in charge of the country, receiving updates as required, his official spokesman said.
David Hughes reports:
Boris Johnson to take summer holiday as his time in No 10 nears end
Boris Johnson to be on holiday from Wednesday until end of week
Labour’s Lisa Nandy pictured visiting picket line
Labour frontbencher Lisa Nandy has visited striking workers on a picket line, despite party leader Sir Keir Starmer’s comments that Labour must move from being a “party of protest”.
A photograph tweeted by North West regional secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) Carl Webb, appeared to show the shadow levelling up secretary Ms Nandy meeting striking workers at Wigan picket line. Ms Nandy is MP for Wigan.
The image was accompanied by the caption: “Thanks lisanandy for taking the time to visit the cwugmersey Wigan picket line this moring (sic) to speak to £TheCWU BT & Openreach members on strike and show solidarity”.
Ms Nandy’s visit comes in apparent defiance of Sir Keir Starmer saying Labour must move from being a “party of protest” to one that can win an election, in order to help working people.’
Sunak accuses critics of ‘rose tinted’ view of Johnson government
Rishi Sunak has claimed Tory MPs who accuse him of betraying Boris Johnson are applying “rose tinted” glasses to the last days of his government.
Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
Sunak accuses critics of ‘rose tinted’ view of Johnson government
PM reported to have joked he was victim of the ‘greatest stitch-up since the Bayeux Tapestry’
No bank holiday to mark Lionesses’ Euro triumph
We reported earlier that a minister rejected calls for a bank holiday to celebrate the England women’s team’s victory in the final.
No 10 has now again ruled out an extra day off. Downing Street did say, however, that Mr Johnson would back honours for Lionesses.
Our politics editor Andrew Woodcock reports:
No bank holiday to mark Lionesses’ Euro triumph
Boris Johnson backs honours for victorious women’s football squad, No 10 indicates
Sunak would ‘quickly’ reappoint ethics adviser
Rishi Sunak said he would quickly reappoint an independent adviser “to make sure that ministers and the government are held to account for their behaviour” when asked if Chris Pincher should resign.
Speaking to reporters in Devon, Mr Sunak was asked if Chris Pincher should resign his seat in the Commons in order to restore trust. Mr Pincher was accused of groping two people at the Carlton Club in London and has since had the Conservative whip withdrawn.
Mr Sunak said: “I think trust is really important and standards are really important in public life. I think honesty is important. And that’s why in this leadership campaign, even though it’s not easy for me, I want to be honest about some of the challenges we face and what’s going to be required to fix them.
“Now in terms of restoring trust into public life I would want to reappoint quickly an independent adviser to make sure that ministers and the government are held to account for their behaviour.
“That’s something that’s important to me and I think the outside world needs to see that it’s important to Government. I will lead a government that does do exactly that.”
Asked about improving access to women’s sport, Mr Sunak said: “As chancellor I was pleased to make sure that we brought the Rugby World Cup for women to the UK and hopefully we can do more things like that when it comes to football and other sports.”
Opinion: Has this government learnt nothing from what happened to Mo Farah?
Priti Patel and her colleagues push the lie that refugees are purely economic migrants seeking a more prosperous life, writes Tim Farron
Read Tim’s full piece below:
Has this government learnt nothing from what happened to Mo Farah? | Tim Farron
Priti Patel and her colleagues push the lie that refugees are purely economic migrants seeking a more prosperous life, writes Tim Farron
Opinion: We need to rediscover the inclusive national spirit of the 2012 London Olympics
We’ve seen a nation that appeared so at ease with itself lose its sense of unity, writes Sadiq Khan.
Read his full piece below:
We need to recover the inclusive spirit of the 2012 London Olympics | Sadiq Khan
We’ve seen a nation that appeared so at ease with itself lose its sense of unity, writes Sadiq Khan
Opinion: The richest Commonwealth countries mist do more on climate change
The Commonwealth Charter’s claims of “concern for the vulnerable” ring hollow to those on the front line of the climate crisis, writes Mohamed Adow.
Read his full piece here:
The richest Commonwealth nations must do more to tackle climate change | Mohamed Adow
The Commonwealth Charter’s claims of ‘concern for the vulnerable’ ring hollow to those on the front line of the climate crisis, writes Mohamed Adow
