Tag Archives: liz truss

Rishi Sunak Says Liz Truss’s Plans To Cut Taxes Immediately Are ‘Immoral’

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Liz Truss’s plans to cut taxes immediately if she becomes prime minister are “immoral”, Rishi Sunak has said.

In a major ramping up of his attacks on his Tory leadership rival, the former chancellor said the move would require the government to borrow “tens and tens and tens of billions of pounds”, which would have to be repaid by future generations.

He also said he was the “underdog” in the contest and said the “forces that be” want Truss to win.

Sunak made his comments while addressing supporters in Grantham, the birthplace of Margaret Thatcher.

Truss has pledged to reverse the rise in national insurance payments and halt the planned increase in corporation tax – policies introduced by Sunak when he was chancellor.

She has insisted that the £30bn cost of the policies can he paid for from the fiscal “headroom” in the economy.

But Sunak said: “I do believe that it is the wrong approach for the government at this moment to be borrowing an extra tens and tens and tens of billions of pounds at a time when inflation is rising to almost double digits and interest rates are already on the rise.”

He added: “Not only do I think it’s the wrong thing for the economy, I do also believe that it’s immoral because there is nothing noble or good about wracking up bills on the country’s credit card that we then pass on to our children and grandchildren.”

Suggesting that Truss was misleading voters, the former chancellor said: “We can cut more taxes, but only if we defeat the enemy of inflation and that can only happen if we are honest about the ravages it causes.

“We must see the danger in front of us and act – not pretend like it isn’t happening or, more dreadful still, make the situation worse, putting people’s homes and savings at risk.

“I will deliver a lower tax economy, I will deliver tax cuts, but tax cuts you can believe in. I will make that happen.”

The most recent opinion poll of Tory party members – who will decide who succeeds Boris Johnson – suggested Truss is 24 points ahead of her rival.

Sunak said: “Be in no doubt, I am the underdog. The forces that be want this to be a coronation for the other candidate.”

Responding to his comments, a spokesperson for Truss said: “Liz‘s plans for tax cuts will reward people for their hard work and effort, allowing them to keep more of their hard-earned money.

“You cannot tax your way to growth. We have the highest tax burden since the 1940s and as prime minister Liz will take immediate action to prioritise growth and cut taxes.

“We can’t continue with a business-as-usual approach on the economy that is failing to deliver for the British people.”

Chief secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke, who used to work under Sunak when he was chancellor, also hit out at his former boss, accusing him on Twitter of engaging in “project fear”.

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Liz Truss’s Economic Guru Says Her Tax Plans Will Send Interest Rates Soaring

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Liz Truss’s plans to cut taxes would lead to interest rates rising to up to seven per cent, according to her economic guru.

Professor Patrick Minford said higher rates – which would send monthly mortgage repayments soaring – were “a good thing” for the economy.

At the moment, the Bank of England interest rate is 1.25 per cent.

Earlier this week, Truss said Minford supported her plans to reverse the increase in national insurance and halt a planned rise in corporation tax, despite warnings they could lead to higher inflation.

Former chancellor Rishi Sunak, Truss’s rival for the Tory leadership, has insisted that taxes should only come down once inflation is under control.

But in an interview with The Times, Minford said: “If we raise corporation tax we’ll kill off growth.

“It’s crazy to try to begin getting the debt-to-GDP ratio down five minutes after Covid. Borrowing is actually something that allows you to pursue the right policies and not be blown off course by temporary shocks.”

On warnings that tax cuts will lead to higher interest rates to bring down inflation, he said: “Yes, interest rates have to go up and it’s a good thing.

“A normal level is more like 5-7 per cent and I don’t think it will be any bad thing if we got back to that level.”

Minford added: “If you’ve got incredibly low interest rates you kill off savings and create febrile markets with a lot of zombie companies surviving because it costs them nothing to borrow.

“It’s right that a healthy economy should have a decent interest rate. That’s certainly one thing I want to see.”

A Truss campaign source told The Times: “Patrick Minford has no formal involvement in Liz’s campaign.

“Liz’s absolute priority is tackling the cost of living and getting our economy growing faster. We can’t have business-as-usual economic policy.”

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Kemi Badenoch Becomes Latest Candidate To Exit The Tory Leadership Race

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Kemi Badenoch has been knocked out of the race to succeed Boris Johnson as Tory leader and prime minister.

The former frontbencher received the fewest votes of the four remaining candidates in the contest.

Rishi Sunak once again came out on top, with Penny Mordaunt retaining second place and Liz Truss staying in third spot.

Badenoch won the backing of 59 MPs, up just one from the last round.

Truss got 86, up 15 on the third ballot, Mordaunt was up 10 votes to 92, with Sunak up three to 118.

The fifth and final ballot of MPs will take place tomorrow.

The two candidates receiving the highest number of votes will go into the final run-off, with the winner being decided by the 200,000 Tory members and announced on September 5.

A spokesperson for Sunak’s campaign said: “Rishi has continued to progress today because he is the candidate with the clearest plan to restore trust, rebuild the economy, reunite the country and because he is best placed to beat Labour at the next election.

“Every poll shows only Rishi can beat Starmer, and is the candidate the public think would make the best PM.

“MPs are also recognizing that Rishi has the best experience and plans to deal with the current economic situation.

“Rishi will rebuild our economy by gripping inflation, so we can get our economy growing and unleash the full opportunities of post-Brexit Britain.”

Mordaunt said: “This afternoon colleagues once again put their trust in me and I cannot thank them enough. We are so nearly across the finish line. I am raring to go and excited to put my case to members across the country and win.

“I want to pay tribute to my friend Kemi Badenoch who electrified the leadership contest with her fresh thinking and bold policies.

“She and I both know that the old way of government isn’t working as it should. Voters want change and we owe it to them to offer a bold new vision for this country. Kemi’s passion for this showed and I’m glad she put herself forward to be heard.”

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Liz Truss Can’t Remember A Single Human Rights Issue She Has Raised With Gulf States

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Liz Truss has refused to name a single human rights issue she has raised with governments of a Gulf state.

The foreign secretary has said the UK must end “strategic dependence on authoritarian regimes for our energy”.

But the government has recently launched trade talks with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Appearing at the Commons foreign affairs committee on Tuesday, Truss was asked if she viewed the Gulf states as authoritarian.

“I would describe the Gulf states as partners of the UK,” she said. “Is every country that we work with exactly in line with UK policy on everything? No they are not. But they are important allies of the UK.”

Truss added human rights concerns were “raised regularly” with Gulf state leaders and ministers and said she had done so “personally”.

Labour MP Chris Bryant asked Truss to name the last human rights issue she had raised.

Liz Truss: “I’d have to come back to the committee on the precise timing of that.”

Chris Bryant: “Well tell us anything you have said on human rights?”

Truss: “I certainly have raised it.”

Bryant: “Go on, tell us one now.”

Truss: “I am just trying to remember my recent most visit. But I can assure you I have raised it and I will write to you with the dates.”

Bryant: “You can’t remember a single human rights issue you have raised with a Gulf state leader?”

Truss: “I have raised particular issues when I have been in the Gulf about human rights issues.”

Bryant: “Well name one?”

Truss: “I’m not going to go into all the details of private conversations which I will come back to in due course.”

The foreign secretary told the committee her focus was on the “number one” threat to the UK which was Russia.

She said: “We need to make sure we have alternative energy sources and one of the key sources of energy is the Gulf region. We are not dealing in a perfect world.”

Saudi Arabia recently executed 81 people in one day. Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s leader, also stands accused of approving the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, something the crown prince has denied.

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Tory MPs Trigger No Confidence Vote In Boris Johnson’s Leadership

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Boris Johnson is on the verge of being ousted as Conservative Party leader and prime minister, after the number of Tory MPs demanding he resign reached the threshold for a vote of no confidence.

Chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady has announced that 54 or more Tory MPs have requested a vote of confidence in the PM, triggering a leadership vote.

Tory MPs will vote this evening between 6pm and 8pm on whether they want Johnson to remain.

While plenty of Westminster insiders predict Johnson will survive the vote, the fact it has been called is damaging for the prime minister.

Brady said in a statement: “The threshold of 15 per cent of the parliamentary party seeking a vote of confidence in the leader of the Conservative Party has been exceeded.

Sir Graham Brady making the announcement to camera
Sir Graham Brady making the announcement to camera

“In accordance with the rules, a ballot will be held between 6pm and 8pm today Monday June 6 — details to be confirmed.

“The votes will be counted immediately afterwards. An announcement will be made at a time to be advised. Arrangements for the announcement will be released later today.”

Speaking to journalists, Brady suggested some MPs had post dated their letters so the vote did not overshadow the Queen’s jubilee celebrations.

It comes after former minister Jesse Norman became the latest Tory MP to announce that he has submitted a letter calling for a confidence vote in Johnson.

Norman, the MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire, said Johnson had presided over “a culture of casual law-breaking” in No.10 and that his claim to be vindicated by the Sue Gray report was “grotesque”.

In order to oust him, 180 MPs would have to vote against Johnson in the confidence vote.

However, the odds are in the PM’s favour with around 140 MPs on the “payroll” alone including ministers and aides.

Cabinet ministers have been lining up to declare their support for the prime minister.

Foreign secretary Liz Truss tweeted: “The prime minister has my 100 per cent backing in today’s vote and I strongly encourage colleagues to support him.

“He has delivered on covid recovery and supporting Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. He has apologised for mistakes made. We must now focus on economic growth.”

Levelling up secretary Michael Gove added: “I’ll be voting for Boris this evening. The PM got the big decisions right on Brexit and Covid.

“We need to focus now on defending Ukraine, driving levelling-up and generating growth. We need to move past this moment and unite behind Boris to meet these challenges.”

Conservative MP Michael Fabricant said he thinks Johnson will win the vote no of confidence on Monday evening.

He told Times Radio: “I think he is going to win. I think that something like two-thirds of the party will vote to support him and I really do wonder why it’s happening at this time.”

A No.10 spokesperson said:“Tonight is a chance to end months of speculation and allow the government to draw a line and move on, delivering on the people’s priorities.

“The PM welcomes the opportunity to make his case to MPs and will remind them that when they’re united and focused on the issues that matter to voters there is no more formidable political force.”

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Liz Truss Refuses Four Times To Say Boris Johnson Won’t Scrap Trade Department

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