Play Brightcove video
Scrutiny is increasing in the Tory leadership race, as political correspondent Carl Dinnen reports
Rishi Sunak has said the country was “hours away” from another national coronavirus lockdown in December, but stepped in and stopped it.
The former chancellor, who is battling Liz Truss to become the next leader and prime minister of the Conservative Party, said it showed he was “prepared to fight” for what he believes in.
Last December, the Omicron variant of Covid-19 was unleashed and Boris Johnson urged the nation to get booster shots.
Speaking tonight to Andrew Marr on LBC, Sunak said: “What I did in December was I came back from a government trip I was overseas and I came back to this country to prevent us from sleepwalking into a national lockdown, because we were hours away from a press conference that was going to shut down this country again because of Omicron.
“And I came back and fought really hard against the system because I thought that would be wrong for this country, with all the damage it would have done to businesses, to children’s education, to people’s lives.”
Sunak said he “challenged the system” and was glad to have “won” the argument, adding that it should give people confidence that he is “ready to push and fight for the things that I believe even when it’s hard.”
Both Sunak and Liz Truss have been involved in a back-and-forth not only over the keys to No 10, but also over who is best placed to keep Labor on the opposition benches.
Both have claimed the other would mean a total loss for the Tories if they were to face Sir Keir Starmer’s Labor Party in a general election.
Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have been trading blows over their positions on the economy. Credit: PA
The former chancellor’s comments came despite saying he wanted to avoid so-called “blue on blue” attacks on the foreign secretary as they battle for the keys to No 10. He said: “If you look at all the evidence of polls we’ve got and you see what that says, it’s pretty clear that I’m the person best placed to defeat Keir Starmer at the next election.” that it would be “very difficult for the Conservatives to win an election” if there is no change in current economic policy and the UK goes into recession.
He said Rishi Sunak’s economic policy, which is predicted to lead to a recession, would make it very difficult for the Conservative party to win the general election.
Whoever wins the Tory leadership race and becomes the next UK Prime Minister will have to deal not only with a growing cost of living crisis, but also with the war in Ukraine.
To that end, Ms Truss vowed to “smash” through “endless government bureaucracy” as Prime Minister and would not take “no for an answer”.
“I’ve just done things, whether it’s the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, whether it’s the dozens of trade deals, whether it’s the sanctions regime on Russia, we now have the toughest sanctions, because I don’t take a no as a response and I go in and fight for what is right, I listen to what people say”.
He said the “endless government red tape” is a “waste of taxpayers’ money” and “causing real pain for people in very, very difficult circumstances”.
It comes after he attacked Mr Sunak’s tax policy as he took a swipe at his former cabinet colleague in what is likely to be a tumultuous final stage in the race to become prime minister.
He said the former chancellor’s National Insurance rise was a “mistake” and vowed to scrap it, adding that the current tax plans, drawn up by Mr Sunak before resigning from the government, they will lead to recession.
In what appeared to be a further dig at her rival, the foreign minister added: “We’ve had the highest taxes for 70 years and have a lower debt than the US, Japan and Canada. None other country is raising taxes.”
Ms Truss made the remarks in an appearance on the BBC on Thursday morning – her first broadcast interview of the contest – as six more weeks of campaigning begin after the first stage concluded on Wednesday.
Ms Truss went into the final round of the race with 113 votes from Tory MPs, just eight more than Penny Mordaunt, while Sunak came through with 137 votes.
Asked about Mrs Truss’s economic plans, Sunak warned that going on a “big borrowing spree” would only “make things worse” in terms of inflation.
He defended his planned rise in corporation tax, saying the increase was “perfectly reasonable”.
The prime minister hopeful also declared he remained a supporter of the government’s controversial policy in Rwanda, saying the UK must “get control of our borders”.
A new poll of Tory members has put Liz Truss in the lead, but as Carl Dinnen explains, she’s still under heavy scrutiny
He said: “I think the Rwanda policy gives us an opportunity to resolve this, but now we have to make it work, and one of my priorities will be to get this policy working properly so that we have adequate control of our borders “.
The pair, who sat around the same cabinet table for many months under the leadership of Boris Johnson, will spend the next few weeks urging the UK’s 160,000 Conservative party members to elect them leaders.
The winner will be announced on September 5 and will take office the following day.
Bookies placed the Foreign Secretary as favourite, with early signs suggesting he is more popular with Tory members ahead of a summer of campaigning.
Sunak, who is committed to his tax plans, promising to cut contributions when the debt is reduced, has argued he could win an election, while Ms Truss could not.
How do the couple plan to deal with the cost of living crisis?
The pair will try to win the support of local politicians on Thursday when they take part in a private search for the Association of Conservative Councillors.
They will then tour the UK to take part in 12 calls for Tory members to vote for their next leader.
Sunak argued that his rival would not be able to beat Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer in the general election.
Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak to face Conservative leadership after Penny Mordaunt was oustedCredit: UK Parliament/AP
“I’m sure we can do it and we have a really positive message to get across to all our members now: above all, who is the best person to beat Keir Starmer and the Labor Party at the next election?” he said
“I think I’m the only candidate who can do that.”
Later, writing in the Daily Telegraph, Sunak sought to play down the bitter attacks that have dogged the Westminster phase of the contest, saying Ms Truss is someone I “like and respect”.
She insisted she will “govern as a Thatcherite” after facing repeated criticism from the Tory right for wanting to hold off on tax cuts until inflation is under control.
In her speech to the Daily Mail, Mrs Truss promised to “hit the ground running by cutting taxes immediately, growing our economy and unlocking the potential of everyone”.
And he attacked the government’s tax record, which was overseen by Mr. Sunak until he resigned, leading to Johnson’s eventual downfall.
“We have gone in the wrong direction on taxation, with the highest tax burden in 70 years,” he wrote.
“I am the candidate for tax cuts which will help hard-pressed families by reversing April’s rise in National Insurance and ending the green tax on energy bills.
“I will bring an emergency budget to continue to do this quickly and I will announce a spending review to find more efficiencies in government spending.”
(PA Graphics) Credit: PA Graphics
Boris Johnson has not publicly endorsed any of the candidates to replace him, but some of his staunchest allies have come out in favor of Mrs Truss.
At his final Prime Minister’s Questions, he offered advice to his successor in what appeared to be a swipe at Mr Sunak, his former chancellor.
Johnson said: “Cut taxes and deregulate where possible and make this the best place to live and invest, which it is.”
He added that the new prime minister should be prepared to ignore his chancellor: “I love the Treasury, but remember if we had always listened to the Treasury we wouldn’t have built the M25 or the Channel Tunnel.”
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out what you need to know…