Elsewhere in his speech, Sunak sought to draw a clear dividing line between himself and Ms Truss as he implicitly criticized her proposed tax cuts, which she says will help reduce inflation.
“If we’re going to deliver on the promise of Brexit, we’re going to need someone who really understands Brexit, who believes in Brexit, who voted for Brexit,” he told the crowd to cheers.
In a speech punctuated by frequent applause, he also said: “We must tell the truth about the cost of living.
“Rising inflation is the enemy that makes everyone poorer and puts your home and your savings at risk. And we need to tell the truth about taxes.
“I’m not going to put the money back in my pocket knowing that rising inflation will just take it back out.”
Sunak focused on “critical things”
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, who supports Sunak, has sought to draw a clear dividing line between his candidate and rival Liz Truss.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that Sunak did not think it was “responsible” to roll back the health and social care levy, stressing that it would take money out of the NHS and make it much harder to tackle problems such as waiting lists.