Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature Asked about the politics of Rwanda, Truss says: “I totally agree with the politics of Rwanda.” He says he has worked closely with Priti Patel, the home secretary, on this. And that’s all. The Q&A is over.
Truss says she wants to see defense spending rise to 3% of GDP by the end of the decade
Truss says she wants to see defense spending rise to 3% of GDP by the end of the decade. The free world didn’t spend enough money on defense, he says. It is vital that Russia be defeated in Ukraine, he says. Q: Lord Frost says Penny Mordaunt is not up to the job. You have worked with her. Do you agree with him? Truss says she will not make any disparaging comments about her opponents. The competition showcases a wide range of talent. And the party didn’t get there through identity politics.
Truss says it has a “delivery file”
Q: Some say Penny Mordaunt is now the right’s best candidate. Shouldn’t you support her? Truss highlights her track record, saying she delivered dozens of trade deals and drafted the Northern Ireland Protocol bill. He says he has a “track record of delivery.” Q: How can you be a credible agent of change when you’re stuck with Boris Johnson? Truss says she has spoken about increasing national insurance in cabinet. But he is a loyal person. He took collective responsibility.
‘I’m a loyal person,’ Truss says, as she defends her decision not to resign from Johnson’s cabinet
Truss now answers questions. Q: The two candidates ahead of you in the contest either resigned from Boris Johnson’s cabinet [Rishi Sunak] or never served in it in the first place [Penny Mordaunt]. Is Johnson’s tacit support the kiss of death for your campaign? Truss completely ignores the question and emphasizes her desire to unite the party and deliver. Q: Why didn’t you resign from his cabinet? Trasos answers: I am a faithful person. I am loyal to Boris Johnson. I supported the ambitions of our prime minister. Updated at 10.21 BST Truss proposes to offer tax breaks to parents and people who take time off work to care for elderly parents. And he says he would like to have lower tax bands in parts of the UK. She says that, as secretary of international trade, she made trade deals when she was told it was impossible. They trust her to deliver, she says. He says they should be equal to the public. they will not ensure economic recovery overnight. But it can put the country on an upward trajectory until 2024. The Conservatives can win the next election by turning things around. He will lead a strong and united team. Let me be clear: Labor is a winner, the Lib Dems are a winner. He wants to make the UK a “nation of ambition”. And it will “defy the voices of decline,” he says. Updated at 10.21 BST
Truss says “business as usual” has failed to deliver high growth for decades
Liz Truss says we are at a critical time for our country. Now is the time to be bold. We cannot have economic management as usual, which has delivered low growth for decades. And we must win the fight for freedom around the world, he says. I will campaign as a Conservative and govern as a Conservative. I can lead, I can rule and I can get things done. I am ready to be prime minister from day one. Updated at 10.16 BST
Liz Truss launches her Tory leadership campaign
Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, introduces Liz Truss. He says he has done more than anyone to fulfill the potential of Brexit.
Sunak claims he is a candidate who can beat Labor at the next election
And here is a complete summary of what Rishi Sunak said in his interview with Today.
Sunak, a former chancellor and Tory leadership candidate, said he “of course” intended to stay in the UK if he did not become prime minister. The host, Justin Webb, asked the question because Sunak had a US green card when he became chancellor, which gives someone the right to work in the US and usually indicates a long-term intention to settle there. In response, Sunak said:
I was living and working and studying in America at the time, but then I came back to the UK and decided to try to serve my country as an MP and then in government and now hopefully, if I’m lucky enough, as a prime minister.
He rejected the claim that his family fortune meant he was unqualified to be prime minister because he could not appreciate how people struggle with the cost of living. Asked about it, he replied:
I don’t judge people by their bank accounts, I judge them by their character, and I think people can judge me by my actions over the past two years. Whenever I’ve had to step in to support the people I have and leave is a fantastic example of that. Sunak and his wife are reportedly worth £730 million, largely because his wife is the heiress daughter of a tech billionaire.
He said as prime minister he would maintain the policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda. He said:
I think it is absolutely critical that we have control of our borders, and I say this as a child and grandchild of immigrants. This country has a proud history of welcoming people, but it is also vital to control who comes here. And, unfortunately, there is an illegal group of criminal gangs that have caused people to die trying to come here. We have to stop this.
He refused to commit to keeping Nadhim Zahawi as chancellor if he became prime minister. Asked if Zahawi would remain in his post, he replied:
It would not be proper for anyone to start talking about all these things. If I am fortunate enough to be elected and elected Prime Minister, I will build a team around me that will draw from all the talents of our party. I don’t cut taxes to win elections, I win elections to cut taxes.
He said he was the best candidate to beat Labor at the next election. He said:
I am convinced that I am the best person to beat Keir Starmer and the Labor party at the next election. This claim is half-justified by recent polling by Ipsos Mori, which shows that more people think he is likely to make a good prime minister than they think Keir Starmer or any of the other candidates for the leadership of Tory. But the same poll shows that most people still don’t have an opinion about Penny Mordaunt, and that her net rating (people who think she would make a good PM, minus those who think she would make a bad PM), which is -4, it is higher than that of Sunak, which is -5.
Mr Sunack has played down claims that Sir Gavin Williamson, the former Tory chief whip and former education secretary, is playing a major role in his campaign. Williamson is seen by many Tories as an insidious figure, and allegations that he has pulled strings in Mr Sunak’s campaign have been damaging. Sunak said Mel Strid was in charge of the parliamentary aspects of his campaign. He continued:
Like all the members of parliament who are in my group, they are talking to colleagues and supporting my candidacy because they think I am the best person to beat Keir Starmer and the Labor party and I am really grateful for all the support. Updated at 10.11 BST This is from Newsnight’s Lewis Goodall in Rishi Sunak’s Today interview. Sunak’s problems are incorporated into IV there.
- consistently returns to both political association with BJ and economic status 2) can be evasive for both. 3) stronger lines around tax credibility. Question is if the Tory electorate wants to hear it/gets through points 1\2 — Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) July 14, 2022 And this is from my colleague Peter Walker. This was quite a tough interview on R4 for Rishi Sunak. He dodged a number of questions, most notably whether he was embarrassed to reverse Marcus Rashford’s school lunches. — Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) July 14, 2022 Good morning. Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, officially launches her campaign for the leadership of the Conservative party this morning, but in the last 24 hours she has probably revised her script quite a bit. When she started planning her campaign, Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, was seen as her main rival. But now the main threat comes from Penny Mordaunt and Truss will hit on her by implying that she doesn’t have the experience of being PM from day one. (Mordaunt has served in the cabinet, but as international development secretary, one of the most junior jobs, for about a year and a half, and as defense secretary for less than three months.) In her opening speech, according to excerpts released overnight, Truss will say: I am ready to be prime minister on day one. I can lead, make difficult decisions and respond to the moment. In her speech she will also talk about wanting to make Britain a “nation of ambition” – while also hinting that she was educated at a dismal comprehensive school in Leeds, which has led to complaints that she is tarnishing an institution with a good reputation. There are two other major developments this morning in the leadership contest, which will see another round of voting begin after lunch.
Lord Frost, the former Brexit secretary, attacked Mordaunt, saying she was effectively his deputy in trade negotiations with the EU last year and was not up to the job. He told Talk TV:
I felt that he did not know the detail that was necessary in the negotiations last year. He would not always give tough messages to the European Union when it was necessary. And I’m afraid she was somehow not fully responsible, she wasn’t always visible, sometimes I didn’t even know where she was. And I’m afraid it became such a problem that after six months I had to ask the prime minister to go ahead and find someone else to support me. Former cabinet minister Lord Frost has “grave reservations” about Penny Mordant becoming the next prime minister. “I’m amazed at where she is in this leadership race. She was my deputy. She wasn’t fully accountable or visible. I had to ask the PM to move her forward”@JuliaHB1 | @DavidGHFrost…
