Critics say Sunak's 'petulant' attacks on Truss will rip Tories apart

Rishi Sunak’s ‘petulant’ attacks on Liz Truss during leadership race will tear Tories apart, critics say

  • Rishi Sunak has been warned that his attacks on Liz Truss risk the next election
  • Allies of Truss have accused Sunak of pursing a ‘scorched earth’ policy 
  • ‘The only winner from that approach is Labour’ a senior ally told the Daily Mail

Rishi Sunak was last night warned that his ‘petulant’ attacks on Liz Truss’s tax-cutting plans risk handing the next election to Labour.

In an extraordinary interview that stunned party grandees, the former chancellor refused to say whether he would vote for Miss Truss’s emergency budget next month if she defeats him in the leadership contest.

Allies of Miss Truss accused Mr Sunak of pursuing a ‘scorched earth’ policy that could cause lasting damage to the Conservative Party.

Rishi Sunak was last night warned that his ‘petulant’ attacks on Liz Truss’s tax-cutting plans risk handing the next election to Labour

One senior ally told the Daily Mail: ‘We are supposed to be bringing the party together and he is out there handing attack lines to Labour.

‘It is bitter stuff, and surprisingly petulant. I fear we are seeing the real Rishi now – he has never lost in his life and it looks like he will never forgive Liz if he loses now. His approach now seems to be one of scorched earth.

‘He is trailing in the polls and he is taking the view that if he can’t have the party, then no one will. The only winner from that approach is Labour.’

Friends of the Foreign Secretary have been taken aback by the ferocity of the attacks from Mr Sunak and his supporters.

Concerns were underlined yesterday after the former chancellor repeatedly refused to say whether he would back Miss Truss’s economic plans, which he has branded a ‘moral failure’ that could leave millions in ‘destitution’ this winter.

Miss Truss has pledged to bring forward an emergency budget next month to cut taxes raised by Mr Sunak and to consider further help with the cost of living.

During a hustings for Tory members on Tuesday night, the former chancellor was asked if he would vote for the measures, but ducked the question, saying it was ‘hypothetical’.

Asked again about the issue yesterday, he told the BBC he was ‘not going to engage in these things’ while the leadership race is under way.

He added: ‘Right now, we should be talking about the major challenges that our country faces: creeping inflation, getting support to people who need it.’ An aide to Mr Sunak last night insisted that he would not vote against Miss Truss’s plans. ‘He would have said, if asked, that a finance bill is treated as a confidence vote and he wouldn’t betray that,’ the source said.

Speaking to reporters during a campaign visit to Southampton yesterday, Mr Sunak insisted he was still fighting to win, despite trailing heavily in a series of opinion polls.

Asked if the Conservative Party is ‘hopelessly divided’ at the moment, he replied: ‘No, what I’m doing is focusing on the contest right now and actually… all these questions as if the contest is already over are not ones that I’m entertaining, because I’m fighting really hard for everyone’s vote.’

Miss Truss has been considering a peace offering to heal the Tory rift by appointing Mr Sunak as health secretary if she wins.

But earlier this week he indicated he would turn down any offer, saying: ‘One thing I have reflected on as well a bit is, being in a Government, in Cabinet, over the last couple of years, you really need to agree with the big things.’

Former Tory Cabinet minister David Jones urged Mr Sunak to make clear that he would accept the result of the contest. Mr Jones said: ‘This is the fourth leadership contest I have seen as an MP and on every previous occasion the party has united quickly, with the losing candidate accepting the result.’

At Tuesday night’s hustings, Mr Sunak savaged his rival’s focus on ‘unfunded’ tax cuts, saying the priority should be to clamp down on inflation and help the poorest cope with surging bills.

‘If I don’t win this, and we go ahead with that plan, millions of people are going to face the risk of destitution,’ he said.

Miss Truss said her ‘first priority’ on the economy was to cut taxes to put money back into people’s pockets and make the UK more competitive.

But she said her new chancellor would look at the case for offering more help to people on ‘fixed incomes’.

Mr Sunak has said he will stick with his planned tax hikes and target billions in extra support to those on low incomes.

Source: Read Full Article