Kemi Badenoch lashes out at rivals of the Tory leadership for bragging about the magnitude of their… tax cuts as she criticizes favorite Rishi Sunak, saying economic slump means it’s no time for ‘stable government’
- The former Equality Minister has emerged as a popular outsider in the contest
- Many of its rivals have been criticized for making tax cuts at no cost
- Refused to ‘start a tax bidding war and say my tax cuts are bigger than yours’
Tory hopeful leadership Kemi Badenoch lashed out at her rivals for making wild promises of tax cuts today, suggesting they were engaging in sad macho attitudes.
The former Equality Minister, who has emerged as a popular outsider in the contest to replace Boris Johnsonlashed out when she officially launched her campaign.
Many of her rivals have been criticized for making priceless pledges to cut personal and business taxes if they become Tory leader and prime minister.
Ms Badenoch, 42, said she also wanted to lower the tax burden.
But bluntly speaking to her rivals, more than half of whom are men, she added: “I won’t go into a bidding war and say my tax cuts are bigger than yours.
“The dividing line in this race isn’t tax cuts, it’s judgment.”
But in a thinly veiled jibe against favorite Rishi Sunak, she also lashed out at the ‘steady as it goes’ government, vowing to make significant changes.
The former equality minister, who has emerged as a popular outsider in the contest to replace Boris Johnson, lashed out when she officially launched her campaign.
Ms Badenoch, a mother of three who was born in London to Nigerian parents, still has the 20-donor threshold to participate in the leadership election proper. But she’s only five short with a 6:00 p.m. deadline.
Rishi Sunak today underlined his status as a frontrunner in Tory leadership as more of the cabinet’s big beasts backed him – with Liz Truss begging the Tory to unite behind her to take him on.
Prospective prime ministers have just a few hours left to land the 20 nominations needed to enter the first round of the contest, whose voting begins tomorrow.
Mr Sunak already seems to be well over the threshold when he formally launched his campaign this morning, introduced by Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab and Grant Shapps – who has abandoned his own leadership campaign.
The former chancellor again slammed calls for tax cuts before inflation is under control, saying ‘we need to have a mature conversation’. At the Westminster event, he also praised Boris Johnson, describing him as “one of the most remarkable people I’ve ever met” with a “good heart” — but it “didn’t work” anymore.
Mr Sunak – who answered just a few questions from the media, while journalists asking combative points were interviewed by the crowd – said his plan was to “tack inflation, grow the economy and cut taxes.” ‘. “I want to have a mature conversation where I can tell you the truth,” he said.
Before the speech, Mr Raab said: ‘We need a leader who can win…he is the only one who can win.’
Penny Mordaunt and Tom Tugendhat also appear to have reached nominations, while Ms Truss is over the top after gaining approvals from Boris Johnson allies Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries – who declared their loyalty on the steps of Downing Street.
Other big names are struggling though, with Jeremy Hunt, Nadhim Zahawi and Priti Patel all lacking support.