iz Truss has said she is “fighting for every vote” in the race for No 10, even if her lead over rival Rishi Sunak was further boosted by the endorsement of another heavyweight party.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs trumpeted her “support from all parts of the Conservative Party” after gaining the support of Tory centrist Tom Tugendhat in the contest.
Sunak faces an uphill battle as he tries to win over conservative members who, according to polls, appear more likely to vote for Ms Truss as the next party leader and prime minister when the ballots begin to land on their doorsteps next week.
Both contenders flew across the country on Saturday to meet with voters in a crunch weekend ahead of their campaigns.
During a campaign stop in BromleyMrs. Truss was asked whether her advantage over Mr. Sunak in member surveys meant losing the match.
She told reporters, “This is a very, very close race and I’m fighting for every vote.”
She said she was “absolutely delighted” with Mr Tugendhat’s approval, but described it as “extremely premature” to say whether he would be appointed her foreign minister, a job Mr Tugendhat said he hoped to get. , while insisting that “nothing was promised” to him.
I think it is absolutely the right choice not to put fuel on the fire of the inflation problem we already have
Ms Truss said: “He is a very, very talented person and I am very grateful to have the support of all parts of the Conservative Party as we need to reunite after this leadership election.”
The Secretary of State also discussed her plans to make it easier for tenants to climb the housing ladder in a review of mortgage rules.
“I think the idea that someone can sit in Whitehall and decide exactly which houses go where in the country is completely wrong,” she said.
“I also want to make it easier for people who have rented to get up the housing ladder, to show that all the money they paid on the rent counts toward their ability to get a mortgage.”
Mr Tugendhat, who joined Ms Truss at the campaign event at Biggin Hill Airport, rejected the idea that Mr Sunak should drop out of the race.
“No, he should not resign,” said Mr Tugendhat, who was recently eliminated from the competition himself.
“He would have to compete and challenge to win the votes and support of members across the UK and I’m sure he will.”
Sunak tweeted pictures of himself with supporters on the campaign trail in the south of England with the caption: “Busy Saturday with hundreds of members. Wouldn’t want it any other way!”
The former chancellor would attack “woke nonsense” in a speech apparently intended to enthuse Tory supporters with hardened rhetoric on so-called culture war issues.
He was expected to tell supporters in West Sussex that he would prevent “left-wing agitators” from “bulldozing our history, our traditions and our fundamental values”.
Both candidates to succeed Boris Johnson pledged to “defend the rural way of life” in pitches to rural communities.
Writing for Countryside Alliance magazine, Mrs Truss pledged to “place planning powers in the hands of the locals” and boost Britain’s domestic food production by “removing bureaucracy” in the producer inspection regime.
Mr Sunak said in a separate piece for the campaign organization’s magazine that his “mission has always been to do things ‘for’ rural communities, not ‘for’ them”, without devising specific policies to help them.
Mr Sunak was again on the defensive over tax in an interview with… Andrew Neil on Friday, dismissing allegations that his policies would lead to a recession and warning that Mrs. Truss’ plans for sweeping tax cuts would “add fuel to the fire” of inflation.
The veteran political journalist challenged Sunak about his plans to tighten fiscal policy at a time when “the global economy is coming to a standstill as monetary policy tightens”, suggesting he “would create a recession”.
Mr Sunak said: “I think it is absolutely the right choice not to add fuel to the inflation problem we already have.
“What we need to do is focus on long-term growth because that’s what we need, sustainable growth, not a sugar rush that makes us feel better for months, but then things get out of hand, let inflation kick in. system come. , let the Bank of England respond with even higher interest rates.”
Mr Sunak was reprimanded for nearly half an hour by Mr Neil about his wife’s economy, immigration and tax status in the Channel 4 interview, something Ms Truss has so far not taken part in.
With Ms Truss’ offer of over £30bn in unfunded tax cuts, consistently leading the way in member surveys, Mr Sunak this week made a U-turn by promising to temporarily cut VAT on utility bills.
However, the policy reversal seems to have failed to bolster support among Tory voters, 43% of whom believe Ms Truss would be a better prime minister, compared to 32% for Mr Sunak, according to a BMG Research poll. for the i-newspaper.
Mr Sunak’s tax policy came under fire from Mr Tugendhat, who wrote in The Times that it is “not right” for the tax burden to rise when people go into winter with “fear”.
The chair of the selected foreign affairs committee was the last senior Tory to voice support for Ms Truss following Defense Secretary Ben Wallace’s previous endorsement, and it is significant for his popularity among party members and leadership status among centrist Conservative MPs.