Dominic Raab attacks Liz Truss’ record at the Treasury
Appearing on Sophie Ridge’s Sky News program this morning, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, who is backing Rishi Sunak for Prime Minister, attacked Liz Truss and her record as Chief Financial Secretary.
Defending Sunak’s record as chancellor and addressing Truss’ claim that there has been low growth for decades, Raab said:
She can be held accountable for her policy when she was Chief Secretary to the Treasury. People can see if spending and the number of employees in the civil service have increased or decreased. It’s not just Rishi who will be held accountable for what he did in the face of a massive pandemic. I mean, did she cut taxes at that time? Did the cost increase or decrease during her CST period? I think, without criticizing her personally, I think it’s only right that everyone on their record should be scrutinized.
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Truss supporter Ian Duncan Smith questioned Mordaunt’s record in government
Iain Duncan Smith devoted part of his appearance on Sky News this morning to attacking Penny Mordaunt, questioning how hard she has worked and what she has achieved. He said: “I have just said that everyone’s achievements should be fully openly scrutinised.
“I think everyone but Tom Tugendhat is in government. Everyone should be judged according to what they have achieved. The only person I personally don’t know what her great accomplishments are is Penny.
“For me, the key thing is that we are not electing a leader of the Conservative Party who has two years to build his reputation. We elect someone to be Prime Minister on day one. So you need to know when they have power and authority in government what do they do with it? What did they achieve? What were their core beliefs? What did they drive through? What difficult decisions did they have to make, that they actually sometimes had to go against their government officials to get these things done?”
He said, “I know what others have done. So I want to know what she thinks her big accomplishments are? And where did he actually fight for things? How many hours did she spend on it? Where does she face these tough decisions?
Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith was also in the media this morning to back Foreign Secretary Liz Truss’ bid for the top job. He told Sky News viewers that “we cannot let anyone rise without a trace”.
“Most of the main candidates in this debate have been in government for the better part of two and a half years,” he said. “So it’s very important that we know what their record says about them when they have the power to do things.”
Of Truss, he said: “She did these phenomenal trade deals, particularly with Australia, by the way, which was not a continuation of a trade deal, and also the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which opens us up to the Far East, which is really a Brexit delivery.
“And the other one, of course, she stood up for Ukraine. She’s been very, very strong about our support for involvement in Ukraine, which is a really, really vital issue, and also now in Northern Ireland, where she’s helping to resolve it. So her record is strong.
Zahawi called for explanation of source of mysterious £26m loans
John Ungoed-Thomas
Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is under pressure to explain the source of £26m of unsecured loans reported by his family property firm in 2018 as he faces questions about his tax affairs.
The multi-million pound loans helped Zahawi and his wife buy properties across the UK, including retail and commercial premises in London, Birmingham, Brighton and Walton-on-Thames in Surrey.
The Observer found that new loans to property firm Zahawi and Zahawi were reported in the same year that an offshore family company linked to the Chancellor sold stakes in YouGov, the polling firm he founded, transferring £26m to unknown recipient or recipients.
A source close to Zahawi insisted there was no link between the money transferred by the offshore firm Balshore Investments and the unsecured loans to his family property firm Zahawi and Zahawi.
A spokesman said: “Nadeem and his wife have never been beneficiaries of any offshore trusts.”
The chancellor has been embroiled in growing controversy after the Observer revealed last week that a “flag” had been raised by officials about his financial affairs. He is facing calls to identify the lender or lenders who helped finance his property firm.
Read more of Jon Ungoed-Thomas’ report here: Zahawi called on to explain source of £26m mystery loans
In his televised appearance on Sky News this morning, Dominic Raab outlined some of the reasons he is backing Rishi Sunak, including that he is the only candidate Raab believes can win a general election.
He told Sophie Ridge: “I think people want the positive outlook and I think Rishi has three critical things: an economic plan, values and, frankly, electability. The ability to reach out not just in the Conservative Party but in the country, whether it’s blue seats or red seats, he’s the man to win. In the end of the day. I think that’s pretty important.”
Specifically on the economy, he said: “I think he’s the one with a credible economic plan to reduce inflation. If we can’t do that. We’re not going to leave people with money in their pockets from tax cuts or anything else.
“Then I drive forward. He put forward some additional ideas for stimulus through deregulation, smarter regulation.
“I also think he has the right values. I have known Rishi since he first became a Member of Parliament, the values he grew up with, a history of hard work, family entrepreneurship, I have heard him personally, let alone in the course of these leadership debates. About how when his mother ran the pharmacy, he helped her keep the books. He understands, if you will, that pocket-book economy which I think is so important in this time of expensive living [crisis].”
Dominic Raab attacks Liz Truss’ record at the Treasury
Appearing on Sophie Ridge’s Sky News program this morning, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, who is backing Rishi Sunak for Prime Minister, attacked Liz Truss and her record as Chief Financial Secretary.
Defending Sunak’s record as chancellor and addressing Truss’ claim that there has been low growth for decades, Raab said:
She can be held accountable for her policy when she was Chief Secretary to the Treasury. People can see if spending and the number of employees in the civil service have increased or decreased. It’s not just Rishi who will be held accountable for what he did in the face of a massive pandemic. I mean, did she cut taxes at that time? Did the cost increase or decrease during her CST period? I think, without criticizing her personally, I think it’s only right that everyone on their record should be scrutinized.
Morning recap
Good morning. Later today, ITV will hold another live televised debate with the five remaining Conservative leadership candidates seeking to be the next Prime Minister. It is at 7pm and will be one of the candidates’ last chances to impress before MPs resume voting in the race at Westminster on Monday.
Before it got underway – and Andrew Sparrow will be here to cover it – a series of prominent supporters of each candidate appeared in the media. There is also the small matter of what was in the Sunday papers. Here’s a quick rundown of some of our top stories this morning:
- Zahawi urged to explain source of £26m in mystery loans: Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is under pressure to explain the source of £26m of unsecured loans reported by his family’s property firm in 2018 as he faces questions about your tax affairs. The multi-million pound loans helped Zahawi and his wife buy properties across the UK, including retail and commercial premises in London, Birmingham, Brighton and Walton-on-Thames in Surrey.
Here in London is Martin Bellam. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com or send me a message on Twitter at @MartinBelam. We will open comments in due course.
Updated at 09.13 BST
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