Dominc Raab attacks Liz Truss’s record at Treasury
Appearing on the Sophy Ridge programme on Sky News this morning, deputy prime minister Dominic Raab, who is supporting Rishi Sunak for prime minister, attacked Liz Truss and her record as chief secretary of the treasury.
Defending Sunak’s record as Chancellor, and addressing Truss’s claim that there had been low growth for decades, Raab said:
She can answer for her policies and her when she was chief secretary of the Treasury. People can see whether spending and headcount in the civil service went up or down. There’s not just Rishi who is going to be accountable for what he’s done in the face of a massive pandemic. I mean, did she cut taxes at that time? Did spending go up or down during her period is CST? I think, without without criticising her personally, I think it’s right that everyone on their record is is scrutinised.
Key events:
Setting out his case for Kemi Badenoch this morning on Sky News, her campaign manager Lee Rowley said that people were looking for change, and defended the perception that she lacks experience. He cited Tony Blair and David Cameron as people who became prime minister with no ministerial experience. He told viewers:
[She has] lots of ministerial experience, more ministerial experience than some of the people who by common consent have been very big figures in our political system over the past 20 years.
And I think that the public are looking for something different.
So if you are looking for something different, what Kemi offers is both the ability to change, the ability to say actually we’ve done some things, lots of things well over the last 12 years, but we need to do something different now.
Rowley, who was elected in 2017 and served as under-secretary of state for business and industry between 2021 and 2022 went on to say:
I’ve seen far too much ‘government by press release’ when I’ve both been a minister, and when I’ve been an MP.
And the difference between Kemi and what’s happened before – under all parties – is that Kemi is actually saying let’s get to the root cause of an issue, work out what the problem is.
Badenoch campaign continues attacks on Mordaunt over transgender record in government
Kemi Badenoch’s campaign have stepped up their attacks on Penny Mordaunt over her position and record on transgender rights and self-ID.
Appearing on Sky News this morning, the MP for North East Derbyshire, Lee Rowley, who is Badenoch’s campaign manager, said:
I just think it’s a very, very difficult issue with some very, very entrenched views on both sides, and needs to be handled sensitively.
Penny has a set of questions to answer. I don’t think she really answered those particularly well in the debate on Friday. We’ll see whether she does tonight.
Because either Penny did agree with self-ID and is now saying that she didn’t. Question: why?
Or Penny didn’t agree with self ID. But it looks as though the civil service and the government, the department, decided to do it anyway. Question: how did she let that happen?
The Times yesterday reported that it had obtained leaked documents that appeared to show she had, if not supported, at least not challenged proposed changes to self-ID. It reports:
Penny Mordaunt’s claims that she has never supported gender self-identification have come under fresh scrutiny after leaked government documents suggested she backed watering down the legal process for transitioning.
Papers drawn up by civil servants appear to show she was in favour of removing at least one medical requirement needed by transgender people when she was equalities minister.
Another from February 2020 confirms the government’s support for self-identification ended after she was replaced as the minister in charge of the portfolio.
When the government eventually made a decision, in September 2020, it was under Liz Truss’s watch, and plans to allow people to officially change gender without a medical diagnosis were dropped in favour of cutting the cost of applying for a gender recognition certificate.
Mordaunt defended herself while appearing on the Sophie Raworth show this morning, saying the discussion around her role amounted to “smears”. PA Media quote her saying:
This has been rebutted many times. We all know what is going on. This is the type of toxic politics people want to get away from.
We did a consultation. We asked healthcare professionals what they thought about the situation. That is the section I looked after. I managed that consultation. We didn’t actually on my shift produce a policy.
There are a number of smears going on in the papers. My colleagues are very angry and upset that this is how the leadership contest is being dragged down.
I was struck by this comment about the focus on transgender rights in the Tory leadership campaign, as noted by LBC producer Shivani Sharma.
Trans caller tells @LBC that she wishes Westminster would ‘stop obsessing over people like me’
‘I’ve got bills to pay. I’m facing a cost of living crisis. Why can’t people just leave me alone?’
Britain’s Conservative-leaning newspapers have been handed a moment of decisive influence in the election of the next prime minister. The political analysis they project – the headlines they choose – could effectively anoint the next resident of No 10. But while these Tory titles continue to quarrel over the merits of rival candidates, the impact on voters in the Tory party is unsure.
According to Chris Blackhurst, a former editor of the Independent, the limited electoral constituency, estimated at just over 150,000 party members, is looking for guidance in a confusing battle. “This leadership election represents the high-water mark, in terms of power, for the rightwing press barons,” he said. “The entire electorate in this race is composed of their readers. Their ability to influence the outcome far exceeds any sway they might possess in a general election.”
This weekend, the Telegraph has given a midway boost to Penny Mordaunt, reporting her allegations of a “dark arts” campaign to undermine her standing. She is being targeted by smears, she says in an extensive interview that appears alongside a plea from columnist Allison Pearson for Tories not to discard Mordaunt in a fit of “self-harming madness”. Pearson also condemns Truss as a terrible communicator.
The Daily Mail, on the other hand, has made its distaste for Mordaunt abundantly clear, running a host of stories over the past week attacking her views on gender, questioning her role in the navy and even criticising the man she co-wrote a book with for “liking” a disobliging tweet. In the news empire overseen by Paul Dacre, Liz Truss is preferred, because she is seen as more plugged into traditional party interests.
Read more of Vanessa Thorpe’s piece here: Sunak challengers vie for support in rightwing press
By the way, if you feel that the Conservative leadership contest is going at a whirlwind pace and you could do with a refresher on who is standing, what they stand for, and how likely they are to win, then Michael Savage has this guide for the Observer today.
He rates Liz Truss as the candidate that Labour would most like to face, and a “competent and convincing” Rishi Sunak as their chief concern.
Read Michael Savage’s guide here: Your guide to the Tory leadership candidates – and whether they’ll have opposition politicians quivering
Tom Tugendhat was also appearing on Sophie Raworth’s BBC One show this morning, and reiterated his call for a “clean start” after the party had been in power for 12 years.
He told viewers it was clear that the prime minister’s account of the Partygate scandal was “rather more fictional than reality”.
PA Media quotes him saying:
What we need to see is a clean start. That is the most essential issue. In two years’ time we are going to be facing Keir Starmer in a general election.
We need to make sure that all the attack lines that have been used against us in the last three years don’t come back in a general election.
We need to make sure absolutely that what we are able to deliver is championing Conservative policies and deliver a Conservative vision for the future.
Phillipson: Labour has ‘nothing to fear’ from any Tory leadership candidate
Labour’s shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson was asked on Sky News earlier which Conservative leadership candidate she was most worried about fighting at a general election, and was dismissive of them all, telling viewers:
I’m not worried about any of them. I don’t think we’ve got anything to fear from any of the candidates. The reason for that is that all of them have propped up Boris Johnson and the Conservative government for 12 years now.
And over those 12 years, what have we seen happen in our country? We’ve seen our vital public services, whether that’s schools or hospitals, get worse and worse. Britain is completely stuck. You can’t renew your passport. More and more people going to food banks, rising levels of child poverty, growth at a terrible level, a consistent failure to grow our economy. And what are they all doing? An arms race around tax cuts, none of them prepared to set out what that means.
Penny Mordaunt has just been interviewed by Sophie Raworth on BBC One and she’s had quite a torrid time of it.
In a quick-fire questions round, she has just ruled out a Scottish independence referendum, saying “it is a settled question”. She refused to discuss potential cabinet positions, says she is committed to net zero by 2050 provided it doesn’t “clobber people”, said said would not withdraw the UK from the ECHR, and that while she didn’t rule it out, she said privatising Channel 4 would not be a priority for her as “it doesn’t help with the cost of living”.
That answer on Scotland has not, of course, gone down very well in all quarters.
What an unedifying Tory leadership contest this is. On the Sunday Show @TomTugendhat follows @BorisJohnson in refusing to accept democracy and Scotland’s right to choose and then a car crash with @PennyMordaunt on the economy and the lies of the Brexit campaign over Turkey.
— Ian Blackford 🇺🇦🏴 (@Ianblackford_MP) July 17, 2022
That reference to Turkey is just one of the tangled messes Mordaunt got herself into. The other was in questions again about her stance on transgender rights and self-ID. As ever, though, the performance possibly just confirmed what you believed already.
On @sophieraworth this morning, @PennyMordaunt very clearly demonstrating why she should be our next Prime Minister.
She will unite our country and has a clear plan to tackle the cost of living crisis and delivering economic growth.#PM4PM
— John Lamont MP 🇬🇧🏴 (@John2Win) July 17, 2022
I think Penny Mordaunt might just have lost the Tory leadership after that pitiful performance. Simply awful. #SundayMorning
Incidentally, during her show, Raworth said that she had invited all five candidates to appear, but only Mordaunt and Tom Tugendhat had agreed.
Raab on expected record temperatures: people ought to be ‘resilient’ enough to ‘enjoy the sunshine’
The expectation of record temperatures will be dominating headlines in the UK over the next couple of days. The chief executive of the College of Paramedics warned on Sky News this morning that the “ferocious heat” could result in people dying.
Tracy Nicholls said: “This isn’t like a lovely hot day where we can put a bit of sunscreen on, go out and enjoy a swim and a meal outside. This is serious heat that could actually, ultimately, end in people’s deaths because it is so ferocious. We’re just not set up for that sort of heat in this country.”
In slight contrast, on the same programme, Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, said people should be resilient enough to be able to “enjoy the sunshine” during the coming days.
PA Media quotes him saying: “Obviously there is some common sense practical advice we are talking about – stay hydrated, stay out of the sun at the hottest times, wear sun cream – those sorts of things. We ought to enjoy the sunshine and actually we ought to be resilient enough.”
He wasn’t enthused at the prospect of the government giving advice about working from home, saying: “That is for employers to consider and people to decide. I’m not going to start dictating things like that. But obviously we have got more flexible working. So that will also help with this kind of thing.”
Labour’s shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson backed pupils going into school during the soaring temperatures. She told viewers: “I am sure that headteachers will be doing everything they possibly can to make sure their schools are kept as cool as possible, that children are kept out of the hot sun and are kept indoors as much as possible. I think children have missed out quite a lot already in terms of their education and it’s right for them to be there.”
‘Red wall’ Tories warn: honour levelling up pledges or we’ll lose next election
Toby Helm
Senior Tories in “red wall” seats have warned Conservative leadership candidates that the party will lose the next general election unless they re-commit to level up the country and boost investment in the UK’s deprived regions.
The warnings come as economists and business figures who are pushing the levelling up agenda in the north of England say the entire project – which was at the heart of the 2019 Conservative manifesto – risks being downgraded as candidates to succeed Boris Johnson compete to offer more generous tax cuts, and money to ease the cost of living crisis.
On Saturday night, the Tory backbencher Jake Berry, who chairs the 50-strong Northern Research Group (NRG) of Conservative MPs and was minister for the northern powerhouse from 2017 to 2020, told the Observer that if the next prime minister did not deliver on the 2019 manifesto promise, his party would be severely punished by red-wall voters. Berry agreed that if the party departed from its 2019 manifesto there would be an understandable clamour for an early election.
“These votes were lent, they were lent against a promise of performance and a promise of action,” he said. “If performance and action are lacking, do not be surprised when they don’t appear in two years’ time.
“It depends if we want to win the next election. Of course we can become a party that only concentrates on rebuilding the blue wall in the south of England, but [if we do that] we will lose.”
John Stevenson, the Tory MP for Carlisle, added: “We must not forget that the part of our last manifesto on which our large majority was based was the levelling up agenda. It is essential that the next leader is committed to that agenda.” Berry and Stevenson are backing Tom Tugendhat, who is calling for tax cuts as well as a wider national growth strategy to create a less economically divided country.
Read more of Toby Helm’s report here: Red wall Tories warn – honour levelling up pledges or we’ll lose the next election
Both Liz Truss and Tom Tugendhat appear to have “housing” written in big letters in their media grids this morning, as they have both tweeted on the issue in short succession. Truss linked to a Telegraph piece published late yesterday in which she promised to end what she termed “Stalinist” housing targets, saying:
I want to abolish the top down Whitehall-inspired Stalinist housing targets – that’s the wrong way to generate economic growth. The best way to stimulate economic growth is bottom-up with tax incentives for investment and simplified regulations.
I want to abolish the top down Whitehall inspired Stalinist housing targets – that’s the wrong way to generate economic growth.
The best way to stimulate economic growth is bottom-up with tax incentives for investment and simplified regulations.https://t.co/r51NBChnYF
Tugendhat, after 12 years of Conservative government, says: “I’m serious about fixing the housing crisis.”
His outline is to increase building on brownfield sites, introduce “street votes” to give ultra-local development decisions, and to “build beautiful” by building “homes that reflect our heritage and history”.
Badenoch accuses Labour of ‘poisoning the well of society’ over racism
Kemi Badenoch has given an interview to the Sunday Times in which she speaks about racism in the UK, and attacked Labour’s attitude to the issue. She told the paper:
What is amazing is how when you talk to some people in Labour they are still pretending it’s 1955 or 1948 and exactly the same as when the Windrush generation arrived.
It is as though they have to pretend nothing has changed in order to justify their own argument. It is destructive for young people, because what they hear is the message that it doesn’t matter what you do, people are going to try and stop you. It means that they don’t bother, they are defeated before they start.
She went on to say:
The argument I make to people is that we have all been the victims of crime, but we don’t all think that our country is institutionally criminal. That is not to say there is not racism in this country, but to pretend that is all that is going on and to … overemphasise it will make the country more divided.
I don’t think that people who make this argument understand that they are playing with fire. They are poisoning the well of society.
Read more here: The Sunday Times – Kemi Badenoch: Labour’s still living in the past on race [£]
Truss supporter Iain Duncan Smith questions Mordaunt record in government
Iain Duncan Smith devoted a part of his appearance on Sky News this morning to an attack on Penny Mordaunt, questioning how hard she worked and what she had achieved. He said: “I just said that everybody’s record should be fully openly examined about their achievements.
“Everybody bar Tom Tugendhat, I think, is in government. Everybody needs to be judged on what they’ve achieved. The one person I personally don’t know what her big achievements are is Penny.
“For me, the key thing is we’re not electing a leader of the Conservative party that has two years to build their reputation. We are electing someone who will 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 main beliefs? What did they drive through? What tough decisions did they have to take that actually they had to sometimes go against their civil servants to get these things done?”
He added: “I know what the others have done. So I want to know, what does she believe her big achievements are? And where was she actually fighting for things? How many hours did she spend working at this? Where did she face those tough decisions?”
Former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith has also been doing the media this morning, in support of foreign secretary Liz Truss’s bid for the top job. He told Sky News viewers: “We can’t have anybody rise without trace.”
“Most of the main candidates in this debate have all been in government for the better part of two and a half years,” he said. “So it’s very important to know what their record says about them when they have the power to do things.”
Of Truss, he said: “She’s done these phenomenal trade deals, particularly with Australia, by the way, which wasn’t a follow on trade deal, and also the Trans Pacific Partnership, which opens us up to the far east, which is really delivering Brexit.
“And the other one, of course, she’s stood up for Ukraine. She’s been very, very strong about our involvement support for Ukraine, which is a really, really vital issue and also now Northern Ireland where she’s helping resolve that. So her record is strong.”
Zahawi urged to explain source of £26m mystery loans
Jon Ungoed-Thomas
The 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 over his tax affairs.
The millions of pounds of loans helped Zahawi and his wife buy properties across Britain, including commercial and retail premises in London, Birmingham, Brighton and Walton-on-Thames in Surrey.
The Observer has established that new loans to the property firm Zahawi and Zahawi were reported in the same year that an offshore family company linked to the chancellor sold shares in YouGov, the polling firm he founded, transferring £26m to an unknown recipient or recipients.
A source close to Zahawi insisted there was no link between the money transferred out of the offshore firm, Balshore Investments, and the unsecured loans to his family property firm, Zahawi and Zahawi.
A spokesman said: “Nadhim and his wife have never been beneficiaries of any offshore trust structures.”
The chancellor is embroiled in a mounting controversy after the Observer revealed last week that a “flag” has been raised by officials over 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 urged to explain source of £26m mystery loans
In his TV appearance this morning on Sky News, Dominic Raab outlined some of the reasons he was supporting Rishi Sunak, including that he was the only candidate who Raab believed could go on to win a general election.
He told Sophy Ridge: “I think people want the positive perspectives, and I think Rishi has three critical things: economic plan, values, and, frankly, electability. The ability to reach out, not just within the Conservative party, but to the country, whether it’s blue or red seats, he’s the guy that can win. At the end of the day. I think that’s pretty important.”
Specifically on economics, he said: “I think he’s the one with a credible economic plan to get inflation down. If we can’t do that. We’re not going to leave people with the money in their pockets from tax cuts or anything else.
“Then driving forward, he set out some further ideas about boosting through deregulation, smarter regulation.
“I also think he’s got the right values. I’ve known Rishi since he first became a member of parliament, the values that he grew up with, a hard work family entrepreneurialism story, I’ve heard it privately let alone in the course of these leadership debates. About how when his mum was running the pharmacy, he would help her do the books. He understands, if you like, that pocket book economics, which I think is so important at the time of the cost living [crisis].”
Dominc Raab attacks Liz Truss’s record at Treasury
Appearing on the Sophy Ridge programme on Sky News this morning, deputy prime minister Dominic Raab, who is supporting Rishi Sunak for prime minister, attacked Liz Truss and her record as chief secretary of the treasury.
Defending Sunak’s record as Chancellor, and addressing Truss’s claim that there had been low growth for decades, Raab said:
She can answer for her policies and her when she was chief secretary of the Treasury. People can see whether spending and headcount in the civil service went up or down. There’s not just Rishi who is going to be accountable for what he’s done in the face of a massive pandemic. I mean, did she cut taxes at that time? Did spending go up or down during her period is CST? I think, without without criticising her personally, I think it’s right that everyone on their record is is scrutinised.
Morning summary
Good morning. Later today, ITV will hold another live television debate with the five remaining Conservative leadership candidates aiming to be the next prime minister. That is at 7pm, and will be one of the last chances for candidates to impress before MPs resume voting in the contest in Westminster on Monday.
Before that gets going – and Andrew Sparrow will be here to cover that – a series of prominent supporters for each candidate have been making media appearances. There’s also the small matter of what has been in the Sunday papers. Here is a quick round-up of some of our main stories this morning:
Zahawi urged to explain source of £26m mystery loans: The 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 over his tax affairs. The millions of pounds of loans helped Zahawi and his wife buy properties across Britain, including commercial and retail premises in London, Birmingham, Brighton and Walton-on-Thames in Surrey.
It is Martin Belam here in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com or send me a message on Twitter at @MartinBelam. We’ll be opening comments in due course.
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