Rishi Sunak has refused to say if he would vote for a tax-cutting emergency budget brought forward by Liz Truss if she becomes Prime Minister in ten days time. The former Chancellor, who is said to be trailing Truss in the Tory leadership race, said he was “not going to engage” in whether he would vote for a budget.
In the increasingly bitter contest Sunak has argued that Truss’s main policy to cut taxes would cause inflation to spiral out of control and damage the economy. Sunak has already signalling that he would not serve in a cabinet led by Truss because of fall out over the economy and tax.
Other senior figures, including Michael Gove, have also attacked Truss’s tax cutting plans as a “holiday from reality” but any Tory MP refusing to back a Truss budget would risk losing the party whip. Sunak said it was important to have a debate about the “very clear difference” between his plans for the country and those promised by Liz Truss as he was questioned over the lengthy Tory leadership contest.
Asked if he thought the process had gone on too long, the former Chancellor told the BBC: “When it’s over I’m sure we can look back and reflect.
"One thing is clear – there is a very clear difference of opinion in this leadership election, there is a difference of opinion in how you grip inflation and whether that’s a priority or not; there’s a difference of opinion about whether you prioritise – in my view – helping vulnerable people with the cost of living rather than giving tax cuts funded by borrowing to very large companies and relatively wealthy people.”
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He added: “Those are big differences, and it’s right that we have a debate about them because they are going to shape the course of our nation over the coming months and years, so I think it’s important these ideas are debated.”
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