Truss says Sunak will choke economic growth by raising taxes while he accuses her of not being conservative
candidates of promoting “socialism” by promising unfunded tax cuts, as the deep divisions in the party over economic policy were exposed in a bad-tempered televised debate.confronted her former cabinet colleague, saying: “Rishi, you have raised taxes to the highest level in 70 years. That is not going to drive economic growth.Truss has promised tax cuts worth as much as £30bn, suggesting they can be paid for through additional borrowing and faster growth.
Truss, who has the backing of Johnson loyalists including Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries, has defined herself in particular against Sunak, who led in both the first two rounds of voting among MPs. Taxes and the economy have been at the heart of the contest, with Sunak the only candidate not promising immediate tax cuts, promising instead not to tell “fairy tales” about what is affordable.
Sunak turned on Truss, asking her: “You’ve been both a Liberal Democrat and a remainer: I’m just wondering which one of those you regretted most?” The foreign secretary said she wasn’t born in a Conservative home, and had been on a political “journey”. One of the few striking moments of consensus in the debate, in which the candidates repeatedly confronted each other, was when presenter Julie Etchingham asked them to raise their hands if they would welcome Boris Johnson into their cabinet.
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