LIZ Truss has dismissed deputy prime minister Dominic Raab’s suggestion that her emergency tax-cutting budget risks becoming an “electoral suicide note”.
Raab, a supporter of Rishi Sunak for the Tory leadership, said Truss is proposing “limited” tax cuts via her plan to scrap the National Insurance hike, arguing it would “do little” for the most vulnerable.
He described the policy proposal as “bad politics”, in remarks that continue the blue-on-blue attacks which have become a dominant feature of the race to replace Boris Johnson as the next prime minister.
Truss’s campaign has been forced on the defensive in recent days after the Foreign Secretary suggested there would be no “handouts” if she won the leadership contest and that her priority was reducing the tax burden.
Speaking on a visit to Huddersfield on Tuesday, Truss hit back at the comments and argued Raab's response was "declinist".
She told the media: “My campaign is all about growing the British economy.
“I know that we have huge talent around this country. I want to get rid of those EU laws off our statute books, I want to drive investment and growth across the economy, and I want to do it by allowing people to keep more of their own money and making it easier to set up businesses.
“That’s the way we’re going to drive success in this country.”
Asked if she is therefore not worried about Raab’s comments, she said: “What I care about is Britain being successful. I don’t agree with these portents of doom. I don’t agree with this declinist talk.
“I believe our country’s best days are ahead of us. What I’m going to do, if selected as prime minister, is keep taxes low, get the economy growing, unleash the potential right across Britain. That’s what I’m about.”
The two Tory leadership hopefuls will continue campaigning on Tuesday before a hustings session with party members in Darlington, a so-called “red wall” area turned blue under Johnson’s leadership in 2019.
