Liz Truss’s allies urge her not to start another Tory civil war when she returns to public life and urge Rishi Sunak to support her “growth” economic agenda.
Insiders say the former prime minister, after spending more than 10 years on “breathing space” in ministerial office, is poised to re-enter the Westminster battlefield with calls for new growth packages.
But the thought that Mrs. Truss’s shadow is looming over Sunak is already starting to cause panic among battle-weary conservatives.
The prime minister is in danger of being squeezed between his predecessors, and Boris Johnson is rising in the limelight with an important interview aired later this week on a new TV show, Talk, hosted by Sunak’s chief critic Nadine Dorris.
A former cabinet minister who remains close to South West Norfolk MP Ms Truss said there was a risk of “factionalism” if MPs continued to speak out. “I really want Rishi to prosper, for the party to prosper, and most importantly for the country,” they said. I.
An increase in Ms. Truss’s parliamentary sightings and news of a new Conservative group, the Conservative Growth Group, founded by two of her deputies, raise concerns that Mr. Sunak will come under more pressure from his immediate predecessor. .
She’ll write a lengthy article for the Sunday paper that weekend, and give more interviews to the pro-Tory press the following week.
Allies of the former prime minister insist she supports the prime minister and, like many Tory members, wants to see more pro-growth policies.
Truss wants to support a focus on supply-side reforms and growth-stimulating policies, people close to her said.
After a brief lull in the immediate aftermath of their government’s collapse, Truss supporters have become increasingly vocal about the direction of the Conservatives, with former secretary Simon Clarke recently calling for a “soul battle” for the party.
It was reported this week that Ms Truss, during a visit there in December, told her colleagues in the US that she feared for the future of conservatism in Britain.
Ms. Truss, in a meeting with a member of the US Congress, expressed concern that the conservative movement in the UK could “completely disappear”, according to Politico’s Washington office.
Jake Berry, who was party leader under the former prime minister and became a vocal critic of Sunak after leaving government, also traveled to Washington and expressed the need for “a kind of Marshall plan of conservatism” to revive the Tories. .
Ms. Truss traveled to Washington, DC to attend the International Democratic Union forum after being invited by former Canadian leader Stephen Harper to attend a center-right conference. Speakers at the event included Republican Senator Ted Cruz, former Tory Deputy Speaker Lord Ashcroft, and Brandon Lewis, the Conservative MP who served as Attorney General for Mrs Truss.
Ms. Truss had a number of private discussions with center-right politicians from around the world, but her comments were not intended for them, according to a source close to her.
She plans to continue meeting fellow travelers in other countries and sees international work as an essential addition to her plans to promote free market solutions in the UK.
“Different countries are facing the same problems and therefore the same solutions are being applied,” the source said.
Others in the Tory party are less enthusiastic that Ms. Truss, with the help of the new Conservative Growth Group, will put pressure on the Sunak government with its supply-side reform agenda ahead of next month’s budget.
In a sign that her return could backfire in certain circles, former Commerce Secretary Conor Burns called her tenure “toxic.”
He told LBC: “I think the first thing to say is that lower taxes are in the DNA of the Conservative Party, but also fiscal responsibility. And we should not underestimate the serious damage done to the brand of the Conservative Party by those 44 poisonous days last fall, and the chancellor of the right, laying a solid foundation for the stabilization and growth of the economy.
“And then, of course, we have to get back into the tax cut space, if that makes sense.”
Nevertheless, veterans of the Truss administration continue to defend the announced policy, although they acknowledge that its timing and implementation have been unsuccessful.
One problem was that, during the Queen’s mourning period, the ministers could not contact 10 to discuss their political plans. Another key was “discipline,” the former cabinet minister said: “Colleagues felt they could break through the official political line, so we couldn’t work with her behind the scenes until she was ready.”
However, such plans are still being developed on the fringes of the Conservative Growth Group, which now meets weekly. Truss’s allies insist she is not officially affiliated with the caucus, despite it being speculated that she came up with the name and attended last month’s opening party.
The IMF’s bleak economic outlook this week sparked a wave of the group’s first ideas, including “quick fixes” for the public sector, such as reforming the doctor’s pension trap to improve the NHS and overhauling the childcare system to do more. .
More formal policy documents are likely to be released by the pre-Budget group on March 15, though further public meddling is expected from Ms Truss, who has not spoken in the House of Commons since leaving Downing. street in October.
As her relatives said I: “Look at this room.”
Source: I News
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