Rishi Sunak says Margaret Thatcher best Tory leader in history
Liz Truss’s campaign for No 10 has been boosted by a major endorsement after she and rival Rishi Sunak faced a grilling from voters in the first official hustings with Tory members in Leeds.
Defence secretary Ben Wallace threw his support behind Ms Truss, as he criticised Mr Sunak for “walking out the door” of Boris Johnson’s Cabinet.
Facing a series of tough questions from Tory members during Thursday’s hustings, one of the party faithful confronted the former chancellor over having “stabbed Boris Johnson in the back”, telling him that “some people don’t want to see that in No 10” despite him being “a good salesman”.
Mr Sunak responded by saying that it had become clear that there was “a significant difference of opinion” between the pair on the economic direction of the country.
Meanwhile, the latest exclusive survey by Savanta for The Independent showed Labour soaring to a 13-point lead – coming close to the party’s best performance since Sir Keir Starmer became leader in 2019.
