Rishi Sunak issued a sly dig at Liz Truss’ vote to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum during a brazen campaign speech this morning. The former Chancellor said that the country “needs someone who voted for Brexit” to huge applause from the audience. This comes as the contest to replace Boris Johnson in No10 heats up as Conservative Party members start voting in the coming weeks.
Mr Sunak told the crowd today: “If we are to deliver on the promise of Brexit, we are going to need someone who actually understands Brexit, believes in Brexit and voted for Brexit.”
The leadership candidate also vowed to rise above the “smears” amid a flurry of attacks against the former Chancellor.
Mr Sunak was speaking in Grantham, the birthplace of former Tory PM Margaret Thatcher.
Also during his speech today in Lincolnshire, Mr Sunak pledged to make the NHS backlog his “number one public service priority”.
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He sought to move the campaign debate on from tax cuts to the NHS.
The former minister laid out plans to put the health service on a “war footing” with a vaccines-style taskforce set up to drive down the “emergency” of “massive backlogs”.
In an interview with The Times released today, Mr Sunak vowed to put the UK on a “crisis footing” from his first day as PM.
He said: “They’re challenges that are staring us in the face and a business-as-usual mentality isn’t going to cut it in dealing with them.