16 Oct Conservative MP Sir Christopher Chope has backed Liz Truss to turn things around as PM
Conservative MP Sir Christopher Chope has backed Liz Truss to turn things around as PM
Joining Alastair Stewart on GB News, the MP argued Liz should have held her ground despite “the markets, interest rates and the polls”.
He said: “I think she should have done, and that’s why it’s a big disappointment to me that she did give ground and seems to have caved into the anti-growth coalition which she so identified as being a big problem during her conference speech.
“I had a meeting in my constituency last night, and all but one of the very large group in attendance were giving the Prime Minister their unequivocal support and saying that Tory MPs need to get behind her, unite and show what conservatives have done in the past, which is if they unite together they can rule.
“Whether we describe what has happened in the last 48 hours as a tactical retreat, or a strategic defeat, I hope that it’s a tactical retreat and that after a bit more stability is restored that we will proceed with our tax cutting, growth creating agenda. I’m more confident that if we gave the Prime Minister our support, then she’d be back on track. I think she did what was absolutely right, which was to put a cap on energy prices, otherwise all hell would have broken loose for households across the country and also for businesses. She did the right thing but she’s got very little credit for that.”
Damian Green MP also appeared on GB News to talk about the future of the Conservative Party. The former First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office said that Jeremy Hunt has got a “huge task” to deal with in his new role.
He said: “The Party’s reputation for basic economic competence lies at the heart of our long-term appeal. We are the most successful political party in the world, over several centuries. And so Jeremy Hunt has got a huge task, and he’s got to get to go a long way in the next two weeks to restore that. Restoring that is very important, but it’s not impossible, because we know that if you present a budget, where the numbers add up, then people think okay, fine, and hopefully we can then have a period of stability.”
Mr Green reflected on how when Margaret Thatcher had a “radical” tax-cutting budget, adding: “It is a question of timing, there is a time to cut taxes and every Conservative wants to see taxes down.
“Broadly speaking, Margaret Thatcher’s policy worked and Britain was by then growing more prosperous and had a very prosperous 1990s because of that. It’s not the ultimate aim that any Tory would dispute, it’s the timing of it, and that’s a matter of political judgement.
“In the current climate, and with all the difficulties people are facing, I think benefits should go up, in line with inflation, as the previous administrations promised. I think that will be a kind of test for compassionate conservatism. And I say that knowing that it will add difficulty on calculations inside the Treasury.”
