Liz Truss can win Red Wall seats unlike ‘backstabber’ Sunak, Tory member says

Red Wall voters rage at Boris Johnson ousting

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With the former Chancellor ahead in the Tory leadership contest, Ms Truss, Penny Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch remain in the hunt for the second place on the ballot which will go to Conservative Party members later this summer. The fourth round of voting by Tory MPs will eliminate another contender on Tuesday with Ms Badenoch identified as being the most vulnerable.

Whoever wins the leadership race will go on to face a general election battle to keep the Red Wall seats which the Conservatives gained in 2019.

This includes Bassetlaw in Nottinghamshire which the Tories won at the last general election after it had been held by Labour since 1929.

Labour took a thumping in 2019 as Tory Brendan Clarke-Smith swept to victory with 55.2 percent of the vote.

Bassetlaw Conservatives chairman Fraser McFarland has backed Ms Truss for party leader, describing her as a “serious person for serious times”.

Offering an insight into how the leadership race is viewed by party members in a typical, former Red Wall seat, Mr McFarland said: “It’s [Truss’s] track record.

“She served under three Prime Ministers in several Government departments.

“She has always delivered in every department she’s been in.

“We need someone to lead from day one. The others are weak and a bit inexperienced. They need more experience of Government before they’re ready.”

Asked for his view of the former Chancellor, Mr McFarland continued: “The problem with Rishi Sunak – we were out canvassing in Bassetlaw this weekend, speaking to Conservative voters and the word that kept coming up on the doorstep was ‘backstabber’.”

“They just don’t trust the man.”

Mr Sunak gained another 14 votes in the last round of voting to reach 115 – just five short of the 120 which will guarantee him a place in the final two.

Ms Truss picked up seven votes to reach 71 while Ms Badenoch gained nine to reach 58 and Ms Mordaunt dropped a vote in the third ballot, receiving 82 votes.

Tom Tugendhat’s 31 votes are up for grabs and these could prove decisive in shaping the rest of the race, with his support thought likely to head to Ms Mordaunt or Mr Sunak than the more right-leaning Ms Truss or Ms Badenoch.

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However, Mr McFarland criticised Mr Sunak’s track record as Chancellor.

He said: “He was a disappointment as Chancellor. He promised tax cuts but failed to deliver. I have no confidence Rishi will ever deliver them.”

In an ITV debate on Sunday Ms Truss, who has proposed plans to axe tax increases at a cost of over £30billion a year, said Mr Sunak had raised taxes to the highest level in 70 years.

Mr Sunak shot back by saying he would love to cut tax but it would come at a cost of higher inflation.

He said: “This something-for-nothing economics isn’t conservative, it’s socialism.”

Describing the leadership race as “robust” as opposed to others who have labelled the campaigning as “toxic”, Mr McFarland warned if Ms Truss did not win, Red Wall seats would be vulnerable.

He identified continuing the Government’s levelling up agenda, raising opportunities and cutting taxes as priorities among fellow members.

Mr McFarland said: “I don’t think it will be put at risk in Bassetlaw, but other seats in the Red Wall will be. We’ve got a very good local MP with a poor Labour district council.”

The Conservative association chairman continued: “People [in the constituency] are very happy with the Government.

“I’ve yet to meet anybody, pro-Keir Starmer. The opportunity to win the next election is there. We just need to reunite the party and focus on people’s priorities. With Liz, we can do that.”

Mr McFarland hailed Ms Truss’s northern roots and working-class background as signs she would be favoured by former Red Wall voters.

He added: “She has that story which Conservatives are all about – people working hard, doing the right thing and achieving in life. Liz has done that and that’s why she is in the position she is in, to become the next prime minister.”

The Foreign Secretary has faced criticism for previously being a Liberal Democrat and for voting to remain in the EU during the 2016 referendum.

Mr McFarland defended her, saying: “She voted to remain, but she has never been a Remoaner. She got on with delivering Brexit. Liz has the momentum.”

Ahead of the fourth ballot, he predicted Ms Badenoch would be knocked out with Ms Truss receiving the lion’s share of the former Equalities Minister’s votes.

On Ms Mordaunt, who has faced criticism for not spelling out more of her ideas, Mr McFarland said: “The problem with Penny is that when she has been asked for detail on her policies, she has said it will come later. This is not The Apprentice. We need it from day one. We haven’t got five years in opposition to decide policy.”

Asked how members in Bassetlaw viewed Mr Johnson’s stepping down as PM, he said: “There was a big disappointment.

“We would rather have seen Boris remain. He connected with people in a way other politicians do not.”

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