I very much regret that for the second time in three months we are facing a leadership election within the Conservative Party and an imminent change in Prime Minister.
The Budget presented by Liz Truss and her then Chancellor was going too far, too fast at a time of global economic instability. It required rapid intervention by the new Treasury team to reset the Government’s fiscal approach. Ms Truss clearly felt that her premiership would be impossible to reset after such an early blow to her standing and has resigned as Conservative Party Leader.
With previous experience, including having served in HM Treasury during the financial crisis 2008-09, I would have preferred the Government to have taken a different initial approach to the Budget but nonetheless had really hoped that the ambitious plans Liz announced would after all succeed. That was not the case.
We now need to elect a new leader who will become Prime Minister. The Conservative Party has a huge responsibility to deliver the best candidate for the national interest.
We face a very significant financial challenge, one that is worse today than earlier in the summer.
The U.K. needs focussed, detailed, thoughtful government. We need a Prime Minister who, working with an excellent Chancellor, will reassure the markets and be trusted to deliver. A Prime Minister who can be trusted to deliver good economic governance will mean we as a country pay less in interest, will ultimately pay less in tax and will face lower mortgage rates than would otherwise be the case.
I supported Rishi Sunak earlier in the summer for the reasons I set out here
Those reasons still hold good, indeed someone of Rishi’s capabilities and talent is now even more important.
I will be nominating Rishi to be our next leader. I have no doubt that Rishi is the right answer and would be the best possible Prime Minister in what are difficult and testing times.