Tory peer: Sunak probably 'more cautious' in foreign policy than Truss

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
21 Jul 2022 21:00

Conservative member of the House of Lords said on Thursday that, if elected prime minister, Rishi Sunak is likely to manage foreign policy more cautiously than Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

Conservative leadership candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss during Britain’s Next Prime Minister: The ITV Debate at Riverside Studios on July 17, 2022, in London, England (Getty Images)

Conservative member of the House of Lords Richard Balfe told Sputnik on Thursday that Former British Chancellor Rishi Sunak will manage foreign policy in a more cautious manner than "cold war warrior" Foreign Secretary Liz Truss if he is elected prime minister.

The two are running neck-and-neck in the race for the ruling Conservative Party leadership. It will be the responsibility of the wider Conservative membership to choose the winner who will replace Boris Johnson.

Watch: The end of Boris Johnson's political era

"It is going to be a close fought race I would not like to forecast the result. Sunak is more of a traditional Conservative. He will want to hold down taxes and will probably be more cautious in his approach to Foreign Affairs. Truss is what we call a cold war warrior," Balfe said.

The Tory peer described Sunak as "more of a consolidator" who would want to win over the middle class and establish a conservative course in home affairs, "not opposing change but probably setting a higher bar for its acceptance than Truss."

"Truss sees herself as a new Thatcher except I do not think she is quite as bright. Sunak is more a John Major type figure, rather dull but sound," Balfe said, adding that his bet was with Sunak.

The two candidates are in for six weeks of campaigning and meetings before the final ballot closes on September 2. The results are to be announced on September 5.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stepped down from his post as the leader of the Conservative party, meaning that he would no longer be leading the United Kingdom.

Johnson's resignation came after a three-year-long tenure that was distinguished by the number of scandals it saw, as well as crises such as Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. He was constantly mired in controversies and that saw him revealed as untruthful to the public and even his allies.

UK's former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak declared on July 8 his candidacy to become Conservative leader and Britain's next prime minister, days after helping to ignite the cabinet revolt that led to Boris Johnson's downfall.

A couple of days after, UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss announced her candidacy for the Prime Ministerial race following Boris Johnson’s forced resignation. Truss said, in a Sunday article for The Telegraph, that she is joining the race because she can “lead, deliver and make the tough decisions. I have a clear vision of where we need to be, and the experience and resolve to get us there," adding that will “fight the election as a Conservative and govern as a Conservative.”

Last Friday on Channel 4 and last Sunday on ITV network, the candidates went on in televised debates to discuss cutting taxes to help ease the soaring cost-of-living crisis.

The second debate of the campaign however showed to be far more intense than the first.

From her very first interventions, Truss frontally attacked her former colleague Sunak, accusing him of having led the country into "recession" by increasing taxes when he was in charge of Finance.

Former PM Johnson has previously expressed that Truss was the fittest candidate to succeed him, which is convinced that Rishi Sunak had been biding his time for months before stepping down on July 4, triggering the former PM Boris Johnson's downfall - which supporters of Rishi Sunak deny.