Rishi Sunak wonders if Liz Truss' tax plans are really Thatcherite

Rishi Sunak wondered if the economic policies of Liz Truss were truly Thatcherite - as the two Tory leadership candidates vie to partner the former Prime Minister.

Citing Baroness Thatcher as one of her biggest influences, M Sunak declined to say on Wednesday whether he would vote for his rival's tax cut plans if she becomes prime minister.

Favourite Ms Truss has come under criticism in recent days of the from some Tories who say her plans to cut taxes funded by more borrowing risk fueling further inflation.

The Foreign Secretary is widely regarded dered as having emulated the ex-Prime Minister with style if not substance throughout his leadership bid - but some Baroness Thatcher supporters instead backed Mr Sunak.

Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Sunak said he was "very privileged and honoured" to be supported by figures like former Chancellor Nigel Lawson.

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But expressing admiration for Baroness Thatcher's approach, Mr Sunak took aim at Ms Truss' policies - suggesting they were not comparable to the approach taken in the 1980s .

"She knew you have to fight inflation - debt-financed tax cuts are not a sensible approach, but also something I admire and respect. home, and I think a lot of other conservatives do too, is that she was willing to not only say the easy stuff that people might have wanted to hear," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme

"She said things which were perhaps hard to hear, but which were good for the country and had the courage of her beliefs.

"And that's the standard I hold myself to. I don't want to make promises I can't keep. And that's why I believe my plans are the right ones for our nation.

In another blow to Ms. Truss' Thatcherite credentials with Conservative members, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies also warned this week that Ms. Truss's approach to economics was closer to that of Ted Heath than that of Margaret Thatcher.

Paul Johnson said: "Cutting taxes and increasing the deficit in the face of high inflation clearly echoes Ted Heath in 1973 .

"You couldn't be further from Thatcher who made the famously unpopular decision to raise taxes in 1981 to manage the deficit and inflation."

Polls suggest Ms Truss holds and consolidates a commanding lead in the Tory leadership contest, with the latest YouGov survey last week suggesting a 32-point gap between her and Mr Sunak.

But the prospect that her becoming prime minister has yet to find resonance outside c party members Conservative, with Labor opening a significant and consistent polling lead between pollsters.

A leak i An insider Labor member reported by the Guardian, however, suggests that the Labor Party's own pollsters Opposition believe Ms Truss' nomination could give the Government a new wave of support and revive its fortunes.

Ms Truss, however, faces a battle to reverse the slide in support for the Tories, having already been criticized for not addressing the cost of living crisis.

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