Katy Balls Katy Balls

Gove says Truss’s plans are a ‘holiday from reality’

The former minister has endorsed Rishi Sunak in a withering critique of the frontrunner

Is the Tory leadership race already over? That’s the narrative among Conservative MPs with two weeks of the leadership contest to go. The Sunak camp dispute this version of events – and tonight they have an endorsement which works in their favour.

After several Tory MPs switched their allegiance from Rishi Sunak to Liz Truss, this evening Michael Gove has endorsed the former Chancellor. Writing for the Times, the former Minister for the Cabinet Office has argued Truss’s plans for immediate tax cuts are a ‘holiday from reality’ that would put ‘the stock options of FTSE 100 executives’ before the poorest.

He says that Sunak is best placed to prioritise the most vulnerable. A pitch for a job? Unlikely. Given the latest leadership polls give Truss a lead of more than 30 points, any endorsement of Sunak at this point can hardly be described as careerist.

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