Tory leadership duo accused of stirring up division after Cardiff hustings

Tory Leadership candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have been accused of stirring up division following yesterday’s hustings event in Cardiff.

Ms Truss attacked First Minister Mark Drakeford during the flying visit, calling him a “low energy version of Jeremy Corbyn” just days after calling Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon an “attention seeker”, and attacked the Welsh Government’s decision to scrap the M4 relief road in 2019.

Ahead of the debate, Rishi Sunak’s camp floated plans to potentially criminalise supporters of Welsh and later admitted that he had no knowledge of the flagship Future Generations Act.

Disdain

Plaid Cymru Westminster Leader Liz Saville Roberts said that the two remaining candidates to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister know very little of the political issues facing people in Wales and accused them of “disdain”.

“In Wales we do grown up politics,” she said.

“We’ve shown that it is possible to work across political divides to deliver real change for the people that need it, improving people’s lives where we can, like providing free school meals.

“Yet, rather than offering a serious proposal for reducing household bills through direct intervention – an issue that they have both played a hand in bringing about – both Conservative candidates have committed to riding roughshod over the devolved powers of Wales.

“Truss and Sunak could have learnt a lot on their flying visit to Wales, but instead they have only seen it as an opportunity to stir up tensions and divisions.

“They will take any opportunity to demonise the Welsh NHS and education sector, they have given false promises of splendid post-Brexit days ahead while plotting to strip Wales of its sovereignty and deny democracy.

“Truss’s comments about the First Minister of Scotland have shown that she has no respect for the democratic will of the devolved nations, and Sunak’s comments about criminalising those who peacefully call for the independence of their own country – classing them as terrorists – is deeply worrying and bounding into the surreal.”

Failure

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds also criticised both candidates saying they have long records of failure when it comes to delivering for Wales. She also said the promises they made were nothing more than “hot air”.

“Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss and the Conservatives have a long record of failing to deliver for Wales and that is unlikely to change after this leadership contest,” she said.

“Liz Truss sold our Welsh farmers down the river in order to sign the one-sided Australian and New Zealand trade deals.

“Meanwhile Rishi Sunak, as Chancellor, failed to deliver the infrastructure investment needed to turbocharge the Welsh economy, including refusing to give us our fair share of HS2 funding.

“Additionally, he was almost entirely absent in the cost-of-living crisis, failing to support Welsh families and instead raising their taxes to the highest level in decades.

“The Conservative party as a whole failed to keep their promise that Wales would not lose a single penny post-Brexit with Wales set to lose £772 million between 2021 and 2025.”