I back Sunak, says Newbury MP Laura Farris
Newbury MP Laura Farris has come out in support of Rishi Sunak for the next leader of the Conservative party.
Speaking today on Politics Live on BBC 2, Mrs Farris said she backed Mr Sunak for his economic credentials, adding that she thought her “constituents really like him too”.
The former Chancellor is one of around a dozen Tory MPs going for the leadership role after Boris Johnson was forced to resign after a number of scandals.
He is one of the favourites, standing on the grounds that tax cuts need to wait until the economy is on a more stable footing.
Most of his rivals meanwhile, including Liz Truss, Nadhim Zahawi, Sajid Javid and Suella Braverman, have called for a reduction in tax immediately.
Mrs Farris said she had been thinking “for some weeks” who she’d support in a leadership contest, and then spent the weekend reflecting on what her priorities were, before reaching the decision on her own.
She said: “The greatest challenge facing the country is economic and for that reason, I did think the most skilled economist was probably going to have a natural advantage with me.
“And it was very compelling the last time we had an economic crisis with Covid, he [Mr Sunak] was the chancellor, but he was brand new in the job.
“I remember at the time him talking about how he had to prepare a budget with just weeks to go and then he immediately had to respond to a crisis, and he did it with imagination and dexterity.
“He put in place the furlough scheme rapidly and I found all of that really impressive and I think my constituents really like him too.”
The leadership candidates list is expected to be whittled down pretty quickly over the next couple of weeks.
A new 1922 Committee executive is being elected today (Monday), and one of its first tasks will be to finalise the arrangements for the parliamentary stage of the contest – when the number of candidates is reduced to just two.
The vote will then be opened up to a national vote by the Tory membership.