Sunak admits he’s ‘playing catch-up’ as Brandon Lewis announces support for Truss

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ishi Sunak has acknowledged he is “playing catch-up” to Liz Truss who secured yet another big-name backer in Northern Ireland Secretary, Brandon Lewis over the weekend.

The 42-year-old alluded to the fallout from his wife’s tax status when he appeared to suggest some commentary claimed he “wouldn’t even have been a part of this contest”, if she had not announced her decision to pay UK taxes on her overseas income while he was still chancellor in April.

As the Foreign Secretary continued to best him in the polls, Mr Sunak’s weekend has been characterised by his pledge to end “woke nonsense” and his supporters attributing his unpopularity to “latent racism” – a claim which he was quick to dispute as incorrect.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Sunak also revealed his plan to reform the NHS would include a temporary £10 fine for patients who fail to attend a GP or outpatient appointment.

“If we have people who are not showing up and taking those slots away from people who need it, that’s not right,” he told the newspaper. “I’m all for a healthcare system that’s free at the point of use, but not one that’s free at the point of misuse.”

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He added: “Yes, it means we have to do something brave and something different, but that’s what I’m about doing. I want to be a transformational prime minister.”

When such proposals have surfaced in the past, doctors have warned that a system of fines could create a new layer of bureaucracy with which GP surgeries would struggle to cope.

Rishi Sunak meets Tory members at Fontwell Park racecourse as part of his campaign to be leader of the Conservative Party and the next prime minister (Joe Sene/PA) / PA Wire

Meanwhile, Ms Truss played down claims she has a clear lead over Mr Sunak, even as her campaign was further buoyed by endorsements of party heavyweight Tom Tugendhat, insisting it was a “very, very close race,” while trumpeting her “support from right across all parts of the Conservative Party”.

After securing the support of former leadership candidate, Tom Tugendhat, and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, Mr Lewis became the latest to back Ms Truss’ campaign.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Lewis claimed the former Chancellor had been too intent on keeping the “EU happy”.

He said: “The Treasury in my experience seems to want to try and keep the EU happy, when I’ve always felt our focus should be on working to deliver for the people of the United Kingdom and do what’s right by them as their sovereign government.

“The concern has always been around, for the Treasury, ‘what will be the EU’s reaction’, rather than ‘how do we get this to work, and how do we fix this problem that is a problem for the UK?’”

Shifting to Ms Truss, the Northern Ireland Secretary said she was the “easy choice”, adding: “What I’ve seen consistently with Liz is somebody who understands the union, has been strong and resolute on defending and protecting the union.”

Earlier on Saturday, in another bid to revive to his flagging premiership, the former Chancellor vowed to slash the number of empty shops on Britain’s high streets and crack down on graffiti and littering.

Mr Sunak also pledged to expand police powers to tackle anti-social behaviour in public spaces.

Under his plan to rejuvenate high streets, many of which are blighted by shuttered shops and derelict buildings, Mr Sunak would remove hurdles for those properties to be quickly converted into new businesses or cafes.

He would allow local authorities to double the fine for littering and graffiti and consider lowering the damage threshold for offenders to be jailed.

Mr Sunak would strengthen orders that allow police to disperse people behaving anti-socially, and extend the powers to apply to types of behaviour rather than just a location.

He would also seek to reduce regulations around farmers markets, make local authorities assess social value when considering the location of public services, and protect access to cash points.

Mr Sunak said: “I want to slash the number of empty shops by 2025 and make sure that they are turned into thriving local assets, supporting skills, local businesses, economies and creating jobs.

Rishi Sunak vowed to fine NHS patients £10 who fail to attend a GP or outpatient appointment (Joe Sene/PA) / PA Wire

“They will be joined by vital public services – like police stations and job centres.

“I’ll also support covered markets and farmers markets, making it as easy as possible for them to trade on our high streets and sell their fantastic produce to local people.

“We should all take pride in our high streets so I will also crack down on anti-social behaviour, graffiti and littering – through extended police powers and increased fines.

“I have been clear that I have a plan to rebuild our economy; our high streets are a crucial part of that.”

As chancellor, Mr Sunak provided business rates relief during the pandemic and oversaw a review into the property tax, but no radical reform followed.

Ms Truss has signalled she would overhaul business rates if she becomes prime minister.

A BMG Research poll of party faithful for The i newspaper was the latest to put Ms Truss ahead of Mr Sunak with a double-digit lead, a survey of Tory councillors saw the two contenders nearly neck-and-neck.

Ms Truss was on 31% and Mr Sunak on 28% among 511 local Conservative politicians polled by Savanta ComRes.