Tory party leadership contenders critical of coronavirus lockdowns

The two contenders for the Conservative leadership have criticised the coronavirus lockdowns their government ordered, saying they were too strict and underestimated the negative impact. Former chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak told the Spectator that scientists were not adequately challenged about the side effects of lockdown.

“The script was not to ever acknowledge them. The script was: ‘oh, there’s no trade-off, because doing this for our health is good for the economy’,” he said.

Mr Sunak was widely criticised for his Eat Out to Help Out initiative which subsidised restaurant meals after the first lockdown and was blamed for a subsequent surge in infections. But he defended the campaign, saying it was necessary to counter the fear narrative that had taken hold in Britain.

“The survey data across Europe showed that our country was far and away the least likely to get back to normal. All the evidence was that everyone was too scared to go and do things again. We have a consumption-driven economy, so that would be very bad,” he said.

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Mr Sunak stopped short of saying that lockdown was a mistake but he portrayed himself as a lone voice in government calling for the trade-offs to be made more explicit. His rival for the leadership, Liz Truss, said on Thursday that she agreed that the lockdowns had gone too far.

“I didn’t actually sit on the Covid committee during that time, I was busy striking trade deals around the world. My view is we did go too far, particularly on keeping schools closed. I’ve got two teenage daughters and know how difficult it was for children and parents and I would not have a lockdown again,” she said.

“I was very clear in cabinet, I was one of the key voices in favour of opening up.”

Cost-of-living crisis

Ms Truss is comfortably ahead of Mr Sunak in polls of Conservative members but an Ipsos poll on Thursday showed Labour leader Keir Starmer to be more trusted than either candidate to reduce the cost of living. Ms Truss dismissed the findings, claiming that her plan to cut taxes would help people to deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

“I am somebody in every job I’ve done in government that’s followed through on what I promised, whether it’s delivering the trade deals at the trade department, [or] delivering on the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill at the foreign office. And I can assure people I understand the problem, I understand high energy costs, I will work to deal with the supply issues, and also make sure that people are able to keep more money in their own pockets,” she told Sky News.

Mr Sunak appeared to row back on an implied threat that he would not vote for Ms Truss’s package of tax cuts if she wins the contest next month.

“Of course, I’m going to support a Conservative government. I believe very strongly in the Conservative party, and I want it to do well and I will always — whether as a minister or as a backbencher — always support [the] Conservative government because I believe that’s the best thing for this country. I want to make sure that we beat Labour at the next election,” he told the BBC.