UK PM race: Minister switches sides from Rishi Sunak to Liz Truss

Welsh Secretary Sir Robert Buckland has become the first Cabinet minister to publicly flip sides in the Tory leadership contest by coming out in favour of Liz Truss.

It was reported that Sir Robert’s initial support for Rishi Sunak in the battle to replace Boris Johnson was based on his belief in Sunak’s capacity to steer the country through “difficult economic times.”

He changed his mind and wrote in The Daily Telegraph that Ms. Truss’ economic policies were the best chance of surviving the current crisis.

We need a high-growth, high-productivity economy to get us out of this crisis and to safeguard us against the next, and her ideas provide us our greatest hope at realising that potential,” he wrote.

The former chancellor, Mr. Sunak, will take another hit from Sir Robert’s defection; he has been trying to prove his willingness to speak the truth while accusing his opponent, Sir Robert, of promoting “fairytale economics.”

Furthermore, it will solidify Ms. Truss’s position as the undeniable frontrunner, which is important for those members of parliament who are seeking to secure a ministerial position in the incoming administration.

It’s not often that someone can say, “I changed my mind on this topic and now I think Liz Truss is the ideal person to lead our country,” but that’s what I did.

Meanwhile Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has launched a blistering attack on Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab after he supported Mr Sunak over charges that he had “stabbed Boris in the back”.

Mr. Raab told The Times that Mr. Sunak had tried to smooth things out with Mr. Johnson until he finally felt he had to resign, which contributed to the chain reaction of departures that ultimately led to his own departure.

“Liz may have had cocktails with MPs – but she did not resign her position, walk away, secretly campaign with MPs for votes, create a website, and was not campaign ready or part of a planned coup. It was Sunak. You can’t change history,” she wrote on Twitter to Dominic Raab.