A former vice chairman of the Conservative Party has spoken out to back the Foreign Secretary Liz Truss as the new Prime Minister.
Alec Shelbrooke MP sung the praises of the Foreign Secretary and said she has already demonstrated her leadership qualities on the world stage.
He told GB News: “I’ll be absolutely straight up and honestly on air right now. I’m going to be backing Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary.
“I think she’s got huge amounts of experience, she’s really leading the world on the foreign stage where our country is at the forefront of so many important international issues.
“She’s been a trade secretary who delivered a lot of trade deals, she helped steer through the Northern Ireland protocol, which was no easy thing.”
He added: “When I look at what we need to do to help deliver the manifesto get some of the Brexit benefits that were in the manifesto, look at how we level up, and levelling up is not just about money, levelling up is about giving opportunity, and I think there are opportunities to be gained.
“I actually, from my point of view, think that the Foreign Secretary just is going to be the best person to deliver that.”
Asked about how the cost of living crisis could be tackled, Mr Shelbrooke told GB News that there were solutions.
“Certainly I think when we look at issues like supply side reform, breaking away some from some of those EU regulations that were holding that back and looking at some of those opportunities, I think there are ways to do that,” he said.
He praised the agenda developed by Boris Johnson, however: “I can say with all honesty that the manifesto I stood on in 2019 is probably the best manifesto I’ve ever stood on.
“We obviously have had a very damaging time for our party and we’re still in the middle of that but I think what people are going to be looking for is competent, calm leadership and delivering that manifesto.
“And against the backdrop of all the international pressures rather than that direct effect that’s happening on our country and on our constituents in terms of cost of living or part of the war in Ukraine, I think people want to see us get on with it.”
He added: “We’ve also seen in the Wakefield by-election, for example, that although Labour won, they didn’t attract any votes as Conservative voters were staying at home.
“They’re the voters who we’ve got to appeal to say that it’s worth voting for us to deliver on the manifesto. It’s not going to be easy.
“I’m not pretending for a moment that it’s easy, but I still think we have a very strong manifesto and a very strong programme to deliver.
“We’re still only halfway through this parliament and I think we need new leadership who will be able to deliver that.”
