Liz Truss has come under pressure after saying she opposed 'handouts' to tackle the rising cost of living. PA
Liz Truss has come under pressure after saying she opposed 'handouts' to tackle the rising cost of living. PA
Liz Truss has come under pressure after saying she opposed 'handouts' to tackle the rising cost of living. PA
Liz Truss has come under pressure after saying she opposed 'handouts' to tackle the rising cost of living. PA

Sunak ally slams Truss plans as 'electoral suicide note' in brutal Tory broadside


Tim Stickings
  • English
  • Arabic

Liz Truss's tax-cutting plans have been condemned as an "electoral suicide note" for the Conservative Party by a senior backer of her rival, Rishi Sunak.

UK Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab took aim at the foreign secretary's emergency budget plans in one of the most strongly worded interventions of the leadership race so far.

With Ms Truss on the back foot over the cost-of-living crisis, Mr Sunak promised, if elected prime minister, to unveil more support for households once the size of autumn energy bills becomes clear.

The two candidates will set out their pitches at the latest round of hustings on Tuesday in Darlington, a constituency in the north of England which switched from Labour to the Conservatives at the last election.

A Truss backer, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, criticised the Tory infighting on a campaign stop in Yorkshire by saying that "blue-on-blue is not going to help the Conservative Party win the next election".

Ms Truss used the visit to an aerospace company in Huddersfield to promise a tough line on defence, repeating a promise to increase military spending to 3 per cent of GDP.

But polls show the economy is voters' top concern two years from the next general election, as fuel prices drive the highest inflation in decades and economists predict a recession to add to Britain's woes.

Analysts Cornwall Insight said on Tuesday that the price cap is expected to soar to around £3,582 ($,4,340) per year in October, from £1,971 ($2,388) today, before rising even further to about £4,200 ($5,088) in the New Year.

Ms Truss, who leads Mr Sunak in polls of the Tory race, came under pressure after telling the Financial Times that she would tackle the problem "in a Conservative way of lowering the tax burden, not giving out handouts".

Dominic Raab, centre, campaigns with Rishi Sunak before a leadership hustings in Eastbourne. Reuters
Dominic Raab, centre, campaigns with Rishi Sunak before a leadership hustings in Eastbourne. Reuters

She and her allies have since sought to clarify that further government support was not being ruled out. Ms Truss said on Tuesday that she does not believe in “taxing people to the highest level in 70 years” and then “giving them their own money back”, in a thinly-veiled swipe at Mr Sunak's record as chancellor.

But Mr Raab wrote in The Times that focusing on tax cuts "isn't Conservative politics … it's bad politics".

"If we go to the country in September with an emergency budget that fails to measure up to the task in hand, voters will not forgive us as they see their living standards eroded," he said.

"Such a failure will read unmistakably to the public like an electoral suicide note and, as sure as night follows day, see our great party cast into the impotent oblivion of opposition."

Mr Raab's turn of phrase is most commonly associated with the 1983 Labour Party manifesto, a hard-left document described at the time as the "longest suicide note in history".

Penny Mordaunt, a former leadership candidate who now backs Ms Truss, defended the foreign secretary by saying Ms Truss "wants to do more" and that extra support was not being ruled out.

Conservatives on the campaign trail - in pictures

But Mark Harper, another Sunak backer on the Conservative benches, told Sky News that cutting taxes would not do much for poorer people who pay little money to the Treasury anyway.

"There’s a very big difference between large, permanent, unfunded tax cuts that go to the wealthiest in society, rather than targeted help," he said.

Mr Sunak said he would aim to keep any one-off borrowing to an “absolute minimum” by seeking efficiency savings across government departments.

He said he would announce details of new support once energy regulator Ofgem reveals the autumn price cap at the end of this month.

Ofgem said last week that the price cap would now be raised every three months, rather than every six, because it is "not in anyone’s interests for more suppliers to fail and exit the market".

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Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
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  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
  • Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
  • Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
  • Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

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Rating: 3/5

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Mobile phone packages comparison

Nancy 9 (Hassa Beek)

Nancy Ajram

(In2Musica)

Bharatanatyam

A ancient classical dance from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Intricate footwork and expressions are used to denote spiritual stories and ideas.

WHEN TO GO:

September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.

WHERE TO STAY:

Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.

HOW TO GET THERE:

Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.

In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
  • Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000 
  • Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000 
  • HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000 
  • Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000 
  • Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000 
  • Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000 
  • Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000 
  • Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
  • Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
  • Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Essentials

The flights

Etihad (etihad.ae) and flydubai (flydubai.com) fly direct to Baku three times a week from Dh1,250 return, including taxes. 
 

The stay

A seven-night “Fundamental Detox” programme at the Chenot Palace (chenotpalace.com/en) costs from €3,000 (Dh13,197) per person, including taxes, accommodation, 3 medical consultations, 2 nutritional consultations, a detox diet, a body composition analysis, a bio-energetic check-up, four Chenot bio-energetic treatments, six Chenot energetic massages, six hydro-aromatherapy treatments, six phyto-mud treatments, six hydro-jet treatments and access to the gym, indoor pool, sauna and steam room. Additional tests and treatments cost extra.

'The worst thing you can eat'

Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines: 

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

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Rating: 1/5

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Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue  
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family

Abu Dhabi World Pro 2019 remaining schedule:

Wednesday April 24: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-6pm

Thursday April 25:  Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-5pm

Friday April 26: Finals, 3-6pm

Saturday April 27: Awards ceremony, 4pm and 8pm

Ain Dubai in numbers

126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure

1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch

16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.

9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.

5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place

192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.

Updated: August 09, 2022, 1:54 PM