Leaked audio reveals Truss said British workers needed ‘more graft’ Liz Truss, now the Tory leadership frontrunner, launched an astonishing broadside against British workers, saying they needed “more graft” and suggesting they lacked the “skill and application” of foreign rivals, the Guardian can reveal. In a leaked recording, the then No 2 at the Treasury also risked pitting Londoners against the rest of the country by attempting to explain the difference between the capital and other regions in the UK. Truss, who has put patriotism at the heart of her leadership campaign, suggested the disparity was “partly a mindset or attitude thing”. The comments were made when Truss was the chief secretary to the Treasury, a post she held until 2019. In the recording she intimated that there seemed little desire to change the working culture so that the UK could become more prosperous. The highly disparaging remarks echo a controversial passage about British workers being among the “worst idlers in the world”, from the book Britannia Unchained which she co-authored in 2012 when she was a new backbench MP seeking to make her mark as a neo-Thatcherite. This blog will close shortly. Thank you for reading. Sunak and Truss rule out freezing energy prices at leadership hustings Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have ruled out freezing energy prices by claiming it would be an expensive, short-term fix that would fail to solve the underlying problem with soaring energy costs. The Conservative leadership contenders were questioned on whether they would back Labour’s new strategy to fix the domestic energy cap during a leadership hustings in Perth on Tuesday night. Truss, the favourite to win the contest, won applause when she said the best strategy to combat rising prices would be to lift the green levy on bills, greatly increase the UK’s gas production in the North Sea and to reverse the recent rise in national insurance rates. Questioned on whether she should heed a poll in the Times showing two thirds of Tory voters backed Labour’s plans, she said: “What I worry about is putting a sticking plaster on this to say we will find the money but be in the same situation in six months’ time.” The problem will not go away by then, she said, because Vladimir Putin was unlikely to be defeated in Ukraine that soon. “What’s not right is throwing money at the problem without dealing with the root cause,” she added. Sunak said it was far more prudent to target help at pensioners and those on the lowest incomes. “What I will not do is follow policies that risk increasing inflation – especially if it amounts to borrowing £50bn – and put it on the country’s credit card. That’s not right, it’s not responsible and it’s certainly not Conservative,” he said. Read the full round-up of tonight’s hustings below. The Tories like to portray themselves as being on the side of hard-working British people. It’s safe territory not just among the party membership but also – crucially – key to holding together their fragile post-2019 electoral coalition of the former Labour heartlands and the true blue south. So it would be a reckless aspiring Tory leader who offers even glancing criticism of the great British worker. But Liz Truss’s extraordinary comments when she was No 2 at the Treasury appear to do just that. It is no secret that London and the south-east have the highest productivity of any UK region by some way, according to official statistics. But you’d be hard pressed to find any economist who believes this is down to the “mindset” of workers in other parts of the country. In reality, the plethora of big international businesses in the capital, booming financial and services industries, huge R&D spend and the best transport infrastructure in Britain are the principal reasons. The fact that too many other parts of the country don’t have these in-built advantages was exactly what the government’s levelling up promises were supposed to address. Truss is asked if she can be trusted on tax cuts. Unsurprisingly she says: “The answer is yes.” This leadership race is really going round and round in circles, isn’t it? Anyway, we push on. It’s the final question. Truss is asked if she will seek to unite the party by inviting Rishi Sunak and some of his supporters to join her cabinet in leading positions. She says it is important to unite the Tories to beat Nicola Sturgeon and Keir Starmer. She says she will appoint a cabinet from across the party, including Sunak, if she becomes PM. So, just like that (after two hours), the hustings is over. And if you just can’t wait for more, they’ll be doing it all over again in Northern Ireland on Wednesday. A member of the audience asks if Truss would consider reinstating the 0.7% of GDP spent on overseas aid. This receives an incredibly lukewarm applause from the Tories in the room, with a few audibly irritated murmurs thrown in. She says: The answer is at present it is not economically affordable. I will see what the position is and … when we can do it, we will do it. We are committed to that under legislation. She adds that, as foreign secretary, she has ensured money is being spent on humanitarian aid in places such as Ukraine and the Horn of Africa to ensure the money is going to those “who most need it”. We move on to questions from the Conservative members in the room. Truss is asked what the pension increase will be, with the man asking the question citing that Sunak backed down from an 8% increase. He asks if she will “just fudge the figures again”? She says she is fully committed to the triple lock and the highest rate. Mackay says the Scottish Tory leader, Douglas Ross, said Boris Johnson misled parliament over Partygate. Does Truss agree? She replies: I don’t agree that Boris Johnson misled parliament. He did a great job as prime minister. He delivered Brexit, the election result, the vaccines. He’s the only world leader with a street named after him in Kyiv. Mackay says Johnson is also the only prime minister to have received a fixed penalty notice for breaking Covid rules, to which Truss says: “I think he was the only prime minister that’s actually been prime minister during Covid”. Things are getting silly now as the crowd continues to bray at Mackay for daring to mention Johnson’s law-breaking. Truss adds: He’s leaving the job. What’s done is done. She adds that she thinks Johnson is “entitled to go on holiday” when asked if the country has been left without a prime minister. Truss says she would not allow another Scottish independence referendum, saying it was a “once-in-a-generation” question for the electorate. Mackay pushes back by saying that, since 2014, there has been Brexit and Covid. “What has Covid got to do with it? That is a nonsense argument,” Truss exclaims, as her supporters boo and heckle the host. An STV viewer’s question is put to Truss: if she can change her mind on Brexit, why can’t the people of Scotland change their mind on independence? Truss says: I respected the democratic will of the people when they voted to leave the EU. I was somebody before the vote took place who was undecided and was worried about the disruption. Disruption didn’t take place and I straight away got on with delivering the opportunities of Brexit, whether it was trade deals or getting things done differently on sanctions. Truss is now being asked about the Guardian’s exclusive story this evening that she was heard in leaked audio saying UK workers need “more graft”. She denies knowledge of the specific quote but says: What we need in this country is more productivity across the country and we need more economic growth. The thing that we don’t have enough of is capital investment. Liz Truss is told by Mackay that three-quarters of Tory supporters back Labour’s plans on energy costs and asked is she is being left behind on the issue. She immediately says taxes must be cut “because it is important people are able to keep hold of their own money”. She says it would be wrong to take money from people in taxes “and then give it back to them in benefits”. Reversing the national insurance increase and temporary moratorium on the green energy levy would be her first steps, she adds. An STV viewer has asked how Truss’s tax cuts will help low income families below the tax threshold. “They will help everybody because a growing economy means jobs, more opportunities and more growth,” she says. The issue of trust is back on the agenda as Sunak is asked what he will do to to rebuild it. He says he will restore the independent adviser on ministerial standards and ethics, he will be honest with people and won’t sell “false promises” and make sure the government is run “with integrity at the heart”. Asked if he feels it hasn’t been run with integrity, Sunak says “that is why I resigned from government, yes.” Sunak is now answering a question about investigating where money from Westminster goes once it is set aside for spending in Scotland. He says: We found out where it is going, you know where it is going? The welfare budget in Scotland is increasing by 50% over the next five years, right, that is wrong, right, and we have to make that argument. We are the party that believes in people working hard. That is the end of Sunak’s Q&A and Liz Truss is now making her way back on stage. Sunak is asked if he will rethink the government’s plan to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda. The person asking the question describes it as “inhuman, inhumane” (Sunak visibly laughs. Hmm…) and urges him to work with the French to tackle to issue. He says that “with the greatest of respect, I disagree with you” to a smattering of applause. He adds: I stand here as a representation of our country’s unbelievable compassion in welcoming people to our shores … we have always done that and we will continue to be that beacon of hope for people around the world but it must be done fairly, it must be done legally and making the Rwanda policy work is an important part of getting a grip of this situation. He adds that the ECHR definition of asylum is “too broad”. Mackay now asks if he still thinks he has a chance of winning the Tory leadership election. Sunak says he is out there fighting and is “going to give it everything I’ve got until the last day of this contest”. Now, we move on to question from the Tory members in the room. Sunak is asked how he will combat the perception of the Conservative party. He says: By definition, [swing voters] are not ideological. They’re not naturally Tories, they’re not naturally Labour people. What they want, above anything else, is a government that works … a government that is conducted seriously, competently … and with decency and integrity at the heart of everything that it does. That is the change I’m going to bring and that is how we will appeal to everyone. An STV viewer question is now being asked of Sunak. Would he be willing to live in social housing on minimum wage for a week to help him relate to the average Brit? He says: I know things are difficult right now for many people, the most important thing right now is to help them with their energy bills and I’ve got a plan to do that and particularly focus on the most vulnerable. That’s what I did as chancellor. Asked if he would ever allow another independence referendum, Sunak it would be “barmy” to focus on a constitutional question when people are worrying about hearing their homes. He adds that Scottish people want to see the Scottish government working together with the UK government. Sunak says the cost of living crisis is the “most important issue facing all of us” but says he will not support Labour and ScottishPower’s call for an energy price cap freeze. He says he would cut VAT off energy bills for everyone and provide extra help for people on low incomes and pensioners. “Through no fault of their own because we are at war with Russia with sanctions … it is right the government support those who need help,” he says. Sunak reiterates that he rules out a freeze. He says the most important way to support small businesses is tax cuts, such as the employment allowance. Mackay is now asking Sunak about his comments that NHS spending is “fine”. He asks how much of a pay rise he would give nurses. Sunak says: I would listen to the review of the independent body. He refuses to answer if he thinks nurses are worth more than a 5% pay rise and instead says he wants to tackle to issue of missed appointments. “I want to get tough on that,” he says. Liz Truss says she is free to say “a woman is a woman”, which receives an extended applause from the members in the audience. She goes on to say she “gets things done” and “pushes things through”. “I will deliver for Scotland and I will deliver for the United Kingdom,” she says. Under her leadership, the Tories will defeat the SNP and Labour in a general election in 2024, according to Truss. She says the union will go “from strength to strength to strength”. And now the hustings truly gets under way, with Sunak facing questions from Mackay on the cost of living crisis. Now Sunak’s leadership rival and the runaway bookies’ favourite Liz Truss is on stage and starts by telling Scottish members that she considers herself “to be a child of the union”. She says: We are not just neighbours, we are family and I will never, ever let our family be split up. Truss goes on to say “the people of Scotland deserve better and want better. What they want is opportunities … in short, they want an aspiration nation and that is what I will seek to deliver as your prime minister.” She adds: We need to do things differently. We can’t just have business as usual. I have a plan for growth for all of the United Kingdom. Now she is reeling off her classics, including getting more trade deals to benefit the salmon and whisky industry, getting EU laws “off the statute books” and reversing the national insurance rise. Truss did seem to receive a rather more enthusiastic welcome from the audience as she walked on stage, it must be said. Sunak says he will end the “devolve and forget” mentality, saying he will call out the SNP on their record on issues such as drug and alcohol abuse. He swiftly moves on to say – very loudly – that he will take on the “lefty-woke culture that wants to cancel our history, our values and our women”. That receives a rapturous applause from the members in Perth. He says he has a plan to fix the problem with illegal immigration. Under his plan, the UK “will take back control of our borders”, he claims. As a side note, Sunak hasn’t stood still since walking out on stage and is continuously moving backwards and forwards. Rishi Sunak is introduced on stage by one of his supporters Andrew Bowie, the MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, who says the former chancellor “has already demonstrated through his actions that he has what it takes and, crucially, that he is a unionist”. Sunak starts by telling the story of his family being welcomed to the UK 60 years ago and “building a better life”. He is reeling off the classics. He delivered prescriptions for his mum, who was a chemist, and also did her books. He says: The best way that we transform people’s lives is by ensuring that the birthright of every child is a world-class education. That, my friends, when you look at what has happened here is a lesson that the SNP government would do well to remember. The former chancellor says “we must restore trust, rebuild the economy and reunite our country”, adding that to restore trust, he tells people the things “they need to hear, not what they want to hear”.