Truss confirms she will bring back grammar schools “Will you bring back grammar schools?” asks an audience member – “Yes, I will allow new grammar schools. Absolutely.” Truss says she’s a “big fan” of grammar schools and wants to introduce new grammar and free schools. Truss says children across the country should have the opportunity to attend grammar schools: “We must allow the good schools to expand and set up more branches.” Summary Corporation tax, “woke” culture, policing and ethics were recurring themes in tonight’s Conservative party hustings at the NEC in Birmingham. Below is a summary of each candidate’s key messages in their campaign to become Conservative party leader and the next prime minister: Liz Truss Truss says she wants to “push back” against “identity politics of the left” and will legislate for single sex spaces such as domestic violence shelters. “I know that a woman is a woman,” she added. Truss says she will raise defence spending by 3% of GDP by end of the decade. In policing, Truss will put more police on the streets to tackle knife and gun crime and wants to introduce league tables to ensure the public can see how their local police forces are performing. On taxes, Truss says she will reduce taxes as she doesn’t believe in “taking money in taxes and giving it back in benefits” in what she calls “Gordon Brown economics”. Truss says she will “unleash opportunities of Brexit” into towns and cities across the country while cutting tax and reversing national insurance increase. Under a Truss leadership, schools opening for longer hours and youth clubs will help young people by “offering alternative places to be”, making them less likely to “fall prey to gangs or go off in the wrong direction. The extra £13bn the NHS has received has not helped those working on the front line, according to Truss, who says “the lack of local decision making and the layers that must be tackled to get things done is the real problem, rather than a lack of funding”. Truss says children across the country should have the opportunity to attend grammar schools: “We must allow the good schools to expand and set up more branches.” Rishi Sunak Sunak says he has made a U-turn on cutting VAT as there “aren’t that many levers that you can pull to offer support that will actually work”, adding that “it’s not perfect” but that he will deal with the “practical reality of the situation in a way that will make a difference to people in a few weeks’ time”. Thatcher was the “greatest post-war prime minister” according to Sunak who says that her leadership is the standard he holds himself to. An increase in stop and search will be introduced if Sunak becomes PM as he vows that he will “never let political correctness stand in the way of keeping the country safe”. On the NHS, Sunak says patients will pay penalties if they miss medical appointments if he becomes prime minister. Fines will encourage people to cancel appointments in advance and free up time for those in need. Sunak will “turbo charge” energy security and efficiency creating “an innovative economy to create small modular reactors to power homes in a cleaner, cheaper way”. HS2 will continue under a Sunak government but the company behind HS2 will be held to account to minimise disruption. “China represents the biggest threat to UK’s economic and national security,” according to Sunak, but UK policy on Taiwan will remain intact as it is the “best way to prevent aggression against Taiwan from China is by showing Russia that they will not be successful in Ukraine”. When it comes to unionism, Sunak will carry on with current government policy on Northern Ireland but wants to fix Northern Ireland’s economy from being “dragged out of the orbit of the UK”. In Scotland, Sunak wants to highlight the benefit of the union as he believes in “genuine devolution”. Calling nationalism “very seductive”, Sunak says that he will fight the idea of nationalism by “speaking to people’s hearts as prime minister”. Sunak will raise corporation tax if prime minister as it’s “not right to have excessive borrowing”. After the increase, the UK would still havethe lowest corporation tax rate in the G7 and only 70% of companies in the UK will pay higher rate, as the rise only applies to largest companies. For business that are investing, Sunak will offer large tax cuts on Research and Development. Sunak will enact the parliament act for Northern Ireland if necessary but wants to secure a negotiated settlement and find a solution to Northern Ireland protocol that “doesn’t involve a trade war”. When it comes to unionism, Sunak will carry on with current government policy on Northern Ireland but wants to fix Northern Ireland’s economy from being “dragged out of the orbit of the UK”. In Scotland, Sunak wants to highlight the benefit of the union as he believes in “genuine devolution.” Calling nationalism “very seductive”, Sunak says that he will fight the idea of nationalism by “speaking to people’s hearts as prime minister”. The UK has “unbelievable capacity for compassion in welcoming people from around the world” but government must be “radical” in tackling illegal immigration, says Sunak. He plans to move away from EU definition of asylum saying it’s “too broad and allows people to exploit it”. Countries that refuse to take back people who have been rejected for asylum in the UK “could pay a price in terms of aid” under Sunak leadership. Sunak will not reverse UK policy on Taiwan, adding that the “best way to prevent aggression against Taiwan from China is by showing Russia that they will not be successful in Ukraine”. “China represents the biggest threat to UK’s economic and national security,” says Sunak. The UK must be robust in standing up for “values and interests by supporting people in Hong Kong, building up military defences through partnerships with Australia and America, placing aircraft characters in the region and blocking investment from hostile foreign actors”. Sunak cannot say he will cancel HS2 but says the company behind HS2 will be held to account to minimise disruption, adding that it’s “not fair” and that as prime minister he will correct harm done to communities impacted by the build. Sunak will “turbo charge” energy security and efficiency meaning under his leadership millions of homes would benefit from loft and cavity wall insulation, saving people up to £400 off bills. He adds that he will “create an innovative economy to create small modular reactors to power homes in a cleaner, cheaper way”. “Would your government be more honest than the one we have?” asks audience member. “Yes, that’s why I left the government,” Sunak responds, adding that he will appoint an ethics advisor that will have “power and responsibilities to hold people to account”. Rishi Sunak says patients will pay penalties if they miss medical appointments if he becomes prime minister. Fines will encourage people to cancel appointments in advance and free up time for those in need. “If we get it right, we free up tonnes of extra healthcare and will get the backlogs down quicker,” he adds. Sunak offers condolences to the family of nine-year-old girl, Olivia Pratt-Korbel, shot dead in Liverpool, saying the police must be focused on the right things, use their time effectively and harness the best techniques available, including increasing stop and search measures, which Sunak claims is a “very effective policing tool”. He adds that he will “never let political correctness stand in the way of keeping the country safe”. Thatcher was the “greatest post-war prime minister” who was prepared to “make difficult decisions when she had to, to say the things people didn’t want to hear, and that’s the standard I hold myself to”, says Sunak. Sunak says he “takes collective responsibility seriously” and that he could not serve in a Truss cabinet as he has “had a period of being at odds with his leader” and “won’t do it again”. Sunak says he has made a U-turn on cutting VAT as there “aren’t that many levers that you can pull to offer support that will actually work”, adding that “it’s not perfect” but that he will deal with the “practical reality of the situation in a way that will make a difference to people in a few weeks’ time”.