The chair of the Northern Ireland Conservatives has hinted he is supporting Liz Truss’s leadership bid.
atthew Robinson was speaking ahead of the foreign secretary and former chancellor Rishi Sunak arriving to take part in a hustings event in Belfast today.
Around 150 Conservative Party members are expected to attend the event, where they will have the chance to question both contenders on their policies on the cost-of-living crisis, taxation, the Stormont stalemate and the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The media will be allowed in to record the hustings, although questions will be restricted to local Tory activists.
However, Ms Truss and Mr Sunak are expected to speak to journalists separately.
Mr Robinson said: “It is an incredible opportunity for our members. We are the only mainstream party that stands in all four corners of the UK.
“Our members have a unique opportunity not just to determine the next leader of our party but to shape the direction of our country as a whole by virtue of electing our next prime minister.
“The Labour Party blocks its members from standing as election candidates, whereas we have confidence in our organisation locally.”
Mr Robinson said both the foreign secretary and Mr Sunak were “two bright, capable candidates with a real breadth of experience in government”.
He added: “Speaking in a personal capacity, I’ve been thoroughly impressed with what I’ve heard from Liz Truss over the past few weeks and with her experience in trade, the Treasury, and the Foreign Office.
“I look forward to speaking with her and making a final determination on who I will support in this leadership election.”
The hustings is expected to last for around two hours. Mr Robinson said: “I expect the cost-of-living crisis, including energy prices, will be raised.
“I think we will hear more on trade policy and how the government has been trying to chart an ambitious free trade agenda post-Brexit.
“From a foreign policy standpoint, we have a war in Ukraine. Local Conservative Party members will want to hear how we’re going to maintain our role as a leader in Nato and a strong ally of the Ukrainian people.”
The deadline for voting, which can be done by post or online, is 5pm on September 2. The winner of the contest will be announced three days later. Around 500 local Conservative Party members in are eligible to vote.
Ms Truss is the runaway bookies’ favourite and has been consistently ahead in opinion polls. Several sources said the foreign secretary had more support locally than Mr Sunak.
UUP leader Doug Beattie expressed hope that both Tory leadership contenders would clearly outline their position on the Northern Ireland Protocol.
“Dealing with the protocol and the cost-of-living crisis should be among the new prime minister’s top priorities,” he said.
“With Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss coming to Northern Ireland for a Conservative Party leadership hustings event, it would be an opportune moment for both candidates to set out their stall on exactly how they are going to proceed in the weeks ahead to deal with the protocol.”
Mr Beattie said the post-Brexit trading arrangements had “only played a small part” in policy discussions so far.
“But it will be one of the most important issues for an incoming prime minister because its impact is so far-reaching in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom’s future relations with our neighbours,” he added.
“Neither can the EU be allowed to prevaricate any longer. Northern Ireland cannot afford to have more months of endless diplomatic whataboutery.
“Both the EU and the government need to get back to the negotiating table as a matter of urgency. If they don’t, we would expect the government to act.
“The protocol needs dealt with once and for all because it continues to damage the Belfast Agreement and places a border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.
“The alternatives and solutions are there for all to see and have been since 2019, when we published our first paper.
“The Ulster Unionist Party proposals also formed part of the government’s command paper, published in July 2021, and the Protocol Bill, which has passed through the House of Commons.
“Our proposals should form the basis for dialogue and, if necessary, with local political parties in the room.
“If local politicians had been in the room back in 2019, the protocol would never have proceeded in the first place.
“We could have told them why it wouldn’t work and we wouldn’t find ourselves in the place we are today.”
