PENNY Mordaunt has refused to give details of her tax and spend policy but has insisted she can reunite the Conservative party.
Ms Mordaunt, who was the first candidate to formally declare she is standing to be the next prime minister, claimed she was “a halfway house between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak”.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, the leader of the House of Commons said she “deeply regret(s) that the debate now is about ‘are you for stability or low taxes’”.
She added: “That’s not the right construct. There are two sides of the same coin. You have to have stability in order to deliver low tax and you have to have low taxes in order to grow the economy and create that stability.
“That is what I am standing for. That is why I think I’m best placed to unite our party”.
But Ms Mordaunt refused to hand over details of her tax and spend policy if she becomes the next prime minister – but suggested Jeremy Hunt would continue as Chancellor if she becomes the next Tory leader.
Ms Mordaunt declined to explicitly commit to raising benefits in line with inflation, the pensions triple lock, 3% defence spending and no cuts to the health service.
Asked where she would make spending cuts, she said: “I’m not going to talk about the details of that package (on October 31), what might come forward or decisions that are in the Bank of England’s remit”.
Pressed on whether she would make cuts to the NHS, she said: “I’m not going to be drawn into the detail of this but what is important for your viewers is to understand that I recognise that people are going to need support, that our health service is under strain.
On defence, she said: “I know that me not giving you an answer to that question is to my detriment, but I’m putting the country first.”
She said she would not be “drawn on” the pensions triple lock.
Challenged over her support for raising benefits in line with inflation a few weeks ago, she said: “We have always protected people but I’m not being drawn into the detail… What we must do is remember that our mandate lies in the 2019 manifesto.”
The Portsmouth MP has denied that she offered to back Boris Johnson in return for a job from him and insisted she is “in this to win it”.
Asked about reports suggesting such a deal, Ms Mordaunt said: “It’s completely false.”
Pressed on whether she would back Mr Johnson or Mr Sunak, Ms Mordaunt said: “I’m standing to be prime minister. I am not contemplating how the other camps are organising themselves.”
She refused to say whether she would be comfortable with a comeback by Mr Johnson, saying: “It’s not about him, it’s not about me, it’s about the public.”
Ms Mordaunt also said: “I’m in this to win it. I think it’s important for our party, we have a contest. I am very confident about our numbers.”
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