Truss expected attack Sunak’s economic policy in major speech in USA

Former PM Liz Truss makes her case for growth

Liz Truss will deliver a major speech this month in Washington DC where she is expected to seek to unite conservatives on both sides of the Atlantic to push for low taxes and growth. The Margaret Thatcher memorial lecture to the Heritage Foundation – the USA’s biggest and most influential thinktank – will be the latest leg of her comeback since being deposed by Tory MPs after just 49 days as Prime Minister.

Sources close to the former Prime Minister said that the speech due to be given on April 12 is heing written this week and the content has not yet been confirmed.

However, Ms Truss, both as Foreignh Secretary and Prime Minister, sought to create an “economic version of NATO” to take on authoritarian governments around the world particularly China.

It is thought that she will make the case again for this at a time whenUK/ US relations have been strained over Brexit and Northern Ireland because of the Biden administration’s coolness towards Britain.

Heritage, who have just brought in Britain’s former trade envoy to the US Andrew Hale Byrne as one of their experts, is also hoping that she will address the need to press ahead with a UK/ US trade deal now that differences over the Northern Ireland Prtocol appear to have been resolved.

Ms Truss suspended trade talks as Prime Minister because of the problems with the Biden administration during the Northern Ireland talks.

Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center told Express.co.uk: “The UK now really needs to start the talks again so an agreement is largely in place by the time the next Presidential election happens.

“The Republicans are more in favour of a trade deal with the UK but should they win it would be a lot easier for them to move quickly if the negotiations are almost complete.”

However, in what could prove to be problematic for Mr Sunak, Heritage has also been very critical of his high tax policies and supportive of Ms Truss’ tax cutting high growth vision which led to her being deposed.

It is hoped that Ms Truss will “make the case for high growth, low tax policies” at a time when Mr Sunak appears to be shadowing Joe Biden’s economic policy instead of pushing a conservative agenda.

Back in the UK Ms Truss has founded Conservatives for Growth in a bid to create a platform for an alternative policy to the ones being pursued by Mr Sunak and his Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

Recently, she clashed with Mr Hunt after he made a jibe about her policies and mini-budget at a Treasury select Committee hearing last week.

Ms Truss, along with many other Conservatives MPs, has been highly critical of the increase in Corporation Tax from 19p in the pound to 26p.

This has already seen Astrazeneca relocate its headquarters to Ireland among other companies.

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