In the Tory leadership contest, a third Conservative MP has officially shifted from backing Rishi Sunak to Liz Truss.
Former Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said in a piece for The Mail+ that he thought the Foreign Secretary was in the greatest position to preserve the union between England and the rest of the UK.
His defection gives Miss Truss new momentum as she gets ready to participate in hustings this week in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
With just three weeks before the new prime minister is revealed, she has established a commanding lead in surveys of Conservative members and is now the clear favourite.
The choice of Mr. Cairns to switch sides will be seen as another proof that Miss Truss will prevail.
“I met Rishi Sunak at the beginning of the campaign to discuss the future of the Union, and I was satisfied with his replies,” he wrote. I decided to back him.
However, as the campaign progressed, it became clearer how dangerous it may be for our Union.
“The existing orthodoxy has to be abandoned. Our Union’s future relies on it.
“For this reason, I have come to the conclusion that Liz Truss is best suited to safeguard our Union with the positive vision for our nation and inventiveness she has displayed, together with her good track record as a reformer.”
Mr. Cairns praised Miss Truss for her “impressive” reforms of three Whitehall ministries.
The reward of a stable and unified Union will make it worthwhile, he said, “but reforming the culture throughout the whole Whitehall to enhance results in all countries would be a larger struggle.”
“With Liz on our side, we shall prevail and rejoice as one nation.”
Before departing for Belfast tomorrow, Mr. Sunak and Miss Truss will participate in a hustings in Perth today.
Days after Sir Robert Buckland stated he was no longer backing Mr. Sunak, Mr. Cairns, who served as Welsh Secretary for three years under David Cameron, Theresa May, and Boris Johnson, announced his defection.
The current Welsh Secretary made history by being the first Cabinet member to openly shift his position, declaring in the Daily Telegraph that he had done so during the leadership contest.
Chris Skidmore, a former minister for universities, has also deserted.
Sir Bill Cash, a seasoned Brexit supporter, said he would back Miss Truss at the time.
Being a true Brexiteer for sovereignty, democracy, and self-government, the Stone MP—who also serves as the head of the Commons European scrutiny committee—tweeted: “I have voted for Liz Truss.”
“She has led from the front on Ukraine, repealing EU legislation, preserving Northern Ireland, and genuine economic development plans,” says the author.
Miss Truss renewed her criticism of Nicola Sturgeon last night.
She promised to “take on” Scotland’s First Minister in a piece for the Scottish Daily Mail, calling him “increasingly out of touch.”
According to ALUN CAIRNS, Liz Truss is most equipped to protect our Union since she is ambitious and creative.
The difficulties confronting our future prime minister have been well-documented and include, among other things, rising energy and food prices, inflation as a consequence, recession projections from some, and unrest in Europe.
But in my opinion, our future leader’s thoughts and the answers must be centred on preserving the Union of the United Kingdom.
These issues become more prominent when the hustings shift to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Since 1999, our global family of countries has become more divided, and we haven’t given ourselves enough time to reflect on the power of our Union.
In order to recognise the accomplishments we have made as a community and the bright future we have ahead of us, we must celebrate our history and culture.
Instead of promoting our shared interests, devolution has produced a climate that has promoted division.
Leading individuals in Cardiff Bay and Edinburgh have made various choices only to stand out.
Politicians in devolved parliaments have been the main focus of the whole government apparatus.
For the sake of the citizens of the countries and the whole United Kingdom, the future prime minister must take imaginative action.
I am well aware of the “devolve and forget” approach and the size of the task to restructure thinking since I served as Secretary of State for Wales under three successive prime leaders.
Instead of undermining our Union, Whitehall ought to strengthen it.
One should not undervalue the scope of this difficulty. Without action, we risk becoming independent countries or, at worse, a federal state.
I met Rishi Sunak at the beginning of the campaign to talk about the Union’s future, and I was pleased with his comments. I decided to back him.
The threats to our Union have grown increasingly clear as the campaign has progressed, however.
We must depart from the accepted wisdom of today. Our Union’s future relies on it.
Because of this, I’ve come to the conclusion that Liz Truss is the most qualified candidate to safeguard our Union because to her admirable aspirations for our nation, her creative spirit, and her proven track record of change.
She has impressively reformed three different departments while I have been in Cabinet, constantly keeping an eye on how to get better results.
It will be more difficult to change the culture across all of Whitehall, but the reward of a strong and unified Union will make it worthwhile.
Liz will help us achieve success and have a national holiday.