Tory factions battle for heart of manifesto

A BATTLE for the heart and soul of the Tory Party is underway as rival factions vie to shape the general election manifesto and the direction of the party after polling day.

- Jonathan Walker and David Williamson

Former Home Secretary Priti Patel has issued a plea to activists on the right of the party to select candidates who will support low taxes and oppose woke ideology.

Alongside other supporters of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, she is due to take part in a gala dinner at the Conservative conference in Manchester next month designed to rally support for the Tory right.

Separately, former Prime Minister Liz Truss will tomorrow set out her vision for “how the Government could enable the UK to achieve faster economic growth” at an event organised by the Institute for Government think-tank.

It will be her most significant intervention since she was forced out of Number 10 last year.

Red-wall MPs in the New Conservatives group are to launch their own call for lower taxes.

After publishing policy papers on immigration and education, their next report will make the case for lower taxation and economic growth, the Sunday Express has learned.