NOW TORY HOPEFULS FIGHT TO BE 'HEIR TO THATCHER'

BIG GUNS TRADE BLOWS ON DAY OF FIRST CRUNCH VOTE

- Nicholas Cecil, David Bond and Rachael Burford

CONTENDERS battling to be the next Tory leader today traded blows over who was the real heir to Margaret Thatcher on tax as voting was starting in the contest.

As several of the eight remaining candidates were this morning scrambling to secure the backing of at least 30 MPs to get through the first round of voting, Brexit minister Jacob Rees-Mogg argued that Lady Thatcher would be lowering taxes if she were in charge now. Taxes are set to spiral to their highest level since after the Second World War, partly due to the Covid pandemic and to plough billions more into the NHS and social care.

However, former chancellor Rishi Sunak rejected this argument, insisting that the "Iron Lady" prime minister would have supported his policy of taming inflation, focusing on economic growth, and then cutting taxes, ahead of the general election expected in 2024.

"We will cut taxes and we will do it responsibly. That's my economic approach. I would describe it as common sense Thatcherism. I believe that's what she would have done," he said. Mr Rees-Mogg is backing Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who is seen at Westminster as modelling her leadership bid on Lady Thatcher who still dominates Tory politics more than 30 years after she left Downing Street.

Asked why leadership candidates were citing Thatcher, Mr Rees-Mogg told Sky News: "They think she is the golden ticket with the membership."