Rishi Sunak to put government on crisis footing from 'day one'

Britain's former finance minister, Rishi Sunak, in the running to become the next prime minister, would put the government on a crisis footing from "day one" of taking office, he said in an interview with The Times on Friday.

Over the next week, Sunak intends to argue that Britain is facing a national emergency on five fronts including the economy, the National Health Service and migration, the newspaper reported.

Liz Truss, Sunak's rival for the top job, held a 24-point lead over him in a YouGov poll of Conservative Party Members published on Thursday.

Inflation is the "number one challenge we face," Sunak told the newspaper, adding that under Truss' plans, interest rates in the country could rise significantly.

Sunak has said he plans to cut taxes but only once inflation - now running at almost 10% - is brought under control. He accused his rivals of making "fairy tale" promises about tax cuts.

Truss, who is currently Britain's foreign minister, made other promises of tax cuts that will cost an estimated 30 billion pounds ($36.01 billion) a year.

On Saturday, Truss will announce that all EU legislation transposed onto the UK statute books will be given a "sunset" clause by the end of 2023, the Telegraph reported. A decision will be made on whether to keep, amend or scrap around 2,400 laws by then, Truss told the paper on Friday.

Truss's deadline of 2023 is earlier than a similar pledge made by Sunak, who campaigned for Brexit in 2016 but has been vilified by some corners of the Conservative Party for raising taxes to their highest level in decades.

Sunak said EU law would be scrapped or reformed by the next election, which is expected in 2024.

(Reuters)