NORWICH, Aug 26 (AFP): Some back Liz Truss to be the next leader of Britain's ruling Conservative party while others favour Rishi Sunak. But in the background, some Tory activists regret that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is leaving so soon, and are concerned for the future.
A few hundred local party members packed into an airport hotel conference room near Norwich in eastern England on Thursday night for the penultimate hustings event that has taken Truss and Sunak across Britain, trying to woo members.
The event ran through cherished Tory values, from patriotism and individual responsibility to scathing attacks on Labour, Scottish independence, the EU and the so-called "culture wars".
It was meat and drink to the mainly elderly audience, who were joined by younger Tories in "Ready for Rishi" or "Liz for leader" T-shirts.
Looming large, as it has increasingly done since Johnson resigned on July 7, was inflation, with rates at a 40-year high, and concern about sky-high energy bills over winter.
Sunak again pushed his proposal of more aid to the poorest while Truss was unwavering in her preference for tax cuts.
That found favour with farmer and local councillor Julian Kirk. "Businesses are suffering with tax rates at the moment," he told AFP.
Kirk, wearing a UK-Ukraine lapel pin, said he trusted Truss to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine.
"If we can stop him, energy prices would fall slowly," he added.
The local Tory party chairman in Norwich, Simon Jones, also backed Truss, who has represented a local constituency since 2010.
"She has done a better job than all the cabinet ministers," said Jones, 56, of the foreign secretary.
Supporters of former finance minister Sunak insist their man has proved his credentials because of his Covid support package for businesses.
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