Ms Truss, who leads the race to become the next Conservative leader by a wide margin, continued her economic push, saying there was “too much talk that there will be a recession”. The UK inflation rate hit 10.1% last week, while the economy shrank by 0.6% in June and is expected to continue on a downward trajectory. The Foreign Secretary told the Sun on Sunday that there needs to be a “level of ambition” when it comes to reversing the trend of gloomy economic forecasts. He promised a “revolution for small businesses and the self-employed” to turn things around, adding: “These are the future big companies we need to develop – and why shouldn’t Britain have the next Google or the next Facebook? Why shouldn’t it have” isn’t it a British company?” “It’s about that level of ambition. There’s a lot of talk that there’s going to be a recession. I don’t think that’s inevitable. We can unlock opportunities here in Britain.” But despite her economic optimism, former cabinet members from her own party have expressed “criss-cross” at her plans to the Observer. It was after Michael Gove said Ms Truss was taking a “holiday from reality” and was supporting Rishi Sunak in the contest. An unnamed former minister told the paper they were “concerned” at the prospect of Mrs Truss being handed the keys to Number 10, adding: “Members are going one way with Liz, the country in general, another.” Another said: “If he continues with culture wars and the anti-awakening stuff as well as the economic stuff, he’s just going to come across as Boris without the glamour. “Then it will erase the people on the blue wall.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 2:25 What’s the state of the Tory leadership race? Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, who is widely tipped to become Mrs Truss’s chancellor, wrote to Mail+ saying there are plans to help people with energy bills this winter – after her camp came under fire for failing to tackle the crisis . He wrote: “I understand the deep concern it causes. As winter approaches, millions of families will be worried about how they will make ends meet. “But I want to reassure the British people that help is coming.” But Mr Kwarteng stopped short of announcing any specific help Ms Truss’ team would offer. Follow The Daily Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker It comes after Labour’s costed plan to freeze the energy price cap won public acclaim last week, which in turn gave the party a huge boost in the polls. A poll for Opinium shows Sir Keir Starmer’s party has an eight-point lead over the Conservatives, with the figures also revealing Labour’s energy plan was backed by more than 60% of the country. The survey of 2,001 adults this week gave Labor a 39% share of the vote to the Conservatives’ 31%. It also gave Sir Keir a boost, with the poll finding him favored over Ms Truss and Rishi Sunak.
