Five protestors were ejected after two waves of disruption to Ms Truss's opening speech in Eastbourne
After her opening remarks, another protester was removed before Ms Truss quipped about being 'popular'
Ms Truss hit back saying that she will legislate to stop these types of protests and take on 'militant unions'
Rishi Sunak is on the back foot during the contest and he used his opening speech to tackle criticism of a speech he gave in Tunbridge Wells where he said that he diverted funds from deprived areas to rich towns
PUBLISHED 6 August 2022
Liz Truss was left fuming by eco-protesters who stormed last night's Tory leadership hustings in Eastbourne before being removed by security.
The Foreign Secretary snapped back at the eco-warriors who could be heard shouting 'shame' and calling for a Green New Deal to be implemented by a new Prime Minister.
Five protesters were kicked out of the Tory leadership hustings in Eastbourne after shouting 'shame on you' to Liz Truss, calling for a 'Green New Deal' and claiming to be the majority. Tory members in the audience could be heard chanting 'out, out, out!'
Ms Truss said that she would legislate to stop the likes of these protesters and vowed to clamp down on them immediately if she wins the leadership.
'I would legislate immediately to make sure that we are standing up to militant trade unions who stop ordinary commuters getting into work.
'And I would legislate to protect our essential services. I will make sure that militant activists such as Extinction Rebellion are not able to disrupt ordinary people who work hard and do the right thing and go into work.
'And I will never ever ever allow our democracy to be disrupted by unfair protests.'
The Foreign Secretary snapped back at the eco-warriors who could be heard shouting 'shame' and calling for a Green New Deal to be implemented by a new Prime Minister
A protester is led to the exit during the speech of Conservative leadership candidate Liz Truss at the hustings event
Liz Truss speaks at a Conservative Party leadership hustings in Eastbourne, East Sussex
Liz Truss forced to stop after protesters disrupt Husting
Ms Truss said that she would legislate to stop the likes of these protestors and vowed to clamp down on them immediately if she wins the leadership
A person protests during a speech of Conservative leadership candidate Liz Truss at the event during the Q&A section
After the initial wave of protesters interrupted the hustings, another disruptor infiltrated the arena and was removed.
The frontrunner then jokingly quipped that she was 'popular with Extinction Rebellion' after the eco-warriors did not heckle Mr Sunak.
The protesters were from Green New Deal Rising, a youth climate group, and they said in a later statement: 'This is a critical moment for our country. Our next Prime Minister should be responding to what the majority wants, which is good wages, secure jobs and a safe climate.
'But Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak are clogging up the airwaves with policies that will make things worse, not better.
'Energy bills are set to rise to over £3000 a year and nothing they have announced will come anywhere near putting that money back in people's pockets.
'We disrupted the hustings tonight to send a clear message that we are the majority and we are rising up.'
'Liz Truss is leading in the polls and is likely to become the next Prime Minister but she has nothing credible to say in response to the cost of living crisis and the climate crisis. The UK just experienced record breaking heat waves and energy giants are raking in billions of profit whilst every day people are pushed further into poverty as prices soar and wages stagnate.
'As young people who are scared for our futures, we desperately need a Green New Deal and political leadership to meet this moment of crisis rather than this sideshow.'
Responding to the furore, Mr Sunak said: 'I wanna level up everywhere, and as you may have seen from a video clip that is online, I don't believe that's just about our very large urban cities'
Mr Sunak is trailing Ms Truss significantly in the polls and many have suggested he has already lost the contest
It comes as her opponent Rishi Sunak came under fire from Tories and Labour yesterday after he was recorded saying he had been working to divert funding from 'deprived urban areas' towards prosperous towns.
Responding to the furore, Mr Sunak said: 'I wanna level up everywhere, and as you may have seen from a video clip that is online, I don't believe that's just about our very large urban cities.
'I believe that's about investing in and leveling up small towns in rural communities, in coastal communities like those here in the south-east.'
The intervention garnered applause from the watching Conservative members despite widespread backlash to his earlier remarks.
The former chancellor was filmed bragging that he had started changing public funding formulas when he was chancellor to ensure places like Tunbridge Wells receive 'the funding they deserve'.
The New Statesman magazine, which obtained video revealing Mr Sunak's remarks, said they were made to grassroots Tories in the Kent town on July 29.
It promoted criticism, with Foreign Office minister Lord Zac Goldsmith - a close ally of Boris Johnson - saying: 'This is one of the weirdest - and dumbest - things I've ever heard from a politician.'
Jake Berry, the chairman of the Northern Research Group of Tory MPs, said that in public Mr Sunak 'claims he wants to level up the North, but here, he boasts about trying to funnel vital investment away from deprived areas'.
'He says one thing and does another - from putting up taxes to trying to block funding for our armed forces and now levelling up,' the Truss supporter said.
Labour said it was 'scandalous' that Mr Sunak was 'openly boasting that he fixed the rules to funnel taxpayers' money to rich Tory shires'.
But his supporters insisted he was talking about moving money from big cities to smaller urban areas, one of the key aims of levelling up.
Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen said' Strangely enough, most Red Wall areas that voted Conservative for the first time in 2019 - who have been left behind for decades -aren't urban/city areas. Exactly the whole point of levelling up.
'They should post the full clip, which would show Rishi Sunak talk about the local council funding formula and how it discriminated against non metropolitan areas in favour of cities - by giving them less money for things like adult and children services, highways and fire.'
It came as Mr Sunak struggles to make up ground on Liz Truss - who has made her own gaffe about northern areas in the campaign - in the race to become the new Tory leader and PM.
The former chancellor was filmed bragging that he had started changing public funding formulas when he was chancellor to ensure more prosperous towns receive 'the funding they deserve'.
Labour said it was 'scandalous' that Mr Sunak was 'openly boasting that he fixed the rules to funnel taxpayers' money to rich Tory shires'. Pictured is Tunbridge Wells town centre
It promoted criticism from allies of Liz Truss, with Boris Johnson loyalist Lord Goldsmith calling it 'one of the weirdest - and dumbest - things I've ever heard from a politician'. But Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen said' Strangely enough, most Red Wall areas that voted Conservative for the first time in 2019 - who have been left behind for decades -aren't urban/city areas. Exactly the whole point of levelling up.'
Mr Sunak's campaign did not dispute the video and instead defended its content.
'Levelling up isn't just about city centres, it's also about towns and rural areas all over the country that need help too. That's what he changed in the green book and he will follow though as prime minister,' a source said.
'Travelling around the country, he's seen non-metropolitan areas that need better bus services, faster broadband or high quality schools. That's what he'll deliver as prime minister.'
In the video, Mr Sunak told Tory supporters in affluent Tunbridge Wells: 'I managed to start changing the funding formulas, to make sure areas like this are getting the funding they deserve because we inherited a bunch of formulas from Labour that shoved all the funding into deprived urban areas and that needed to be undone.
'I started the work of undoing that.'
The remarks from last week came as Mr Sunak tries to make up ground against Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to win the backing of party members who will choose the next prime minister.
Labour's shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy said: 'This is scandalous. Rishi Sunak is openly boasting that he fixed the rules to funnel taxpayers' money to rich Tory shires.
'This is our money. It should be spent fairly and where it's most needed - not used as a bribe to Tory members.
'Talk about showing your true colours...'
She today wrote to Levelling-Up Secretary Greg Clark - who happens to be the MP for Tunbridge Wells, saying;
'This is deeply concerning. The former Chancellor is admitting to fixing the rules to funnel taxpayers' money to affluent parts of the country at the expense of areas he himself admits are ''deprived''.
'Public money should always be distributed fairly and spent in areas where it is most needed. It is completely unacceptable for ministers to allocate taxpayer funds in order to secure political gain for themselves or their party.'
The need to improve areas of the north and Midlands has proven an Achilles heel for both candidates.
Liz Truss U-turned to scrap a major part of a proposed 'war on Whitehall waste' this week after Tory critics warned it meant cutting the pay of millions of workers outside the South East, leading to an electoral disaster.
The Foreign Secretary announced plans to save up to £11billion with major reforms to Civil Service pay and conditions.
Some £8.8billion of savings was to come from axing national pay boards outside the South East and tailoring pay for new starters to reflect local private sector rates.
But in order to save the colossal sum experts said the scheme would have to reduce pay for all public sector workers - including teachers, nurses and soldiers - and not just civil servants. This was denied by Team Truss.
She reversed the plan earlier this week after criticism from Northern Tories and supporters of Mr Sunak over how it would be seen in the Red Wall seats the party took from Labour at the last election, at a time of growing cost-of-living fears.
Ms Truss could bring in a sweeping round of tax cuts before the end of September as she insists a full-blown recession is not 'inevitable'.
The favourite to become the new Tory leader and prime minister is believed to have earmarked September 21 - two weeks after taking power - for her chancellor to hold an emergency budget.
Rishi Sunak under fire for claiming he diverted money from ‘deprived urban areas’, watch video
Rishi Sunak on Thursday appeared to score a surprise win with a studio audience at a key debate with frontrunner Liz Truss.
By: Pramod Thomas
Tory leadership candidate Rishi Sunak has said that he diverted public money from ‘deprived urban areas’ in a leaked video.
In a video leaked to the New Statesman, Sunak told an audience in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, that he wanted to change rules to reflect the real needs in rural and urban areas.
Tunbridge Wells has a Tory majority of 14,645 and has been held by the party since the constituency was created in 1974.
The opposition Labour party was quick to react as it said the words of Sunak has revealed the ‘true colours’ of Tories. But, allies defended the former chancellor saying that he only pointed out the need to change ‘outdated rules’.
Labour’s shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy told the BBC: “It’s scandalous that Rishi Sunak is openly boasting that he fixed the rules to funnel taxpayers’ money to prosperous Tory shires.”
The report added that Nandy has written to Levelling Up Secretary Greg Clark to investigate the changes made by Sunak to funding formulas.
“I managed to start changing the funding formulas, to make sure areas like this are getting the funding they deserve. We inherited a bunch of formulas from Labour that shoved all the funding into deprived urban areas and that needed to be undone,” Sunak told in the clip, filmed on 29 July. “I started the work of undoing that.”
“Levelling up isn’t just about city centres, it’s also about towns and rural areas all over the country that need help too,” a spokesperson for Sunak was quoted as saying by the broadcaster.
“Travelling around the country, he’s seen non-metropolitan areas that need better bus services, faster broadband in towns, or high-quality schools. That’s what he’ll deliver as prime minister.”
His supporters also claimed that the clip had been taken out of context.
But his rival Liz Truss’ supporters have started to use the video against Sunak.
Conservative MP and Truss ally Jake Berry tweeted: “In public, Rishi Sunak claims he wants to level up the North, but here, he boasts about trying to funnel vital investment away from deprived areas? He says one thing and does another.”
A Truss campaign source clarified further saying that levelling up isn’t about pitting one area of the country against another, or laying dividing lines between urban v rural, towns v cities.
“It is about unleashing growth and making sure every individual has the chance to thrive,” the source added.
Responding to Sunak’s words, Meg Hillier, the chair of the cross-party PAC, told the Guardian: “This is evidence of a deliberate decision to change public spending priorities based on who you know.
“Pork barrel politics is unfair on taxpayers, and the areas that don’t get the funding cannot even begin to qualify for the cash in a game with no rules.”
While opinion polls back Truss to win the vote among Conservative party members, those sitting in the audience at the Sky News debate on Thursday (4) overwhelmingly supported Sunak in a show of hands — after an electronic voting system broke down.
Rishi Sunak defends leaked video where he boasted of diverting cash from 'deprived areas'
The under-fire Chancellor did not withdraw the remarks he made to party members in Tory Tunbridge Wells last month, which were branded 'scandalous' by Labour
Rishi Sunak has defended his boast that he diverted money away from "deprived urban areas" to funnel into other parts of the country.
The under-fire Chancellor did not withdraw the remarks he made to party members in Tory Tunbridge Wells last month, which were branded "scandalous" by Labour.
Mr Sunak doubled down instead, telling a hustings tonight: "I want to level up everywhere".
In leaked footage, obtained by the New Statesman, he said: "I managed to start changing the funding formulas, to make sure areas like this are getting the funding they deserve because we inherited a bunch of formulas from Labour that shoved all the funding into deprived urban areas and that needed to be undone.
"I started the work of undoing that.”
The video drew accusations that public cash was being funnelled into wealthy areas - which Mr Sunak's team denied, saying he was attempting to address the balance between urban and rural support.
Tunbridge Wells is a prosperous town that has been Conservative since the modern constituency was created in 1974.
After the video was widely shared, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner branded the candidate "Reverse Robin Hood Rishi".
Shadow Levelling Up Secretary Lisa Nandy also wrote to her Tory counterpart, Greg Clark, demanding an investigation.
Speaking at a leadership hustings in Eastbourne tonight, Mr Sunak said: "I want to level up everywhere.
"As you may have seen from a video clip that was online, I don't believe that's just about our very large urban cities.
"I believe it's about investing and levelling up in small towns, in rural communities, in coastal communities like those here in the south east."
Earlier, he told Sky News that he was making the point that "deprivation exists right across our country".
He said: "That's why we need to make sure our funding formulas recognise that.
"People who need help and extra investment aren't just limited to big urban areas. You find them in towns across the United Kingdom and in rural areas, too.
"And that was the point I was making, that our funding formulas that fail to recognise that are out of date, and they needed changing."
At the hustings, Mr Sunak blasted his rival's tax cut plans, which he fears will fuel inflation.
He warned the party had “no hope” of winning the next general election unless it curbed runaway price hikes.
Rishi literally boasted about taking money from the poor to give to richer towns
Rishi Sunak has been branded a reverse Robin Hood after boasting to Tory members how he’d diverted funding from ‘deprived urban areas’.
The former chancellor was trying to win over activists in the party’s ultra-safe seat of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, last week.
In footage which emerged on Friday he was heard telling them: ‘I managed to start changing the funding formulas, to make sure areas like this are getting the funding they deserved.
‘Because we inherited a bunch of formulas from Labour that shoved all the funding into deprived urban areas and that needed to be undone.
‘I started the work of undoing that.’
Mr Sunak did not specify what ‘funding formula’ he was referring to, and he may not even have been responsible for any such policy change.
Labour’s Lisa Nandy, the shadow levelling up secretary, said: ‘This is scandalous.
‘Rishi Sunak is openly boasting that he fixed the rules to funnel taxpayers’ money to rich Tory shires.
‘This is our money. It should be spent fairly and where it’s most needed – not used as a bribe to Tory members. Talk about showing your true colours.’
The comments divided Tories, with Mr Sunak’s backers arguing it aligned with ‘levelling up’ efforts to invest in regions ‘that have been ignored at the expense of urban cities’.
Foreign Office minister Zac Goldsmith, who is thought to be worth £300 million, said: ‘This is one of the weirdest – and dumbest – things I’ve ever heard from a politician.’
Prominent backers of ‘levelling up’ also took aim at the leadership hopeful.
Tory MP Jake Berry, who is chairman of the Northern Research Group of MPs, tweeted: ‘In public @RishiSunak claims he wants to level up the North, but here, he boasts about trying to funnel vital investment away from deprived areas?
‘He says one thing and does another – from putting up taxes to trying to block funding for our armed forces and now levelling up.’
Tunbridge Wells currently has a Tory majority of 14,645 and has always been held by the party since the constituency was created 1974.
It is the wealthiest town in Kent, although average salaries are roughly on par with the UK-wide average.
Mr Sunak may have been referring to calculations the government makes as to how much money it pays to local authorities in grants.
Funding for most public services such as health and benefits comes directly from central government and is distributed by bodies such as the NHS.
Local authorities are responsible for spending on schools, social services and local infrastructure, making up around a quarter of all public spending.
Around a quarter of that comes from central government grants, according to the Institute for Government, with the rest raised through local taxes.
This means around one-eighth of public funding is paid through grants, although most of that is dished out in ring-fenced sums for specific services.
A smaller portion of it is distributed using a complex formula in the form of the Revenue Support Grant to help areas which struggle to raise as much in local taxes keep up with wealthier areas, and can be spent more freely.
However that grant is handed out by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, not the Treasury, which Mr Sunak was in charge of.
Other areas of public spending are also affected by distribution formulas, although these are mostly set for specific services, such as National Funding Formula for Schools (NFF).
