Ms Truss criticized Mr Drakeford during an event in Cardiff on Wednesday evening. It comes after he said Ms Sturgeon was an “attention seeker” who was “best ignored” on Monday. Speaking at the event in Wales, Ms Truss said: “The fact is there are too many people in this country who are ashamed of our history, who let our country down, who say the best days are behind us. It is completely wrong. I’m afraid one of them is Mark Drakeford.’ Referring to his decision in 2019 to scrap the M4 relief motorway, a three-lane dual carriageway south of Newport that was proposed to ease congestion, he added: “Whether it’s stopping the M4 relief road, or putting a tax on our tourism industry, I will fight his negativity about Wales and the UK. “By delivering for people on the ground, making a real difference to people’s lives, we will be able to tackle the plastic patriot Sir Keir Starmer and we will be able to tackle the low-energy version of Jeremy Corbyn that is Mark Drakeford.” [ Liz Truss is set to be next UK PM – which means a trade war with EU is almost inevitable ] Mr Drakeford previously said his cabinet decided not to back the M4 project because of the demands on the Welsh Government’s budgets and its financial position, saying the costs involved were “not acceptable”. Ms Truss also criticized the “media” for “misinterpreting” her £8.8bn (€10.5bn) political pledge to reduce public sector wages by paying workers in cheaper parts of the country less than ,what in more expensive places. In the first upheaval of her campaign, she was forced to abandon the proposal after furious Tory colleagues warned it would lead to a “flattening” of the nation. Under questioning during the Cardiff attacks, Ms Truss insisted the scheme was never intended to apply to doctors, nurses and teachers. Asked who made the policy wrong, she replied: “The media.”
Javid backs Truss
Meanwhile, former chancellor Sajid Javid has thrown his support behind Mrs Truss’s leadership bid, saying Rishi Sunak’s more cautious tax plans would see the nation “sleepwalking” into a “high tax, low growth” economy. The announcement came after Ms Truss’s campaign was boosted by two polls that gave her a landslide lead over Mr Sunak as they battled to become the next prime minister. She won a 34 percentage point lead over Mr Sunak in a YouGov poll of party members, before a survey for the ConservativeHome website released on Wednesday put her 32 ahead. Mr Javid, whose resignation as health secretary minutes before Mr Sunak resigned as chancellor sparked the cascade that forced Boris Johnson to resign, then threw his support behind the front-runner. The failed leadership contender said “tax cuts now are essential”, as Mr Sunak resisted adopting Ms Truss’ more radical plan, saying he must first tackle rising inflation. — PA