Iain Duncan Smith has outlined the key priorities for the Conservative Party, as Rishi Sunak prepares to give his keynote speech at the party's annual conference in Manchester.
The former Tory leader was questioned by Nigel Farage on the performance of Ministers so far from the conference, including Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who warned of a "hurricane" of migrants coming to the UK.
Speaking on his GB News show, Farage, Nigel pressed Duncan Smith on how the party can maintain the support of voters ahead of the next general election.
Nigel said: “Maybe I've got this wrong. Maybe you can tell me there is a big standout message coming from this conference to the country. If so, please help me.”
Iain Duncan Smith says Rishi Sunak's priorities include 'getting the economy moving and stopping the boats'
GB News
Duncan Smith replied: “I think if they get this right, tomorrow should be the moment when he categorises what he plans to do and hopefully does it in a simple way.
"I mean, I would simply say from here until the next election, priority is to get Government off people's backs on their side, give them the freedoms that are necessary, get rid of the woke nonsense, cut taxes, get this economy moving and get the boats stopped.”
Nigel responded to Duncan Smith’s comments saying: “Now we're told one of the big speeches will be about smoking, that nobody born after 2009 will be able to buy a packet of cigarettes. So I could be, you know, in my mid 70s going into, you know, the local corner shop having to produce ID to prove I wasn't born before 2009.
“The point I'm making is you say get Government off the backs of people. We've had 13 years of Government getting bigger and bigger and bigger?”
Duncan Smith agreed: “That's the whole point. Now listen, we put this in context. We've had the huge COVID attack which cost us lots of money. We had to spend taxpayers’ money, borrow money, and we've had this crisis over Ukraine, which by the way, you see from this, I think we have to support them.
"So that is added to the cost burden. I understand all of that, but there are lots of things that we still do and spend money on in the bureaucracy of Government that we don't need to do. You know, when I came in, we had to cut quite a lot of the cost of that and we did so."
He continued: “And I think the Government's got to do that to make way for what we consider returning people their money because we should only spend their money when we absolutely have to.
“So the key bit about all of this is, and this is where I think, I believe that Rishi Sunak is in the right place himself instinctively, which is by and large, he is somebody that wants to get the costs down. He set himself a pledge to do that, but he has to articulate that in a way that says, I pledge to you we will reduce the burden of taxation before the next election and get off your back.”
Rishi Sunak will give his keynote speech at the Conservative Party Conference today
GB News
Nigel pressed Duncan Smith on the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, stating: “Hang on, Iain, the Chancellor in a 15 minute, somewhat robotic I thought performance yesterday, very quick indeed. I mean there was no hint of taxes being reduced?”
Duncan Smith: “The thing is, I don't think they want to make a pledge to cut taxes, but they know that they have to reduce the burden of taxation. It's a fact of life. There's no escaping it.
"We have the highest tax rate we've had since the Second World War.”
Nigel exclaimed: “I agree with all of that!”