No hope of election win if inflation sticks: Sunak

The Tories can “kiss goodbye” to winning the next election if inflation is not brought under control quickly, Rishi Sunak has said.
Speaking at a leadership hustings in Eastbourne, the ex-chancellor, who wants to prioritise tackling rising prices before cutting taxes, seized on a warning by the Bank of England.
Rival Liz Truss said keeping taxes low was the best way to avoid a downturn.
She said the UK should not be “talking itself into a recession”.
The Bank of England has warned inflation – currently 9.4% – could peak at more than 13% and stay at “very elevated levels” throughout much of next year, before eventually returning to its 2% target in 2024.
Ms Truss, who has promised to reverse some of Mr Sunak’s tax rises, challenged the Bank’s gloomy economic prognosis, at the hustings.
But Mr Sunak highlighted its warning that inflation could become embedded, saying there would be “no hope that we’re going to win that next election” amid continuing rising prices.
Mr Sunak and Ms Truss are vying for support from Conservative party members to be elected the next party leader, and prime minister.
Voting has started and the result is due to be announced on September 5.
There was a brief disturbance at the hustings when Ms Truss’s opening remarks were interrupted by a small group of climate activists, who were believed to be from the Green New Deal Rising group.
After the group was ejected from the event, Ms Truss took aim at what she called “unfair protests” that disrupted people’s lives.
She pledged to clamp down on “militant people who try and disrupt our country” – mentioning both trade unions and environmental groups such as Extinction Rebellion.
Another protester was later removed from the event after interrupting Ms Truss.