Central Devon MP Mel Stride said he was ‘disappointed’ by the Tory leadership result today but will reunite behind Liz Truss as the next Prime Minister.

Liz Truss beat leadership rival Rishi Sunak MP, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, following a ballot of Conservative Party members.

Central Devon MP Mel Stride, who was backing Rishi Sunak said: ‘I’m obviously very disappointed that Rishi did not prevail but I very much looking forward to uniting behind Liz Truss to face up to the extraordinary challenges the country faces. The cost of living crisis, inflation, the war in Ukraine, national health service backlogs and illegal migration amongst them. There is a lot to do and now is the time for the party to unite.’

Mr Stride added Mr Sunak had ‘earned his respect’ as Chancellor when he had had course to grill him over economic policy as chairman of House of Commons Treasury Select Committee.

‘As Chancellor, Rishi Sunak did a lot of good for businesses and families here in Central Devon,’ he said.

‘He provided tens of millions of pounds for the new rail service between Okehampton and Exeter that has given more than 15,000 people access to a local rail connection for the first time in 50 years. He supported local businesses and workers during the pandemic through small business grants, the furlough scheme and help for the self-employed.’

A key difference between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss was that Mr Sunak did not believe that tax cuts would be a good idea at the moment, whereas Ms Truss backed them as a means of stimulating the economy.