Tory leadership contender Liz Truss would consider scrapping speed limits on motorways if she became Prime Minister.
Speaking at the final hustings of the race to replace Boris Johnson last night at London’s Wembley Arena, the Foreign Secretary was asked by an audience member to revisit “dangerous” smart motorways and consider making the speed limit “advisory, not mandatory”.
She replied that she would scrap smart motorways because “the experiment has failed.”
And turning to speed limits, she added: “I would look at that.”
The current national speed limit of 70mph was set back in 1978 after more than a decade of trials on UK motorways.
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It followed a period of grave concern over rising fatality rates on British roads, with government data showing the number of road traffic accidents resulting in deaths had fallen on motorways where experimental restrictions were in place.
Truss’s latest headline-grabbing proposal comes only days after she was slammed for a ‘regressive’ proposal to slash the VAT rate instead of providing direct help with household energy bills this winter.
Ms Truss is said to be considering slashing VAT by 5% if she enters No10 – and some allies are pushing her towards a more radical 10% cut which could cost the Treasury an estimated £60billion.
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The campaign team for trailing leadership rival Rishi Sunak claimed the measures would be “flawed” in meeting their intended purpose, with one source saying it would effectively do “nothing to help families pay their supermarket bills” as most staple foods are not covered by VAT.
Tory MP Jake Berry, a Truss supporter, told Times Radio: “A VAT cut would relieve significant pressure. And those on the lowest incomes pay the highest proportion of their income out in VAT.”
Sources close to Ms Truss did not deny the VAT cut was being looked at, saying it “would not be right for her to announce her plans before she has even been elected Prime Minister or seen all the facts”, reports The Sun.