Tory leadership: Sunak and Truss attack Drakeford ahead of Welsh hustings

It is the first visit to Wales for either candidate since the contest began

Tory leadership contenders Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have vowed to hold the Welsh government to account ahead of an event in Cardiff.

The pair are facing questions from party members at the only Welsh hustings of the leadership contest.

Mr Sunak pledged to hold Labour ministers accountable for the NHS and schools in Wales.

Meanwhile Ms Truss accused First Minister Mark Drakeford of letting Wales down.

The Labour-run Welsh government declined to comment.

Wednesday's event in Cardiff marks the first time either has visited Wales since the contest began.

The new Conservative leader will be declared on 5 September, and will replace Boris Johnson as prime minister.

Of the contenders Mr Sunak has wider support among MPs and MSs in Wales.

Backers include former Welsh Secretary Simon Hart, Brecon and Radnorshire MP Fay Jones, Montgomeryshire MP Craig Williams and Senedd Tory chief whip Darren Millar.

Ms Truss, who is foreign secretary, is supported by Clwyd West MP David Jones and Senedd members Janet Finch Saunders and Laura Anne Jones.

• Security fears delay Tory leadership ballot papers

• Rishi Sunak backs Wales-only Covid inquiry

• What are the policies of final two hoping to be PM?

Mr Sunak told BBC Wales' Walescast podcast the performance of the Welsh NHS was "far worse" than was the case with England's health service and said schools in Wales were funded "far less" than they were across the border, despite Wales receiving more public funding.

The most recent analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, however, concluded spending per pupil was similar in both countries.

Last month, the Education Policy Institute said poorer pupils in Wales were further behind their peers than was the case in England, based on their GCSE results, with Welsh ministers saying they would try to close the "attainment gap".

The former chancellor said: "I support devolution, of course I do, and I want to work constructively with the Welsh government, but I do think it's also right to hold them accountable.

"I think it's right that we have schools that are properly funded in Wales.

"I think it's right that we hold the Welsh government to account for the state of the NHS in Wales, with waiting times which are worse than anywhere else in the UK."

He said there should be an "answer to the question of why NHS performances Wales is far worse than it is elsewhere in the UK".

"I think the Welsh people deserve answers to those questions and I think it's perfectly reasonable for the prime minister of the United Kingdom to have a conversation about that and that's what I would like to do."

Rishi Sunak was greeted on arrival by Michael Howard and a group of Welsh politicians

Protesters gathered in Cardiff ahead of the event

Freeports

Mr Sunak also announced he would make sure Wales would have two freeports, following an announcement in May that it would have at least one after an agreement was reached between the UK and Welsh governments.

Freeport status allows firms to import goods and then export them outside normal tax and customs rules.

"It's a policy which I created, it's an opportunity we have because of Brexit and it's working across the UK, bringing jobs and investment into areas," he said.

"People really want it and I'd be delighted as prime minister to make sure that Wales has not one but two freeports to bring jobs and investment." 

BBC Wales requests for an interview with Liz Truss have been declined. In a clip shared among broadcasters, she said Mark Drakeford "has not delivered for the people of Wales and I will be holding him to account".

She said: "The reality is that Wales has been let down by 20 years of Labour rule.

"What I am about is about making sure we bring opportunity, investment to Wales, that we back Wales' fantastic farmers, and that's what I'm going to be talking about in the hustings tonight."

In a pre-hustings article for WalesOnline she promised to "level up Wales in a Conservative way"

The foreign secretary said the UK "has the potential to be a high-growth and highly productive powerhouse, with Wales at its heart" and promised "full-fat freeports".

Ms Truss said she would work with the Labour Welsh government "and local communities to identify areas which are ripe for transformation as part of a new investment zone".

Welsh Labour's Shadow Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens welcomed the pair to Cardiff, but said: "Neither Liz Truss nor Rishi Sunak has had anything to say about Wales during this campaign, but their record of 12 years of Tory neglect tells us all we need to know: a high-tax, low-growth economy and the biggest drop in living standards since records began."

The hustings comes a day after Ms Truss initially announced proposals to link public sector pay to local living costs, before later scrapping them.

The plan had faced criticism from some Conservatives, including Simon Hart, who claimed 430,000 workers in Wales faced a "near £3,000 pay cut".

"I never had any intention of changing the terms and conditions of teachers and nurses," she said.