Jack Abbott, Labour and Co-operative Parliamentary candidate for Ipswich responds to Tory Leadership election:

“Less than half of the Conservative Party – just 80,000 people – have anointed the next Prime Minister. If the Party faithful are that unconvinced after a self-indulgent two month contest, imagine how the rest of the country is feeling.

“It is little surprise – Liz Truss helped prop up Boris Johnson for the best part of three years. The Conservatives have been in power for 12 years.

“Look at the state they have driven the country into: Spiralling energy prices. Rampant inflation. Real-term pay cuts. People are waiting longer and longer for treatment. Schools are in desperate need of repair. Our justice system has stopped delivering justice. They are pumping raw sewage into our rivers.

“Liz Truss isn’t the solution to those problems – she was a leading part of the Conservative Government that created them. The country desperately needs a fresh start – that means a Labour Government.”