In a separate moment of the debate, all the candidates refused to raise their hand when asked if they would give Boris Johnson a job in their cabinet if he became prime minister. Mr Sunak had earlier accused Ms Truss of negotiating “something for nothing” economically after he said she was stifling growth by raising taxes to their highest level in 70 years. Hitting back at Trade Secretary Penny Mordaunt who said she would not stick to the rule of borrowing only for investment, Mr Sunak said even former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn did not support such fiscal easing. Politics Hub: Relive the debate as it happened Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:40 Would Tory rivals give Boris Johnson a job? Truss says Sunak’s plan won’t promote economic growth Ms Truss, who was criticized for a poor performance in the first debate, immediately went on the attack in the second meeting, which was broadcast on ITV. The Foreign Secretary attacked Mr Sunak’s record at the Treasury, telling him: “Rishi, you have raised taxes to the highest level in 70 years. This is not going to lead to economic growth. “You commissioned national insurance, even though people like me opposed it in the cabinet at the time because we could afford to fund the NHS through general taxation. “The fact is, raising taxes right now will stifle economic growth; it will prevent us from getting the revenue we need to pay down the debt.”
The stakes are high and the race is on
Sam Coates
Associate political editor @SamCoatesSky The stakes are now even higher, so the division was sharper, the attacks blunter. Rishi Sunak has come to the heart of this debate, again and again focusing his firepower on Liz Truss, calling her an anti-conservative, socialist, liberal Democrat and the rest. But unlike on Friday, Liz Truss also stepped up, attacking Sunak’s tax hikes and saying they would stifle the economy, as well as offering an uncharacteristic moment of humility by admitting she doesn’t have the finest of presentation skills. Penny Mordaunt repeatedly sought a third way through the issues and rose above the fray to the audience at home – could this work with the public? Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat knocked each other to the sidelines in the battle to avoid relegation tomorrow. This race is still wide open. Normally at this stage there is obvious momentum behind a candidate. Not this time – meaning the third and final televised debate of this phase – between the final three candidates remaining on Tuesday, could now be the most important of all. Mr Sunak said the pandemic had damaged the economy and public finances needed to be rebuilt. “I would love to stand here and say, ‘look, I’m going to cut this tax, this tax, and another tax, and everything will be fine.’ But you know what? It won’t,” he said. “There’s a cost to these things, and the cost of higher inflation, higher mortgage rates, erosion of savings. And you know what? This nothing economy isn’t conservative. It’s socialism.” Read more: The Tory leadership race in three charts Image: All photos: Jonathan Hordle/ITV Brochure Mordaunt defends her plan for tax cuts Ms Mordaunt said the limited tax cuts she supported were not inflationary and that people across the country needed help now with the cost of living. “I don’t understand why Rishi doesn’t understand this,” she said. Mr Sunak said: “It’s another thing to borrow for long-term investment. It’s quite another to put everyday bills on the country’s credit card. It’s not just wrong, it’s dangerous. “Even Jeremy Corbyn didn’t go that far.” Mr Sunak added: “If we’re not about sound money, what’s the point of the Conservative Party?” Badenoch targets Mordaunt and Tugendhat There were further furious exchanges between Ms Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch – who accused the trade secretary in the first debate of pushing a gender identity policy for people who wanted to legally change their gender when it was the government’s responsibility to do so. After further press reports cast doubt on her denials, Ms Mordaunt said: “I know why this is being done, but I would say that any attempts to label me as out of touch will fail.” Mrs Badenoch repeatedly tried to interrupt, saying: “Penny, I was just telling the truth. I’m telling the truth.” He also took aim at Tory leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat, telling him: “Serving in government is not easy. “Hard decisions have to be made. Tom never did that. It’s very easy for him to criticize what we did, but we were out there on the front line making the case,” he said. Mr Tugendhat replied that, as a former army officer, he had been on the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq and had led “the fight against Putin and China”. She replied: “You haven’t made up your mind, it’s easy to talk.” MPs will vote in the third round Another Tory candidate is set to be eliminated today when Tory MPs vote in the third round of the leadership battle. Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt maintained their positions at the top of the leaderboard in first and second place respectively after the second ballot. Ms Truss, who came third, will hope to pick up votes from Attorney General Suella Braverman, who backed her candidacy after she was eliminated in the last round. Ms Badenoch was fourth, with Mr Tugendhat fifth. There will be successive rounds of voting by MPs until only two candidates remain.
