Ishi Sunak has vowed to ‘make Brexit sing’ after the first televised debate. The former chancellor, who voted to leave in 2016, said more needed to be done to maximize the UK’s exit from the EU. Writing for the Sun, he said: “We got Brexit done, now I’m going to make Brexit sing ». After the first televised debate, however, Tom Tugendhat received increasing support from voters, according to an Opinium Research poll. Of the 1,000 people polled, 36 per cent thought Mr Tugendhat was the best performer, followed by Mr Sunak on 25 per cent, Penny Mordaunt, 12, Kemi Badenoch also on 12, and Liz Truss with just six percent. During the debate, Ms Truss joined Ms Badenoch in accusing the trade secretary of pursuing a gender identity policy when she was in charge of equalities – something she vehemently denied.

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Ms Mordaunt, a former women’s and equalities minister, said that while she was holding a consultation on the Gender Recognition Act but was “never in favor of self-identity”, Tugendhat received the first round of applause from the Channel audience 4 when He was the only candidate to answer ‘no’ when asked if Boris Johnson was an honest man. A second debate will be hosted by ITV at 7pm. of Sunday.

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Conservative MP Caroline Nokes backs Penny Mordaunt for ‘building teams and putting others first’

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Tom Tugendhat says he is committed to getting Brexit done

Tory leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat has said he is committed to delivering Brexit and finding a solution to the Northern Ireland Protocol. Mr Tugendhat, who was a strong Remain supporter in the 2016 referendum, told GB News: “One of the other things I will make sure is Brexit. “What Boris Johnson has done is the biggest part of Brexit, let’s be honest there is still Northern Ireland and that is a really big issue. Let’s not kid ourselves that it’s going to be easy because it’s not.” Despite seeing his vote count drop in the second parliamentary vote, in which he finished fifth, the former army officer said he had no intention of resigning. “I never turned down a challenge because the odds were against me. I don’t plan to start now,” he said. 1657978815

Tees Valley mayor backs Rishi as he pledges to ‘flat out’

Tees Valley’s Conservative mayor has said he is backing Rishi Sunak to become the next prime minister because of his commitment to leveling up. Speaking on a joint visit to Teesside Freeport, Ben Houchen said: “The really important thing is that in this leadership contest we have to make sure that whoever wins is committed to the leveling agenda. “Boris Johnson has done a fantastic job with his launch and we can’t afford to fall behind, and with Rishi having committed directly to me on this and fully committed to the leveling pledge I gave the leadership candidates, given what he has done at the local level as well, it seems to me that he is the right man for the job.” 1657977649

The debate increased my chances of winning, says Kemi Badenoch

Commenting on her performance, Kemi Badenoch said: “I think it went really well. “I’ve never done a televised debate before and I loved it more than mine.” Asked if the debate helped her chances, she added: “Yes, absolutely. I think people have learned more about me and I’m also looking forward to tomorrow’s debate.” 1657977626

Sunak’s Tory leadership chances continue to dwindle after the televised debate

Rishi Sunak’s Tory leadership chances continue to slide, according to the Betfair Exchange. In the wake of Friday’s Channel 4 debate, the former chancellor’s odds move to 7/4 from 11/4. Penny Mourdaunt remains the favorite to become the next Conservative leader with her odds of 10/11 to take over from Boris Johnson, having previously been 6/5. Liz Truss, who was ahead of Sunak in second place before the debate, has slipped to 5/1 Tom Tugenhadt’s bid to overturn the odds continues to gather pace as the underdog rating moves to 33/1 from 119/1 in the last 24 hours. 1657974537

Pictured: Sunak on the Tory leader’s campaign

Rishi Sunak pictured with Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and supporters during a visit to Teesside Freeport in Redcar as he outlines his vision for Britain’s future. Rishi Sunak, Ben Houchen and supporters / PA1657973337

Rishi Sunak receives support from the mayor of Red Wall

Tees Valley Conservative Mayor Ben Houchen has announced he is backing Rishi Sunak to become the next Prime Minister. He said: “From Teesside Freeport to Treasury jobs in Darlington, Rishi Sunak has delivered a huge amount for Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool and his further commitment to Leveling Up if he becomes Prime Minister will deliver across country”. 1657972175

Rishi Sunak: We need to reduce inflation

Speaking during a visit to Teesside, where he secured the support of regional mayor Ben Houchen, Mr Sunak rejected accusations that he was a “socialist chancellor”. “I think the number one economic priority we face as a country is inflation. I want to catch inflation because inflation is what makes everybody poorer,” he said. “If we don’t figure it out now, it’s going to take longer and that’s not good. Once we do that, I’m going to cut taxes.” Mr Sunak said he believed he would be the best leader to take on Labor at the next general election. “I will continue to support my candidacy and I believe I am the best possible person to help our party defeat Keir Starmer and defeat Labor in a general election,” he said. Tory leadership candidate Rishi Sunak has again insisted that inflation must be brought under control before the government can consider cutting taxes. 1657971595

Penny Mordaunt ‘would have been a fiasco’ says Dominic Cummings

To accompany his latest blog post, Boris Johnson’s former adviser has released another tweet-bomb about the leadership contest. 1657968814

Penny Mordaunt was ‘too woke’ to become Prime Minister, says Ann Widdecombe