The two candidates have been at the forefront of a series of violent clashes over the economy in the last two debates and there are concerns about the future unity of the Conservative party. Sunak last night branded Truss’ plans to raise more than £30bn in tax as socialist, while Truss said his economic plan would lead Britain into recession. The Sky News leadership debate is set to take place on Tuesday evening with the final three candidates. However, if Truss and Sunak leave – both front-runners – they are unlikely to progress. A source close to Truss said: “It is not the right time to have more discussions when this part of the contest only has 358 voters. Broadcasters should stop fighting each other. The Channel 4 debate in particular was a huge mistake and the candidates were wrong to be involved in it.’ The times after Friday’s debate both candidates were said to have turned to each other and expressed regret. Sunak asked Truss, “Why are we doing this?” He agreed. The 1922 Committee of Tory supporters are mobilizing this afternoon. By 20:00 tonight, one of the five candidates will be eliminated.
Malthouse predicts peace, love and harmony
While some in the party worry that all this controversy will give Labor an advantage, senior Tories did their best to appear relaxed this morning (Chris Smyth writes). Liam Fox, a prominent Sunak supporter, said the shooter has so far been “a piece of cake” compared to exchanges in the Commons. Turning concern over the tone of the debate into an argument for why colleagues should support his candidate for his experience, Fox said The times: “I don’t like to see my colleagues fighting with each other. But it’s a competition. And it’s a competition to have the most important job in the land. We are not an opposition. The successful candidate is not going to have four years to prepare.” Kit Malthouse, the Cabinet Office minister, predicted the Tories would be reunited in a spirit of “peace, love and harmony” after the leadership election. He said it was “good to have a vigorous debate” given the importance of the issues and argued: “If it was just polite agreement and consensus across the board, there wouldn’t be much point in having competition.”
Last night’s debate: Sunak attacks ‘socialist’ Truce
Liz Truss warned last night that Rishi Sunak would push Britain into recession as the Tory leadership candidates launched a series of bitter personal attacks on each other (Stephen Swinford writes). Sunak and Truss clash over taxes during the debate The foreign secretary, who is trying to cover ground for Penny Mordant in the race, said Ms Sunak has raised taxes to their “highest level in 70 years” and is stifling economic growth. Sunak hit back, saying Truss’ plans for more than £30bn worth of tax cuts were socialist and suggesting Mordant’s economic policies were more extreme than those of former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn. The exchanges in the ITV leadership debate, the second of the contest, came ahead of a crucial third round of voting among MPs today. Sunak is the frontrunner to move into the bottom two, with Truss and Mordaunt battling for second place. Kemi Badenoch thinks she can get through the middle and outrun them. Tugendhat, who was last in the most recent vote on Thursday, hopes a strong performance in the debates can keep him in the contest. Read the full article here.
The leadership candidates face the next vote
Good morning and welcome to our live political coverage as the leadership race continues to heat up. The next round of voting takes place this evening, with the result announced at 8pm — one more of the five candidates will be eliminated.
