Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature Away from the Tory psychodrama, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer visited a section of the Berlin Wall earlier today while on a trip to the German capital to meet politicians and business leaders. Sir Keir was pictured by the landmark, built in 1961 by communist authorities to divide East and West Berlin, the Press Association said. Sir Keir walked along the East Side Gallery, a section of wall covered in artwork. The visit came ahead of a meeting between the Labor leader and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The pair are expected to discuss Brexit and mutual economic prosperity between the UK and Germany. He is joined on the trip by shadow foreign secretary David Lammy. Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer walks past a section of the Berlin Wall known as the East Side Gallery in Berlin on the second day of his two-day visit to the German capital. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA The first televised contests of the leadership race will take place at 7.30 pm. tonight live on Channel 4 – but there will be other opportunities to see the No 10 candidates talk politics and character. It is a somewhat unusual quirk of the British electoral system that millions can watch the debates from our prime ministerial candidates, but only a relatively small group of around 200,000 Conservative party members will actually have a say – and even then, only when there are only two candidates remained on the ballot. However, my colleague Jamie Grierson has put together a short guide to where and when trekkers can be spotted. First debate – Friday July 15, 7 p.m. Channel 4 Britain’s Next Prime Minister: The Conservative Leadership Debate will air from 7pm to 9.30pm and will be presented by Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy. You can watch it live on Channel 4 or on demand on All 4. Second debate – Sunday 17 July, 7pm, ITV The second debate will be broadcast on ITV from 19:00 on Sunday 17 July. You can watch it live or in reruns on ITV Hub. Debate Tuesday – Tuesday 19 July, Sky News The third debate, on Sky News, will be hosted by Kay Burley, with questions from a live virtual audience. At this stage more candidates will have been ruled out through further rounds of voting at Westminster. And don’t forget, in addition to the televised debates, we’ll be bringing you all the latest right here from the ConservativeHome hustings at 1pm. Conservative MP Richard Holden, a supporter of Rishi Sunak, told Sky News this morning that it was “absolute nonsense” to suggest the former chancellor was a “socialist”. Boris Johnson’s remaining loyalists in the Conservative Party have stepped up their attacks on Mr Sunak in recent days, accusing him of presiding over tax hikes, the Press Association reported. Holden also rejected the suggestion that Sunak’s wealth made him irrelevant. He told Sky News the leave regime, introduced at the start of the pandemic, proved Sunak had a “previous track record” of helping ordinary voters, adding: Whether it’s Rishi Sunak, who is richer than many of my constituents or Keir Starmer, who is far richer than many of my constituents could ever dream of being, that’s what I think really matters the people is who is best for them and who will run the Country. Holden also denied there were questions about Sunak’s integrity amid accusations he had backstabbed Johnson. He said: He was very upfront about this whole situation. He has supported the Prime Minister in every way possible over the last two years, through some really tough decisions about Covid. Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak walks in London, Britain, July 15, 2022. Photo: Peter Nicholls/Reuters Tory MP Jake Berry has said it will be a “key weekend” for Tom Taggedhat as live debates begin in the Conservative Party leadership contest. He said it was an “excellent performance” for Tugendhat to get this far. But his candidate failed to win much additional support in Thursday’s second round of voting, prompting some bookmakers to push his odds of winning the contest as high as 150/1. Berry told Sky News: He had so much support from across the party, and wider, in terms of being able to get into that phase and make his case. It’s all up in the air. He added that it was up to the other candidates to prove that they had fresh ideas for the party. Tom Tugendhat speaking at the launch of his campaign for Conservative Party Leader and Prime Minister, at 4 Millbank, London. Photo: Yui Mok/PA
Former minister urges Kemi Badenoch to stand down and back Truss bid
Meanwhile, former Brexit secretary David Frost this morning urged Cammy Badenoch to drop out of the Tory leadership contest to bolster Liz Truss’s position in the race. Lord Frost also stepped up his attacks on second-choice Penny Mordant, saying she was “absent on parade” when working with her on post-Brexit negotiations last year. Truss was winning Tory support soon after Attorney-General Suella Braverman was ousted from an increasingly bitter leadership race in which former chancellor Rishi Sunak came in first and Mordaud second in the latest round of MPs’ votes. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Frost said: Kemi and Suella Braverman set out persuasive agendas, with different emphases, for change. But Liz’s depth of experience, energy and ideas – and the simple fact that she has the most votes of the three – put her in first place. Now is the time for pragmatism. I urge Kemi to resign in exchange for a serious job in a Truss administration. For more on this developing story, see my colleague Jamie Grierson’s piece below. The intervention came as Tory MP Justin Tomlinson denied that Badenoch should be judged for a lack of experience. He told Times Radio: The most important part of the experience is sheer ability, and I didn’t know Kemi personally before I supported her campaign, but I’ve seen her first-hand – select committees, dispatch box, inter-ministerial meetings – and she really stood ahead and above many of the our very talented colleagues. He had two years more experience than David Cameron and Tony Blair, who went and did very well in the election. And, in the end, it all comes down to an election. We are facing an unprecedented fifth term and to do that we need a fresh start where we are completely renewed. No one offers a better opportunity, especially for my colleagues at Red Wall and Blue Wall, to make sure they get re-elected. Updated at 09.55 BST Good morning, I’m Tom Ambrose and welcome to the live blog of UK politics on a very hot Friday here in London. As the Tory leadership race narrows to five candidates, I’ll be bringing you all the latest news and views from across Westminster as we head into the weekend. There is a visit hosted by the ConservativeHome website due to take place at 1pm – we’ll aim to bring you updates from that – followed by another live on Channel 4 at 7.30pm. But the main focus of the day so far, as supporters of the remaining candidate hit the airwaves and television studios, is the accusation of a smear campaign against surprise champion Penny Mordaunt. Transport Secretary Wendy Morton has denied the group behind Liz Truss’s leadership bid is involved in a so-called “black business” campaign against her rival. Morton, appearing on Times radio, said she was “absolutely not involved” in any kind of nasty campaign. He said: What I am involved in is a campaign to elect Liz Truss as the next leader of the Conservative Party because I happen to think, I know, that she is the right candidate. I worked with her at the State Department and saw first hand how hardworking she is, how dedicated she is and how she just gets on with the job and gets it done. He said the Truss camp was not concerned about Mordaunt’s lead over the Foreign Secretary, adding: You know, we still have rounds of voting, there are still candidates, there are colleagues out there who have not declared a candidate, there are colleagues who have voted for candidates who have now dropped out of the race. So it’s all to play for. It came as Tory MP Dame Maria Miller, who pressed on whether Mordant could be the victim of dirty tricks as she seeks to replace Boris Johnson, said her candidate wanted a positive campaign. She told Sky News: Penny’s support among MPs has grown, and this is the same across the country. This leadership contest is being fought along a number of lines and I think people will want it to be a positive campaign. We are colleagues, together, not opposed in a fundamental political sense. It’s just about getting a new leader. Former British government minister Penny Mordaunt at the Cinnamon Club as she launches her campaign for the leadership of the Conservative Party in London, Britain, July 13, 2022. Photo: Tolga Akmen/EPA
