The 90-minute debate also saw some of the candidates attack emergency climate policies – while all appeared to rule out significant further immediate help with rising energy bills. In heated exchanges, former chancellor Rishi Sunak slammed his rivals’ tax cut plans, warning they would fuel inflation and leave everyone “poorer”. Outsider Kemi Badenoch questioned the sincerity of her fan favorite Penny Mordaunt when she denied trying to push for changes to allow people to self-identify as a different gender. While Foreign Secretary Liz Truss stumbled through the answers, the likely knock-out candidate next – Tom Tugendhat – won applause for being the only one to say outright that Mr Johnson is dishonest. The first Tory leadership debate (PA) He also hit out at Mr Sunak over his tax rises to boost NHS spending, claiming the former chancellor urged him to vote for them “because the boss wanted him to”. An early poll of 1,000 voters gave victory to Mr. Tugendhat, the centrist candidate, with 36 percent saying he had performed best, ahead of Mr. Sunak on 25 percent, according to Opinium. All the female candidates had a tough night, with Ms Mordaunt and Ms Badenoch on 12 per cent – while Ms Truss was seen as the clear loser, with just 6 per cent. The first of three scheduled debates comes ahead of further Tory MPs voting from Monday to reduce the five to just two candidates. The winner will then be chosen by the 180,000 Tory members, after a showdown until August, before Johnson leaves Downing Street on September 6. On very different pitches, Ms Badenoch said it was “time to tell the truth”, while Mr Tugendhat argued it would be “a clean start” and Ms Mordaunt said it would not be “the traditional offer”. . Mr Sunak played up his experience as a candidate “who can be trusted to pull through this time” – while Ms Truss fired back at him, hailing her “bold” break with his economic policies. Ms Mordaunt, the new favorite of the grassroots according to the polls, struggled to enter the debate, while Ms Badenoch started nervously but continued later. He again attacked the commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, saying: “None of us are going to be here as politicians in 2050 – it’s too easy to set a target that you won’t be responsible and accountable for when the time comes.” Both Ms Mordaunt and Ms Truss took aim at green levies on energy bills, while only Mr Sunak spoke passionately about net zero – saying it was the issue his two daughters were nagging him about. In perhaps the key exchange, Mr Sunak – the only candidate to rule out early tax cuts – condemned the impact on prices, saying: “Inflation is the enemy that makes everyone poorer. “It erodes your savings, it erodes your standard of living, it means those of you with mortgages will see your interest rates go higher and higher.” He told Ms Truss: “Borrowing your way out of inflation is not a plan, it’s a fairy tale.” But he hit back, in an attack likely to appeal to Tory MPs, saying: “I think it’s wrong to raise taxes.” In a reality check on all candidates, only three Channel 4 audience members said they believed enough help was being offered for fuel bills which reached £2,800 a year in the autumn. And only 10 said they were more likely to vote Conservative after what they heard – after Mr Johnson’s multiple scandals gave Labor a healthy lead in the polls.
