Conservative rivals clashed over tax policies in the second live debate on ITV this evening in their bid to be the new prime minister.
Rishi Sunak scolded Liz Truss’ “something-for-nothing” economics while explaining how he plans to tackle the cost-of-living crisis during ITV’s latest leadership debate.
The secretary of state said: “Rishi, you have raised taxes to the highest level in 70 years. That is not going to drive economic growth.”
Adding: “The fact is that raising taxes at this moment will choke off economic growth.
Mr Sunak responded: “I’d love to stand here and say, ‘I’ll cut this tax, I’ll cut that tax, and it’ll all be okay’. But you know what? It won’t … This something for nothing economics isn’t conservative – it’s socialism.”
The five contenders to replace Boris Johnson were asked whether they would let him sit at their cabinet table during the ITV leadership debate, and none of them raised their hands.
All five candidates rule out snap general election
The five Tory leadership candidates all ruled out calling a snap election to secure a mandate from the public if they became prime minister.
Asked if she would call an election, Penny Mordaunt told the ITV debate: “No, we all stood on the same manifesto, we all have to come together and it’s a shared manifesto and a shared vision.”
Tom Tugendhat said: “No, we have a manifesto to deliver and I intend to deliver it. By showing leadership and commitment we can bring the party together, bring the country together, end this disunity and actually have a clean start.”
Kemi Badenoch said: “We need to give people some stability, they are tired of all the upheaval.”
Liz Truss said: “No to a general election, we need 100% of all of our effort on delivering for the people of Britain, I’m the person who can do that.”
Rishi Sunak said: “We face an enormous economic challenge and we now need someone who has got the grip and the experience to deal with that, and that should be the priority going forward for the next leader.”
Tory leadership candidates asked if they would ‘sit down with Putin’
Sunak defends wife’s previous non-dom status
Rishi Sunak defended his wife Akshata’s previous non-domiciled tax status and her family’s wealth during the ITV debate.
Mr Sunak said he is “really proud” of how his billionaire father-in-law NR Narayana Murthy, who launched IT services company Infosys, made his fortune.
Mr Sunak said: “So I’ve always been a completely normal UK taxpayer, my wife is from another country so she’s treated differently, but she explained that in the spring and she resolved that issue, but there is commentary about my wife’s family’s wealth.
“So let me just address that head on, because I’m actually incredibly proud of what my parents-in-law built.
“My father-in-law came from absolutely nothing, just had a dream and a couple of hundreds pounds that my mother-in-law’s savings provided him, and with that he went on to build one of the world’s largest, most respected, most successful companies that by the way employs thousands of people here in the United Kingdom.
“It’s an incredibly Conservative story, actually it’s a story I’m really proud of and as prime minister I want to ensure that we can create more stories like theirs here at home.”
Badenoch says voters are ‘sick and tired’ of Brexit
Kemi Badenoch said voters are “sick and tired of us banging on about Brexit”, as she called herself the “wild card candidate” in the Tory leadership race.
She told the ITV debate: “It’s time to move on from Brexit, we left the EU… we got Brexit done, now it’s time to take advantage of the opportunities.”
She added: “We have left the EU, the public are sick and tired of us banging on about Brexit.
“We need start talking about the future of our country, and I am the wild card candidate here, I think a lot of people cannot move on from it, it is time for us to do that.”
Sunak on supporting Brexit
Rishi Sunak burnished his credentials as a Brexiteer during the second televised Tory leadership hustings.
Mr Sunak told the ITV debate: “I was really proud to support Brexit, at the time there was a lot of pressure put on me and others to not do so and they said our career would be in peril but I did the thing I thought was right for the country.
“You asked about support, I’m actually really delighted to have the support of very senior Brexiters like Liam Fox or Dominic Raab or Theresa Villiers, as well as support from across the party.
“But what’s important now is that we deliver on the benefits of Brexit.”
He added: “What I want is that same energy devoted to Brexit across all departments of Government and that’s what I will deliver as prime minister.”
‘Penny that’s not true!’ Tory candidates attack Mordaunt over claim only she could beat Labour
Conservative leadership candidate Penny Mordaunt was accused by her rivals of misleading the public during a feisty TV debate, as she claimed polling showed that only she could win the next general election.
All four of the other candidates pushed back immediately against her assertion – crying out that it was “not true” to say polling showed she alone could triumph against Keir Starmer’s Labour party, writes Adam Forrest.
Ms Mordaunt told the ITV debate: “I think there’s a couple of things we need in order to win the next general election – one of them is me as the prime minister.”
‘Penny that’s not true!’ Tory rivals attack Mordaunt over poll claim
Trade minister astonishes rivals by claiming polling shows she is ‘only one that can beat Starmer’
Candidates outline why they should be PM
The Tory leadership candidates outlined again why they believed they should become prime minister as the ITV debate closed.
Former chancellor Rishi Sunak told viewers: “I’m standing because I believe I’m the best person to lead our country and the only candidate who can take the fight to Labour and win the next election for our party. The stakes for our country are high, and only I have the experience needed to deal with this economic crisis.”
Trade minister Penny Mordaunt said: “Our model of politics is broken. Our model of political leadership is broken. You need someone who knows why it needs to change and has a plan to do that. And that’s me.”
Foreign affairs committee chairman Tom Tugendhat said: “We’re all asking the right questions. The real answer is we need a clean start because we need to restore confidence in our Government and in ourselves. We can do it. I’m ready to serve. I’m ready to lead.”
Foreign secretary Liz Truss said: “I can hit the ground running at No 10, driving economic growth by cutting taxes and delivering tough reform. I’ve shown what I can do on Brexit, on trade and on Ukraine. I’ve shown that I’m trusted to deliver.”
Former minister Kemi Badenoch said: “I said that I was the candidate who would tell you the truth. And I am… I’m the candidate for the future and I’m here to be honest with you. I can make a change and change things for the better.”
Candidates for Tory leadership set out why they should become prime minister
Net zero target must not ‘clobber people,’ Mordaunt says
Penny Mordaunt said she was committed to the target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050, but “it mustn’t clobber people”.
Tom Tugendhat told the ITV debate he was committed to “making sure we deliver the nuclear reactors to keep us green”, supporting carbon capture and storage projects and changing “the way we do wind farms” so they can be delivered more quickly.
Kemi Badenoch said the 2050 target was for a time when none of them would be in office “to be accountable for it”.
“If there are things in the plan that will bankrupt this country, I will change them, if there are things in the plan that will make life difficult for ordinary people, I will change them,” she said. “I do believe in climate change, but we have to do it in a way that is sustainable.”
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she backed the target, but “we need to deliver it in a way that doesn’t harm people and businesses”, highlighting her plan for a moratorium on the green levy on energy bills.
Rishi Sunak backed the target, saying it was about the inheritance left to children and grandchildren. “But we need to bring people with us and if we go too hard and too fast then we will lose people and that’s no way to get there,” he said.
Rishi Sunak winner of second Tory leadership debate, snap poll finds
Nearly one in four people believe Rishi Sunak won the second Tory leadership debate, a snap poll has found.
Some 24 per cent of those who took part in the Opinium poll thought the former chancellor performed best, followed by Tom Tugendhat at 19 per cent.
Kemi Badenoch performed the worst, according to the poll, with 12 per cent of votes.
Penny Mordaunt came third with 17 per cent of votes, followed by Liz Truss with 15 per cent.
For more details of the televised debate, read on here:
Rishi Sunak winner of second Tory leadership debate, snap poll finds
Only 12 per cent of viewers believe Kemi Badenoch performed the best
