Penny Mordaunt has told Tory grassroots members that the polling shows she is the only leadership candidate who will be able to defeat Labour at a General Election.
She told the online hustings: “In every poll in our party and in the country I top it. I win against Keir Starmer in London.
“I poll the highest in both Red Wall and Blue Wall seats. I lead with women, with young people and I also have the best reach in Scotland.”
During the debate, hosted by Conservative Home, the remaining five Tory leadership candidates set out differing approaches to the cost-of-living crisis, the Ukraine war, restoring trust and housing.
Liz Truss vowed to axe the scheduled corporation tax hike from 19% to 25% next year in her pitch for the Tory leadership.
Ms Truss said: “I would reverse the national insurance rise, I opposed it in cabinet at the time because I thought it was a mistake, I think it’s even more of a mistake now when we’re facing such strong economic headwinds.
“I would also have a temporary moratorium on the green energy level to cut £153 from people’s energy bills.
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Starmer meets with Scholz to discuss Brexit and Ukraine
Sir Keir Starmer has discussed Brexit and Ukraine with the chancellor of Germany.
The Labour leader met Olaf Scholz for private talks at the headquarters of his left-wing Social Democrat Party (SPD) in Berlin on Friday.
The meeting was said by Labour to have been about building relationships with Germany after Brexit and Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The party also said Sir Keir wanted to talk about Labour’s hopes of winning the next general election, plans for Britain and Germany to work more closely together economically, and taking advantage of a move towards environmental sustainability.
The meeting came ahead of an expected confidence vote in the House of Commons on Monday which could see a general election triggered.
Speaking afterwards, Sir Keir said his talks with the Chancellor demonstrated a “contrast” between his party and the Conservatives.
He said: “We don’t fear any of the candidates because the change that the United Kingdom needs is not a change at the top of the Conservative Party.
“We’ve already had 12 years of failure from the Conservative Party. The change we need, the fresh start we need for Britain is a change of Government and therefore I don’t fear any of these leaders.
“And the contrast between them squabbling like cats in a bag, making ludicrous spending commitments, and the Labour Party – united, ready for election, me here speaking to Chancellor Scholtz about how we develop relations between our parties, how we grow our economies, big issues such as Ukraine – the contrast between the two parties has never been starker than it is now.”
BBC Question Time: Labour MP Chris Bryant scolds Bin Afolami
Braverman urges supporters to get behind Truss
Suella Braverman has written to her supporters urging them to get behind Liz Truss.
The Attorney General wrote: “Other MPs and activists will make up their own minds who to support. Nobody can order them who to support and nor should they. But for those who want to support Kemi, I would say just this.
“Kemi is a great woman and a friend. She could do a fantastic job as PM one day but we need to look realistically at the numbers.
“Liz and Kemi are not both going to make it into the final two. So, a decision needs to be made to back one of them. The one we should back, I’d argue, is the one who can get to the final round: Liz can, Kemi cannot.
“Liz is undeniably the better-placed candidate to get to the voluntary party round and fight there for the things that all three of us believe.”
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Liz Truss has announced she would scrap a planned multibillion pound hike in corporation tax if she wins the race to succeed Boris Johnson in No 10.
The foreign secretary, who has previously vowed to cut taxes from “day one” if she wins the Tory leadership contest, also said there would be a “temporary moratorium” on the green energy levy.
Earlier this week, the cabinet minister revealed she would reverse April’s national insurance hike, insisting she had fought against the policy in Mr Johnson’s government.
Ashley Cowburn reports.
Truss announces she would axe planned hike in corporation tax
Scrapping planned hike could cost around £16 billion
Mordaunt tells members ‘you can only win with me’ at next GE
Penny Mordaunt has told Tory grassroots members that the polling shows she is the only leadership candidate who will be able to defeat Labour at a General Election.
She told the online hustings: “In every poll in our party and in the country I top it. I win against Keir Starmer in London.
“I poll the highest in both Red Wall and Blue Wall seats. I lead with women, with young people and I also have the best reach in Scotland.”
Mordaunt jokes her weakness is ‘Burmese cats’
Asked what her weakness is at the online hustings hosted by Conservative Home Penny Mordaunt joked it was Burmese cats.
She admitted bringing her four moggies to No 10 might cause some problems with Larry, who has served as chief mouser at Downing Street since 2011.
Candidates call for more defence spending
On Ukraine, Ms Mordaunt warned of the need to warn people that the war would exacerbate problems they face, and cited her experience in defence.
Ms Badenoch said: “I more than anyone understand how important it is we stand up to Putin.” She had shown she wouldn’t let the government be pushed around, she added.
Former soldier Mr Tugendhat called for more defence spending, saying the UK needed to increase supplies and support to Ukraine, including supporting Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and rebuilding trust with our allies.
Mr Sunak said as chancellor, during Covid, he made an exception for the Ministry of Defence to give the biggest increase in spending since the end of the Cold War.
Ms Truss cited the government’s background on action against Russia, saying she had ensured there was no compromise on Ukraine’s borders. But the UK should send more weapons and put more sanctions on President Putin. “I don’t think we do spend enough on defence,” she said, calling for spending to rise to 3 per cent of GDP.
Ways to tackle cost-of-living crisis
Simplifying tax would not cost the Treasury but would help remove a burden, Penny Mordaunt says, as the candidates are asked about the cost-of-living crisis.
Ms Truss said she would reverse the National Insurance rise, earmarked for social care, and would not hike corporation tax.
Mr Sunak, blaming inflation, said bringing it down before tax cuts was the important thing, as well as rewarding hard work by cutting income tax.
In the long term, the UK needed to look at more renewable energy sources and home insulation.
The best way was to get people off welfare and into work, he said.
