The final televised debate in the Tory leadership contest has been cancelled by Sky News, after Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss pulled out of the event.
The pair were said to be keen to focus instead on the final ballot of Tory MPs on Wednesday, but there are reported to be fears that the previous two debates have inflicted “incredible” damage on the Conservative Party.
Ms Truss and Mr Sunak butted heads on Sunday night in the second televised debate, with the ex-chancellor accusing the foreign secretary of offering “socialist” proposals in her bid for No 10.
He is reported by The Times to have turned to her after the ITV-hosted debate ended, to ask: “Why are we doing this?”
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner described the candidates as “fighting like rats in a sack”, calling the contest “scarily embarrassing”.
Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer said he was “astonished” at the pair’s attempt to avoid scrutiny, adding: “Pulling out of a TV debate when you want to be prime minister doesn’t show very much confidence.”
Sunak supporter predicts ‘tough day’ for his leadership campaign
Monday is going to be “quite a tough day” for Rishi Sunak’s team, an MP supporting the former chancellor’s bid for No 10 said ahead of the leadership ballot – and with none of Suella Braverman’s votes coming to him this evening.
They said Mr Sunak gave a “colleague-focused pitch on campaigning” in the 1922 Committee hustings.
The supporter also said that candidates are having to answer a variety of questions in the hustings, including on uniting the Conservative party after the scramble to replace Boris Johnson.
They told reporters: “Today is going to be quite a tough day for us in terms of the ballot, because if you look at the free votes sort of floating around from the candidate that got knocked out last week, I think it’s probably fair to say that we’re not going to pick up very many of those, I suspect.
“So assuming everybody else votes for who they voted for… I wouldn’t expect our vote to massively increase today.”
They mooted the prospect of further televised debates taking part once the candidates are whittled down to two.
“Perhaps better off happening later when there are fewer candidates… I would expect there to be more debates,” they said.
Keir Starmer rules out ‘any agreement’ with the Lib Dems after next election
Keir Starmer has ruled out striking “any” agreement with the Liberal Democrats after the next general election.
The Labour leader had previously ruled out an electoral pact or coalition with the Scottish National Party, saying there would be “no deal going into the general election and no deal other side”.
But he had not previously explicitly ruled out working with the Liberal Democrats, either as part of a coalition or under a looser supply and confidence arrangement.
Our policy correspondent Jon Stone has the details:
Keir Starmer rules out ‘any agreement’ with the Lib Dems after next election
Labour leader takes supply and confidence arrangement off the table
Tory leadership candidates ‘confirm they are all committed to net zero by 2050′
All of the five remaining Tory leadership candidates have reportedly confirmed they are all committed to reaching net zero by 2050.
According to Cop26 president Alok Sharma, the No 10 hopefuls made their pledges while attending the Conservative Environment Network hustings, which gave MPs the opportunity to scrutinise the candidates on their climate plans.
It comes after the cabinet minister yesterday warned he may quit if the new prime minister does not take a strong stance on climate change.
Voices: Labour now has a huge secret advantage over the Conservatives
Labour now has a huge secret advantage over the Conservatives | Marie Le Conte
Parliament rises on Wednesday for summer recess but the Conservative Party will not get a break, writes Marie Le Conte
Kemi Badenoch said the 1922 Committee hustings went well.
Asked if she was feeling confident as she left, she told reporters: “Yes, always.”
Liz Truss, meanwhile, told reporters she had “just about”recovered from Sunday’s ITV leadership debate as she prepared to enter the hustings.
Racuous table-banging could be heard just before Rishi Sunak left the 1922 Committee hustings.
Asked how it went, the former chancellor told reporters: “All good, enjoying it.”
‘Hole at the centre of government’ over climate change planning, MPs warn
There is a “major hole at the centre of government” over the resilience of the UK’s critical national infrastructure to climate change, a parliamentary committee has warned.
The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS) said no ministers are currently responsible for the issue, and that the minister previously in charge had refused to give evidence.
Amid a heatwave seeing the potential for new record temperatures in Britain, the committee released a letter hitting out at a “pattern of disrespectful behaviour by government ministers towards select committees”.
Our home affairs editor Lizzie Dearden reports:
‘Hole at the centre of government’ over climate change planning, MPs warn
National security committee hits out at ‘pattern of disrespect’ by ministers refusing to give evidence
Penny Mordaunt has described the 1922 Committee hustings as “very jolly”.
Asked how it went, the Tory leadership contender told reporters: “All very good, all very jolly.”
Penny Mordaunt said she was taking nothing for granted as she arrived for a behind-closed-doors 1922 Committee hustings in Parliament.
Asked if she was confident, she told reporters: “We’ll see. You can never take anything for granted.”
Ms Mordaunt has come second in the first two rounds of voting.
Boris Johnson accused of ‘clocking off’ as he misses emergency meeting on heatwave
Labour have accused Boris Johnson of “clocking off”, after it was confirmed he will miss a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee today to discuss the current heatwave.
It came after Mr Johnson missed his third meeting on the UK’s first red extreme heat warning on Saturday, while attending a farewell party for close allies at Chequers.
Instead, the prime minister was paying a visit to the Farnborough Air Show in Hampshire – just days after finding time to fly in a Typhoon jet with the RAF. Later in the day, Mr Johnson was due to defend his record in office from the despatch box as the Commons debates a confidence motion in the government.
Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has more:
Boris Johnson accused of ‘clocking off’ as he misses emergency meeting on heatwave
Prime minister visits air show as UK swelters in extreme weather
