London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Sky News cancels third Tory leadership debate after Sunak and Truss pull out

Sky News cancels third Tory leadership debate after Sunak and Truss pull out

Pair indicated they would not take part in programme after bruising exchanges in earlier debates
Sky News has cancelled the third scheduled TV debate in the Conservative leadership race after Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss pulled out of the event following a bruising set of exchanges in the first two debates.

“Two of the ​three candidates currently leading in the MPs’ ballots – Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss – have confirmed to Sky News that they do not want to take part,” the broadcaster announced in a statement.

“Conservative MPs are said to be concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the image of the Conservative party, exposing disagreements and splits within the party.”

Earlier, a source in Sunak’s campaign said the former chancellor had never committed to participating in the debate, adding: “We are very happy to do more debates if we are lucky enough to get to the next stage, including Sky News.”

Truss’s aides had said the foreign secretary was “unlikely” to take part if all the other candidates did not.

The decision came hours before the third round of voting by Tory MPs, with the backbencher Tom Tugendhat predicted to be the latest candidate eliminated, reducing the field to four.

Speaking to reporters in London on Monday, Keir Starmer said he was “astonished” at the developments.

The Labour leader said: “I can see, based on what I’ve seen in the debates so far, why they want to do so, because this is a party that is out of ideas, out of purpose – they’re tearing each other apart.”

The cancellation follows sometimes brutal exchanges in TV debates on Friday and Sunday over taxation plans, and about social issues such as transgender rights. While Sunak has faced the brunt of the attacks on the former subject, Penny Mordaunt, the international trade minister, has been repeatedly criticised for being too liberal.

After Sky News cancelled the debate a spokesperson for Mordaunt said: “It’s a shame some colleagues cannot find a way to debate one another in a civil way.” That quote was later deleted, with the spokesperson instead saying Mordaunt “hopes there will be ample opportunity for such scrutiny later in the contest”.

In the latest personal attack on Mordaunt, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the international trade secretary, accused her of neglecting her ministerial job to focus on her prime ministerial ambitions.

“Understandably, perhaps, now it’s clear, Penny has for the last few months spent some of her time focused on preparing her leadership campaign, for which I have utmost respect – that’s how this system works,” Trevelyan told LBC.

“There have been a number of times when she hasn’t been available, which would have been useful, and other ministers have picked up the pieces.”

After Monday’s vote, two further votes among Tory MPs, on Tuesday and Wednesday, will whittle the contest down to a final two, with the new leader then being decided by a ballot of party members, the result of which is due to be announced on 5 September.

The fifth candidate is Kemi Badenoch, a former levelling up minister, who is viewed as most likely to be eliminated on Tuesday, although she has been gaining some momentum in the contest.

In Sunday evening’s ITV debate between the five candidates, Sunak criticised Mordaunt’s idea of allowing the Treasury to borrow for day-to-day spending, not just investment.

Mordaunt said “too many chancellors have had too many fiscal rules that they have then had to ditch because they weren’t able to meet them”, prompting Sunak to reply: “Literally Jeremy Corbyn didn’t think that was the right approach.”

But most of the criticism of Mordaunt has been more personal, notably over her allegedly liberal views.

The Daily Mail, a strong supporter of Truss, has targeted Mordaunt in particular. On Monday, its front-page headline said that as a minister Mordaunt met the Muslim Council of Britain, despite a government policy of not formally engaging with the group.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×