London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Tory leadership: Rivals get personal in latest TV debate

Tory leadership: Rivals get personal in latest TV debate

Tory leadership rivals stepped up their attacks on each other's records and policies in their latest TV debate.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak tax rises he introduced would "choke off" growth.

Mr Sunak accused Ms Truss of peddling "something-for-nothing economics". Other flashpoints were trans rights, Brexit and trust in politics.

All five ruled out an early general election if they became prime minister in seven weeks' time.

At one point, the candidates were asked to raise their hands if they would give departing Prime Minister Boris Johnson a job in their cabinet. None of them did.

MPs will vote for a third time on Monday as they whittle down the field eventually to two, who will then face postal ballot of Tory members to decide who will be the next prime minister.

In the hour-long ITV debate, some of the fiercest clashes were between Mr Sunak and Ms Truss, whose divisions over how to bring rising living costs under control while growing the economy were laid bare.

The record of Mr Sunak - who won the first two rounds of MPs' voting - as chancellor has come under sustained attack during the leadership campaign.

Mr Sunak has been forced to defend tax rises introduced during his time as chancellor, including April's hike in National Insurance to pay for social care and the NHS.

In the debate, Ms Truss said Mr Sunak had "raised taxes to the highest level in 70 years", arguing that this was "not going to drive economic growth".

"The fact is that raising taxes at this moment will choke off economic growth, it will prevent us getting the revenue we need to pay off the debt," Ms Truss.

Mr Sunak responded that the pandemic damaged the economy and the money has to be paid back.

"There's a cost to these things and the cost of higher inflation, higher mortgage rates, eroded savings," Mr Sunak said. "And you know what? This something-for-nothing economics isn't Conservative. It's socialism."

Mr Sunak and Ms Truss had some testy exchanges over tax policy and Brexit


Trade minister Penny Mordaunt - the bookmakers' favourite to win the race - said the limited tax cuts she advocated were not inflationary and people need help now with the cost of living.

"I don't understand why Rishi doesn't understand that," she said.

But Mr Sunak hit back, accusing Ms Mordaunt of a "dangerous" plan to scrap his economic rule of only borrowing to invest.

The former chancellor said even Jeremy Corbyn - the left-wing former Labour leader - did not advocate such a loosening of the public finances.

There were also sharp exchanges between Ms Mordaunt and former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch over a row about the self-identification for transgender people.

Ahead of the debate, Ms Mordaunt told the BBC there were a "number of smears going on in the papers" and dismissed claims she had backed gender self-identification when she was an equalities minister in 2019.

"I think this whole thing is unedifying," Ms Mordaunt said. "I know why this is being done. What I would say to you is, all attempts to paint me as an out of touch individual will fail."

Ms Badenoch said she was the candidate for the future whose honesty could "change things for the better".

Other key moments in the debate included:


*  Mr Sunak defended his wife Akshata's previous non-domiciled tax status and her family's wealth, arguing theirs was "an incredibly Conservative story"

*  Pointing out Ms Truss had been a Liberal Democrat and a Remain supporter in the past, Mr Sunak asked her which one she regretted most. Ms Truss said she had "been on a political journey"

*  Ms Badenoch accused Mr Sunak of not taking her seriously when she raised concerns about Covid loan fraud, which he denied

*  When asked if they would sit next to Russia President Vladimir Putin at a G20 summit, all but Ms Truss said they would not. Ms Truss said she would "call Putin out"

*  All candidates said they would back the UK's commitment to curb carbon emissions to net zero by 2050

Colleagues turn to battle

You had to keep reminding yourself these were five people who are actually in the same party.

And the two of them taking the greatest lumps out of each other sat around the same cabinet table a fortnight ago.

Changing leaders between elections can offer a party a chance to renew in office.

It also offers plentiful opportunity for it to rip itself to shreds in public.

Tom Tugendhat - chairman of the foreign affairs select committee - said those who had been ministers under Mr Johnson "lent credibility to the chaos" of his government.

Grilling Ms Mordaunt, Mr Tugendhat challenged the trade minister to give the "details of the plans you are laying out".

In reply Ms Mordaunt said: "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 because the polling shows that I'm the only one that can beat Keir Starmer and take the fight to Labour."

The five remaining candidates are vying to succeed Mr Johnson as Tory leader and prime minister after a cabinet mutiny forced him to resign.

In a sign of how close the race has become, a survey of party members for the Conservative Home website on Saturday suggested Ms Badenoch was leading the pack, with Truss in second and Mordaunt - currently the bookmakers' favourite - dropping to third.

But Mr Sunak is still in pole position after coming top in the first two rounds of voting among Tory MPs.

Labour shadow minister Conor McGinn said the debate showed how "out of touch" the Tories were, accusing them of squabbling over "fantasy economic plans" while households struggle with living costs.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said none of the Tory candidates have "a plan to get our country out of the crisis that they have caused" and urged the party's new leader to call a general election as soon as they are in post.

SNP Deputy Westminster Leader Kirsten Oswald MP said Scotland was "lucky to get a cursory mention in a debate where the candidates failed to escape the Westminster bubble for the public at home" while people were hit by the cost of living crisis.


Watch: Tory leadership rivals step up their attacks in second debate with host Julie Etchingham (centre)


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×