Britain’s two prime ministerial contenders clashed fiercely over tax, China and character on Monday night in their first head-to-head televised debate, as Rishi Sunak seeks to peg back the frontrunner Liz Truss.
The primetime debate kicked off a crucial 12-day period featuring three such live TV duels and four husting events in front of Conservative party members who will decide the contest and begin receiving their postal votes next week.
The weeks-old Tory leadership contest to replace outgoing prime minister Boris Johnson has turned increasingly bitter, with both camps fiercely briefing against each other.
Monday’s BBC debate showcased that acrimony, with former finance minister Sunak savaging Foreign Secretary Truss’ plans to slash taxes immediately — a key dividing line between the pair.
“I don’t think that’s right, I don’t think it’s responsible and it’s certainly not Conservative,” he interjected as she detailed her proposals.
“If we follow Rishi’s plans, we are headed for a recession,” Truss replied, accusing him of raising taxes “to the highest rate for 70 years”.
“I would act immediately — I understand that people… are struggling,” Truss added.
The leadership election comes as Britain faces a cost-of-living crisis, with inflation reaching a 40-year high.
Sunak has promised to cut taxes first, calling Truss’ promises “a short-term sugar rush.”
Opinion polls show Truss far ahead of the Tories’ around 200 000 members, after she and Sunak emerged as the run-off candidates in a series of Tory MPs’ votes.
On September 5, the winner will be announced.
Johnson’s fall from grace was aided by Sunak’s departure from his position as finance minister earlier this month due to Johnson’s scandal-plagued leadership.
This has enraged some members of the party’s grassroots.
Meanwhile, doubts regarding his family’s tax troubles, as well as his previous decision to maintain US residence, have harmed his popularity.
Truss originally struggled to gather traction, but eventually made the run-off after convincing the party’s right-wing MPs to support tax cuts and deregulation.
A straw poll found that Truss won Monday’s debate by a margin of 47 to 38 percent among Conservative voters.
Sunak revealed intentions to curb China’s influence over the weekend, calling it the “number-one threat” to domestic and global security.
Truss had accused him of being soft on UK opponents when he was finance minister.
“I’m delighted that you’ve come around to my way of thinking,” as the issue featured at the debate she told Sunak.
Truss insisted his “tougher stance” had been driven by her Foreign Office tenure, but that as recently as a month ago Sunak was “pushing for closer trade relationships with China”.
Sunak claimed that after earlier wanting close connections with Beijing, she had been “on a journey” herself.
In Stoke-on-Trent, the contestants squared off in front of a crowd that was entirely comprised of Conservative voters in the 2019 general election.
The region, which strongly favoured Brexit in the 2016 referendum, used to be the main Labour opposition’s traditional stronghold. But in 2019, it joined dozens of other heartland seats in voting for the Tories.
Both potential prime ministers pledged to uphold Johnson’s signature “levelling up” strategy of decreasing long-standing, deeply ingrained regional disparities, which contributed to his historic triumph.
“It’s not just a slogan for me, it’s about the life I’ve had,” said Truss, citing growing up in the Scottish town of Paisley and the northern English city Leeds.
However, she supported remaining in the EU in 2016, a decision Truss says she now regrets. She reiterated pledges to “realise post-Brexit opportunities”.
Sunak noted that he backed Brexit “out of conviction”, despite being warned it would ruin his political career.
“Because I believe it will be the right thing for this country,” he added.
Ahead of the debate, personal attacks had illustrated the growing hostility in the contest.
Supporter of Truss Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, openly criticised wealthy Sunak over claims that he wore a pricey suit and Prada shoes during a campaign visit.
She compared this to Truss, who was more inclined to don inexpensive earrings.
Other Conservatives immediately voiced their disapproval, with one MP claiming to have “muted” Dorries on Twitter and another branding the competition as “puerile” and “embarrassing.”
Cabinet Office minister Johnny Mercer added, “Time to raise the standard.”
As the discussion came to a close, Sunak refrained to give his opponent advice on how to do better, which is a rare indication that the message could be going through.
Meanwhile, Truss gave him the comparatively modest suggestion of “taking more risk and being bolder.”
The next debate will take place on Tuesday evening.