Tories kill off TV debate over concern for party’s image

Tuesday’s planned TV debate between contenders for the leadership of Britain’s Conservative Party has been scrapped because of concerns the debates were damaging the Tories’ image.

Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch, presenter Julie Etchingham, Tom Tugendhat and Penny Mordaunt before the debate on Sunday night. Picture: Getty Images

Television bosses have been forced to scrap Tuesday’s planned debate between contenders for the leadership of Britain’s Conservative Party because of concerns the debates were damaging the Tories’ image.

The decision came after barbs flew and derisive laughter rang out as contenders battling to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson clashed in Sunday night’s live debate.

The five remaining candidates had been due to appear in the third televised ­debate, but former chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss pulled out on Monday morning, program host Sky News said.

“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,” Sky said.

Tory MPs are holding a series of votes to whittle down the candidates to just two, before a wider ballot of grassroots members on September 5.

In the two previous televised debates – on Friday and on Sunday – the contenders clashed ­notably on whether to cut taxes to help ease a soaring cost of living crisis. But Sunday’s clash turned more acrimonious – and personal – with candidates encouraged to directly criticise one another and their proposals.

With Britain facing a record-breaking heatwave this week and dire warnings of loss of life, only frontrunner Mr Sunak pledged to maintain green taxes to help pay for the legally enshrined aim of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Mr Sunak, 42, was repeatedly assailed by the four other contenders in the debate — Ms Truss, Kemi Badenoch, Penny Mordaunt and Tom Tugendhat.

But he shot back with some of the debate’s most wounding lines, attacking Ms Truss for her promises of a borrowing binge to fund tax cuts and help ease a cost-of-living crisis. “This something-for-nothing economics isn’t conservatism, it’s socialism,” he said.

Mr Sunak also attacked Ms Truss, 46, for her political U-turns over the years, from being a Liberal Democrat to becoming a Tory, and from campaigning for keeping Britain in the EU during the 2016 referendum to enthusiastically backing Brexit.

“I was just wondering which one you regretted most?” he queried.

But the wealthy Mr Sunak faced tough questioning about his tax affairs, his earlier possession of a Green Card for US residency, and his wife’s prior status as a “non-domiciled” resident of Britain who was shielded from UK taxes.

Ms Truss sought to blame Mr Sunak for Britain’s surging inflation and insisted on her own personal integrity.

“I say what I mean and I mean what I say,” she said.

The leadership race was triggered after Mr Johnson, 58, was forced to announce his resignation in the face of a cabinet revolt sparked in large part by Mr Sunak, following months of scandal for the Prime Minister.

The debate came after a survey of Tory members gave a surprise double-digit lead to outsider Ms Badenoch. Ms Truss was second, narrowly ahead of former grassroots favourite Ms Mordaunt and Mr Sunak, according to the unscientific poll by the ConservativeHome website.

Ms Badenoch, 42, and Ms Mordaunt, 49, angrily clashed at the debate about transgender rights.

The junior trade minister, who was briefly Britain’s first woman defence secretary before she was sacked by Mr Johnson, pushed back against claims that she was lying over her position about rights for transgender women – a hot-button issue on the Tory right.

Ms Mordaunt said the attacks were “unedifying”, adding: “All attempts to paint me as an out-of-touch individual will fail.”

Ms Badenoch, the former equalities minister with no cabinet experience, is running on an “anti-woke”, right-wing platform and has said the net-zero goal amounts to “unilateral economic disarmament” by Britain.

Ms Mordaunt claimed that polling showed she was the only one of the contenders who could beat Labour leader Keir Starmer, 59, in a general election – which is not borne out by every survey.

The other candidates hooted in derision. Mr Sunak said “that’s simply not true” and backbencher and House of Commons foreign affairs committee chairman Mr Tugendhat shouted “nonsense”.

All five contenders were asked to raise their hands if they would agree to have Mr Johnson in their cabinet. None did.

The winner of the Tory rank-and-file ballot will be ­announced on September 9.

They must also heal Tory wounds inflicted by the numerous controversies of Mr Johnson’s prime ministership.

AFP