Tory leadership debate live: Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak’s bitter battle continues as PM hopefuls go head-to-head with Sophie Raworth on all matters from inflation and immigration to trans rights and China
Leadership hopefuls Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are battling it out live on BBC One as they both look to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.
The pair will be grilled by BBC News presenter Sophie Raworth after a bitter week of campaigning.
Here, follow MailOnline’s live blog for all the updates on the Tory leadership debate:
Host commentator
Our candidates begin with questions over the looming cost-of-living crisis.
Rishi touts his record as Chancellor during the cost-of-living crisis so far but does not announce any new policies in the short-term to tackle rising inflation. He does say he would like to insulate more homes and increase Britain’s energy independence in the long-term.
He tells Sophie Raworth we will wait and see if he will act in September.
Liz Truss, in contrast, says she will act immediately and reverse the National Insurance increases that went through in April.
She then repeats her pledge for a green energy levy moratorium on day one of her premiership.
She is then cut off as she is talking about her long-term plan.
Sophie Raworth introduces the debate in Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, as well as the candidates, BBC analysts Chris Mason and Faisal Islam, as well as the audience made up of Conservative voters from 2019.
Let’s get cracking.
Rishi Sunak (36 per cent) trails Liz Truss (41 per cent) among Tory members for their preferences to be next leader.
But… Rishi is narrowly backed ore by the general public.
Interesting reading.
The next Prime Minister will inherit an unenviable in-tray as inflation bites, Russia bears down on eastern Ukraine and trust in politicians has cratered.
Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have set out several diverging policy positions since they beat other contenders to make the run-offs and MailOnline Political Editor James Tapsfield has broken them down for you here.
The rivals have taken the gloves off over the weekend as the campaigns traded bitter attacks on eachother.
Sunak was accused by Truss of being weak issues relating to China as both sides engaged in a political arms race over controlling immigration and small boats smuggling people across the English Channel.
We have the details of the bitter policy feuds below.
The Conservatives will be hoping that the blue-on-blue attacks cease tonight – lest they help Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.
It’s a political blockbuster tonight as leadership contenders and prospective Prime Ministers Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss go head-to-head on BBC One.
The debate will be taking place from 9pm BST in Stoke-on-Trent’s Victoria Hall.
Stoke-on-Trent North MP Jonathan Gullis won the seat in 2019 as the Conservatives took chunks out of Labour’s northern heartlands.
This is exactly the sort of seat the next Tory leader will have to hang onto to keep the party in government at the next General Election.
The BBC’s plush stage is ready to go ahead of the clash which will get going in just over half-an-hour.
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