Cost of Living Crisis, Taxes and BoJo's Honesty: Takeaways From First Tory Leadership Race TV Debate

Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak is leading the contest to become the UK’s next Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister, with Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in second and third places, respectively. Trailing them are former Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Tugendhat.

The five remaining Tory candidates to become Britain's next Prime Minister have locked horns in their first TV debate as they compete to make it to the last stage of an eventual two-person run-off party election.

On Friday night, former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, former Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Tugendhat clashed over a spate of issues, including those related to taxes, the cost of living crisis, the green economy initiative and the National Health System (NHS).

Sunak, who resigned as chancellor last week, adhered to his record in the Treasury, saying rather than focusing on taxes, "inflation is the enemy that makes everyone poorer".

“I don't think the responsible thing to do right now is launch into some unfunded spree of borrowing and more debt, that will just make inflation worse, it will make the problem longer,” he pointed out.

Mordaunt, for her part, pledged she would reduce the fuel tax if she became the prime minister, claiming that that green levies were "clobbering families and businesses [so] need to be looked at", while Truss positioned herself as a low-tax free marketeer.

“You cannot tax your way to growth”, she said, adding that she thinks “it is wrong to put taxes up”.

Truss, along with several other candidates who had voted for the rise in National Insurance spending, vowed to scrap it if they got into power, but Sunak insisted he would stand by the measure, despite it being a less "politically convenient" conviction.

Tugendhat , in turn, argued that the former Chancellor had only brought it in "because the boss wanted it", and stuck by his decision as the only member of the panel to have voted against the measure.

“I was the only one here who didn't vote for the National Insurance rise and now it appears everybody agrees with me,” he added.

In another development, Mordaunt clashed with Truss and Badenoch as the two challenged the trade minister’s record on trans issues during the Friday debate.

Mordaunt said that some people who are born male are issued with a document legally recognizing them as a woman, "but that does not mean they are identical to me."

She added that while she had carried out a consultation of the Gender Recognition Act, she had never been in favour of self-identification for trans people. “I am a woman, I am a biological woman in every cell in my body. […]. If I had a mastectomy I would still be. But I am also legally a woman,” she noted.

Truss said that she believes in “women’s rights” and also thinks that “transgender should be treated with respect, so I changed the outcome so we made the program simpler and kinder, but not move ahead with self-ID.”

Separately, the contenders were asked if outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who announced his resignation on July 7 following a series of scandals, including the “Partygate” row, was honest. Tugendhat drew applause when he flatly replied "no", Badenoch said "sometimes", while the other three former cabinet colleagues equivocated.

The latest Opinium poll have, meanwhile, found that, among Tory voters, Tugendhat was considered to have performed best, with Sunak second, Mordaunt third, Badenoch fourth and Truss fifth.

“Tonight we asked over 1,000 normal voters to watch the debate and we have just asked them who they thought performed best. Results: Tugendhat 36%, Sunak 25%, Mordaunt 12%, Badenoch 12%, Truss 6%,” the survey pointed out.

The Tory leadership candidates will participate in another televised debate Sunday, before Tory MPs next vote Monday, when the field will likely be cut to four. A further vote and TV debate is slated for Tuesday, before the final pair of contenders is decided by Conservative MPs on Wednesday. A winner will be announced on September 5.

Currently, Sunak is leading the race with 101 votes, while Mordaunt and Truss are in second and third positions with 83 and 64 votes, respectively. Badenoch is in fourth place with 49 votes, followed by Tugendhat, who is supported by 32 backers.