As it happened: Sunak and Truss clash over tax policy

British foreign minister Liz Truss clashed over tax policy with former finance minister Rishi Sunak on Friday as the five remaining contenders to be Britain's next prime minister went head-to-head in the first of three televised debates.

Sunak and Truss tussled over economic policy in the debate, hosted by broadcaster Channel 4.

Truss has proposed scrapping increases in payroll tax and corporation tax proposed by Sunak, at a cost of over $36 billion a year, to be funded by a slower reduction in government debt built up during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have to be honest, borrowing your way out of inflation isn't a plan, it's a fairy tale," Sunak told Truss.

Truss said tax rises would undermine business investment just as the economy was faltering.

"You cannot tax your way to grace," she said.

Voter polls also suggest the Conservatives are falling significantly behind the opposition Labour Party.

"I'm very aware that while my party chooses a new leader, you are watching us pick your next prime minister... I hope you like at least one of us," Mordaunt told television viewers.

"Next PM faces huge challenges"

"We much seize the opportunities of Brexit"

"I can deliver"

I can "bring honesty and seriousness" to the government.

"We as Conservatives are levelling up"

"We need to win General Elections" and it can happen with me

"I have best reach in Scotland"

Her some assertions Kemi Badenoch made as closing statement.

"I have the courage, clarity and conviction to become PM"

"I'll be able to take the country in new direction"

"In 2024, I will be able to win back the seats that we lost"
 

 Tom Tugendhat said,

"I can lead us in new direction"

"We need to win General Election" in 2024

"We will not hand this country over to Labour"

Here are some things Liz Truss said as her closing statement in the debate.

"We need to deliver for our country"

We need to "make sure we continue to stand against Putin"

"I can defeat Davy and Kier Starmer in next elections"

Liz Truss, smiling, says that she has been 'overwhelmingly overenthusiastic' in past.

Candidates are being asked about their weaknesses.

Candidates are now being asked about their weaknesses

It is not a good thing that younger people are not able to buy homes, says Rishi Sunak.

He is talking in Conservative Party online debate

While talking on housing crisis in the UK, Liz Truss opines that 'one size fits all' approach to formulate policy will not be the right way to address the crisis

She is talking in Conservative Party online debate.

"People want homes not houses," says Kemi Badenoch

She is talking in Conservative Party online debate
 

Housing is a big issue across UK, says Tom Tugendhat. He is talking in Conservative Party online debate.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in Conservative Party debate that UK needed to do more for Ukraine. She said that Ukraine needed more heavy weapons.

Britain's Conservative Party has launched first online husting (debate). All five contenders vying for the top job are present

Breaking it down: How does the UK elect its new prime minister?

First of all, this is not a general election. This is an internal voting that would take place within the Conservative party that holds a majority in the UK Parliament...Read More

The remaining five in the race to become next UK PM will lock horns in a TV Debate tonight.

The debate is scheduled to take place at 1930 GMT (1 am IST on July 16).

Penny Morduant, who is a strong contender in the race to become next Conservative Party leader and thereby the new PM of the UK, has previously attracted criticism over her statement that "trans women are women".

On Friday, she said 'Westminster is tying itself in knots'

"I think we should be concentrating on the big issues that are worrying - and terrifying in some cases - the public," she told Sky news.

The candidate with the fewest votes will leave the race to replace Boris Johnson.

These are the outcomes:

Kemi Badenoch - 49 (up from 40)
Suella Braverman - 27 (down from 32)
Penny Mordaunt - 83 (up from 67)
Rishi Sunak -101 (up from 88)
Liz Truss - 64 (up from 50)
Tom Tugendhat - 32 (down from 37)

Suella Braverman is now officially out of the race.

ICYMI

Labour leader Keir Starmer took aim at his outgoing foe during the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session, calling him "totally deluded to the bitter end", raising cheers from the opposition benches.

In a sign of things to come, Starmer also set his sights on those Tory MPs battling to become prime minister, including on the complicated tax affairs of wealthy frontrunner Rishi Sunak.

The session began with a furious Speaker throwing out Kenny MacAskill and Neale Hanvey, both from the Scottish pro-independence party Alba, after they launched a protest.

It was expected to be Johnson's penultimate appearance at the session of questions before parliament breaks for the summer, and the Tory party elects its new leader.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will set out her pitch to be Britain's next prime minister on Thursday. 

She has pledged to take the tough decisions and get economic growth going.

Truss came third in the first round of voting among Conservative lawmakers on Wednesday, behind former finance minister Rishi Sunak and junior trade minister Penny Mordaunt.

"I am ready to be prime minister on day one. I can lead, make tough decisions and rise to the moment," Truss will say as she launches her official campaign, according to excerpts released by her team in advance.

Truss will promise to support Britons facing a cost of living squeeze by reversing an increase in social security contributions that came into force in April, as well as lowering the tax burden on business and delivering economic reforms.

"I have a plan to make Britain a high-growth economy through bold supply-side reform," she will say.

Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt have been eliminated from the Tory leadership contest. 

Now, Hunt says he will back Sunak for Prime Minister as former finance minister had a "formidable ability" to deal with the challenging economy. 

As quoted by UK-based media outlets, Hunt said, "Rishi is one of the most decent straight people with the highest standards of integrity that I have ever met in British politics. And that's why I would be proud to have him as my next prime minister."

After being elimininated, he tweeted: "I want to thank my incredible team of loyal and talented supporters who put their faith in me. It’s become obvious to me you only get one big shot at this, and I had mine in 2019." 

REMAINING IN THE CONTEST:

KEMI BADENOCH

Elected to parliament for the first time in 2017, Badenoch has held junior ministerial jobs, including most recently minister for equalities, but has never served in Cabinet.

A former Conservative member of the London Assembly, she has also served as vice-chair of the Conservative Party. Badenoch, 42, supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum.

SUELLA BRAVERMAN

As attorney general, Braverman, 42, was heavily criticised by lawyers after the government sought to break international law over post-Brexit trade rules in Northern Ireland.

She campaigned to leave the EU and served as a junior minister in the Brexit department under previous Prime Minister Theresa May, but resigned in protest at her proposed Brexit deal, saying it did not go far enough in breaking ties with the bloc.

PENNY MORDAUNT

The former defence secretary was sacked by Johnson when he became prime minister after she endorsed his rival, Jeremy Hunt, during the 2019 leadership contest.

Mordaunt, 49, was a passionate supporter of leaving the EU and said that she would aim to deliver the benefits of Brexit and recover from recent economic shocks such as the pandemic.

Currently a junior trade minister, Mordaunt called the COVID-19 lockdown-breaking parties in government "shameful" and has said that if she is prime minister, leadership has to change to be less about the leader.

RISHI SUNAK

Sunak announced his leadership bid with a campaign video in which he promised to confront the difficult economic backdrop with "honesty, seriousness and determination", rather than piling the burden on future generations.

Sunak, 42, became finance minister in early 2020 and was praised for a COVID economic rescue package, including a costly jobs retention programme that averted mass unemployment.

But he later faced criticism for not giving enough cost-of-living support to households. Revelations this year about his wealthy wife's non-domiciled tax status, and a fine he received for breaking COVID lockdown rules, have damaged his standing.

His tax-and-spend budget last year put Britain on course for its biggest tax burden since the 1950s, undermining his claims to favour lower taxes.

Sunak voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum.

LIZ TRUSS

The foreign secretary has been the darling of the Conservative Party's grassroots and has regularly topped polls of party members carried out by the website Conservative Home.

Truss has a carefully cultivated public image and was photographed in a tank last year, echoing a famous 1986 photo of Thatcher.

She spent the first two years of Johnson's premiership as international trade secretary and is now in charge of dealing with the EU over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, where she has taken an increasingly tough line in negotiations.

Truss, 46, initially campaigned against Brexit but after the 2016 referendum said she had changed her mind.

TOM TUGENDHAT

The chair of parliament's foreign affairs committee, and a former soldier who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, he is relatively untested because he has never served in Cabinet.

Tugendhat, 49, has been a regular critic of Johnson and would offer his party a clean break with previous governments.

He says he is a low tax Conservative who did not support the rise in National Insurance, and has said fuel tax is "crippling" for many people.

He voted to remain in the EU.

(Source: Reuters)

Six candidates remain in the running to replace UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson after Wednesday's first round of voting, the Conservative Party announced, with finance minister Nadhim Zahawi and former foreign minister Jeremy Hunt eliminated.

Rishi Sunak, who quit as finance minister last week to trigger Johnson's downfall, leads the pack with the support of 88 Tory MPs, followed by Penny Mordaunt, on 67, who polling shows is most popular with the party membership that will ultimately decide the race.

Rishi Sunak has topped first round of voting. Want to know who is still in the race to become next PM of UK? Click on the link below

Rishi Sunak emerges on top in first round of Conservative Party vote

Former UK finance minister Rishi Sunak has emerged favourite in first round of voting within the Tory party with support from 88 MPs. Penny Morduant is a distant second with 67 votes.

UK Conservative Party has said that Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt have been eliminated after first round of voting within the party to elect its new leader.

This has left six candidates in the field. They are: Rishi Sunak, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat

Rishi Sunak has topped first round of vote.

BBC has said that Rishi Sunak has topped first round of voting

UK PM Boris Johnson, currently in caretaker role, said in British Parliament that he will be leaving soon with his 'head held high'.

Johnson government lost its bearing due numerous scandals that plagued it. He has had to repeatedly apologise to the parliament for organising alcohol-fuelled parties at his official residence when most of Britain was in strict COVID lockdown. The recent sacking of Tory deputy chief whip Chris Pincher appeared to be the last straw. Pincher was accused of drunkenly groping men.

Rishi Sunak, the man with roots in India is considered among top favourites to ultimately win the race to become next UK PM. Sunak was a finace minister in Boris Johnson's cabinet. He quit as Johnson's government got mired in controversies. 

Sunak is long seen as Johnson's most likely successor. Earlier this year, his image took a hit because of questions over his private wealth and family's tax arrangements.

Sunak was in the field of finance before entering politics. He has earned millions in his previous jobs. His Indian wife Akshata Murty's is Infosys founder Narayana Murthy's daughter.

There are eight candidates in the field. They are,

Rishi Sunak, Kemi Badenoch, Nadhim Zahawi, Suella Braverman, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat, Jeremy Hunt

Conservative Party is voting to whittle down this list.

A candidate must secure at least 30 votes to move on to the next round. The Conservative Party has 358 MPs in the parliament.

At the end of the voting for the first round, candidates with least number of backers will be eliminated.

UK's Conservative Party is due to hold first round of voting, a step in the direction of choosing new leader of the party and new UK PM