In turn, Truss questioned Sunak's stewardship of the economy.īadenoch attacked Mordaunt for her stance on transgender rights – a rallying call in the "culture wars" exercising the Tory right. Sunak called out Truss for voting against Brexit, her previous membership of the Liberal Democrats, and her position on tax. In the two previous televised debates – on Channel 4 Friday and the ITV network Sunday – the contenders clashed notably on whether to cut taxes to help ease a soaring cost of living crisis.īut Sunday's clash turned more acrimonious – and personal – with candidates encouraged to directly criticise one another and their proposals. He is staying on as prime minister until his successor is announced on September 5. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on July 7 he was quitting as Conservative leader after a government rebellion in protest at his scandal-hit administration. "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," it added in a statement. Television bosses earlier Monday scrapped a planned debate between the remaining contenders for Tuesday night after Sunak and Truss pulled out, said Sky News, which was due to host it. Mordaunt had been bookmakers' favourite before the weekend, but lost votes from the previous round.įoreign Secretary Truss closed the gap to 11 and can probably expect more support switching to her from Badenoch's backers, should the insurgent candidate be eliminated in the next round, promising a tense race to make the final cut Wednesday. MPs will keep voting until only two candidates remain, the winner then being decided by the party members.
Sunak won the support of 115 Tory lawmakers, followed by Penny Mordaunt on 82 votes, Liz Truss on 71, Kemi Badenoch on 58 and Tom Tugendhat on 31, who drops out as the last-placed candidate, the party announced.
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