Rishi Sunak accused Liz Truss of offering a “socialist” fantasy plan during a heated ITV television debate in which the Tory leadership rivals repeatedly clashed on the economy, Brexit and their upbringings.
The foreign secretary, under pressure after a poor performance during Friday’s debate, launched a series of attacks on the former chancellor – suggesting he had no plan for growth and was responsible for putting Britain on the path to recession.
“Rishi, you have raised taxes to highest levels in 70 years. That is not going to drive economic growth,” she said. Ms Truss added: “If he has a plan for growth, why haven’t we seen it over the past two years?”
Mr Sunak fired back: “I’d love to stand here and say, ‘I’ll cut this tax, I’ll cut that tax, and it’ll all be okay’. But you know what? It won’t … This something for nothing economics isn’t conservative – it’s socialism.”
The ex-chancellor also lashed out at trade minister Penny Mordaunt after she said tax cuts could be paid for by easing fiscal rules so government borrowing could fund day-to-day spending.
“It’s not just wrong, it’s dangerous,” said Mr Sunak. “You know what? Even Jeremy Corbyn didn’t suggest that we should go that far … If we’re not for sound money, what is the point of the Conservative Party?”
None of the Tory leadership hopefuls said they would give Boris Johnson a job in cabinet if they became prime minister, and all five ruled out calling a snap general election if they win the contest and enter No 10.
Mr Sunak, Ms Truss, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat all rounded on Ms Mordaunt after she claimed that “the polling shows that I’m the only one that can beat Keir Starmer and take the fight to Labour”.
The other Tory leadership candidates cried out, “Not true”. Mr Sunak said: “Penny, that’s simply not true”, before Mr Tugendhat laughed and added: “Penny I respect you deeply, but that’s simply not true.”
But the debate was marked by a series of fiery exchanges between Mr Sunak and Ms Truss, as the ex-chancellor played up his Brexiteer credentials and the foreign secretary positioned herself as the tax-cutting champion of the right.
The ex-chancellor had made a dig at Ms Truss being a Remainer in a satirical, black-and-white campaign video on social media shared on Twitter just ahead of the debate – boasting that he was “a real Brexiteer from day one”.
Keen to keep as many Brexiteers onside as possible, Mr Sunak smiled and challenged Ms Truss: “You’ve been both a Liberal Democrat and a Remainer. I was just wondering which one you regretted most?”
Ms Truss defended her “journey” from a young Lib Dem supporter to loyal Tory, and said she had put her “shoulder to the wheel” in defence of Brexit. She also contrasted her own comprehensive school education to Mr Sunak’s privileged upbringing.
“I saw [pupils] not get the opportunities – not get the proper educational standards that you might have got at your school Rishi,” said Ms Truss, in a far more combative mood than her subdued performance during the Channel 4 debate on Friday.
Addressing questions about the huge wealth of his wife’s family, Mr Sunak said he was “proud” of their success. “My father in law came from absolutely nothing … he went on to build one of the world’s largest, most respected, most successful companies. It’s an incredibly Conservative story.”
The ex-chancellor gave the strongest backing for the commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. But even he caveated his support by adding: “We need to bring people with us and if we go too hard and too fast then we will lose people,” he said.
Ms Truss said she wanted to deliver net zero in a way that “doesn’t harm people and businesses”. Ms Badenoch suggested net zero could “bankrupt this country”, while Ms Mordaunt said the target “mustn’t clobber people”.
A snap Opinium poll of voters who watched the debate showed Mr Sunak won, with 24 per cent saying he performed best, followed by Mr Tugendhat (19 per cent) Ms Mordaunt (17 per cent), Ms Truss (15 per cent) and Ms Badenoch (12 per cent).
The latest debate comes as MPs prepare for the third round of voting on Monday, which will see the remaining candidates whittled down from five to four when results come in around 8pm.
