According to a quick poll by Opinium of a sample of 1,001 viewers, former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak won the 24% impression.
of Thanasis Gavou
Clashes over tax policy and reports and criticism of staff led to the second phone battle between the five candidates to succeed Boris Johnson on Sunday night.
According to a quick poll by Opinium of a sample of 1,001 viewers, former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak won the 24% impression.
The head of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee, Tom Tugenhut, is next on 19%, former Defense Secretary Penny Mordant on 17%, current Secretary of State Liz Truss on 15% and Under Secretary for Communities Kemi Beidenock on 12%.
The fire of the remaining four was mainly collected by Rishi Sunak for the increases in taxes and levies he imposed. The 42-year-old politician was the only one of the five to argue that taxes cannot be cut while inflation is so high.
He criticized Liz Truss for her pledge to cut taxes immediately, which she said would increase inflationary pressures and was essentially a “socialist” policy. He rejected Penny Mordant’s proposal to scrap the budget rule banning government borrowing for current spending, saying that even left-wing former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn was unwilling to do so.
Liz Truss and Penny Mordant countered that citizens urgently need more disposable income. Kemi Beidenock said the economic orthodoxy must be challenged and Tom Tugenhut also pledged to cut some taxes immediately.
The question posed to everyone who would put Boris Johnson in his government, no one answered.
Each of the five then had a chance to explain why they are a politician of integrity, in contrast to Boris Johnson, with all speaking of the need for honesty.
The accusation against Penny Mordant that she has belatedly changed her position against self-determination of gender identity in order to attract votes from the right wing of the party has been repeated by the coordinating journalist of ITV. Particular tension on this issue prevailed between Mrs. Mordant and Beidenock, who already in the first debate had questioned the words of her opponent.
On the same topic of the “toxicity” of the pre-election campaign, the journalist questioned the position of Ms. Trass that she refrains from behind-the-scenes attacks, reminding her of aggressive statements against Mr. Sunak by party officials who support her.
Mr. Sunak was also asked about the controversial tax arrangements of himself and especially his wife.
Brexit was also discussed, with each of the five given the chance to ask one of the others a question, with most opting to challenge Rishi Sunak to answer his controversial policies as Finance Minister.
The five were also asked if they would sit at the same table as Prime Ministers with Vladimir Putin at a G20 summit. All responded in the negative, except for Liz Truss who said she would be prepared to confront and impeach the Russian President face to face.
The next question was whether they would maintain the government’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions.
The clearest ‘yes’ was given by Mr Sunak, with the others leaving room to overturn the timing of the pledge if it puts a financial burden on citizens and businesses in the current difficult economic climate.
The final question was about the prospect of a snap election after becoming prime minister, with all ruling that out, saying they must deliver on the manifesto on which the Conservatives were elected in 2019.
The five candidates will be put to a new vote on Monday evening among members of the Tory caucus, with the bottom vote-getter disqualified. A new vote will probably take place on Tuesday to leave three candidates, who will participate in the final televised debate in the evening of the same day.
The final vote that follows will reveal the final pair of candidates from which Conservative Party members will choose the new leader of the party and the country.
The lead after two Conservative MP votes is Rishi Sunak, followed in order by Penny Mordant, Liz Truss, Kemi Beidenock and Tom Tugenhut.
On Sunday night the bookies put Mr Sunak back at the top of their predictions, overtaking Ms Mordant. In third place, but quite strengthened, remained Ms. Truss, with Ms. Beydenock and Mr. Tugenhat following.
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