BLUE ON BLUE
Raging Rishi Sunak blasts Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt as ‘more socialist than Corbyn’ in furious TV debate clash
RAGING Rishi Sunak has turned up the heat on his biggest rivals - accusing them of being more “socialist” than “Corbyn”.
Twisting the knife into Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt, he charged them with peddling barmy plans that would shred the Government’s economic reputation.
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But the pair furiously hit back at the ex Chancellor - saying his refusal to cough up billions will force Britain into a recession.
In a ferocious 60-minute ITV debate, Tory leadership contenders tore into each other in a series of blistering blue-on-blue attacks.
Sparks flew as they argued on tax, trans rights and Brexit.
In a memorable clash, a grinning Rishi turned to Liz and said: “In your past, you've been both Liberal Democrat and a Remainer. I was just wondering which one you regretted most?"
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Liz compared her state-school education to multi-millionaire Rishi's lessons at exclusive Winchester College.
She bit back that her own classmates were “not getting the proper educational standards that you might have got at your school, Rishi.”
Fur flew as those vying for the keys to No10 savaged each other over their record.
However, in a rare - and awkward - moment of unity, they all said they wouldn’t give Boris Johnson a spot in their Cabinet.
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Kicking off the battle royale, Rishi gave his two biggest rivals both barrels for promising monster tax cuts.
Turning his fire on Liz for pledging a £34billion tax giveaway, he fumed: “I’d love to stand here and say, ‘Look, I’ll cut this tax, that tax and another tax and it will all be okay’.
“But you know what? It won’t.
“There’s a cost to these things and the cost of higher inflation, higher mortgage rates, eroded savings. And you know what?
“This 'something for nothing' economics isn’t Conservative. It’s socialism.”
Minutes later he savaged Penny, accusing her of tearing up fiscal rules to put day-to-day spending “on the country’s credit card”.
“It’s not just wrong, it’s dangerous", he fumed.
What happened in tonight's debate?
- Mr Sunak says he never had non-dom tax status - and is "incredibly proud" of his billionaire father-in-law's company
- He and Ms Truss repeatedly took aim at each other, with the Foreign Secretary admitting that while she's "not the slickest presenter on this stage", she's "honest"
- All the hopefuls dismissed the idea of a snap general election when the new PM takes over
- They were also asked to put up their hands if they backed Brexit at the referendum, with Ms Truss unable to say she did
- Mr Tugendhat said all the other candidates were tainted by having served in Boris Johnson's Government
"And you know what, even Jeremy Corbyn didn’t suggest that we should go that far."
But both women hit back. Liz bashed Rishi for hiking taxes to their highest level since the 1940s, and Penny accused the MP - who is married to a billionaire heiress - of being out of touch.
Tom Tugendhat and Kemi Badenoch were next to wage battle as she accused him of "criticising what we've been doing" while not a minister himself.
"Talking is easy," she said.
But defending his back-bencher status, Mr Tugendhat said those who served in Boris Johnson's Government only "lent credibility to the chaos".
Ms Mordaunt was also speared again over her record on trans rights.
Who did viewers back?
Rishi Sunak came out on top in the ITV debate, according to a snap poll of 1,001 voters by Opinium.
Asked which candidate performed best, 24 per cent backed the former Chancellor.
Tom Tugendhat was second with 19 per cent, followed by Penny Mordaunt on 17 per cent.
Liz Truss got 15 per cent and Kemi Badenoch was fifth on 12 per cent.
A similar snap poll after Friday's Channel 4 debate put Tom on top with 36 per cent, with Rishi second and Liz dead last with just 6 per cent.
But in a huge boost for Kemi, a new ConHome poll of Tory activists found she beats every other candidate in a head-to-head
Ms Badenoch accused her rival of shifting from previously backing gender self-identification - before Ms Mordaunt said the claims are "unedifying" and part of "toxic politics".
Any attempt to portray her as being "out of touch" will "fail", she warned.
It comes after Friday's debate also descended quickly into a series of vicious blue-on-blue attacks.
Candidates savaged each other on tax, spending and honesty in politics.
The third ballot will take place tomorrow, and one more hopeful will be eliminated.
On Wednesday, just two will remain standing.
In your past, you were both a Lib Dem and a Remainer. Which one do you regret most?
Rishi Sunak
Both will tour the country trying to win the votes of 100,000 or so ordinary party members on Friday.
Brits will then decide who should be the new PM, with the vote revealed on September 5.
Ms Mordaunt's bid for the top job was electrified earlier this week when a poll of Tory members put her on course to beat everyone in the final run-off.
She is now the bookies' favourite to enter Downing St despite not being in the Cabinet and entering the race as an outside bet.
But a powerful campaign to stop her is under way, with former Brexit guru Lord Frost mounting a fierce attack on the Trade Minister.
He told TalkTV he had "grave reservations" about whether Ms Mordaunt is fit to lead the country.
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And she could yet be beaten by Mr Sunak, who has repeatedly emerged in first place in the leadership ballots.
He says he's "incredibly grateful" to be the frontrunner.
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This is why you should back the five Tory candidates (according to them)
The Tory leadership candidates outlined again why they believed they should become prime minister as the ITV debate closed
- Former chancellor Rishi Sunak told viewers: "I'm standing because I believe I'm the best person to lead our country and the only candidate who can take the fight to Labour and win the next election for our party. The stakes for our country are high, and only I have the experience needed to deal with this economic crisis."
- Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt said: "Our model of politics is broken. Our model of political leadership is broken. You need someone who knows why it needs to change and has a plan to do that. And that's me."
- Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat said: "We're all asking the right questions. The real answer is we need a clean start because we need to restore confidence in our Government and in ourselves. We can do it. I'm ready to serve. I'm ready to lead."
- Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: "I can hit the ground running at No 10, driving economic growth by cutting taxes and delivering tough reform. I've shown what I can do on Brexit, on trade and on Ukraine. I've shown that I'm trusted to deliver."
- Former minister Kemi Badenoch said: "I said that I was the candidate who would tell you the truth. And I am... I'm the candidate for the future and I'm here to be honest with you. I can make a change and change things for the better."
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