Who will replace Boris Johnson as UK PM?

[James]

A new poll of Tory members for Conservative Home put Penny Mordaunt, the trade minister, top on who should be the next party leader, followed by Kemi Badenoch, the former communities minister, with Mr Sunak in third.

DT

a Penny-Kemi final two would be superb.

 

[Manunited18]

a Penny-Kemi final two would be superb.

Yep. Would prefer any of these two to Sunak.

 

[James]

Nominations close in just under three hours' time, and as we've been reporting candidates need at least 20 MPs to back them to get onto the first ballot.

Throughout the day we've been hearing different positions from some of the candidates. We've also finally heard from Priti Patel, who has decided not to run.

One candidate who we haven't heard much from today is Rehman Chishti - a junior Foreign Office minister and a surprise contender.

The Gillingham MP has not received one single public backer among Tory MPs, however Rehman has tweeted that he will "continue my candidature till the very end".

BBC

 

[James]

<b>4PM BBC summary of contest to date:</b>

• Candidates vying to be Conservative Party leader - and the next PM - must secure nominations from at least 20 MPs by 18:00 BST to enter the contest.

• Home Secretary Priti Patel thanks supporters but says she has decided not to stand in the race to replace Boris Johnson.

• Meanwhile, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has pulled out and endorsed former chancellor Rishi Sunak, along with Deputy PM Dominic Raab.

• Speaking at his campaign launch, Sunak pledged to cut taxes only when inflation is under control, in contrast to rivals.

• Meanwhile, Johnson loyalists Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries have backed Liz Truss.

• Ten candidates are competing to replace Johnson.

<b>• Nadhim Zahawi, Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Tugendhat are all said to have secured the necessary nominations.</b>

• Conservative MPs will begin voting on Wednesday, with the final two candidates selected before the end of next week.

• The winner will be announced on 5 September.

 

[Robert]

MP support currently split as follows:

Rishi Sunak - 45
Penny Mordaunt - 25
Liz Truss - 21
Tom Tugendhat - 20
Kemi Badenoch - 16
Nadhim Zahawi - 14
Jeremy Hunt - 13
Suella Braverman - 12
Sajid Javid - 11
Rehman Chishti - 0

The top four go through to the next round.

I expected Javid to do better early on.

Mordant's a dark horse.

Not everyone has declared of course.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-62115347

 

[Manunited18]

Sunak will win with ease.

 

[James]

Sir Graham Brady will be announcing the shortlist of Conservative leadership contenders who have made it onto the official ballot paper after 18:00BST today.

 

[Technics 1210]

Sajid withdraws!

 

[Robert]

Sunak will win with ease.

Remember that the members get the final vote and they might not prefer him.

 

[Manunited18]

Remember that the members get the final vote and they might not prefer him.

Hope so

 

[James]

The candidates who have made it through to the next stage of the race to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative leader and prime minister have been revealed.

<b>The eight MPs who have got through to the first round are:</b>

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

The candidates are taking part in 12-minute husting sessions in front of Tory MPs in parliament this evening ahead of another ballot on Wednesday.

Just before the list was announced, former health secretary Sajid Javid - who kicked off an avalanche of government resignations last week - and Rehman Chishti said they were pulling out after not garnering enough support from MPs.

Earlier in the day Grant Shapps pulled out of the race and backed Mr Sunak.

(Sky News)

 

[Firebat]

Javid couldn't even muster 20 backers.

 

[Robert]

Hope so

Starting to think that the Tory right will knock Sunak out.

I reckon Mordant vs Truss in the run-off.

 

[Manunited18]

Starting to think that the Tory right will knock Sunak out.

I reckon Mordant vs Truss in the run-off.

Would prefer Mordant to win it.

 

[Robert]

Would prefer Mordant to win it.

Both bad for the country, but good for the other parties.

Were I a Tory I would hang back. The economy is going bad. Whoever is PM will carry the can. Go into Opposition, become Leader and come back from there.

 

[James]

Both bad for the country, but good for the other parties.

Were I a Tory I would hang back. The economy is going bad. Whoever is PM will carry the can. Go into Opposition, become Leader and come back from there.

Why is Penny Mourdant bad for the country?

Truss fair enough — if a genuine right winger like her or Braverman gets in, the people who spent years calling the relatively liberal Boris “far right” are going to get a shock

 

[James]

Tory MPs are to cast their first votes in the contest to replace Boris Johnson as party leader - and prime minister.

After nominations closed, the eight hopefuls took part in a hustings event in Parliament as part of efforts to secure support from their colleagues.

They have to secure 30 votes in the first round to stay in the race.

The candidates for leader are: Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat and Nadhim Zahawi.

Voting will start at 13:30 with a result expected at 17:00 BST.

Further votes will take place over the next few days in order to whittle the number of candidates down to two.

 

[Robert]

Why is Penny Mourdant bad for the country?

Truss fair enough — if a genuine right winger like her or Braverman gets in, the people who spent years calling the relatively liberal Boris “far right” are going to get a shock

Mordaunt’s voting profile appears generally similar to Truss’s - both hard right, both handing employers and landlords more power, both centralising power.

Johnson has always been very right wing. He has been somewhat liberal too as London Mayor - they are not the opposite of each other. But he has also stoked the culture war with his talk of piccaninnies and letterboxes. Basically he will take whatever position advances him - which since 2016 has been hard right Brexiteer. He’s not liberal in the modern sense, more like libertine - does what he wants without trout for others.

 

[James]

Mordaunt’s voting profile appears generally similar to Truss’s - both hard right, both handing employers and landlords more power, both centralising power.

Johnson has always been very right wing. He has been somewhat liberal too as London Mayor - they are not the opposite of each other. But he has also stoked the culture war with his talk of piccaninnies and letterboxes. Basically he will take whatever position advances him - which since 2016 has been hard right Brexiteer. He’s not liberal in the modern sense, more like libertine - does what he wants without trout for others.

Mourdant has given 12 years to the Royal Navy Reverse including 5 years active service, I thought you might have taken a different perspective on her in terms of character

She’s also one of the few candidates who didn’t grow up in London and went to a regular state comprehensive school

 

[Robert]

Mourdant has given 12 years to the Royal Navy Reverse including 5 years active service, I thought you might have taken a different perspective on her in terms of character

She’s also one of the few candidates who didn’t grow up in London and went to a regular state comprehensive school

Military service does count some with me. And Tory voters.

I would prefer her to Truss. Not that I have any say.

 

[Technics 1210]

Zahawi and Hunt out of the leadership contest!

YES! Hunt is a trojan Remainer, should be booted out for treachery.

 

[James]

<b>Sunak top as six candidates make second round</b>

Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak has secured the most votes from Tory MPs after the first round of voting.

The remaining candidates left in the leadership contest are:

Kemi Badenoch - 40 votes
Suella Braverman - 32 votes
Penny Mordaunt - 67 votes
Rishi Sunak - 88 votes
Liz Truss - 50 votes
Tom Tugendhat - 37 votes


<b>Zahawi and Hunt knocked out of contest</b>

Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt have been eliminated from the race to be next Tory leader, following the end of the first round of voting.

Candidates needed at least 30 MPs to support them to progress to a second round - neither Hunt nor Zahawi managed this.

Those six who made it will now proceed to a series of votes among MPs, eliminating the last placed candidate in each round until a final two are left.

This process is set to be completed by Parliament's summer recess on 21 July.

The remaining pair will then face Conservative party members at a series of hustings around the country over the summer, who will vote to select the new leader, and therefore prime minister.


BBC

 

[James]

Zahawi and Hunt gone

Who will their supporters flock to next?

 

[MenInG]

The final six candidates to become the next leader of the Conservative Party - and prime minister - are readying themselves for a second round of votes later, which will see at least one of them eliminated from the race.

Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, leads the field, having gained support from 88 MPs in yesterday's first round, followed by Penny Mordaunt with 67 and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss with 50.

But it is Ms Mordaunt who appears to be the most popular with the wider Tory party membership, topping polls by both YouGov and Conservative Home.

Former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat and Attorney General Suella Braverman also made it through the first ballot with 40, 37 and 32 votes respectively.

SKY

 

[Robert]

Mordaunt is surging in the polls.

 

[MenInG]

Mordaunt is surging in the polls.

Tory leadership favourite Penny Mordaunt suffered her first setback of the campaign when she was attacked by MPs over her stance on trans issues.

She clashed with right-wing Conservative MPs at a major hustings event attended by the six candidates left in the contest after the first round of voting.

They are:

Kemi Badenoch
Suella Braverman
Penny Mordaunt
Rishi Sunak
Liz Truss
Tom Tugendhat

 

[Robert]

Lots of Tory members ringing up LBC saying they cannot vote for Sunak....

I reckon Mordaunt has got this.

 

[MenInG]

Lots of Tory members ringing up LBC saying they cannot vote for Sunak....

I reckon Mordaunt has got this.

Are they saying why?

 

[Robert]

Are they saying why?

Comments about "not being properly indigenous".

His family seemingly haven't been here long enough to be considered British....

In other words, racism.

 

[Technics 1210]

Liberal lies at it again.

The public do not want to vote for Sunak because is the richest MP in Parliament, disconnected from the working class, and above all, failed as a Chancellor, and is not open to immediate tax cuts.

Nothing to do with racism, the same LBC callers voted for Sajid Khan as Mayor.

 

[James]

The public do not want to vote for Sunak because is the richest MP in Parliament, disconnected from the working class, and above all, failed as a Chancellor, and is not open to immediate tax cuts.

Nothing to do with racism, the same LBC callers voted for Sajid Khan as Mayor.

This is correct.

Let’s not give Sunak the credit of saying that he would be well set for the PM position if not for his colour. His stock has fallen dramatically this year with the cost of living crisis and the scandal with his billionaire wife’s tax status. This is not racism. He just isn’t very popular any more.

 

[Manunited18]

Liberal lies at it again.

The public do not want to vote for Sunak because is the richest MP in Parliament, disconnected from the working class, and above all, failed as a Chancellor, and is not open to immediate tax cuts.

Nothing to do with racism, the same LBC callers voted for Sajid Khan as Mayor.

100%. The last year and half has exposed him to be dodgy and incompetent as a chancellor, also his stance on the cost of living crisis was obvious as clear day light he was not happy to help at all.

 

[James]

Lol, Truss and her supporters are so incredibly arrogant. Instructing Badenoch and Braverman to drop out of the contest so “Liz the big beast” can hoover up their ballots from the Tory right wing. When Badenoch is not too far behind Truss on MP votes and is far more popular amongst the Conservative Party membership, ahead of everyone apart from Mordaunt. Really hope that Truss bombs out of this thing soon.

 

[Manunited18]

Lol, Truss and her supporters are so incredibly arrogant. Instructing Badenoch and Braverman to drop out of the contest so “Liz the big beast” can hoover up their ballots from the Tory right wing. When Badenoch is not too far behind Truss on MP votes and is far more popular amongst the Conservative Party membership, ahead of everyone apart from Mordaunt. Really hope that Truss bombs out of this thing soon.

The Tories are one big mess, it's doesn't help to have such a pathetically weak Labour as well.

 

[Robert]

This is correct.

Let’s not give Sunak the credit of saying that he would be well set for the PM position if not for his colour. His stock has fallen dramatically this year with the cost of living crisis and the scandal with his billionaire wife’s tax status. This is not racism. He just isn’t very popular any more.

It's what the Tory voters were saying on LBC about posts on their social media feeds. Guarded comments about "indigenous" people. LBC is a national station which people from all over the four nations of the UK dial into. London and Birmingham are cosmopolitan places as most major cities are, but come out into the sticks and its a different story. There is racism out here, covert and sometimes overt to.

I'm not giving Sunak credit, I am giving some (but not all) Tory voters debit.

 

[shaz619]

The lot of them are a right piece of work to be frank.

 

[shaz619]

Lots of Tory members ringing up LBC saying they cannot vote for Sunak....

I reckon Mordaunt has got this.

I’d put Badenoch as the dark horse in this race

 

[James]

Braverman eliminated

Tugendhat shedding votes and might drop out

Truss and Badenoch very mediocre

Sunak and Mourdant miles out in front

 

[James]

It's what the Tory voters were saying on LBC about posts on their social media feeds. Guarded comments about "indigenous" people. LBC is a national station which people from all over the four nations of the UK dial into. London and Birmingham are cosmopolitan places as most major cities are, but come out into the sticks and its a different story. There is racism out here, covert and sometimes overt to.

I'm not giving Sunak credit, I am giving some (but not all) Tory voters debit.

Then why is Kemi Badenoch, a Black woman from Nigeria, the second favourite amongst the members?

 

[shaz619]

Then why is Kemi Badenoch, a Black woman from Nigeria, the second favourite amongst the members?

Because she is a supporter of white privilege and wants to reap its rewards. The woman was born here in a MC family although spent time abroad.

Although, for those black Tories who were born abroad. A big chunk of them have conservative views because of their own privileged background, being from a poorer country shouldn’t make people forget that one, there’s always corruption/nepotism among the wealthy in those parts

 

[Technics 1210]

Braverman eliminated

Tugendhat shedding votes and might drop out

Truss and Badenoch very mediocre

Sunak and Mourdant miles out in front

I read an interesting stat on leadership contests in DT - something along the lines of since 1997, the candidate who was 2nd after the 1st round of voting, ended up winning, with the exception of 1 contest.

Mourdant is heading for premiership!

 

[Robert]

Braverman is out.

 

[Robert]

Then why is Kemi Badenoch, a Black woman from Nigeria, the second favourite amongst the members?

Not amongst the racist ones....

 

[Robert]

Because she is a supporter of white privilege and wants to reap its rewards. The woman was born here in a MC family although spent time abroad.

Although, for those black Tories who were born abroad. A big chunk of them have conservative views because of their own privileged background, being from a poorer country shouldn’t make people forget that one, there’s always corruption/nepotism among the wealthy in those parts

I doubt your average Tory voter would recognise white privilege. Takes a progressive to be able to think outside the box.

 

[Technics 1210]

Then why is Kemi Badenoch, a Black woman from Nigeria, the second favourite amongst the members?

She doesn't play the victim card, the racist card, or the woke card - she just gets on with the job, which is why she went from flipping McD burgers to within touching distance of becoming PM.

Voters love honesty, integrity, & realism. Voters are tired of hearing excuses around victimhood, which is why Kemi is reaching for the stars!

(LBC callers are filtered to drive an agenda anyway)

 

[MenInG]

Suella Braverman has been knocked out of the Conservative leadership race in the second round of voting.

Ms Braverman received 27 votes from Tory MPs, five fewer than she got yesterday.

Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt maintained their places at the top end of the leader board.

Foreign secretary Liz Truss, who came in third, will hope to pick up votes from Ms Braverman's supporters in the next round

The five remaining hopefuls will progress to the third round on Monday, having received the following votes:

There will be successive rounds of voting by Tory MPs until only two contenders remain.

 

[shaz619]

I doubt your average Tory voter would recognise white privilege. Takes a progressive to be able to think outside the box.

Having said that, Badenoch would be a fresh choice for them as PM. She needs more breadth to iron out why a big chunk of people wont like her eventually, but the experiences and background are varied which is useful to have.

 

[shaz619]

Suella Braverman has been knocked out of the Conservative leadership race in the second round of voting.

Ms Braverman received 27 votes from Tory MPs, five fewer than she got yesterday.

Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt maintained their places at the top end of the leader board.

Foreign secretary Liz Truss, who came in third, will hope to pick up votes from Ms Braverman's supporters in the next round

The five remaining hopefuls will progress to the third round on Monday, having received the following votes:

There will be successive rounds of voting by Tory MPs until only two contenders remain.

How does Lizz Truss have 64 votes the stench Boris has left behind still remains

 

[James]

Anyone but Truss!

 

[Robert]

How does Lizz Truss have 64 votes the stench Boris has left behind still remains

Don't know. Tories are a strange tribe. They baffle me.

So Tugendhat is likely out next - who will his supporters fold into? He's a moderate so not Truss or Sunak. Neither culture warrior righty Badenoch.

That leaves Mordaunt I guess.

 

[James]

Oh no…

—————

<b>Braverman backs Truss, say sources</b>

Just a couple of hours ago, Suella Braverman, the attorney general, was eliminated from the contest to decide who'll replace Boris Johnson.

Now she's giving her backing to Liz Truss, foreign secretary and Braverman's cabinet colleague, sources close to her told the PA news agency.

Kemi Badenoch says she is "disappointed" that Suella Braverman will back Liz Truss as the next Tory leader.

Speaking on LBC, Badenoch says: "I am disappointed. Suella and I are friends, I'm friends with Tom Tugendhat as well, Rishi and Liz were my senior ministers, so it's all very close to home."

Badenoch says she's "in it to win it".

She says she appreciates why her colleagues are supporting those they think are "most likely to give them a job, or who has been there the longest, that's the easy thing to do".

But, she adds, "the tough thing to do is to take a risk and try something different".

Former Suella Braverman backer Steve Baker has also confirmed he will be supporting Liz Truss.

Announcing his shift to the foreign secretary, the prominent Brexiteer says: "Suella has my complete loyalty. What she has decided, I will support."

BBC

 

[MenInG]

Loyal defenders of Boris Johnson argued repeatedly that he should not be deposed as Conservative leader because there was no obvious candidate to replace him.

In doing so, they misunderstood their own party. More often than not, the imperative when the Tories change leader is to get rid of the present incumbent and then worry about who is going to take over.

Once the present leader has gone toxic, the Tories know they need to refresh their public image, but they are not sure how they are going to do it until they have argued it out through a selection process.

There is a long list of leadership winners who were not the bookies' favourites when the Conservative party's selection processes began - including Alec Douglas-Home, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, David Cameron and Theresa May. All became prime minister.

Douglas-Home, Major, and May got the keys to Number 10 automatically, without the general public having a say, since the Conservatives were in power. Thatcher and Cameron had to win a general election first.

The uncertainty principle about who comes next has worked throughout the various different rules the Tory Party has introduced for selecting its leader, designed to bring democracy and accountability first to MPs and then the party membership as well.

It is coming into play once again this summer as it is far from certain that the Establishment candidate, former chancellor Rishi Sunak, will manage a clear route to victory over the hurdles of repeated rounds of voting by calculating MPs, followed by the ballot of party members.

Before 1965 there were no rules. The next leader "emerged" after "the traditional processes" of "soundings" of MPs by what was bitterly called "a magic circle" of grandees.

Still, in 1963 when Harold Macmillan stood down, the eventual winner, Lord Home of the Hersel, was not a declared candidate or even properly available since he was a member of the Lords.

After an informal beauty contest during the party conference season, the Tories lost confidence in the front-runner Rab Butler and the reserve, Chancellor Reginald Maudling. Douglas-Home's foreign affairs speech had gone down well, so he went through the cumbersome process - ironically pioneered by the left-wing Lord Stansgate, aka Tony Benn - of abandoning his hereditary peerage to become an MP.

The UK briefly had a prime minister who was a member of neither of the Houses of Parliament before the newly knighted "Sir" Alec won the Kinross and West Perthshire by-election.

Labour's Harold Wilson won the general election in 1964. To modernise their image, the Conservatives introduced elections by Tory MPs only to choose the leader. The repeatedly revised rules making it easier to unseat the incumbent were just as important. In spite of losing office in two close elections in 1974, very few Conservatives - least of all the party leader Ted Heath - saw Margaret Thatcher coming.

When Conservative MPs felt Thatcher had outlived her usefulness more than a decade later, leadership challenges in successive years provided the mechanism to push her out.

Michael Heseltine had rallied the internal opposition to Thatcher, but neither he nor veteran cabinet ministers such as Douglas Hurd won the leadership.

That job, and with it the prime ministership, went instead to John Major, who shot like a meteor out of political obscurity.

Major pulled off a shock general election victory in 1992, but went down to a landslide defeat at the hands of Labour's Tony Blair in 1997.

The Conservatives set about refreshing themselves in opposition. The veteran cabinet minister Ken Clarke had the most votes in the first two rounds of voting by Conservative MPs. But the relatively inexperienced rising star William Hague eventually won through as other candidates were eliminated.

Hague tried to boost party membership by changing the rules for electing the leader. From then on, a vote by ordinary subscription-paying party members would make the final choice from a two-person shortlist assembled by MPs.

This introduced further uncertainty as to who would emerge as winner, since the careful calculations of MPs might not mesh with the emotions of the less equivocal party members.

Sure enough, the 2001 Tory leadership contest after Blair's second landslide victory was unpredictable from the start.

First, the campaign of golden boy Michael Portillo exploded on the launchpad, when he was unable to improve on his first-place lead. Seasoned ministers David Davis and Michael Ancram also fell by the wayside. And when the voters were offered the choice between the perennial candidate Ken Clarke and the little-known right-winger Iain Duncan Smith, they took a punt on IDS.

That went well. Two years later, he was sacked in a vote of no confidence by his own MPs.

The parade of unpredictable winners continued. David Cameron came from behind to trounce David Davis. After Cameron lost the EU referendum and quit in 2016, Boris Johnson, the face of Brexit, missed his chance, so did Andrea Leadsom another Brexiteer. The Tories ended up being led by Theresa May, who had been a Remainer.

Meanwhile, Labour underwent its own leadership traumas.

The weighted electoral college of trade unions delivered Ed Miliband over his brother David, the preferred candidate of the party's MPs and membership.

Next, after Ed tried to democratise the system by introducing one member one vote, a rush of new sign-ups delivered the far-left Jeremy Corbyn as his successor.

Occasionally, as happened with Michael Howard after Duncan Smith's time as leader of the opposition and when Mrs May was the only candidate left standing, the party leader has been anointed without the need of a vote by the grassroots. But this infuriates activists. In any case, this year's leadership is already hotly contested.

Only Boris Johnston has raised the possibility of a leader emerging by acclamation this month at Westminster. Six weeks have already been set aside for hustings by the last two candidates, a postal vote by members, followed by the declaration of the winner on 5 September.

Rishi Sunak is the Establishment candidate, and he led the first round of voting by MPs. But his 88 votes were less than those of first-round leaders who have gone on to win the Tory leadership. In the second round, the independent Brexiteer Penny Mordaunt was besting Johnson loyalist Liz Truss.

There is still plenty of room for unforeseen outcomes in the most diverse field ever of candidates.

On past form of Tory election contests, the real surprise will be if there isn't a "surprise winner".

SKY

 

[MenInG]

Penny Mordaunt has said fellow Conservative leadership candidates are trying to stop her from getting to the final round of the contest because she is who they most fear competing against head-to-head.

Tory leadership favourite Ms Mordaunt told Sky News' political editor Beth Rigby that she is "running a positive campaign" and warned her fellow competitors that "we shouldn't be doing each other down".

The trade minister also accused others of engaging in "black ops" and suggested that this approach could damage the Conservative Party going forwards.

"People obviously are trying to stop me getting into the final because they don't want to run against me," she said.

Probed on other Conservatives including former Brexit minister Lord Frost suggesting she is not competent enough to be prime minister, Ms Mordaunt continued: "People are going to try and stop me, and it's right. That is right. Anyone going for this job needs to be tested and scrutinised.

"You'll see from my campaign that I'm not engaging in any of that.

SKY

 

[Technics 1210]

The first Tory leadership debate is set to take place on Friday 15 July on Channel 4.

Further debates will be hosted over the coming days, with both ITV and Sky News broadcasting those events.

There are five remaining candidates in the running to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister in September; Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat and Kemi Badenoch.

The first round ballot took place on Wednesday 13 July, in which Jeremy Hunt and Nadhim Zahawi were eliminated. The second round took place on Thursday and Suella Braverman was voted out.

The remaining candidates will face each other in three televised debates and it is suspected that Mr Sunak and Mrs Mordaunt will go up against one another first as they are both currently leading the race.

When are the Tory leadership TV debates?
The first of the three debates will take place on Friday 15 July. A second debate will be aired on Sunday 17 July, with a third following on Monday 18 July.

What time will the TV debates be shown?
The first debate will be broadcast on Friday at 7.30pm on Channel 4. It will last for around 90 minutes and will be hosted by Krishnan Guru-Murthy.

The debate on Sunday evening will be broadcast at 7pm on ITV, and will run for around an hour.

The time of Monday’s debate on Sky has not yet been confirmed. Kay Burley will be hosting the debate, with the participating candidates facing questions from a virtual studio audience.

What have the networks said about the debates?
Louisa Compton, Channel 4’s head of news and current affairs, said: "We’re thrilled that all five candidates have agreed to take part in Channel 4’s leadership debate and answer questions from voters around the UK.

"This debate will be essential viewing for those wanting to know more about our next prime minister and what she or he stand for."

Michael Jermey, ITV’s director of news and current affairs said: "Television debates at important elections help voters engage with politics.

"ITV has been the home of some of the biggest political debates over the past decade. Sunday’s debate will be an important event as the country’s next prime minister is chosen."

Meanwhile, John Ryley, head of Sky News, said: "There has never been a more important time to reinvigorate the trust of voters in the office of the prime minister.

"This live TV debate on Sky News gives the candidates a chance to reconnect with millions by debating the major issues facing Britain. It presents a unique opportunity to re-engage a disillusioned electorate."

DT

 

[James]

Should be interesting tonight.

 

[James]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING - SNAP DEBATE POLL<br><br>Tonight we asked over 1000 normal voters to watch the debate and we have just asked them who they thought performed best. <br><br>Results:<br>Tugendhat 36%<br>Sunak 25%<br>Mordaunt 12%<br>Badenoch 12%<br>Truss 6% <a href="https://t.co/0q4IliqQNM">pic.twitter.com/0q4IliqQNM</a></p>— Opinium (@OpiniumResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/OpiniumResearch/status/1548037032248717318?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Robert]

Should be interesting tonight.

TT is the nightmare scenario for Sir Keir and Sir Ed because he comes over as likeable, capable and same. But Tory members won’t pick him for that reason.

Truss is just weird.

 

[James]

Truss is just weird.

Pre-programmed. Highly inauthentic

 

[MenInG]

Wooden is the word I am coming up with

==

Tugendhat quotes Dumbledore in leadership debate

One moment in tonight's debate might have felt familiar to viewers...

It appears Tory backbencher Tom Tugendhat decided to quote Harry Potter headmaster Albus Dumbledore while making his bid to be the next prime minister.

In a fiery debate about trust in government, he said: "It's easy to stand up to your enemies, it's sometimes harder to stand up to your friends."

The statement is almost identical to a comment made by Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

It was spotted by numerous people on social media, one of whom wrote: "Tom Tugendhat absolutely destroying the rest of the field this evening.

"An honest, admirable man whilst quoting Albus Dumbledore and ridiculing Boris Johnson. And he’s my MP. Excellent viewing."

 

[Robert]

Pre-programmed. Highly inauthentic

Wedded to a rigid set of laissez-faire rules, with no understanding of how ordinary folk live.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

TT is the nightmare scenario for Sir Keir and Sir Ed because he comes over as likeable, capable and same. But Tory members won’t pick him for that reason.

Truss is just weird.

I tend not to take much of an interest in politics, but I watched the debate yesteday and Tugendhat was impressive. I've voted for him on this poll, and I actually think he will make a very good PM. He's straightforward and seems fairly honest, not full of self importance and blather like Boris. And I'm sorry for all the fans on here, but I just don't trust Rishi.

 

[Technics 1210]

The debate was pointless. The public will not choose who the next Tory leader will be. The debate wasn't an episode of Britain Got Talent.

 

[shaz619]

I tend not to take much of an interest in politics, but I watched the debate yesteday and Tugendhat was impressive. I've voted for him on this poll, and I actually think he will make a very good PM. He's straightforward and seems fairly honest, not full of self importance and blather like Boris. And I'm sorry for all the fans on here, but I just don't trust Rishi.

I think it will be a shoot out between Rishi and Truss who seems to have a decent chunk of support. Tugendhat I’ve never heard of, wonder if this debate changes anything for his chances. Rishi mainly has rundian fans on here who don’t even live here lmao

 

[James]

<b>Almost half of 2019 Conservative voters believe Rishi Sunak would make a good prime minister.</b>

This is according to a poll that puts Penny Mordaunt behind both Liz Truss and the former chancellor.

A survey of more than 4,400 people found that, of those who had heard of each candidate, 48 per cent of those who backed the Tories in 2019 considered that Mr Sunak would be a good prime minister, compared to 39 per cent who said the same of Ms Truss and 33 per cent of Ms Mordaunt.

DT

 

[James]

<b>Summary / Update:—</b>

• All five candidates to be the new prime minister took part in their second TV debate tonight.

• They were all quizzed on the cost of living - Rishi Sunak said he would deliver tax cuts, but only "responsibly".

• He said "something for nothing economics" is socialism, not conservatism.

• Liz Truss accused Sunak of raising taxes to their highest level in 70 years while chancellor
Sunak, meanwhile, asked Truss which one she regretted being most - "a Lib Dem" or a "remainer".

• Penny Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch again clashed on past policies on trans rights.

• The candidates were asked to raise their hand if they would have Boris Johnson in their cabinet - none did so.

• And all five candidates said they would not hold an immediate general election if they became PM.

• The upcoming week is decisive - one candidate will be knocked out each day, after votes by Tory MPs, leaving the final two on Wednesday.

• The winner will then be decided by a vote of Conservative Party members.

BBC

 

[James]

<b>Tory leadership: Rivals get personal in latest TV debate</b>

Tory leadership rivals stepped up their attacks on each other's records and policies in their latest TV debate.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak tax rises he introduced would "choke off" growth.

Mr Sunak accused Ms Truss of peddling "something-for-nothing economics".

Other flashpoints were trans rights, Brexit and trust in politics.

All five ruled out an early general election if they become prime minister in seven weeks' time.

At one point, the candidates were asked to raise their hands if they would give departing Prime Minister Boris Johnson a job in their cabinet. None of them did.

MPs will vote for a third time on Monday as they whittle down the field to two, who will then face postal ballot of Tory members to decide who will be the next prime minister.

In the hour-long ITV debate, some of the fiercest clashes were between Mr Sunak and Ms Truss, whose divisions over how to bring rising living costs under control while growing the economy were laid bare.

The record of Mr Sunak - who won the first two rounds of MPs' voting - as chancellor has come under sustained attack during the leadership campaign.

Mr Sunak has been forced to defend tax rises introduced during his time as chancellor, including April's hike in National Insurance to pay for social care and the NHS.

In the debate, Ms Truss said Mr Sunak had "raised taxes to the highest level in 70 years", arguing that this was "not going to drive economic growth".

"The fact is that raising taxes at this moment will choke off economic growth, it will prevent us getting the revenue we need to pay off the debt," Ms Truss.

Mr Sunak responded that the pandemic damaged the economy and the money has to be paid back.

"There's a cost to these things and the cost of higher inflation, higher mortgage rates, eroded savings," Mr Sunak said.

"And you know what? This something for nothing economics isn't Conservative. It's socialism."

Trade minister Penny Mordaunt - the bookmakers' favourite to win the race - said the limited tax cuts she advocated were not inflationary and people need help now with the cost of living.

"I don't understand why Rishi doesn't understand that," she said.

There were also sharp exchanges between Ms Mordaunt and former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch over a row about the self-identification for transgender people.

Ahead of the debate, Ms Mordaunt told the BBC there were a "number of smears going on in the papers" and dismissed claims she had backed gender self-identification when she was an equalities minister in 2019.

"I think this whole thing is unedifying," Ms Mordaunt said. "I know why this is being done. What I would say to you is, all attempts to paint me as an out of touch individual will fail."

Tom Tugendhat - chairman of the foreign affairs select committee - challenged Ms Mordaunt to give the "details of the plans you are laying out".

Ms Mordaunt said: "I think there's a couple of things we need in order to win the next general election: one of them is me as the prime minister because the polling shows that I'm the only one that can beat Keir Starmer and take the fight to Labour."

The five remaining candidates are vying to succeed Boris Johnson as Tory leader and prime minister after a cabinet mutiny forced him to resign.

The candidates passed the first two rounds of voting among Tory MPs, with the next ballot due on Monday, when the bottom-placed candidate will be knocked out.

The field will be whittled down to two final contenders by the end of next week, before around 160,000 Tory members decide the party's next leader in a postal vote.

The result will be announced on 5 September, when Mr Johnson will leave office.

Mr Johnson's replacement will inherit a flagging economy left reeling by rocketing inflation and the legacy of a government mired by controversies, such as Covid-19 rule-breaking in Downing Street.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62200186

 

[MenInG]

Former chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss engaged in bad-tempered exchanges as the five remaining Conservative leadership rivals faced off in the second televised debate before they will be whittled down to just four later today.

In a stand-out moment of the debate, all the candidates refused to put their hand up when asked if they would give Boris Johnson a job in their cabinet if they became prime minister.

Mr Sunak had earlier accused Ms Truss of peddling "something-for-nothing" economics after she said he was choking off growth by raising taxes to their highest level in 70 years.

In response to trade minister Penny Mordaunt saying she would not keep to his rule of only borrowing to invest, Mr Sunak said not even former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn advocated such fiscal loosening.

Ms Truss, who was criticised for a poor performance in the first debate, immediately went on the offensive in the second encounter, which was broadcast by ITV.


The foreign secretary attacked Mr Sunak's record in the Treasury, telling him: "Rishi, you have raised taxes to the highest level in 70 years. That is not going to drive economic growth.

"You raised national insurance, even though people like me opposed it in cabinet at the time because we could have afforded to fund the NHS through general taxation.

"The fact is that raising taxes at this moment will choke off economic growth; it will prevent us getting the revenue we need to pay off the debt."

The stakes are now even higher, so the division was sharper, the attacks blunter.

Rishi Sunak pummelled his way to centre stage in this debate, time and again concentrating his firepower on Liz Truss calling her unconservative, socialist, a Lib Dem and a remainer.

But unlike Friday Liz Truss really went up a gear as well, attacking Sunak’s tax rises and said he would be choking the economy, as well as offering an uncharacteristic moment of humility admitting she’s not got the slickest of presentation skills..

Penny Mordaunt repeatedly looked for a third way through the issues and reached above the fray to the audience at home - could that work with the audience?

Meanwhile Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat pummelled each other on the sidelines in battle to avoid relegation tomorrow.

This race is still wide open. Normally by this stage there’s obvious momentum behind one candidate.

Not this time - meaning the third and final TV debate of this phase - between the last three remaining candidates on Tuesday, could now be the most important of all.

Mr Sunak said the pandemic damaged the economy and public finances had to be rebuilt.

"I'd love to stand here and say, 'look, I'll cut this tax, that tax and another tax, and it will all be OK.' But you know what? It won't," he said.

"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."

Ms Mordaunt said the limited tax cuts she advocated were not inflationary, and that people across the country need help now with the cost of living.

"I don't understand why Rishi doesn't understand that," she said.

Mr Sunak said: "It is one thing to borrow for long-term investment. It is a whole other thing to put the day-to-day bills on the country's credit card. It is not just wrong, it is dangerous.

"Even Jeremy Corbyn didn't go that far."

Mr Sunak added: "If we are not for sound money, what is the point of the Conservative Party?"

Penny Mordaunt defended the limited tax cuts plan she has implemented
Badenoch takes aim at Mordaunt and Tugendhat

There were further furious exchanges between Ms Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch - who accused the trade minister in the first debate of having pushed a policy of gender self-identification for people who wanted to legally change their gender when she had government responsibility for the issue.

Following further reports in the press casting doubts on her denials, Ms Mordaunt said: "I know why this is being done, but I would say all attempts to paint me as an out of touch individual will fail."

Ms Badenoch repeatedly tried to interrupt, saying: "Penny, I was just telling the truth. I am telling the truth."

She also took aim at Tory leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat, telling him: "Serving in government is not easy.

"It requires taking difficult decisions. Tom has never done that. It's very easy for him to criticise what we've been doing, but we have been out there on the front line making the case," she said.

Mr Tugendhat retorted that, as a former Army officer, he had been on the front line in Afghanistan and Iraq and had led "in the argument against Putin and China".

She responded: "You haven't taken any decisions, talking is easy."

One more Tory hopeful is set to be eliminated today when Tory MPs cast their votes in the third round of the leadership battle.

Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt maintained their places at the top end of the leaderboard in first and second spot respectively following the second ballot.

Ms Truss, who came in third, will hope to pick up votes from Attorney General Suella Braverman who endorsed her candidacy after she was eliminated in the last round.

Ms Badenoch was fourth, with Mr Tugendhat in fifth place.

There will be successive rounds of voting by MPs until only two contenders remain.

SKY

 

[silentkiller187]

Sky News has cancelled its Conservative leadership debate after Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss pulled out from the event.

The debate was due to be hosted by Kay Burley tomorrow evening.

Conservative MPs are said to be concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the image of the party, exposing disagreements and splits.

Head of Sky News, John Ryley, said: "Sky News has campaigned for an independent commission to organise the running of TV debates between leaders of Britain's main parties.

"Sky News and other broadcasters worked successfully together on televised leadership debates ahead of the 2010 general election."

Tory leadership candidates to be whittled down to four - Politics latest

Mr Sunak and Ms Truss engaged in bad-tempered exchanges as the five remaining Conservative leadership rivals faced off in the second televised debate on ITV last night.

Those still in the running to become the next Conservative Party leader are Mr Sunak, Ms Truss, Penny Mordaunt, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat.

Responding to the announcement, a spokesman for Ms Badenoch said: "The people standing in this contest are friends as well as colleagues and afterwards the party must come together to deliver for the country.

"Kemi welcomes public scrutiny - it builds trust. She is open to a debate which sheds light on the issues that matter, but not one which is designed purely to cause a row."

A source from Tom Tugendhat's team said he has "never stepped away from public scrutiny and has been the one candidate who has always put himself forward to the media holding an hour's Q&A last week".

"Given candidates are putting themselves forward to hold the greatest office in the land they should subject themselves to a similar level of scrutiny. If not through debates then in other formats," the source added.

In the ITV leadership debate on Sunday, Mr Sunak accused Ms Truss of peddling "something-for-nothing" economics after she said he was choking off growth by raising taxes to their highest level in 70 years.

Meanwhile, the foreign secretary attacked Mr Sunak's record in the Treasury, telling him: "Rishi, you have raised taxes to the highest level in 70 years. That is not going to drive economic growth.

"You raised national insurance, even though people like me opposed it in cabinet at the time because we could have afforded to fund the NHS through general taxation.

"The fact is that raising taxes at this moment will choke off economic growth; it will prevent us getting the revenue we need to pay off the debt."

There were further furious exchanges between Ms Mordaunt and Ms Badenoch - who accused the trade minister in the first debate of having pushed a policy of gender self-identification for people who wanted to legally change their gender when she had government responsibility for the issue.

A Labour spokesperson told Sky News: "The country deserves better than Tory candidates hiding from scrutiny simply because their first two performances have shown they would be a danger to the economy and the future of the UK."

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey added: "The Conservatives say they want to lead but they won't even turn up to debate the issues that matter to our country."

One more PM hopeful is set to be eliminated today when Tory MPs cast their votes in the third round of the leadership battle.

Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt maintained their places at the top end of the leaderboard in first and second spot respectively following the second ballot.

Ms Truss, who came in third, will hope to pick up votes from Attorney General Suella Braverman who endorsed her candidacy after she was eliminated in the last round.

There will be successive rounds of voting by MPs this week until only two contenders remain.

SKY

 

[Robert]

Word is that the Tory members favour Badenoch.

 

[Technics 1210]

Looks like the Snake and MisTruss have exposed themselves in the debates. A sweet positive!

 

[James]

Feels like the Tory Party internally (not the members) wants the Final Two to be Sunak and Truss, and they are worried that any further live televised infighting would compromise that goal.

Badenoch, Mordaunt and Tugendhat are the best candidates. A Kemi-Penny contest is favoured by Conservative Party members.

 

[shaz619]

Feels like the Tory Party internally (not the members) wants the Final Two to be Sunak and Truss, and they are worried that any further live televised infighting would compromise that goal.

Badenoch, Mordaunt and Tugendhat are the best candidates. A Kemi-Penny contest is favoured by Conservative Party members.

The Johnson rot will impact them for sometime

 

[Robert]

They have called off the third debate - it is hurting the Party image!

 

[MenInG]

Tugendhat will not withdraw from Tory leadership race

Tom Tugendhat has said he will not withdraw from the Tory leadership race, despite facing the prospect of being eliminated in the latest ballot of MPs on Monday.

In a speech to a behind-closed-doors hustings organised by the backbench 1922 Committee, Mr Tugendhat indicated he was aware his backing from Tory MPs is likely to be below that his rivals.

It is understood he told MPs: "Tonight we go to the voting booth again.

"And some colleagues have suggested that I should step aside, that I should fall in behind someone else, that I've run a good campaign and can leave with my head held high.

"It will come as no surprise that some have suggested I could leave with a job as well. But my view is clear. It is not for me to make that decision - it is for you.

"Were I to withdraw now then somebody else would be eliminated tonight without the opportunity to make their case further, without the chance for you to judge them, to look at their record and to make one of the most consequential decisions of our time in Parliament."

SKY

 

[MenInG]

Coming up: Tory leadership contest whittled down and MPs to vote on confidence motion

MPs may be staging a vote of confidence in the government, but that is by no means the only significant event happening in Westminster tonight.

The remaining Tory hopefuls in the leadership contest will be whittled down further this evening, with Conservative MPs casting their ballots on who they want as PM for a third time.

Voting is set to take place from 5pm until 7pm, with the result expected at 8pm.

The confidence vote will not take place till around 10pm, with the results expected around 20 to 30 minutes later.

If the government is defeated, it is likely that a general election would be triggered - but that is not expected to happen.

The government took the unusual step of tabling a confidence motion in itself after rejecting a similar motion from Labour which sought to oust Mr Johnson immediately.

No 10 refused to accept the wording of the Labour motion, which expressed no confidence in both the government and the PM, effectively forcing Tory MPs to go on record saying they still had confidence in Mr Johnson if they wanted to avoid an election.

SKY

 

[Robert]

Confidence motion is a pointless stunt.

 

[MenInG]

Latest round of Tory leadership votes closes

The latest round of voting by Conservative MPs for their new leader is closing.

At the moment, we have five remaining candidates: Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Penny Mordaunt, Tom Tugendhat and Kemi Badenoch.

But the contenders to replace Boris Johnson will soon be whittled down to just four.

The third round of voting took place in the House of Commons this afternoon, between 5pm and 7pm.

The results will be announced by Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee, at around 8pm.

The candidate with the fewest votes will leave the race.

 

[MenInG]

The one decent person amongst these idiots....

==

Results of third ballot in

The results of the third ballot in the Tory leadership race have been announced by Sir Graham Brady.

The candidate with the fewest votes - Tom Tugendhat - will now leave the race to replace Boris Johnson.

The results are as follows:

Kemi Badenoch - 58 (up by nine from second round)
Penny Mordaunt - 82 (down by one from second round)
Rishi Sunak - 115 (up by 14 from second round)
Liz Truss - 71 (up by seven from second round)
Tom Tugendhat - 31 (down by one from second round)

==


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Although it wasn’t to be today, I am immensely proud of the positive vision we put forward for our country. <br><br>Thank you to all those who supported me and believed in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ACleanStart?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ACleanStart</a>. This is only the beginning! <a href="https://t.co/KgODn9xuNx">pic.twitter.com/KgODn9xuNx</a></p>— Tom Tugendhat (@TomTugendhat) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomTugendhat/status/1549107460752957441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Technics 1210]

Putting the vote aside what I find more intriguing is the black community are not supporting Kemi Badenoch.

Tsk tsk. The first black PM, and a WOMAN, is up for grabs, a poignant moment, but no, near zero support from her creed. Maybe because she is married to a white bloke is the reason and her appointment as PM would destroy the liberal cries?

You go girl! You have my support!

 

[irfan]

Putting the vote aside what I find more intriguing is the black community are not supporting Kemi Badenoch.

Tsk tsk. The first black PM, and a WOMAN, is up for grabs, a poignant moment, but no, near zero support from her creed. Maybe because she is married to a white bloke is the reason and her appointment as PM would destroy the liberal cries?

You go girl! You have my support!

maybe it's because she's a bit of a right wing loon who's married into a global bankster family