Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak were set to go head to head again on Tuesday night as the former chancellor appealed for unity after Monday’s acrimonious BBC TV showdown.
After fierce clashes over the economy, Brexit and relations with China, the two Tory candidates vying to be Britain’s next prime minister will confront each other when they take part in another live televised debate hosted by The Sun and Talk TV.
Following the BBC debate, Mr Sunak was accused of “mansplaining” and “shouty private school behaviour” after he repeatedly interrupted and challenged Ms Truss over her plans to immediately cut taxes to ease the cost of living crisis and boost economic growth.
The Foreign Secretary, meanwhile, rubbished Mr Sunak’s own plans for the economy, saying it would tip the economy into recession and accused him of running “project fear”.
Responding to claims he was too aggressive during the BBC debate, Mr Sunak defended his approach and told the Standard today: “The freedom of speech and debate is one of the greatest privileges we have, which makes me immensely proud to be British.
Whatever happens in this leadership election, it’s vital that we reunite as a country, and remain united as a party. Only a united party can rebuild our economy with the right plan and restore trust in our politics.”
But Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke, who worked closely with Mr Sunak until he quit as chancellor earlier this month and is now supporting Ms Truss, said his former boss was “certainly extremely aggressive in the early moments of the debate”.
He added on LBC: “I’ve always found Rishi very reasonable to work with, but it was a pretty intense approach to the early moments of the debate last night, and I’m not really sure that it worked.”
The bruising BBC encounter came despite appeals from Tory grandees to tone down the “blue on blue” attacks amid concerns they are exposing deep divisions in the party and handing Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer a gift.
The former Brexit minister and veteran Conservative David Davis, who is now supporting Mr Sunak after switching from Penny Mordaunt, said the leadership debate was “fiercer than previous debates”.
However, he dismissed the suggestion that the former chancellor was “mansplaining” to Ms Truss as “spin”.
He told Sky News: “Sometimes it’s important to intervene in debates. When we’re in the Commons we have these comparatively fierce exchanges lots of times, all the time.”
He went on to question Ms Truss’s tax cutting plans, saying they could lead to interest rates rising and mortgage rates climbing to more than seven per cent, and her reinvention as an arch Brexiter having supported Remain at the 2016 EU referendum. “The simple truth is that the price of the policy that Liz was proposing was that well, base rates could go up to seven per cent.
“I’m quite surprised, actually, Rishi didn’t point out that mortgage rates and commercial rates probably eight, nine, 10 per cent — four times what it is now.”
He added on LBC: “Back in 2016 if you were in the Tory party, you we’re on the wrong side of your career, from the point of view of David Cameron, if you supported Brexit. Rishi had the courage to do it. Liz for whatever reason went the other way. She went with the establishment of the day.”
Instant polling from Opinium after last night’s debate in Stoke-on-Trent showed that 47 per cent of Tory voters thought Ms Truss came out on top compared to 38 per cent for Mr Sunak.
However, among regular voters the survey showed Mr Sunak had just edged it with 39 per cent to 38 per cent.
But Mr Clarke said: “What we heard from Liz was a very compelling argument as to why is it so important that we look to lower the burden of taxation, galvanise the growth which is so important both in terms of funding or public services, but also in terms of protecting jobs at a time when we know the world economy is struggling.
“I think we heard from her as to why a lot of the counter arguments from Rishi simply don’t hold water.”
This evening’s debate, which will be screened on The Sun’s digital platforms as well as on Talk TV, will take place in front of a small studio audience of the paper’s readers who, unlike last night’s BBC debate, will be able to question the two candidates.
Sir Keir meanwhile sought to capitalise on the splits at the top of the Tory party, saying the first head-to-head TV showdown last night demonstrated the Conservatives had “lost any real sense of purpose”.
He told BBC Breakfast: “If ever there was an example of a party that is absolutely lost the plot, any sense of purpose then it was that debate last night”.
