Rishi Sunak was the unexpected winner of the Sky News Tory leadership debate tonight - minutes after he was asked if he would withdraw from the race.
Challenged over whether his wealth made him difficult for the public to relate to, Mr Sunak responded: "I think people judge people by their character rather than their bank account."
Polls suggest that the former Chancellor has some way to go if he is to overtake rival Liz Truss.
But in a show of hands following tonight's leadership debate, which was hosted by Kay Burley, the vast majority of the audience said they favoured him rather than Ms Truss.
In a wide range of questioning, Mr Sunak was grilled over his absence from Parliament whenever a vote had been carried out on abortion.
He claimed this was a coincidence and said he would not be pushing for a change in existing laws.
Mr Sunak also hit back when again confronted by a party member who accused him of disloyalty to Boris Johnson, who still enjoys widespread support within the party membership in spite of his multiple failings.
Referencing the Chris Pincher scandal, an animated Mr Sunak told an audience member: "That was a serious ethical question that the government was on the wrong side of.
"Maybe you could defend it, but I couldn't."
Mr Sunak has vowed he will not concede despite Liz Truss being the frontrunner, and pledged to "fight incredibly hard 'til the last day" of the leadership campaign.
The former chancellor told a Conservative party member who asked if there was a point when he would stand aside: "The quick answer is no, and that's because I'm fighting for something I really believe in and I'm taking my ideas around the country.
"I'm talking to all of you, our members across the country about what I think is best for our country at a really difficult time. And I want to have that debate with people because I passionately believe what I'm saying is right. I want to convince as many people of that as possible and hopefully I can do that with you all tonight."
He added: "I'm going to fight incredibly hard 'til the last day of this campaign for each and every one of your votes.
"The stakes are really high. I'm passionate at what I believe in, and I want to try and convince you all that I'm right."
On whether there is nothing he can do about a recession, Rishi Sunak told the Sky News debate: "Of course, there is, of course."
He added: "What is causing the recession, right, as you heard from the Bank of England today and I think Liz (Truss) said something before, which I'm just going to correct.
"It's not the tax burden that is causing the recession. That's simply wrong. What's causing the recession is inflation. That's the root of the problems, not just here, but in America and elsewhere.
"So the way we're gonna get through this first and foremost is gripping inflation."
He noted he does not want inflation to be "worse" and "last longer", adding: "So what I'm not going to do is embark on a borrowing spree worth tens of billions of pounds, put that on the country's credit card, ask our kids and our grandkids to pick up the tab because that's not right. That's not responsible."
He continued: "We in the Conservative Party need to get real and fast. The lights on the economy are flashing red and the root cause is inflation. I'm worried Liz Truss' plans will make the situation worse."
