A summary of today's developments
In the latest hustings in Cheltenham, Liz Truss has warned the UK is in “real danger” of “talking ourselves into a recession” as she defended her plans to cut taxes. But Rishi Sunak criticised Truss’s approach as he said that he is not willing to “pursue policies that risk making inflation far worse and last far longer”.
Truss again criticised the media, two days after apologising for criticising the media during the last hustings. The foreign secretary also pledged to “reform the BBC licence fee and I certainly think it is completely wrong that so many women are in jail for non-payment of it”.
Asked why he believed Tory MP Chris Skidmore had defected from his campaign to Truss’s, Sunak pointed out he “led in every single round” of the parliamentary stage of the contest. The former chancellor said: “We are only half way through this thing. I am going to fight until the last day with everything I have got because I am fighting for what I believe in.”
Rishi Sunak frustrated government attempts to realise benefits of Brexit, Liz Truss allies claim.
Number of patients waiting more than 12 hours in A&E in England was up 33% in July from the previous month. A record 29,317 people had to wait more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England in July from a decision to admit to actually being admitted.
Hospital waiting lists in England reach a record high of 6.7 million. The number of people in England waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen above previous records.
Wes Streeting accuses Tory leadership contenders of ignoring “biggest crisis in NHS’s history”. Streeting, the shadow health secretary, accused Truss and Sunak of ignoring what he called “the biggest crisis in the NHS’s history”. He posted this in response to the latest performance figures from NHS England.
Energy bosses start talks with Nadhim Zahawi and Kwasi Kwarteng. The bosses of some of the UK’s biggest energy companies have started a meeting with the chancellor and the business secretary, who are expected to pressure them to invest in green energy rather than payouts for shareholders.
Gordon Brown’s call for nationalisation as a possible solution to energy bills crisis receives mixed reception. The former Labour prime minister has used an article in today’s Guardian to propose that the government should halt the increases in the energy price cap planned for later this year and next year and, if necessary, take energy companies into public ownership to ensure that they keep prices down.
Suella Braverman got £10,000 from climate sceptic for Tory leadership campaign, while Tom Tugendhat raised £120,000, first donation records show.
Boris Johnson tells energy bosses it will be up to his successor to decide any new announcements on energy bills. Downing Street has released its readout of what happened at the meeting with energy company bosses this morning. Boris Johnson joined the meeting, which was originally just meant to be hosted by Zahawi and Kwarteng.
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And that brings the hustings in Cheltenham to an end.
