A live TV debate planned as part of the Conservative Party's leadership campaign has been cancelled after two front runners pulled out. Sky News has confirmed that the show which was due to air tomorrow (July 19) has been called off after former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and current Foreign Secretary Liz Truss decided to not participate.
So far, debates have aired live on Channel 4 and ITV, with Sky's due to take place following tonight's vote as Tory MPs prepare to eliminate another candidate. Alongside Mr Sunak and Mrs Truss, Penny Mordaunt, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat are the remaining candidates.
In a statement, Sky News said that there has been concerns raised about the televised hustings becoming slanging matches and the negative impact this has on the Tory Party, suggesting this was the reason the duo pulled out. The channel's bosses added that Mr Sunak and Mrs Truss are welcome to take part in a televised debate though if they change their minds.
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Sky News said: “Tuesday evening’s live television debate on Sky News between the Conservative Party leadership candidates has been cancelled. Two of the three candidates currently leading in the MPs’ ballots – Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss – have confirmed to Sky News that they do not want to take part.
“Conservative MPs are said to be concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the image of the Conservative Party, exposing disagreements and splits within the party. Both are very welcome to take part in future Sky News televised debates.”
Elsewhere, Ms Mordaunt has been accused by her boss of missing ministerial meetings because she was planning for her leadership bid. The Trade Minister’s lack of attendance in meetings meant her colleagues have had to fill in, International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said in an attack on the leadership hopeful.
The Cabinet minister is backing Mr Tugendhat, but he is at risk of being eliminated from the contest in the next round of voting. Ms Mordaunt’s record in office came in for further attack from Ms Trevelyan on LBC Radio on this morning.
Asked about Ms Mordaunt’s grasp of details, Ms Trevelyan said: “We all do our jobs in different ways. Understandably, perhaps, now it’s clear, Penny has for the last few months spent some of her time focused on preparing her leadership campaign, for which I have utmost respect, that’s how this system works.”
Ms Trevelyan added: “There have been a number of times when she hasn’t been available, which would have been useful, and other ministers have picked up the pieces.”
Mr Tugendhat had fewer votes than his remaining rivals in the last ballot on Thursday and he thought to be at most risk in the next round of voting. Ms Trevelyan said she hopes he will get another chance to run for the leadership if he fails in this attempt, saying: “He has this extraordinary ability to bring people together to work with him who would not otherwise work together.
“I think it’s a genuine gift and I wanted the rest of the world to see much more of it. If this isn’t his time, I hope that there will be a future time when he can lead the party.”
Cabinet minister Kit Malthouse said he expects the Tories to pull together in a “spirit of harmony and love” after the leadership battle. “All political parties are standing coalitions and the Conservative Party is the same,” he told Sky News.
“A vigorous exchange of ideas, in what is a challenging time for the country, should be expected when you are talking about such important issues and the leadership of a G7 nation. If it was just a polite agreement and consensus across the board, there wouldn’t be much point in having a competition at all.”
Mr Malthouse has not publicly declared his support for any of the candidates to succeed Mr Johnson. A series of votes among Tory MPs this week will whittle the contenders down to a final two, who will then campaign until a final vote, the results of which will be announced on September 5. Whoever wins is expected to take on the role of prime minister the following day.
Mr Sunak said that if he is successful his first foreign trip would be to Kyiv to stress the UK’s continued support for Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion. He told The Sun: “I will reinforce our policy of total support for Ukraine that Boris has so ably led.”
But Ms Mordaunt said her campaign had the support of 10 Ukrainian MPs. Meanwhile, Ms Truss seized on analysis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research which suggested that tax revenues in 2024/25 will be around £60 billion more than the Office for Budget Responsibility estimates, partly due to the impact of high inflation.
A spokeswoman for Ms Truss said: “The CEBR analysis shows that there is money for tax cuts whilst still bringing debt down.”
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