MPs will stage a vote of confidence in the government on Monday amid renewed opposition calls for Boris Johnson to step down immediately and hand over to a caretaker prime minister.
If the government is defeated it would almost certainly trigger a general election, although that would require a significant number of Tory MPs to vote against it, or at least abstain.
Conservative rivals clashed over tax policies in the second live debate on ITV this evening in their bid to be the new prime minister.
Rishi Sunak pushed back against Liz Truss after she accused him of raising taxes to the “highest level in 70 years” adding that raising taxes would “choke off” economic growth.
Mr Sunak responded: “I’d love to stand here and say, ‘I’ll cut this tax, I’ll cut that tax, and it’ll all be okay’. But you know what? It won’t … This something for nothing economics isn’t conservative – it’s socialism.”
The five contenders to replace Boris Johnson were asked whether they would let him sit at their cabinet table during the ITV leadership debate, and none of them raised their hands
