Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss trade economic blows in first head-to-head TV debate
- ranchifarida
- Jul 26, 2022
- 1 min read
Rishi Sunak pipped Liz Truss in the first direct TV debate of the Conservative Party leadership race in a series of fired-up clashes, according to a snap poll issued minutes later.
The poll by Opinium, based on a sample of 1,032 voters, found 39 per cent believed Mr Sunak had performed best compared to 38 per cent for Ms Truss.
The pair sought to land knockout blows in criticism of each other's economic plans during the hour-long TV appearance in Stoke, central England.
Mr Sunak hammered the point there was “nothing Conservative” about Ms Truss’s approach and it would give the party “absolutely no chance” of winning the next election.
Ms Truss, the Foreign Secretary, suggested her rival would lead the country into a recession.
She said she would put an economic growth plan in place “immediately” if she became prime minister, along with a temporary moratorium on the green energy levy.
The increase in national insurance would also be reversed, Ms Truss said.
Mr Sunak said he would like to make sure that his government “always” had policies in place to support through the crisis in the cost of living.
The pair clashed on the BBC after a weekend in which their allies traded increasingly personal attacks.
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