Leadership Debate: Who won?

By Ellis Asher

[Image by the BBC]

BBC 1 saw the two candidates, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss clash at 9 pm last night.

Going into the debate Truss had been leading Sunak in the polls at a 24% advantage.

Following the debate, a vote hosted on The Telegraph had Foreign Secretary Truss nearly even with Former Chancellor Sunak when readers were asked who they thought won. [Accurate at the time of writing]

According to The Mail Online, conservative viewers believed Liz Truss had won 47% to 38%, but "viewers overall said ex-Chancellor edged it".

Highlights

The pair discussed the economy, their educational backgrounds, the clothes they wore and Brexit, but seemed to agree on a few issues by the end.

Taxes and the economy were the first issue discussed and presented the largest divide between the two.

Truss continued her promises of tax cuts, against Sunak's claims that cutting taxes now would not be conservative.

Sunak, after failing to answer Faisal Islam's question and name a G7 nation planning to raise taxes, claimed that Truss' tax cuts would require a 7% interest rate rise.

"This is project fear," Truss said, which brought the pair onto Brexit, where Sunak mentioned that Truss was a remainer.

Perhaps the most noteworthy question came from BBC Political editor Chris Mason, who asked if the quote "the British are the worst idlers in the world" was what she was saying.

The quote was taken from a book she co-authored as a part of the Free Enterprise Group called Britannica Unchained.

Truss responded that the quote came from a chapter written by Dominic Raab, who she claimed supported Sunak.

On Newsnight, Raab said: "We all took collective responsibility on the book. We all agreed the chapter on debt".

Liz Truss was asked if she denounced a comment made by Nadine Dorries which criticised Sunak for the price of his suit, comparing Truss' earings which were apparently much cheaper and allegedly from retailer Claires.

She didn't denounce the comment but asked the audience if they cared about the candidate's fashion choices and said that she saw them shaking their heads.

"They don't want to hear about this," she said.

The debate ended with some agreement, with both candidates not willing to promise to send British Navy ships into the black sea, causing military involvement in the war in Ukraine.

You can watch the full debate here.