Tory leadership debate: Rishi Sunak fails to achieve breakthrough against Liz Truss
New StatesmanJul 26, 2022
Tory Leadership Battle: Debate Presenter Faints, Truss Pulls Ahead of Sunak
Photo: AFP [via The Telegraph]
The Facts
A UK Conservative Party Leadership debate between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak was cut short on Tues. when Kate McCann, the debate's presenter, fainted live on-air. It was later confirmed that she wasn't hurt.
Before the incident, the candidates faced scrutiny over a failing NHS and an intensifying cost-of-living crisis. Sunak pledged to introduce a £12B tax to fund social care as PM, with Truss saying a tax would be "morally wrong" as people are struggling.
The Spin
Left narrative
The only real winner of these debates is the Labour Party. Such ferocious and ad hominem attacks - such as the attention drawn to multimillionaire Sunak's exclusive education - are making the Tories look more divided than ever. Only Keir Starmer can solve the current problems of tax, social care, and public spending.
Right narrative
So-called "blue-on-blue" attacks are not harming the Conservative Party. On the contrary, these debates are an organized and democratic way of demonstrating that the party has a broad appeal, with diverse political philosophies that strengthen its governance. Labour should regret ever having forced Johnson down.
Nerd narrative
There is a 30% chance that Rishi Sunak will win the UK Conservative Party leadership election, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
