Three of the five remaining candidates to become prime minister declined to be interviewed on the BBC’s flagship politics show today, the broadcaster has claimed.
Sunday morning presenter Sophie Raworth said former chancellor Rishi SunakMinister of Foreign Affairs Liz Truss and ex-minister Kemi Badenoch refused to appear on the program.
The no-shows come ahead of a pivotal week of voting in which Tory MPs will determine the final two contenders to lead the UK.
About 180,000 members of the Conservative Party will then decide who will be their leader – and thus the prime minister – in early September, while the competition is still open.
Sunak is ahead of MPs votes, but polls suggest he could lose to one of his four rivals if the contest goes to Tory members.
Penny Mordaunt, the bookmakers’ favorite and international development secretary, declined to go into detail about her plans to help people with living expenses when she appeared on the show this morning.
Commission President Tom Tugendhat said the focus should not be on ‘jam tomorrow’ but should help with ‘warming up for Christmas’.
All five candidates appeared in a live televised debate on Channel 4 on Friday night – and there will be similar events tonight and Tuesday.
But two of the leading contenders, Truss and Sunak, have given little further media attention — keeping press inquiries and television appearances to a minimum in cautious campaigns seemingly aimed at avoiding mistakes.
The Sunday morning shows are seen as an important part of Westminster’s weekly schedule, but neither candidate chose to participate in Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday or Sunday morning.
Sophie Raworth from the BBC explained: ‘We’ve asked all of them to appear here this morning, only two have taken up that offer.’
She then questioned Tugendhat about his plans to help families struggling to pay their bills.
He replied, “The first thing… is to cut fuel costs, because we already know that fuel is the foundation of such a big part of our economy, so yeah, that’s exactly what I’m going to do, I’m going to the cost of excise duty on fuel by 10 pence per litre.
“The second thing…is to see how we support people in their homes, because the reality is there’s a lot of talk about jam tomorrow right now, but what we really need is warmth for Christmas.”
He confirmed that he would give people money to help with their energy bills.
“We need to create a lower tax agenda,” said the military veteran.
“So that those who… need benefits to help them through a difficult period actually get benefits and then improve their lives for themselves.”
Ms Mordaunt told the BBC: ‘There needs to be immediate, targeted support for people, but in terms of corporate and other taxes this is not the place to do that.
“I set out the principles under which I would operate, but not the levels.”
Despite being pressured to provide more details, she suggested that the budget or other fiscal event – to come after the next prime minister has been decided – would be the right time to reveal more concrete plans.
Elsewhere, Bridget Phillipson, Labor’s shadow education secretary, was asked which candidate she was most concerned about in a general election.
She told Sophy Ridge, “I’m not worried about any of them. I don’t think we have anything to fear from any of the candidates.
“The reason is that they have all supported Boris Johnson and the Conservative government for 12 years now.”
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