This is the awkward moment Tory MPs squirmed when asked if… Boris Johnson is ‘an honest man’ – because Tom Tugendhat was applauded for being the only candidate to give a clear answer.
The five remaining candidates appeared in a live debate on Channel 4 on Friday night to answer questions on a range of topics, including the… cost of living crisis and whether they can all be trusted.
But the opening questions of the debate were dominated by the shadow of Mr Johnson’s time in office, with: Liz TrussPenny Mordaunt, Kemi BadenochRishi Sunak and Mr Tugendhat asked if he is an honest man.
Former Equality Minister Kemi Badenoch was the first to reply, “Sometimes.”
Mrs Mordaunt then added: ‘There have been some very serious problems and I think he has paid a price for that.’
Former Chancellor Sunak, who resigned from ex-health minister Sajid Javid, led to Johnson’s downfall, said there were a “number of reasons” why he left his post.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson pictured during his statement announcing his resignation last week
The five remaining candidates appeared in a live debate on Channel 4 for studio audiences on Friday night
He replied, “I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt for as long as I could and finally I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t, so I resigned…
“There were a number of reasons why I resigned, but trust and honesty were part of them.”
Secretary of State Ms Truss said the Prime Minister had been “very clear himself that he had made mistakes in government” but that she had taken his statement for false statements about Partygate “at face value”.
Mr Tugendhat, a long-standing critic of the Prime Minister, went on to receive a round of applause from the studio audience when he was the only candidate to simply answer ‘no’.
The MP also acknowledged that “confidence in politics has collapsed, confidence in our party has collapsed”.
He told the debate: ‘I have mirrored many of our actions and asked people in our party, those in our leadership positions, to ask themselves ‘is that what the public really expects?
Are you serving the people of the UK or are you serving your career? Because that’s the real question tonight. That’s the real question for all of us.’
He then promised a ‘clean start’ – the phrase that is his campaign slogan
It came after Ms. Truss previously vowed to take an ax on taxes that hit families and businesses as she ramped up pressure on her rivals for Tory leadership.
The Foreign Secretary pledged to temporarily abolish green taxes to cut £153 on household electricity bills and ease pressure on the cost of living.
Mr Tugendhat, a long-standing critic of the Prime Minister, received a round of applause from the studio audience when he was the only candidate to answer the question abruptly
Former Chancellor Sunak said there were a number of reasons why he left his post
Former Equality Minister Kemi Badenoch was the first to reply: ‘Sometimes’
It came after Ms. Truss previously vowed to take an ax yesterday against taxes that hit families and businesses
Ms Mordaunt told the debate: ‘There have been some very serious problems and I think he has paid a price for that’
Mrs Truss, who languishes in third place in the race to replace Boris Johnson, also pledged to reverse a planned corporate tax hike from 19 to 25 per cent next year – at a cost of £16bn.
She made the pledge when she and the other four MPs still in the running for No10 faced each other for the first time, in an online husting.
Her tax pledges have been opposed to rivals, including frontrunner Rishi Sunak, who again declined to push for tax cuts. He told those watching the Zoom event, hosted by the Conservative Home website, that controlling rising inflation was more important than blindly cutting taxes.
Ms Truss said: ‘We need to put money back into people’s pockets immediately, we know families are struggling to make ends meet right now.
“I would reverse the increase in national insurance, I was against it in the cabinet at the time because I thought it was a mistake, I think it’s even more of a mistake now that we are dealing with such strong economic headwinds.
“I would also have a temporary green energy moratorium to cut £153 on people’s energy bills.
“And I wouldn’t do the corporate tax hikes either, because I think it’s vital that we attract investment in our country.”
They crowded into a digital hunt this afternoon after favorite Penny Mordaunt accused rival camps of using ‘black ops’ to block her from the final two in the match because they know she will win.
The Commerce Secretary – a surprising favorite of bookmakers – demanded her opponents to downplay their tactics, while bragging about polls suggesting it’s most popular with party members.