Succession to Boris Johnson: the five candidates at loggerheads during the second televised debate

Published on: 07/18/2022 – 00:59 The five candidates for the succession of Boris Johnson clashed on Sunday in a heated televised debate, before a crucial week in the race for Downing Street. Conservative MPs will be called upon to elect two finalists, whose names will be announced on Wednesday evening. The candidates to succeed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met on Sunday evening July 17 for a second livelier televised debate than the previous one, as they begin a decisive week in the race for Downing Street. They are still five in the race for power launched after the announcement on July 7 of the resignation of Boris Johnson, swept away by an avalanche of departures triggered by an overflow of scandals and lies. Secretary of State for International Trade Penny Mordaunt, ex-finance minister Rishi Sunak, head of diplomacy Liz Truss, ex-secretary of state for equality Kemi Badenoch and MP Tom Tugendhat met found for an hour-long televised debate on the ITV channel. They begin a decisive week in the race for Downing Street: after several votes by Tory deputies, we will know on Wednesday evening the names of the two finalists, who will be decided during the summer. by members of the Conservative Party. The name of the future Prime Minister will be known on September 5. The face-to-face turned out to be much livelier than the previous televised debate on Friday, during which the five contenders for power refused to clash and personal attacks. The fight against inflation at the heart of the debates This time, the head of diplomacy Liz Truss – deemed unconvincing on Friday – set the tone by attacking frontally from her first speeches her former colleague in the government Rishi Sunak, accusing him of having led the country into “recession” by raising taxes when he was in charge of finance. Former defense minister Penny Mordaunt also attacked the former Chancellor on the subject, who suggested borrowing to in the face of the cost of living crisis which is strangling British households, with record inflation at 9.1% in May.>> Read also: United Kingdom: Boris Johnson, the scandal machine “It’s socialism “, Rishi Sunak fired back. “Even (former opposition leader) Jeremy Corbyn wouldn’t have gone that far!” Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have been at loggerheads since the start of the campaign. The 46-year-old candidate is the darling of camp Johnson, who is convinced that Rishi Sunak had been biding his time for months before resigning on July 4, precipitating the fall of the Prime Minister. Which Rishi Sunak supporters deny. By going on the offensive, Liz Truss tried to catch up as the bookmakers relegated her to third place behind Penny Mordaunt and Rishi Sunak, neck and neck. After months of scandals and lies under Boris Johnson, issues of integrity have once again been widely discussed. No candidate has said he is willing to appoint the future ex-Prime Minister to his government. Candidates embarrassed by Boris Johnson resigner was honest. Kemi Badenoch was satisfied with a “sometimes” and the other three had stammered vague answers. At the end of the face-to-face, the candidates had to position themselves on environmental issues. But the subject, relegated to the background of the debates since the start of the campaign, was again eclipsed in a few minutes. While all the candidates except Kemi Badenoch say they will maintain the national goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, they are not making it a priority. While temperatures above 40 degrees are expected in England earlier this week, the president and minister of COP26 Alok Sharma on Sunday called on the candidates to “take very seriously” climate issues, not excluding leaving his post if this was not the case. to select the new Prime Minister, Tory MPs will vote again on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, to eliminate the candidates one by one while a third debate will take place on Sky News on Wednesday. final determined, the choice will fall to the members of the conservative party who will vote by correspondence during the summer. The result of the ballot is expected for September 5. With AFP