
A roundup of the most significant statements made during the first televised debate in the Tory leadership race.
During the first televised debate in the Conservative leadership race, candidates shared a range of striking quotes that gave insight into their political views and personal values.
Penny Mordaunt responded to attacks on her candidacy with confidence, saying, “We are all responsible for our own campaigns and I take it as a big fat compliment that no-one wants to run against me.” She also strongly affirmed her identity, stating, “I’m a woman, I’m a biological woman, if I had a mastectomy I would still be a woman – I’m a biological woman in every cell in my body.”
Liz Truss, when questioned about criticisms aimed at Mordaunt, retorted, “I’m running an entirely positive campaign which is about the great challenges we face and what we need to do to deliver for the people of Britain because we are facing a cost-of-living crisis, families are struggling.”
Tom Tugendhat, asked if Boris Johnson is an honest man, simply answered with a direct “No.” He also joked about the NHS, replying to a woman in the audience, “You’ve also given me two children,” before quickly adding, “Not you personally, of course.” Tugendhat further stood out with his remark: “It’s easy to stand up to your enemies – it’s sometimes harder to stand up to your friends,” which many on social media linked to a line from the Harry Potter series.
Kemi Badenoch, reflecting on her vision for Britain, stated, “Why should the public trust us? We haven’t exactly covered ourselves in glory and it has, on occasion, looked like we were doing this for ourselves.” She also spoke personally about her experience, sharing, “Energy is a subject that worries me a lot, I grew up in Nigeria where there were blackouts every single day, there still are. I know what it’s like not to be able to turn on the light, so it terrifies me seeing how high bills are going.”
Rishi Sunak emphasised fiscal responsibility, telling the audience, “I don’t think the responsible thing to do right now is launch into some unfunded spree of borrowing and more debt, that will just make inflation worse, it will make the problem longer.” He also shared a personal moment about his family, stating, “I have two young girls and they’re not massively bothered about my job (but) the one thing they ask me about is the environment.”
In a sharp exchange, Sunak accused Truss of not having a sound economic plan, saying, “Borrowing your way out of inflation isn’t a plan, it’s a fairytale.” Truss, in turn, responded, “I think it is wrong to put taxes up,” and defended her stance on funding Covid-related measures, saying, “I support the extra money, I just don’t support the way we funded it. I support spreading the Covid debt over a longer period of time.”
These key quotes from the debate reflect the intense and competitive nature of the Tory leadership race as candidates position themselves on various critical issues.