BBC Tory leadership debate: who won?
Little praise for quality of discussion ahead of third poll today
The candidates in the Tory leadership battle have clashed in a live BBC TV debate after former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab was eliminated in the second round of voting.
So who won?
Boris Johnson “came under fire” in what was altogether a “bad-tempered and chaotic” discussion, reports the Daily Mail. Yet despite being “defensive” and “evasive”, the former foreign secretary remains the overwhelming “favourite for No. 10”, The Guardian says.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
According to The Times, Rory Stewart was “forced on to the defensive by the other candidates”. However, The Daily Telegraph disagrees, saying the outsider did best from the second televised debate, and now stands out as the “Stop Boris candidate”.
There was little praise for the overall quality of the discussion. The BBC’s Europe editor, Katya Adler, said that “off-the-record” comments she has heard from European leaders on the debate “have not been particularly complimentary”.
Writing in the The Daily Telegraph, Allison Pearson describes the discussion as “the BBC’s excruciating version of Blind Date”.
Earlier, Johnson had attracted the support of 126 MPs in the leadership second ballot, while Dominic Raab dropped out of the race after failing to reach the threshold of 33 votes needed to progress to the next round.
International Development Secretary Rory Stewart took 37 votes, adding another 18 votes from the previous round. All eyes will be on his standing in today’s third round ballot, in which another candidate will be eliminated from the contest.
Brexit dominated the BBC debate. Referring to his insistence that Britain will leave the European Union by 31 October, Johnson described the deadline as “eminently feasible”.
Sajid Javid said sticking to the deadline “focused minds”, while Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove both agreed that a little extra time might be needed. However, Stewart said his rivals were “staring at the wall and saying ‘believe in Britain’”.
When the discussion ranged beyond Brexit, Johnson seemed to backtrack on his promise of a tax cut for high earners. He said that “what we would bring forward is a package to help primarily the poorest people in society”, adding that it was good to have an “ambition” to raise the higher rate.
Meanwhile, Javid asked his four rivals whether they would all agree to commission an independent review into alleged Islamophobia in the Conservative Party. In one of the more decisive and unexpected moments of the debate, all four agreed.
Tory MPs will vote again today and if necessary tomorrow, until the field is narrowed down to just two candidates. Conservative Party members will then choose the winner in a postal ballot. The final result will be announced in the week beginning 22 July.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veterans
Under the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Who will replace Rishi Sunak as the next Tory leader?
In Depth Shortlist will be whittled down to two later today
By The Week UK Last updated
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published