RISHI Sunak and Liz Truss met with Sun readers last night for a personal grilling — after their televised Tory leadership debate was cut short when host Kate McCann fainted.
Kate was taken ill 30 minutes into The Sun Showdown: The Fight for No10.
Both PM contenders raced to check that Kate — political editor of TalkTV — was OK. Witnesses said Mr Sunak held her hand, while he and Ms Truss knelt beside her.
Kate had just given them a grilling on the NHS, tax policy, the cost-of-living crisis and fracking.
In early exchanges, Mr Sunak and Ms Truss made crucial commitments to allow fracking if local communities agree — and both said there will be no reversal in the recent temporary 5p fuel duty cut.
While Kate was recovering, The Sun and TalkTV decided the debate would not continue last night.
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But the two contenders then met The Sun’s panel of readers and were subjected to a second off-air grilling on topics including the cost of living and EU red tape.
Gemma Keogh, 34, of Manchester, who asked the pair in the live show about supermarket prices, said: “I did feel like I’d been listened to.”
Jordan Kiss, 21, from Warrington, said: “They were very personable.
“They answered all our questions. They didn’t avoid anything. I think they really did a good job actually. I was quite impressed.”
At the start of the debate, Ms Truss and Mr Sunak locked horns under live questioning.
The Foreign Secretary went on the attack immediately, accusing the ex-Chancellor of being “morally wrong” over his hikes to National Insurance and corporation tax.
Ms Truss, the bookies’ favourite, said: “It’s wrong that we currently have the highest tax burden in this country that we’ve had for 70 years.
“I believe Sun readers want us to keep to our manifesto commitment of not raising taxes. I’m somebody who does what I say I will do.”
Mr Sunak, whose resignation from Cabinet led to the downfall of Boris Johnson, defended the decisions he made while in government.
He said: “Sun readers will have to make up their own minds.
“But I think Sun readers are sensible enough and have enough common sense to know you don’t get something for nothing and we do need to pay for things. I think it’s reasonable to ask the largest companies to pay a little bit more.”
Ms Truss, who celebrated her 47th birthday yesterday, said that raising taxes was “morally wrong”.
Mr Sunak hit back: “I think what’s morally wrong is asking our children and grandchildren to pick up the tab for the bills that we’re not prepared to meet.”
He claimed he was “brave” to introduce the £12billion tax hike to pay for social care despite getting “a lot of criticism” for the decision.
On the corporation tax rise due next year, Ms Truss said: “Companies have a choice about whether they invest in the UK, or whether they invest elsewhere.”
It’s wrong that we currently have the highest tax burden in this country that we’ve had for 70 years.
Liz Truss
John Hughes, of Birmingham, said he’d had to rely on a charity since being diagnosed with cancer and asked: “Why is the NHS broken?”
Ms Truss, who admitted Norfolk’s King’s Lynn hospital — in her constituency — is held up by stilts, said: “I simply don’t think people can sit there in Whitehall and direct everything that happens in communities.
“I would like to see more support based in GP surgeries so fewer people have to end up in hospital.”
Mr Sunak, who said he would focus on new tech, added: “I’m confident we can get the waitlist down quicker so people like John will get the treatment they need quicker.”
Both candidates committed to fracking if local communities agree.
And in quick-fire questions, they both remained firmly committed to keeping the recent 5p fuel duty cut introduced in the Spring Statement.
Mr Sunak was quizzed by Heathrow worker Andrew about winter fuel bills and standing up to Russia if Vladimir Putin turns off the gas taps. He replied that as Chancellor, he worked with finance ministers to put in place a sanctions package “we had never seen” to “tighten the grip on Putin’s war machine”.
He added: “I want to be honest that part of us standing up to Putin is all of us recognising what that’s going to do to our energy bills.” Sun reader Ms Keogh asked the candidates about the price of meat rising in her weekly shop.
Mr Sunak replied: “I would hold everyone to account to make sure you get the cheapest prices.” Ms Truss would slash farming red tape.
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Sun Editor Victoria Newton opened by telling the candidates our readers were most concerned about the cost-of-living crisis, immigration and making Brexit work.
It was the second live one-on-one debate between the pair, with ballot papers being sent out to thousands of Tory Party members from the beginning of next week.
