Rishi Sunak’s Tory leadership debate boost

Rishi Sunak gained a boost from last night’s Sky News’s head-to-head. Despite a difficult week in which Truss has extended her poll lead, the former chancellor succeeded in winning over a majority of the live studio audience of undecided Tory members after battling questions on the economy and whether he had stabbed Boris Johnson in the back. Had this been one of the first debates, it could even be viewed as a moment that could move the dial. But given all the polling suggests Sunak has a mountain to climb to beat Liz Truss – and the ballots drop this week – it’s unlikely one media performance is enough to turn the tide.

Supporters of Truss are already questioning the validity of that audience – pointing to previous comments made by members which suggests they were unlikely to support the Foreign Secretary.