Truss and Sunak face their fiscal policies in the first debate in order to lead the Conservative Party

MADRID, 26 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

British Foreign Minister Liz Truss and former UK Treasury Minister Rishi Sunak, the two candidates to succeed Boris Johnson as head of the British Government, faced each other this Monday in a first debate, televised on the BBC, and which has focused primarily on the economy and fiscal policy.

On September 5, some 200,000 party members are called to vote in the elections to choose the new conservative leader and therefore the new British prime minister. According to a YouGov survey, among 730 members of the Conservative Party, 62 percent declared their vote for Truss and 38 percent in favor of Sunak, according to what Bloomberg collected last Friday.

During the debate, while the former British Treasury minister has defended not lowering taxes until inflation is under control, Truss has opted for an "immediate" response, reversing the rise in some taxes and introducing a "temporary moratorium" on the green tax on energy bills, as reported by 'The Guardian'.

The UK Foreign Minister has argued that an increase in taxes at this time would damage the economy and lead the country into a recession, and has defended "acting as soon as possible" to alleviate the burden that families suffer in order to pay for food and energy.

Likewise, Truss has announced an economic growth plan with which a recent controversial rise in social security contributions would be reversed, as well as a plan for the United Kingdom Government to begin paying the debt in three years, as has picked up 'The Independent'.

For his part, Sunak has assured that the tax cuts that his rival intends to introduce would leave a hole of 40,000 million pounds (47,000 million euros) in the public coffers, and has stressed that his plan offers long-term solutions to "cure "The UK cost of living crisis. "We have to control inflation," he has expressed.

"You've promised almost £40bn of unfunded tax cuts, £40bn more in loans ... That's the country's credit card. If we don't pay it now, it's going to cost them much more in the long run." you and all those who are watching at home", said Sunak, and has detailed his intention to lower taxes "at the right time and without compromising public services".

On the other hand, when asked if they would have Boris Johnson in their Executive, both candidates have expressed a no, although with uneven forcefulness.

"I am sure he will have a role. I am sure he will speak, but he will not be part of the Government," said the head of British diplomacy, emphasizing that she had been one of Johnson's first supporters.

However, Truss has assured that the still British 'premier' would not want a future role in the Executive. "He needs a well-deserved rest," he snapped at him.

Sunak has been more direct in answering the question: "The simple answer for me is no."

Even so, the former head of the Treasury has recognized some of Johnson's "deeds", such as finding a solution for Brexit or his result in the last elections. "By offering a solution to Brexit and winning an election is a 10 out of 10, give him credit, probably no one else could have done it."

The second in the polls to succeed Boris Johnson in the leadership of the Conservative Party, Rishi Sunak, has used Truss's changes of heart to attack her and take away her authority.

Specifically, the former Minister of Finance has reproached his adversary for defending that the United Kingdom and China were experiencing "a golden age" in their bilateral relations,

"I think that was almost a decade ago," the UK Foreign Minister responded, recalling that the Treasury Department she headed had asked to deepen economic and bilateral relations just a month ago.

In this regard, Sunak has called for a "tougher stance" with tech companies like Chinese-owned app TikTok.

"We have to learn from the mistakes we made that Europe became dependent on Russian oil and gas, we cannot allow that to happen with China," he stressed.

At another point in the debate, Sunak took the opportunity to attack his opponent, reminding him that he was not in the Brexit campaign, since Truss did not initially position himself in favor.

"Only one of us was in the 'Leave' campaign," Sunak reproached his rival, also boasting that he had been "in favor of Brexit from day one."

For his part, Truss has recognized the "mistake" of not having supported Brexit from the beginning, and has been committed to making the exit from the European Union "a success".

The two candidates have given their full backing to Boris Johnson's plan to continue foreign policy regarding arms supplies to Ukraine and the deportation of migrants crossing the English Channel to Rwanda.

Asked if they would be willing to deploy the Royal Navy to the Black Sea to protect grain shipments leaving Ukraine, Truss stressed that the UK is not prepared to become directly involved in the conflict, a view that Sunak has endorsed.

Likewise, the former finance minister has stressed that the West "has put together some of the strongest economic standards the world has ever seen", adding that both he and Trus worked together on the project of tougher sanctions against Russia.

As for Rwanda, both candidates to lead the Conservative Party have shown their support for the British Prime Minister's strategy of deportation to Rwanda.

"I will do whatever it takes to implement it," Sunak snapped. Truss agreed: "I am determined to carry out our policy in Rwanda."

Previously, Truss has announced his intention to increase the frontline staff of the British Border Force by 20 per cent, while doubling the staffing levels of the Maritime Border Force, according to 'The Week'.

Sunak has proposed tackling immigration by imposing a cap on the number of refugees the UK accepts, as well as housing migrants seeking asylum on disused ships moored across the country rather than in hotels, citing the high cost of asylum.