UK Prime Ministerial Election

BY A STAFF REPORTER:  The 90-minute discussion, the first opportunity for both the frontrunners and lesser-known contestants to present their credentials to a national television audience in the days-old election, witnessed few direct clashes between them. In their first TV debate, the five surviving Conservative contenders for Britain's next prime minister fought Friday night over tax and political honesty, as they battle for a two-person run-off. The 90-minute discussion, the first opportunity for both the frontrunners and lesser-known contestants to present their credentials to a national television audience in the days-old election,
witnessed few direct clashes between them. When they did erupt, it was mostly about taxation, with one of the frontrunners, former finance minister Rishi Sunak, forced to justify proposals to retain rates at some of the highest levels in decades. Sunak, who has won the first two rounds of Tory MP voting this week as the campaign narrows to a final pair next week, is up against numerous candidates who have promised to lower different taxes quickly. The rich and sophisticated media personality, whose political chances have been harmed by his family's own tax troubles, advised prudence and patience as the United Kingdom faces the worst
inflation in 40 years. "Borrowing your way out of inflation isn't a strategy, it's a fantasy," Sunak told Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, touting her tax-cutting ideas in the face of a looming cost-of-living catastrophe.