Tory leadership race - live: Mordaunt criticised for supporting homeopathy on NHS

Foreign secretary vows to axe tax hike and national insurance rise

‘Borrowing your way out of inflation is a fairytale’: Sunak and Truss clash over economy plan

Tory leadership hopeful Penny Mordaunt has been criticised for her support of homeopathy on the NHS.

Homeopathy is a treatment based on using diluted amounts of natural substances, but is not currently funded by the NHS due to its “lack of effectiveness”.

Ms Mordaunt has advocated the practice according to an analysis of her parliamentary record and past comments, and was one of 16 supporters of a motion in the House of Commons criticising the British Medical Association for withdrawing NHS support for homeopathy, in June 2010.

Meanwhile, Liz Truss has pledged that families could receive tax breaks of up to £2,500 to help them take time out of work to look after children or other family members.

Ms Truss has promised a radical overhaul of the taxation system if she gets into Downing Street that would also include ditching green levies on energy bills and reversing an increase to national insurance.

It comes after the five contenders to become the UK’s next prime minister clashed over tax cuts and Boris Johnson’s honesty in a debate on Friday night.

A snap Opinium poll found 36 per cent of viewers believed Tom Tugendhat performed best – while just 10 per cent of Tory voters said the same of Ms Truss.

Key points

• Penny Mordaunt under fire for support of homeopathy
• Truss promises £2,500 tax break for families
• Snap poll puts Tugendhat as clear winner of debate – as Truss stumbles
• Mordaunt says rivals fear her the most and she is not scared of becoming PM
• Truss campaign not involved in ‘black ops’ onslaught against Mordaunt, Shapps insists
• Lord Frost calls on Kemi Badenoch to withdraw and back Truss
• Who is backing whom in race to replace Boris Johnson?

[16 July 2022 12:30 · Joe Middleton]

Tory leadership: Boost for Rishi Sunak with backing from party’s ‘Mr North’

Rishi Sunak has been given a big boost in the Tory leadership race by winning the backing of the figure seen as the party’s ‘Mr North’.

Ben Houchen, the influential Tees Valley mayor, had criticised the failure of the contest to guarantee that Boris Johnson’s pledge to ‘level up’ the country will be carried forward.

Now Mr Houchen is endorsing the former chancellor as “a friend of the North” after securing a commitment to extend devolution deals with possible future freedoms over business rates and post-16 education.

Rob Merrick reports.

[16 July 2022 12:00 · Joe Middleton]

Tory leadership debate: Candidates explain how they would deliver a green economy

[16 July 2022 11:23 · Joe Middleton]

Liz Truss copies Margaret Thatcher’s style ‘down to last detail’ at leadership debate

Social media users have drawn comparisons between Liz Truss’s outfit at the first Tory leadership debate and a look worn by Margarat Thatcher in 1979.

The foreign secretary, who took part in the Channel 4 event on Friday (15 July), opted for a black blazer over a white blouse featuring a bow tie detail across the neck.

Twitter users quickly noted a resemblance to the outfit worn by the former Conservative prime minister during a 1979 election broadcast.

Saman Javed reports.

[16 July 2022 10:57 · Joe Middleton]

Liz Truss floats big tax break for families despite criticism of ‘fairytale’ economic plans

Liz Truss has floated another expensive tax cut if she wins the Tory leadership race, despite criticism that her economic plans are “a fairytale”.

The foreign secretary says she would explore giving parents a tax break of up to £2,500 to help them take time out of work to look after children or other family members.

Rishi Sunak scored a major hit on the right-wing candidate in Friday’s live TV debate when he called for “honesty” over tax reductions until soaring inflation has been tamed.

Rob Merrick reports.

[16 July 2022 10:35 · Joe Middleton]

Nurses say reported 5% pay rise ‘not remotely acceptable’

Boris Johnson’s planned 5% pay rise for millions of public sector workers is insufficient and will not be found “remotely acceptable” by nurses, according to a union.

A Cabinet minister has told the Financial Times the government will agree to pay rises averaging about 5 per cent for the 2.5 million staff in the sector, who include nurses, teachers, police, civil servants and members of the armed forces.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has previously set out the case for a pay rise of 5 per cent above the level of retail price index inflation, which is currently over 11 per cent.

[16 July 2022 10:17 · Joe Middleton]

Truss promises £2,500 tax break for families

Tory leadership hopeful Liz Truss has pledged that families could receive tax breaks of up to £2,500, as reported by the Daily Mail.

Ms Truss has promised a radical overhaul of the taxation system if she gets into Downing Street that would also include ditching green levies on energy bills and reversing an increase to national insurance.

The foreign secretary also said she would axe the planned increase in corporation tax, which is set to rise from 19 to 25 per cent in 2023.

[16 July 2022 10:14 · Joe Middleton]

Penny Mordaunt under fire for support of homeopathy

Tory leadership race favourite Penny Mordaunt is under fire for her support of homeopathy from critics of the use of alternative medicine.

The former defence secretary has frequently advocated the practice – the use of natural substances to help the body heal itself – according to an analysis of her parliamentary record and past comments.

Ms Mordaunt was one of 16 supporters of a motion in the House of Commons sharply criticising the British Medical Association for withdrawing NHS support for homeopathy, in June 2010.

Rob Merrick reports.

[16 July 2022 09:56 · Joe Middleton]

Kit Malthouse set to chair Cobra meeting over heatwave

The Cabinet Office Minister Kit Malthouse is to chair a meeting of the Government’s Cobra civil contingencies committee to discuss the impending heatwave, a Government spokesman said.

It will be the second Cobra meeting Mr Malthouse has led on the issue.

[16 July 2022 09:26 · Joe Middleton]

More voters deserting Tories over energy bills than Boris Johnson

More voters are deserting the Conservative party because of inaction on cost of living and rising bills than animosity to Boris Johnson, a new poll has found.

The findings, seen by The Independent, come after Tory MPs forced the prime minister out of office, believing he had become an electoral liability.

But a survey by ComRes of wavering Tories suggests that it is rising energy bills more than Mr Johnson himself who is most to blame – though he is also a significant drag on support.

Jon Stone reports.

[16 July 2022 08:58 · Joe Middleton]

Tom Tugendhat quotes Dumbledore during Tory leadership debate