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?

[15 July 2022 07:10 · Stuti Mishra]

Liz Truss accused of ‘black-ops’ as desperate fight to stay in Tory leadership race begins

Liz Truss has been accused of “black-ops” in her desperate fight to stay in the Tory leadership race, as the party’s right-wing boosted her chances of being the next prime minister.

Two leading supporters of the foreign secretary branded key rival Penny Mordaunt unfit to be prime minister as the contest turned nasty and undermined her claim to be fighting a clean campaign.

The Tory infighting comes as one senior Truss supporter revealed frustration with MPs who have failed to vote for her as promised, telling The Independent: “This is the most duplicitous lying electorate you have ever come across.”

Read more from Kate Devlin, Rob Merrick and Ashley Cowburn:

[15 July 2022 06:49 · Stuti Mishra]

Who are Rishi Sunak’s super rich in-laws?

The prospect of Rishi Sunak winning the leadership election is stirring a wave of excitement in India as well, both because of his own Indian heritage and because he is married to Akshata Murthy and therefore the son-in-law of one of India’s richest businessmen, Narayan Murthy, often hailed as the father of India’s IT boom.

Mr Murthy’s personal story tracks closely with India’s own path to becoming a successful global IT hub.

Here’s all you need to know about the former chancellor’s super wealthy in-laws:

[15 July 2022 06:29 · Stuti Mishra]

Downing Street admits to ‘nasty, misogynist culture’ while Boris Johnson PM

Downing Street has admitted that Boris Johnson presided over a “nasty, misogynist culture” in No 10 but denied the prime minister himself was to blame.

An ITV documentary aired on Thursday, Tonight: Boris Johnson: The Rise and Fall, included allegations that Mr Johnson brought with him to Downing Street “a very masculine culture ... you know, lads down the pub.”

The anonymous source, said to have worked in Downing Street, added, “If you were a female in that sort of zone, it’s actually quite uncomfortable to work in.”

Liam James has more:

[15 July 2022 06:13 · Stuti Mishra]

Who should Labour fear most at the ballot box?

Who should Labour most fear: Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt or Liz Truss?

The most obvious, but most superficial answer, is Rishi Sunak.

But “fresh” candidates – Mordaunt, Badenoch and Tugendhat – enjoy a markedly warmer welcome among people than the likes of Sunak and Truss.

Sean O’Grady explains what the outcome of the Tory leadership vote will mean for the next general election:

[15 July 2022 05:45 · Stuti Mishra]

Tory leadership candidates’ branding efforts from best to worst

Five Conservative Party leadership hopefuls are jostling to make into the final two in the race to be the next prime minister, having made their appeal to MPs for support.

Rishi Sunak launched his campaign with a video about his upbringing, Penny Mordaunt raised eyebrows with some bombastic flag-waving, and Liz Truss played it safe by setting out her stall as the “trust” candidate.

Mark Borkowski, one of Britain’s top PR experts, said some of the remaining contenders had launched impressively “slick” campaigns – but still had a long way to go in connecting with the country the way Boris Johnson once did.

The communications professional ranked the candidates’ branding efforts, giving The Independent his verdict on how their presentational style might fare with party members and the wider public.

Read more from Adam Forrest here:

[15 July 2022 05:32 · Stuti Mishra]

Liz Truss boosted by backing of ousted Suella Braverman

Suella Braverman says she will back Liz Truss to be the new Conservative leader after being ousted in the race to succeed Boris Johnson - in a move that dramatically heightens the stakes.

If Ms Braverman’s backers do likewise, the support will bring the foreign secretary within touching distance of second-placed Penny Mordaunt and boost Ms Truss’s campaign.

Sources have told The Independent the attorney-general will lend her vote to the foreign secretary in the third round of the battle to be PM.

My colleagues Jane Dalton and Chris Baynes have more details here:

[15 July 2022 05:15 · Stuti Mishra]

‘No intention of stepping down’, Badenoch’s campaign says

Kemi Badenoch’s campaign said she is “in it to win” and has no intention of stepping down, after former Brexit minister Lord Frost’s called for her to quit the Tory leadership race in favour of Liz Truss.

In a statement, Ms Badenoch’s spokesperson said: “Kemi has brought interesting ideas and a new approach to this leadership contest. She is looking forward to the debates this weekend.”

She has no intention of stepping down and is in it to win.

Kemi Badenoch’s spokesperson

[15 July 2022 04:59 · Stuti Mishra]

Tory leadership candidates urged to halt Channel 4 privatisation plans

Firms including those behind popular TV programmes such as Peaky Blinders, The Crown, and Ackley Bridge, have written an open letter to the candidates, adding their support to a campaign launched last month, co-ordinated by We Own It.

The 16 independent production companies are asking the candidates to commit to dropping the privatisation plan for Channel 4.

They believe the election of a new Prime Minister offers an opportunity to keep Channel 4 in public hands.

The open letter highlights that as a publicly owned broadcaster funded through advertising, Channel 4 does not cost the taxpayer a penny, instead returning a profit of £74 million last year and contributing £1 billion to the economy, supporting 10,000 jobs and 15,000 training opportunities.

Matthew Topham, We Own It lead campaigner, said: “Channel 4 is the levelling-up broadcaster. Its unique business model makes working in TV and film production a realistic dream, no matter where you live in the UK.”

If the Government is serious about levelling up, they need to protect Channel 4, not sell it off.

Matthew Topham, We Own It lead campaigner

“Right now, Channel 4 supports 10,000 jobs, with hubs in Leeds, Glasgow, Bristol, and Cardiff, but cuts to one in three regional jobs are predicted under a private Channel 4, and 60 independent production companies are expected to go bust if the plans go ahead.”

[15 July 2022 04:36 · Stuti Mishra]

Lord Frost calls on Kemi Badenoch to withdraw from race in favour of Liz Truss

Former Brexit minister Lord Frost has thrown his support behind Liz Truss as he urged Kemi Badenoch to pull out of the Tory leadership contest so there can be “unity among free marketeers”.

In an article in the Daily Telegraph, the 57-year-old wrote: “Liz’s depth of experience, her energy and ideas – as well as the simple fact she has the most votes of the three – put her in the lead.”

“It is now time for pragmatism. I urge Kemi to stand down in return for a serious job in a Truss administration.”

[15 July 2022 03:20 · Andy Gregory]

Just three audience members support government’s plans for energy crisis

In a reality check for all the candidates, just three members of the Channel 4 audience at Friday’s debate said they believed that enough help was being offered for fuel bills tipped to hit an annual £2,800 in the autumn.

And only 10 said they are more likely to vote Conservative after what they heard, at a time when Mr Johnson’s multiple scandals have handed Labour a healthy poll lead.

Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has this comprehensive round-up of the debate here: