Sky News has canceled its Conservative leadership debate after Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss refused to participate.
The debate was to be led by Kay Burley tomorrow evening.
Conservative MPs are said to be concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the party’s image, exposing disagreements and splits.
But opposition parties have criticized the candidates for avoiding scrutiny.
John Ryley, head of Sky News, said: “Sky News has campaigned for an independent commission to organize the running of the televised debates between the leaders of the main British parties.
“Sky News and other broadcasters worked together successfully in televised leadership debates before the 2010 general election.”
Candidates for Conservative leadership will be reduced to four: the last policy
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Mr Sunak and Mrs Truss took part in moody exchanges as the five remaining rivals of the Conservative leadership clashed last night in the second televised debate on ITV.
Those still running for the next Conservative Party leader are Sunak, Truss, Penny Mordaunt, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat.
In response to the announcement, a Badenoch spokesman said: “The people participating in this contest are friends and colleagues and then the party must unite to offer the country.
“Kemi appreciates public scrutiny: it builds trust. It is open to a debate that sheds light on the issues that matter, but not one that is designed exclusively to provoke a dispute.”
A source on the Tugendhat team said that “he has never strayed from public scrutiny and has been the only candidate who has always appeared in the media to ask an hour of questions and answers a week. past “.
“Given that candidates are running for the most important position in the country, they should be subjected to a similar level of scrutiny. If not through debates, in other formats,” the source added.
A member of Ms Mordaunt’s team said media scrutiny is important.
“Penny has made the broadcast and given journalists time to ask questions at its launch. Deputies are not only choosing a new leader, they are choosing the new prime minister of the nation,” the source said.
“Penny hopes there will be ample opportunity for this scrutiny later in the contest in a format that allows for detailed questions and knowledge.”
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3:15 Conservative candidates face up for taxes
In Sunday’s ITV leadership debate, Sunak accused Ms. Truss of collaborating with the economy “for nothing” after she said she was stifling growth by raising taxes to the highest level in 70 years. .
The Foreign Minister attacked the registry of Mr. Sunak to the Treasury, telling him, “Rishi, you have raised taxes to the highest level in 70 years. This will not drive economic growth.
“You increased national insurance, even though people like me opposed it in the cabinet at the time because we could afford to fund the NHS through general taxation.
“The fact is that raising taxes right now will stifle economic growth; it will prevent us from getting the income we need to pay off debt.”
There were other furious exchanges between Mordaunt and Badenoch, who accused the Commerce Minister in the first debate of having pushed for a gender self-identification policy for people who wanted to legally change their gender when she was in charge of the government of the subject.
Speaking to broadcasters on Monday, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “I am surprised that those who want to be UK prime ministers are loved for debate and scrutiny.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey added: “Conservatives say they want to lead, but they won’t even come forward to debate issues that matter in our country.”
And the deputy leader of the SNP in Westminster, Kirsten Oswald, said: “You couldn’t put a cigarette role among these Conservative candidates, but the least they can do is take part in this farce that makes the process feel a a little more open and inclusive “.
One more candidate in the race to be prime minister will be eliminated today when Conservative MPs vote in the third round of the battle for leadership.
Sunak and Mordaunt held their seats at the top of the standings in first and second place respectively after the second ballot.
Mrs. Truss, who finished third, will wait to collect the votes of Attorney General Suella Braverman, who endorsed her candidacy after being eliminated in the final round.
This week there will be successive rounds of MP votes until there are only two candidates left.