Truss vs Sunak news – live: Leadership frontrunner branded ‘on holiday from reality’

Michael Gove has endorsed Rishi Sunak to be the next Conservative leader, accusing Liz Truss of taking a "holiday from reality" with her tax plans.

The former Cabinet minister suggested the Foreign Secretary's proposals would put "the stock options of FTSE 100 executives" before the nation's poorest people

Mr Gove said he does not expect to return to frontbench politics, as he backed the underdog in the race to replace Boris Johnson in No 10.

Writing in The Times, he said: "I do not expect to be in government again. But it was the privilege of my life to spend 11 years in the cabinet under three prime ministers. I know what the job requires. And Rishi has it."

He added: "And here I am deeply concerned that the framing of the leadership debate by many has been a holiday from reality. The answer to the cost of living crisis cannot be simply to reject further 'handouts' and cut tax."

That’s the end of tonight’s leadership hustings in Manchester.

Keep scrolling to catch up on our live coverage of the event below, and you can also find The Independent’s latest articles on UK politics here.

The remaining hustings are Birmingham, Norwich and London, before the winner is declared on 5 September.

Liz Truss was asked by an audience member what her plan is in the event of nuclear war with Russia.

“It’s in Vladimir Putin’s interest to scare people in the west and to go around sabre-rattling,” said the foreign secretary. “What is happening is that he expected to have a clear run in Ukraine.

“He was expecting to take Ukraine in a matter of days and weeks and he has failed.”

The UK must help the Ukrainians succeed, Ms Truss said, adding that the UK cannot “appease the aggressor or fear what they might do”.

Liz Truss has been attacked by an audience member for sounding like Labour in wanting to “borrow £50bn”.

The foreign secretary did not address the criticism but said her fundamental view is that high taxes fail to bring money in to the Exchequer.

“I’m a Conservative. I believe in low taxes,” she said, adding: “That is the best way of getting revenues in.”

Asked by an audience member whether she would build more houses to solve the housing crisis, Liz Truss instead touted her plans to help people get mortgages and attacked the planning system.

Liz Truss has joked that GB News “is not the BBC – you actually get your facts right”, after host Alastair Stewart blamed a typo for him saying that a controversial report co-authored by the foreign secretary, unearthed today, was published in the wrong year.

Asked what she believes the report shows about her “vision of the state”, Ms Truss: “My ambition is for the private sector to grow more than the public sector.”

The foreign secretary then attacked an “assumption by the “economic orthodoxy” that Britain is a low-growth country.

“We have far too many quangos in this country, we have 500 of them, we need to trim it [the public sector] down to size and we need to make the government efficient,” she added.

If you missed it earlier, here is Rishi Sunak’s introductory video at tonight’s hustings, which doubles down on the ex-chancellor being the “underdog”.

Liz Truss has suggested that retired medics could be asked to help clear the Covid backlog, after many returned to work to help at the start of the pandemic.

Liz Truss has said doctors and nurses on the frontline must be “empowered” to deal with issues patients are raising, which will “increase morale and motivation”.

Medics “feel like they are being told what to do from Whitehall rather than understanding the situation in their local area and being able to respond to their patients’ needs”, said Ms Truss.

Earlier today, a 2009 report Ms Truss co-authored came to light, which called for doctors pay to be cut by 10 per cent.

Liz Truss is now facing questions from host Alastair Stewart, starting again with law and order.

“What I would do is have league tables that compare police forces and how they are performing, so they can really be held to account by the public,” Ms Truss said, adding that there is not “enough transparency on exactly what the police are doing”.

The right leadership is needed within the police and “also within our big cities”, the foreign secretary said – rounding on Sadiq Khan as having “let down London” by failing to “deliver the tough messages to the police”.

“It requires a change of culture in the police focused on the crimes that people are concerned about,” Ms Truss said.

She suggested senior policing staff could be removed from their posts if their force performs poorly in her league table.