Watch: Rishi Sunak & Liz Truss spar in television debate

The two candidates vying to be Britain’s next prime minister on Monday met in a testy televised debate that highlighted the contrasting economic visions of the Conservative Party rivals.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss promised to cut taxes as soon as she took office, using borrowing to pay for it.

Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak said he would get inflation under control first, arguing that Truss’s plan would increase the public debt and leave people worse off in the long run.

Tempers flared as Sunak said that “it’s not moral to ask our children to pick up the tab for the bills that we’re not prepared to pay.”

Truss called that “Project Fear” and said it was sensible to borrow to rebuild from the coronavirus pandemic, a “once in a 100-year event.”

The pair are battling to succeed Boris Johnson, who quit as leader of the ruling Conservatives on July 7 after months of ethics scandals triggered a mass exodus of ministers from his government.

The contest has exposed deep divisions within the party as it tries to move on from the tarnished, but election-winning Johnson.

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