Sky News cancels Conservative leadership debate after candidates pull out
It comes after the leadership candidates took part in ITV's debate last night.
Jonathan Hordle / ITV via Getty Images
- Lauren Morris
Published: Monday, 18 July 2022 at 12:15 pm
Sky News has announced that it won't be airing its Conservative leadership debate after candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss recently pulled out of the event.
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Kay Burley was set to host the debate, which was originally scheduled to air on Sky News tomorrow evening.
John Ryley, Head of Sky News, said in a statement: "Sky News has campaigned for an independent commission to organise the running of TV debates between leaders of Britain's main parties.
Conservative Leader candidates (L-R) Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch, Rishi Sunak, Tom Tugendhat. Photo by Getty Image
"Sky News and other broadcasters worked successfully together on televised leadership debates ahead of the 2010 general election."
According to Sky News, the Conservative MPs are said to be "concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the image of the party" with disagreements and splits being exposed.
The remaining five Conservative leadership candidates took part in ITV's debate last night, including Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Penny Mordaunt, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat.
During the debate, Sunak said that Truss was peddling "something-for-nothing" economics after she claimed he had "raised taxes to the highest level in 70 years".
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Over the last few weeks, several MPs have ruled themselves out of the race, including Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, Ben Wallace and Priti Patel, while the likes of Grant Shapps, Sajid Javid and Rehman Chishti withdrew their candidacy.
After the first round of voting, Jeremy Hunt and Nadhim Zahawi were eliminated from the competition while Suella Braverman was voted out after the second.
If you're looking for something else to watch, check out our TV Guide.
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Authors
Lauren MorrisEntertainment and Factual Writer
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