Both candidates are saying the right things. My own vote will be going to Truss, given that she has been speaking out and acting on this issue long before any leadership contest arose.
Though while both candidates have been successful in putting on support since the last round, Truss is marginally ahead – gaining 24 votes to Sunak’s 21.
The contrast between those blithe campaigns and this appalling landscape is unnerving, and raises profound questions about politicians and truth.
She explains why she changed her mind on Brexit, confirms she would change the Bank’s mandate, and says she would be happy to find a place for Sunak in her team.
The Conservative Party should in future negotiate with the broadcasters so leadership contenders are not “writing Labour’s next leaflets”.
The two candidates have less than ten days to bring to the campaign her conviction that sticking with the status quo simply won’t do.
Taken together, our survey and YouGov’s polling suggest that the Chancellor has narrowed the gap between him and his opponents among Party members. But he is running out of time in which to get ahead.
The current system, drawn up by a shellshocked party after 1997, encourages the self-destructive behaviour we have seen.
We are a long way from “Rivers of Blood”. But this progress hasn’t been accompanied by a greater diversity of thought.
My advice is to unite around a candidate who’s likeable, conservative and comes across to the public. That’s Badenoch.
The Foreign Secretary is the winner among Party members of the top three candidates in the Parliamentary ballot if this survey is right. But Sunak has closed the gap on her.
The summing-up remarks of the five Conservative leadership contenders from our online hustings last Friday.
Badenoch has cut through from close second to decisive first. Mordaunt has slipped to third, Truss is up to second, Sunak is hard on their heels.