Liz Truss- Rishi Sunak live: Starmer brands Tory leadership race as ‘Thatcherite cosplay’ ahead of TV debate tonight

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Tory leadership candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are “part of the problem” and their answers “too small”.

Answering questions after his speech, Sir Keir said: “What we’re seeing from the leadership contest is two individuals who are part of the problem.

“We’ve had 12 years now of stagnation, they have voted for every one of those 15 tax rises and now they’re trying to distance themselves as quickly as possible from it.

“Their answers, if you like, are too small for our country, for the challenge that we face.”

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed a Labour government would be “financially responsible” as he attacked the “Conservative competition to waste more of your money”.

In a speech in Liverpool, the Labour leader said: “The risk of rising inflation could not be clearer so we will not announce a single penny of day-to-day spending without saying how we would pay for it.

“We will only borrow to invest to meet the challenges of the future, that’s what our Climate Investment Pledge is all about. And we will set a target to reduce debt as an overall share of our economy, that’s the responsible thing to do.

“And the contrast with the Conservative competition to waste more of your money could not be starker.

“With me, with (shadow chancellor) Rachel Reeves, you will always get sound finances, careful spending, strong, secure and fair growth.

“There will be no magic money tree economics with us.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he is alarmed that some people’s feel hard work does not pay.

Sir Keir said: “People feel that hard work is not rewarded,” adding: “In a nutshell we draw our economic strength from too few places.

“If you want evidence of this, look no further than the cost-of-living crisis. Everywhere I go I hear the same stories: people scared about the future, worried that when winter comes they will face horrible choices.

“There’s one thing I hear time and time again, that worries me more than anything else, and that is working people telling me hard work doesn’t pay. That they are working harder and harder just to stand still.

“Now that alarms me.”

He said he was concerned people from his “working class” background cannot get on, and asked: “What does it say about the state of Britain when working people feel hard work doesn’t pay?”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the Tory leadership hopefuls did not understand the nature of the modern economy.

In a speech in Liverpool he said: “Both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss rage against the dying of the Thatcherite light.

“They don’t understand: economic strength in the 21st century needs partnership.

“They don’t believe you need state and market, business and worker, the everyday economy and the technological frontier all contributing together if you want strong, secure and fair growth.”

Nadine Dorries is being mocked for lavishing praise on Liz Truss, after she noticed the Conversative leadership hopeful wearing “circa £4.50 Claire’s Accessories” earrings.

Dorries’ remark was posted on Twitter, linking an article from the Daily Mail that accused Truss’s challenger, former chancellor Rishi Sunak, of wearing a £3,500 bespoke suit on Sunday, Emily Atkinson writes.

The Tory MP, who is favourite in the race to No 10 as Boris Johnson’s replacement, was also berated by the newspaper for wearing £490 Prada loafers during a visit to a building site in Teesside over the weekend.

Labour leader Keir Starmer is due to make a speech in Liverpool for his party’s policy on growth.

According to extracts from his speech released in advance, he will describe the Tory leadership race as a “Thatcherite cosplay”.

He will say: “You will see a clear contrast between my Labour party and the Thatcherite cosplay on display tonight [in the Tory leadership debate]. The difference between a Labour party ready to take Britain forward. And a Tory party that wants to take us back into the past.

“Between Labour growth and Tory stagnation. That will be the choice at the next election and we are ready.”

Education secretary James Cleverly said he does not rule out supporting Boris Johnson returning to the Cabinet, but that it is not a decision for him to take.

Asked on Sky News if Mr Johnson should get a senior role in Government, Mr Cleverly said: “He’s an incredibly talented politician. Whether he would want to serve after the bruising that he’s got at moment that might be another matter, but it’s not for me to start dictating to Liz (Truss) who she puts into her Cabinet.”

He added: “I would be comfortable if she is.”

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has mocked Rishi Sunak over his expensive taste in clothing.

Ms Dorries, a supporter of Mr Sunak’s leadership rival Liz Truss, pointed to reports that the millionaire former chancellor has been pictured wearing a £3,500 suit and £490 Prada shoes.

She said Foreign Secretary Ms Truss is more likely to be seen in a pair of £4.50 earrings from high street chain Claire’s.

It is the latest sign of the bitter, highly personal nature of the Tory leadership battle.

Mr Sunak was seen wearing a Henry Herbert suit – worth a reported £3,500 – ahead of the vote which saw him and Ms Truss selected by Tory MPs as the final two candidates to be the next Conservative Party leader and prime minister.

His choice of Prada shoes on a visit to a construction site in Redcar also caught Ms Dorries’ attention.

The Culture Secretary said Ms Truss “will be travelling the country wearing her earrings which cost circa £4.50 from Claire (sic) Accessories.

“Meanwhile… Rishi visits Teeside (sic) in Prada shoes worth £450 and sported £3,500 bespoke suit as he prepared for crunch leadership vote.”

Guildford MP Angela Richardson, a supporter of Mr Sunak, shot back: “FFS (for f***’s sake) Nadine! Muted.”

Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said promises of big tax cuts must be backed by plans to show where the money will come from.

Ms Reeves was responding to Sky’s Kay Burley who asked if Ms Truss can cut taxes by £30 billion.

The shadow chancellor replied: “I don’t see how those numbers stack up.”

She added: “I don’t think that either candidate are being responsible in saying how they’re going to fund the things that they are promising.”