21 GIFs From the Second Truss–Sunak Tory Leadership Debate

"I've had a great birthday so far."

Foreign Sec. Liz Truss and former chancellor Rishi Sunak squared off Tue. in their second debate of the leadership race.

Tue.'s debate was cut short after moderator Kate McCann fainted on air about 30 minutes into the debate.

The debate's sponsors, The Sun and TalkTV, released a statement confirming McCann's fainting: "She is fine."

Tue.'s debate covered the same ground as previous debates: the two largely tussled over their economic plans. (BBC)

Notably, Tue. was Truss's 47th birthday: Sunak wished Truss a happy birthday on the debate stage.

Truss opened the debate Tue. focusing on the U.K.'s economy: "We've got the lowest growth projected in the G7."

Both candidates were asked by a Sun reader about how they would fix the NHS: Sunak said the system needed more funding.

Truss said that she would decentralize the NHS, leaving the control of the system in the hands of local doctors.

When asked about rising food costs, Truss said she would cut regulations for farmers to boost food production.

Truss: "I will reduce the red tape on farmers and focus on food production..."

Sunak said Tue. that he would crack down on price gouging imposed by supermarkets and supply chain middle men.

Truss also criticized Sunak for raising taxes during his tenure as chancellor, stating that it was "morally wrong."

Sunak countered that tax hikes were necessary to ease the burden of the U.K.'s COVID debt:

Truss: "Whatever Rishi says now, we did not need to raise National Insurance."

Sunak also defended his proposed corporation tax hike during the debate: "I think corporations should be taxed more."

Sunak: "[Corporations] were helped a lot during the pandemic."

Sunak accused Truss of wanting to cut corporate taxes during the debate. She countered:

Truss corrected Sunak, stating that she would scrap a planned hike on corporate taxes.

Who's won the debates so far? Per a Tue. YouGov poll, Truss won Mon.'s debate, outperforming Sunak in every issue.

Tue.'s YouGov poll among Tory voters showed Truss leading Sunak on Ukraine by 44 points and cost of living by 21 points.