Tory leadership: MPs to vote in third ballot, with Rishi Sunak buoyed by snap debate poll – live

Tory MPs will eliminate another candidate on Monday evening, as government set to open debate on motion of no confidence

Five key takeaways from the second TV debate

Pat McFadden, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, has written to Nadhim Zahawi, challenging him to provide more clarity about his tax and financial affairs, my colleague Heather Stewart reports.

Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, stands out in the Conservative party leadership contest because he is the only candidate firmly opposed to increasing borrowing to fund immediate tax cuts. As the voice of fiscal orthodoxy, it is perhaps not surprising that his stance is backed by the International Monetary Fund, whose UK head, Mark Flanagan, told the BBC: “I think debt-financed tax cuts at this point would be a mistake.”

The UK does have a below-average tax ratio relative to the rest of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. You can’t have it both ways.

At some point you have to decide, do we want to invest in the climate transition? Do we want invest in digitalisation? Do we want to invest in skills for the public. Well, if you do you need the resources to do it. And the way to realise those resources is to lift the tax ratio a little bit.

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