Tonight’s membership hustings in the Tory leadership contest showed both candidates – but particularly Liz Truss – relaxing and even enjoying themselves a fair bit. But they also underlined what the two of them feel they have to say in order to get a hearing with their selectorate.
Both had to commit to more grammar schools because this is a policy that – in spite of abundant evidence suggesting it does not improve social mobility or educational excellence in the way the two claimed tonight – the membership and indeed many Conservative MPs get misty-eyed about.
Both will also have been very aware of quite how angry many members in the audience were about Boris Johnson being forced out of office, as they see it. There was one heckle tonight, which was of Sunak as he talked about his decision to resign.
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