Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

All you need to know as Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss prepare for Perth face-off

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will be in Perth.
Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will be in Perth.

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will go head to head in Tayside tonight as the Tory leadership race enters its critical final stages.

The two candidates to become Britain’s prime minister will be in Perth for the only Scottish hustings event of the campaign.

Here’s all you need to know as the Conservative rivals make a last ditch pitch to win over Tory members north of the border.

Where will they visit on Scottish tour?

Both leadership contenders start in the north on Tuesday afternoon where they will meet party members and activists.

Ms Truss is expected to visit a business earlier in the day, before making her way to an event in Aberdeen.

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will be in Perth.

Former chancellor Mr Sunak is expected to be in Aberdeenshire as he tries to win over local Conservative supporters.

The pair will then travel to Perth for the hustings later in the evening.

What reception can they expect?

Undecided Scottish Tory voters will be keen to welcome Mr Sunak and Ms Truss to their home patches as they decide where to lend their support.

But the two Tory MPs should prepare for an angry response from opponents, fed up with a cost-of-living crisis and chaos in Downing Street.

Plenty of anger against the Conservative Party remains following Boris Johnson’s decision to quit.

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.

Pro-independence supporters are expected to gather in Perth outside the concert hall before the leadership debate begins.

Whoever emerges victorious once the campaign has concluded will have a tough job to win back support north of the border.

However, wider popularity among Scottish voters won’t be a point of concern for either candidate right now – since only Tory members actually get to decide who becomes prime minister.

What are the key talking points?

The cost of living crisis has dominated the campaign so far and that’s unlikely to change.

Mr Sunak and Ms Truss have been urged to promise further support for struggling households before energy bills rise again in October.

Labour leader Keir Starmer has heaped more pressure on them to act after insisting he would freeze the energy cap if he was in 10 Downing Street.

Nicola Sturgeon.

As always, the future of the union will be a central concern for Tory members nervous about Nicola Sturgeon’s latest independence push.

Both Mr Sunak and Ms Truss vowed to block a second referendum next year and insist the question was answered back in 2014.

Ms Truss sparked anger when she branded Ms Sturgeon an “attention-seeker” who should be ignored.

Independence poll latest

On the day they travel to Perth, a new poll suggests a quarter of Scots would be more likely to support Scottish independence regardless of who becomes the next Prime Minister.

The survey of 1,002 Scots by Survation and Diffley Partnerships for Charlotte Street Partners shows 20% of respondents were “much more likely” to back independence with Ms Truss in charge, while 5% said they would “a little more likely” to back separation.

With Mr Sunak in Downing Street, 19% said they were much more likely, while 7% said they were a little more likely.

Tory leaders’ pledge on Holyrood

On the eve of the Perth debate, Ms Truss’s campaign vowed to give MSPs more power to question the Scottish Government.

Mr Sunak meanwhile promised to make it a requirement for Scotland’s most senior civil servant, the permanent secretary to the Scottish Government, to attend a powerful Westminster committee for questioning.

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss taking part in a BBC Tory leadership debate.

Even if both candidates stand firm against a referendum, mending relations with Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross and restoring trust among disillusioned Scottish Tory voters will still be important.

Before they head to Perth for the hustings, both candidates can expect to be quizzed over the future of the oil and gas industry in the north-east.

Mr Sunak took the decision to impose a windfall tax on multinational firms in May despite previously opposing the measure.


What time is the event and can I watch it?

The hustings event is to begin at 7pm – but if you’re hoping to watch it then you’re out of luck.

The debate will not be broadcasted live on either the BBC or STV for Scots hoping to tune in, meaning it’s available for Tory members only.

Just 0.2% of the British population have a say in who becomes the next prime minister.

We’ll be covering all the news lines throughout the day online and in print.