Ione Wells
Political Correspondent, reporting from the debate

The next prime minister will either be Boris Johnson’s current foreign secretary - or Boris Johnson’s former chancellor.

Both promise radical change. But both also have the awkward challenge of justifying why they didn’t make the changes they are talking about while serving in his government.

Sunak has attacked Truss’s approach to China. Truss has attacked his approach to taxes. It’s sometimes hard to believe they served in the same cabinet. Both have spent considerable airtime trashing its record on everything from the NHS to the economy.

Then there’s the role of character. Issues with trust and integrity plagued Johnson’s premiership.

Sunak quit his government over “standards”, Truss stayed put citing “loyalty”. Both claim their decisions make them the more virtuous leader - but whom will Conservative members value most?

Finally the two candidates are making big promises, but they aren’t running in a general election on a new manifesto. Instead, they will inherit Johnson’s mandate, promises and unfinished business too.

From “levelling up” the country to “fixing social care”, there are just a few small tasks that voters want to see progress on by the next election.

George Bowden
Reporting from the debate

There are about 100 audience members - all voted Conservative in 2019 and have been carefully selected.

For Krystian Belicki, the NHS and public sector are of prime concern. He wants to hear what Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss think about public sector pay, and the mounting health service backlog.

While he concedes Sunak is more familiar, he says he is open-minded about which candidate he would prefer to see as prime minister.

The trainee mental health therapist, who is originally from Poland, says: "I want to see what they have to say - I am undecided."

Brendan Turner wants to know more about what the candidates' solutions for the cost of living crisis.

The warehouse manager says those he works with on the minimum wage are really struggling. He says he wants to know more about how the candidates plan to tackle "stagnant wages in industries like mine".

On top of that, he says "everyone is struggling to recruit". Asked why, Brendan says "people want a decent wage".

I'll be catching up with Krystian and Brendan - and a few more audience members - after the debate to find out if their views have changed.

Reality Check

Expect Rishi Sunak to talk about the setting up of freeports in the UK as a "benefit" of Brexit.

EU countries do have these tax-free industrial zones (and the UK had them as an EU member) but Sunak argues EU regulations limit their benefits.

The first of eight new freeports opened in November 2021.

But their benefits to the economy have been questioned, with independent watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warning, external that they change the location of economic activity rather than its volume.

Lord Trimble, former first minister of Northern Ireland and Nobel Peace Prize winner, has died aged 77.

The news has reached the debate venue, and Liz Truss has tweeted:

You can read more on Lord Trimble here.

Ione Wells
Political Correspondent, reporting from the debate

Both campaigns say they are hoping to shift away from the "blue-on-blue" fighting that has been a feature of the campaign so far.

Sources close to Sunak say he’s keen to focus on policy and what’s best for the party this evening.

Those close to Truss say there is a general sense that they want to make sure this campaign does not “shatter” the party.

However, both sides will know this is the first one-on-one debate, and that some Tory members may be casting their ballots very soon - papers are sent at the start of August, with a deadline of 2 September.

Time, in that sense, is of the essence for candidates in landing their key attacks and defences.

George Bowden
Reporting from the debate venue, Victoria Hall

I’m standing behind one of the two podiums on the set of tonight’s debate.

This is the view the candidates will have tonight - the bright lights, cameras and audience are all pointing in their direction.

They say politics is the art of performance - and Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will take to the stage in around 50 minutes' time.

Image source, PA Media

A few minutes ago, we saw Liz Truss arriving for tonight's crucial debate.

Rishi Sunak has now been pictured turning up to the venue, too.

He had his top button undone as he shook hands with the BBC's Director-General Tim Davie.

George Bowden
Reporting from the debate venue, Victoria Hall

Supporters of the two candidates are considering their sustenance ahead of the debate.

For deputy prime minister - and karate black-belt - Dominic Raab, a banana and a bottle of water is the pre-match meal of choice.

He is shaking hands with senior political correspondents from outlets like Sky News and the i newspaper.

But there's no barbed questions for him just yet - Raab is expected to be promoting and defending Rishi Sunak across the airwaves and newsprint later.

Jo Gideon, a local Tory MP and Sunak supporter, and Jonathan Gullis, who supports Liz Truss are also speaking to journalists - but have so far declined a refreshment.

Ione Wells
Political Correspondent, reporting from Victoria Hall

I'm told both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss had the chance today to speak to Conservative party members at a cafe called The Teapot in Stoke-on-Trent.

They were accompanied by the local Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, Jonathan Gullis (a Truss backer), and the MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, Jo Gideon (a Sunak supporter).

While tonight's debate matters in terms of shaping the headlines, clips and soundbites Tory members will see - that face-to-face interaction is really important too. They'll be the ones to vote after all.

Both sides are claiming they managed to turn supporters of their rival into "undecideds". That changing of minds is also what Truss and Sunak will be hoping for when the debate kicks off in an hour too.

Image source, PA Media

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has been seen arriving at the concert hall in Stoke-on-Trent where tonight's debate is being filmed.

She'll go head-to-head with Rishi Sunak in front of a crowd of around 100 people, starting at 21:00.

Tonight’s debate host Sophie Raworth and the BBC’s political editor Chris Mason say they didn’t expect to cover such an important political showdown so early in their current jobs.

The pair have been speaking on the One Show in advance of tonight’s debate – which will see prime ministerial hopefuls Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss facing off.

Sophie says she “never imagined” she would host such a debate just seven months after taking on the role of the presenter of the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme.

Chris adds that his own job has been “just a little bit busy so far” since he took the reins three months ago.

Victoria Hall, in Stoke-on-Trent, is already a “hive of activity”, says Sophie – who describes journalists gathering in advance of both candidates arrival.

Sunak and Truss will each get their own dressing room, she says, though she doesn’t know if the pair will talk to each other before the debate kicks off.

The two candidates in tonight's debate will be watched to see whether they sound like "they're from planet normal", says former government special adviser Mo Hussein.

Being able to connect with ordinary voters "is the next challenge".

He says it will be difficult for both candidates to "differentiate" themselves from the current Johnson administration, when both of them have been significant figures in it.

A big threat for the candidates is to look "overly polished, overly staged," he says.

Liz Truss "is doing very well" in polls with members, he says, and "she is ticking a lot of boxes for members".

But, he adds, Conservative Party members are "not a homogenous group," and will vote for the candidate most likely to win an election against Labour's Keir Starmer.

George Bowden
Reporting from the debate venue, Victoria Hall

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has arrived at Victoria Hall for tonight's debate.

He's expected to be supporting Rishi Sunak in the post-debate "spin room" - where journalists gather for reaction.

Alongside Raab is Jonathan Gullis, a local Conservative MP who is supporting Liz Truss, who is also in the building.

Another arrival in the last few minutes was BBC director-general Tim Davie - it's a big event for the corporation, which has faced criticism from the outgoing Boris Johnson administration.

Joanne Gallacher
Political reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

As Stoke-on-Trent prepares to host the debate for the Tory leadership, you could say neither Rishi Sunak nor Liz Truss are really cutting through.

"Is he the guy from Friends?," one voter asks while looking at a photo of the possible future prime minister.

Image source, Getty Images

Not for the first time, the city is proving a key political battleground for the Conservative Party.

Whoever takes over needs to be retaining former red wall seats like these.

An important question for Ms Truss and Mr Sunak is how can they capitalise on the party's popularity under Boris Johnson in areas like this - is it through policy or personality?

If the latter, they could be in trouble. In Hanley, the heart of Jo Gideon's Stoke-on-Trent Central constituency, people I stopped to speak to had trouble naming the final two from photographs.

Full story: Stoke-on-Trent hosts Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss debate

George Bowden
Reporting from the debate venue, Victoria Hall

It's not just national issues facing the candidates tonight. A small but noisy protest can be just about heard inside Victoria Hall - the venue for tonight's leadership debate.

The campaigners are from Stop The Stink, which has long demanded more stringent action over noxious emissions from Walleys Quarry landfill in Silverdale, close to Newcastle-under-Lyme, about 4 miles (6.8km) from Stoke-on-Trent city centre.

Sara Owen, a Silverdale resident who has been calling for tough action against the quarry, says the group has come to protest outside the debate to send a message to the next prime minister.

"We want to make it known to the two potential prime ministers that we're still here," she says.

The group cite Boris Johnson's Commons pledge to ensure the air near the quarry would be of "Alpine freshness before long".

Read more BBC coverage of the Stop the Stink campaign here.

Look out for audience reaction and Truss-Sunak tensionspublished at 18:51 British Summer Time 25 July 2022

18:51 BST 25 July 2022

Chris Mason
Political editor, reporting from Stoke-on-Trent

There are a few fascinating things to keep an eye on tonight.

The first is our audience here. They are all Conservative voters last time round, some for the first time in 2019, so they were charmed by a Conservative Party led by Boris Johnson.

So the biggest test for the two wannabe prime ministers is to what extent can they charm this audience and keep them on side for the Conservative cause. Because that will determine if, in the end, they can be election winners.

The other point is the tension between them - and to what extent that bubbles out tonight.

The opinion polls and surveys suggest that Rishi Sunak is considerably behind Liz Truss, so the stakes for him in particular are really high.

And just a week before ballot papers arrive with Conservative members, tonight is arguably a chance for him to try to shift that dial.

George Bowden
Reporting from Stoke-on-Trent

For Benji Rea, the campaign to become the next Conservative Party leader – and PM – has thus far lacked the maturity that’s required.

The 22-year-old founding chair of the Staffordshire University Conservative Society says that the contest has “felt a bit like playground insult hurling at times – this does not feel like the behaviour we need”.

“I am waiting for someone to grow up, take it on the chin and say what they want to do with the party. Whatever happens – and whoever does this first – is where my vote will go.”

Also on the shopping list are a commitment to continue the levelling-up agenda popularised by outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson - and a clear demonstration of where Britain stands on the world stage.

“Stoke feels like it is massively struggling with a cost of living crisis,” Benji says. Though the student believes no one party or politician can be blamed: “You can’t pin blame for the issues the region is facing - it has been mismanaged by all parties."

And on Britain’s global stature, Benji adds: “Boris Johnson proved how influential we are with the response to Ukraine.”

Chas Geiger
BBC News

Giles Kenningham is a PR consultant and a former head of press at No 10.

He helped David Cameron prepare for three TV debates in the 2015 general election - and performed a similar role for Jeremy Hunt in the last Tory leadership contest in 2019.

Candidates, he tells us, need to work out attack lines that will expose their opponent’s weaknesses - and then get their teams to ruthlessly highlight them via social media.

They'll want to focus on just three key messages - including a "defining moment" they hope will become the main soundbite on TV bulletins, and will be shared on social media.

But of course, he adds, they should also avoid making mistakes - and be agile enough to "go with the flow".

Image source, Getty Images