A bit of a free hit for Rishi Sunak here, who's asked a question about a Liz Truss U-turn.

Shortly before midday yesterday, Truss’s campaign swiftly dropped a plan to link public sector pay to local living costs - just hours after it was announced.

Sunak says he's "glad she U-turned", claiming the Truss policy would have meant pay cuts for people in Wales.

But he answers "yes" when asked whether he would still offer his rival a place in his cabinet if he became prime minister.

Truss claims her regional pay policy had been "misrepresented".

Questions are up next – first from the host, CNN International's Hannah Vaughan Jones.

She asks Rishi Sunak whether he accepts he could've been clearer about his tax plans.

No, he says. He says his position has been "consistent, clear, and... honest".

The former chancellor says it's right to be "careful" about inflation, and a "spree of unfunded promises" was not sensible and risks making the situation worse – and last longer.

Javid is latest big name to back Trusspublished at 20:02 British Summer Time 3 August 2022

20:02 BST 3 August 2022

Rajdeep Sandhu
Westminster correspondent

In the past few days Liz Truss has been attracting more and more big conservative names to her team. Sajid Javid is the latest.

It was his resignation that started the wave of resignations that ultimately brought Boris Johnson's time in Downing Street to an end. He briefly tried to run for the job himself but quickly pulled out.

Sajid Javid was Rishi Sunak's boss in the Treasury, Sunak then got the job when Javid resigned, so the pair know each other well. Not securing his support will be a disappointment.

And while Sajid Javid doesn't personally attack Rishi Sunak, he does attack his tax policy – a central issue in this election.

Image source, Reuters

Truss says she would have a bold plan to increase economic growth, first by "getting rid of all EU laws" still in place by the end of 2023.

These include ditching rules procurement and investment in order to "unleash enterprise and opportunity", Truss says.

She also repeats her plans to reverse the National Insurance rise, have a temporary moratorium on the green levy on energy bills, as well as keeping corporation tax low.

Truss adds that having the same level of tax as France and 10% above Ireland would hurt investment, especially in places like Wales.

Image source, Reuters

Liz Truss is setting out her stall now.

"I got the lamb ban lifted," she says - claiming that she personally persuaded President Biden to scrap America's moratorium on importing British lamb while she was Trade Secretary.

There's something of an ovine theme here.

In an effort to appeal to the local Tory membership, Truss claims she learned the practice of sheep-shearing in Wales.

Next up we're hearing from MP for Clwyd West, David Jones, who is backing Liz Truss.

He says Truss has shown "strong, effective leadership" as foreign secretary, supporting Ukraine's president since the war began and warning of Chinese communist expansion.

She's "seized the opportunities that Brexit presents", he says, pursuing trade deals around the world and "spreading prosperity right across our country".

Jones says under her leadership, the United Kingdom will continue to be the most important union in the world.

Image source, Reuters

Sunak spells out for his audience the challenge the Conservative party faces: winning what would be an historic fifth general election in a row.

"I am the candidate that gives our party the best opportunity to win everywhere", he says - stressing that he's confident he could beat Labour's Keir Starmer in a national poll.

Image source, Reuters

Sunak moves on to the NHS, saying he has set out a bold plan to properly reform the health service .

He says this is needed "so that we can stop talking about how much we put in and focus more on what we get out".

Sunak then attacks the Welsh Labour government's management of the NHS, arguing that despite getting "20% more funding" the waiting list in the country are the worst in the UK.

Image source, PA Media

Following the endorsement of Lord Howard, Rishi Sunak is invited to set out his pitch to Tory members.

Reiterating his message of “restoring trust” in the government, Sunak says he "wants to be straight" with the audience on the subject of the economy.

He says honesty is "what leadership is all about".

Sunak claims his is an "entirely Conservative story", speaking about his background and strong family values.

Former Conservative Party leader Lord Michael Howard is up now – and he's backing Rishi Sunak.

He urges his fellow members to consider who is best placed to beat Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer when they cast their vote.

Lord Howard, who served in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet, says the former Conservative prime minister hated inflation. "So does Rishi Sunak," he says.

He says Thatcher hated the thought of increased borrowing and told people the truth, not what they wanted to hear – "so does Rishi Sunak".

He also says each of the last three prime ministers served in his shadow team when he was leader.

The hustings has opened with a video compilation of Tory election victories in recent years.

Among the clips in the sequence were some of Boris Johnson speaking before and celebrating after the 2019 vote.

The prime minister was greeted to loud applause from the crowd of Welsh Tory members.

First though, we've just heard from Liz Truss's team. They've welcomed the support from Sajid Javid - who earlier threw his weight behind her leadership campaign.

A spokeswoman for Truss said: "Having worked closely with him for years in cabinet, Liz is delighted to have Sajid on her team. We need the best players on the pitch and his experience provides yet another boost to our campaign.

"His support signals that Liz is bringing the party together and they're uniting behind her bold plan to cut taxes, grow the economy and deliver for the country."

A little bit later than advertised the husting has now begun – Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss await a grilling from Welsh Conservative Party members.

Stay tuned and we'll let you know all the latest.

We're expecting to hear more on some of the policies that have formed the campaigns of Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss.

The contenders have battled over tax, the cost of living crisis and restoring trust in politics.

So what exactly are the leadership hopefuls promised to deliver if elected prime minister?

Find out from our handy guide.

Image source, PA Media

Another poll has made good reading for Liz Truss.

She's 32 points ahead of her rival Rishi Sunak, according to a survey of more than 1,000 Tory members by the website Conservative Home.

58% of those polled said they would vote for Truss, compared to 26% for Sunak.

The figures are similar to those we mentioned earlier from YouGov, which put Truss on 60% and Sunak on 26%.

Truss earlier said she was taking nothing for granted despite her apparent lead - while Sunak insisted that he had the mass appeal needed to win a general election.

Image source, PA Media

A small group of protestors have turned up outside the All Nations Centre in Cardiff where the Conservative leadership hustings are about to take place shortly.

The demonstrators are protesting against UK government policies including sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, and they're calling for action to end the cost of living crisis.

Adam Johannes from Cardiff People's Assembly, says neither candidates would stop energy prices going "through the roof".

"Every week of Tory rule brings more illiberal attacks on longstanding human rights, civil liberties and democratic freedoms, it's time for them to go," he says.

Image source, PA Media

The third hustings (and first outside of England) is due to begin shortly, with questions coming to both candidates from Tory members in Cardiff.

Stick with us for all the key moments and analysis.

Image source, Twitter

Sajid Javid's endorsement of Rishi Sunak's opponent comes as a bit of a surprise, as the two men have a longstanding friendship - one that arguably goes beyond the boundaries of this blue orb floating in space.

What unites them beyond their similar backgrounds, careers and political outlooks?

They share a love of the classic sci-fi movie series Star Wars, and have not been shy about making that clear.

When Javid resigned as chancellor in February 2020, after losing a power struggle with Boris Johnson's former adviser Dominic Cummings, he tweeted about his successor: "The Force is strong in young Sunak."

Just over a year earlier, when he was still number two to Javid at the Treasury, Sunak tweeted a picture of the pair of them at the cinema, where they had just been to see The Rise of Skywalker.

"Great night out with the boss - Jedi Master," he wrote alongside the image.

It seems the Force has not been strong enough to keep the pair together this time, however.

Read more here.

Felicity Evans
BBC Wales political editor

So far promises on Wales - from both candidates - haven’t gone beyond existing UK government policy – freeports and levelling up.

What could Welsh members ask them tonight?

The leader of the Conservatives in the Welsh Parliament has a list of asks, one of which is a promise of no further devolution of powers to Wales. His team are also calling for increased funding for rail infrastructure, and a bank holiday on St David’s Day.

Another big question for the next PM is what they’ll do about the steel works in Port Talbot.

It employs about 4,000 people, but owner Tata is demanding more than a billion pounds towards reducing carbon emissions.

Image source, PA Media

Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak will face questions from Conservative Party members tonight.

Here's what you need to know:

• It’s the third hustings, with nine more to come, where the candidates will battle it out for votes from Tory Party members
• Tonight, the two-hour session will take place in Cardiff. The previous two hustings were held in Leeds and Exeter
• It will begin at 19:00 and is being hosted by CNN International’s Hannah Vaughan Jones
• As we've been reporting, ahead of this evening's event former health secretary Sajid Javid has come out in support of Truss
• Eariler a YouGov poll, reported in the Times, external, suggested Truss has the support of 60% of Tory members, while Sunak is being backed by 26%