Tory leadership candidates dance to different beat as musical tastes revealed

The final two contenders vying to be the next prime minister have come to blows over their proposals – but that’s not the only place where they differ.

Details of Liz Truss’s musical taste have emerged, and it seems she and rival Tory leadership candidate Rishi Sunak are dancing to a very different beat.

The foreign secretary revealed she was a fan of 1980s music, with I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston her go-to karaoke song.

The 46-year-old told GB News: “I think maybe the one thing people don’t know about me is I do love 1980s music and I do love karaoke.

“I like to enjoy music as well. My favourite song is ‘I Wanna Dance (With Somebody)’ by Whitney Houston.”

Her tastes appear to have evolved in the last 20 years, as one eagle-eyed Twitter user pointed out her favourite song used to be I Try by Macy Gray.

The foreign secretary was mocked online after a snippet from a 2001 NME interview when she was aged 25 resurfaced.

Asked what the last record she bought was, Ms Truss listed Onka’s Big Moka, the debut album by ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’ singers Toploader.

The excerpt was shared on Twitter, with one caption simply reading: “We’re doomed.”

Another commenter wrote: “OF COURSE she bought a Toploader album.”

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Last year, her leadership opponent Rishi Sunak told The Times he and his wife loved the LA Philharmonic – but had also been to see Taylor Swift, Lionel Richie and Mariah Carey perform live.

“We have eclectic tastes,” he told the newspaper at the time.

According to The Telegraph, Mr Sunak is a fan of hip-hop and usually listens to Capital FM while being driven between political events.

However this is said to have changed during the leadership race, with the former chancellor now having a penchant for the recently-launched “Heart 00s”, which plays songs popular in the years 2000 to 2009.

Mr Sunak, who is teetotal, is also said to have kicked his Coca-Cola habit, but still treats himself to one once a week on Saturday evenings.

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The pair came to blows on Thursday over their fiscal proposals, with Mr Sunak warning against a “huge borrowing spree” as Ms Truss defended tax-cutting plans worth at least £30 billion a year.

The former chancellor did not pull any punches in an interview, claiming the current evidence suggests the Conservatives would suffer a defeat at the next general election under his rival’s leadership.

Mr Sunak told Tonight With Andrew Marr on LBC he thought borrowing £30 billion for unfunded tax cuts would be “inflationary”, adding that going on a “huge borrowing spree” would only “make the situation worse”.

Earlier, Ms Truss defended her tax cut plans as “affordable”, as the economic policies of the two candidates came under scrutiny.

“What is not affordable is putting up taxes, choking off growth, and ending up in a much worse position,” she told broadcasters during a visit to Peterborough.

The pair battled to win the support of local politicians on Thursday when they took part in a private hustings for the Conservative Councillors’ Association.

They will tour the UK to take part in 12 hustings for the Tory members who will vote for their next leader, with the result being announced on 5 September.