Tory leadership timetable: When is the next hustings in the battle to be prime minister

August 16: Members’ hustings in Perth 

August 17: Members’ hustings in Northern Ireland 

August 19: Members’ hustings in Manchester 

August 23: Members’ hustings in Birmingham 

August 25: Members’ hustings in Norwich 

August 31: Members’ hustings in London

September 2: Deadline for ballots to be returned 

September 5: New Conservative leader and Prime Minister announced

What happened in the fourth hustings? 

Liz Truss vowed to crack down on “militant activists” after six Extinction Rebellion protesters disrupted the event.

The Foreign Secretary said she would pass new laws to stop hardline unions and activists “who try and disrupt our democratic process and our essential services”.

Ms Truss and Mr Sunak also clashed about the likelihood of recession and the best way to tackle the forecasted downturn and soaring inflation.

Ms Truss, the Foreign Secretary, said recession could be avoided: “What the Bank of England have said today is of course extremely worrying but it is not inevitable. We can change the outcome.”

She insisted her tax cuts, including scrapping the Corporation Tax rise and reversing the National Insurance increase, would help avert the downturn, saying: “You simply cannot tax your way to growth.”

Rishi Sunak earlier insisted he will not drop out of the Tory leadership race, despite opinion polls showing that Liz Truss has double his support among party members.

Asked during the Sky News debate on August 4 whether he would quit the race, the former chancellor said: “The quick answer is no”. He stressed that he would continue “fighting”.