Rishi Sunack and Liz Truss, contenders for the position of Britain's prime minister, argued over their visions for the future of the British economy during the first televised debate.

The prime ministerial candidates did not hold back from their mutual attacks in an hour-long BBC special.

Sunak told Truss that her tax cut plan would "bring misery to millions of people" and would cost the Conservatives the next election.

Truss said the tax hikes he introduced would lead to a recession.

At times, heated arguments erupted between the debaters. In addition to disagreements over taxes, both candidates accused one of not being tough enough on China in the past.

Truss's supporters accused Sunak of being too aggressive after the debate, to which the former minister's camp objected.

At the end of the debate, the opponents had a more conciliatory stance, with Liz Truss saying she would want Rishi Sunak on her team if she became prime minister. The former finance minister praised her opponents' stance toward Russia.

But the dispute over taxes at the beginning of the debate turned out to be dominant.

Sky News cites the results of an Opinium poll after the debate, according to which the candidates' speeches received roughly the same rating: 39% favored Sunak, 38% favored Truss.

The studio audience was made up entirely of people who voted Conservative in the last general election, and applauded Rishi Sunak more often.

His team insists that his performance shows that he has "won the debate on the economy."

But according to the latest bookmakers' odds, Liz Truss is the favorite to lead the Conservatives.

Recall that former U.K. Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak on Saturday called himself the outsider in the race to be the country's next prime minister.