There were mixed views from members of the Conservative Party in Northern Ireland after hearing from the two candidates to become the next leader.
Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak were quizzed by members during a hustings event at the Culloden Hotel on the outskirts of Belfast.
The Brexit protocol, the Stormont Assembly, the health service, abortion, foreign policy and support for the party in Northern Ireland were among the issues raised.
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There are around 600 members in Northern Ireland who can vote for the next party leader and prime minister.
Martin Craigs said he remained undecided after hearing their pitches.
He added he felt their content in terms of Northern Ireland had been “very weak”.
Mr Craigs said: “They’re sitting on the fence, this isn’t the audience they’re playing to, the audience they’re playing to are the 160,000 Conservative members, and there are very few of them in Northern Ireland, but they obviously have to go to all corners of the UK to be seen to be democratic.
“I might actually not vote at all because I think the performance has been so poor.”
Matthew Robinson, chairman of the Northern Ireland Conservatives, welcomed the candidates’ visit and paid tribute to the commitment they were showing to the region.
He said he had been holding back on deciding who to vote for, but based on what he heard at the hustings he would back Ms Truss.
“I think she outlined an unwavering commitment to what we do locally here as a political force,” he said.
“I’m not just encouraged but excited about what we can achieve together during her hopeful premiership.”
He said the purpose of hustings is to have a robust exchange of ideas, and it was an opportunity for the members to put their questions to the next prime minister.
“My decision is in a personal capacity, it is up to our own members to decide who they’re going to support,” he said.
“If you look at polling, obviously there is a suggestion that Liz Truss is faring well in this campaign, but it’s up to our members who to back.
“I think there are two excellent candidates, I have made my decision now but it’s up to members who they support.”
During the Northern Ireland leg of the UK-wide battle for Downing Street, the contenders both faced questions on how they would get powersharing back up and running in Stormont.
The DUP has refused to re-enter a devolved Executive in protest against the post-Brexit trading arrangements for goods crossing the Irish Sea.
Ms Truss said progress through Parliament on her controversial Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which would allegedly break international law, will “see powersharing re-established”.
She insisted the legislation is “absolutely legal” and vowed to be “very clear” with US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi over the Northern Ireland Protocol, amid fears in Washington that the UK’s action threatens the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr Sunak said there is “probably not an enormous amount of disagreement” between the rivals on the subject, as he too backs the legislation.
But he said the Bill “will take time to pass” so he will negotiate with the EU, France and the Republic of Ireland to seek a swifter resolution if possible.
“If that negotiated outcome is there it will be far quicker than waiting for the Bill to pass, so it’s worth at least trying – but be in no doubt about my resolve to fix the situation with the protocol, which I think will unlock the powersharing and bring people back together,” he said.
Meanwhile, in response to a question Ms Truss has rejected a call to abolish abortion in Northern Ireland.
Abortion laws in the region were liberalised in 2019 in laws passed by Westminster at a time when the power-sharing government at Stormont had collapsed.
Ms Truss was asked if she would abolish abortion in Northern Ireland, “ending infanticide”, or let the people of the region have their say on the issue.
She responded to applause: “I’m afraid I don’t agree with you. We are a United Kingdom and we need all of our laws to apply right across the United Kingdom – that is what being a union is.”
Ms Truss and Rishi Sunak both set out their cases to be the next leader of the Conservative Party – and the next prime minister – to party members in Northern Ireland on Wednesday.
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