UK PM race in final countdown: Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak poised to be named new Tory leader
The struggle to succeed Boris Johnson as leader of Conservative Party is down to the wire and either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak will be named the next UK PM today
The struggle to succeed Boris Johnson as the leader of the Conservative Party is down to the wire and either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak will be named the next Tory leader and prime minister of the UK on September 5. Over the past month, Sunak, 42, and Truss, 47, have faced off in a dozen hustings throughout the UK in an effort to win over the votes of an estimated 160,000 Tory voters.
Following Boris Johnson’s resignation, Truss and Sunak have spent the last six weeks battling over how to convince Conservative members that they have what it takes to lead the party and the nation. Britain will find out in the coming hours which of the two has won the keys to number 10. The winner of the Conservative leadership race will be declared at around 12.30 p.m. (local time), according to Sir Graham Brady, the head of the 1922 committee of backbench MPs.
Johnson will return to Tory back benches later this week
Johnson will then return to the Tory backbenches later this week, and the winner of the leadership contest will be considering appointing their top staff after visiting the Queen in Balmoral. Further, Johnson will formally hold onto his position until September 6, when his replacement will officially take over. Queen Elizabeth II will meet with Johnson in her Scottish home Balmoral in Aberdeenshire for the first time ever during her reign due to chronic health issues.
Johnson will formally present his resignation to the Queen on September 6. The new Tory leader will then be invited to form a government during a meeting with them that follows. The incoming PM will choose their cabinet and other ministerial assistants later this week and deliver a statement outside Downing Street. They will also participate in their first round of Prime Minister’s Questions versus Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
Taxation has been a major topic in hustings
The main topics of discussion in the hustings between Sunak and Truss have been the cost of living and tax and energy regulations. While Truss has pledged significant tax cuts in order to decrease the cost of living, Sunak’s campaign has prioritised addressing inflation before decreasing taxes.
Truss, who is still the front-runner for the position of UK prime minister, has also promised to quickly decrease taxes through the introduction of an emergency budget. She asserted that as the country’s prime minister, she would maintain low tax rates and that her tax-cutting policies would “lower inflation.”
Sunak’s team has criticised Truss’ VAT proposal, claiming that because VAT is not paid on necessities like staple foods, the policy will not help families pay their shopping expenses. They said that the proposal was “highly regressive,” had several problems, and would only help those with higher salaries.
Truss pledged to present an energy crisis strategy
Furthermore, on the eve of the announcement, Truss, who had been expected to win the election over Sunak for the majority of the campaign, pledged to present an energy crisis strategy within a week of becoming prime minister. Since the average household’s energy costs are expected to increase to almost £3,500 this winter, there have been ever louder calls for the government to act to protect the most vulnerable.
In a BBC interview, the former chancellor Sunak, who has referred to himself during much of the campaign as the “underdog,” reaffirmed his intention to remain an MP even if he loses. If he does not succeed this time, he did not completely rule out vying for leadership once more. According to the most recent survey of Tory party members, Truss will prevail in the leadership contest.
