London (agencies)
Conservative rivals Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, who offer different views of Britain’s response to the multiple crises it faces, face off in the coming weeks to win the job of next prime minister after the party’s last MPs vote yesterday, as part of a multi-stage process.
Former Finance Minister Sunak, who proceeds from a middle platform of fiscal rectitude by supporting “green fees” to combat climate change, topped the scene again by obtaining 137 votes in the fifth and final poll.
Secretary of State Liz Truss narrowly won the race for second place with 113 votes to 105 for former Defense Secretary Penny Mordaunt.
Sunak and Truss will now have to persuade Conservative Party members who will choose the new leader and prime minister after a series of nationwide election rallies in August. The result will be announced on the fifth of September. But Britain will have its first prime minister of Asian descent or the third woman in office.
Sunak’s resignation as finance minister this month helped oust outgoing leader Boris Johnson after months of scandal, and reports say Downing Street will run the campaign of “everyone else but my feathers”.
During the Prime Minister’s final question session in the House of Commons yesterday, Johnson hinted at support for Truss’ plan to cut taxes, urging his successor to “reduce taxes and liberalize the economy, where possible, to make this place the greatest place to live and invest”.
And Terrace announced, in a tweet, that it was “ready to start from day one.”
A YouGov poll, published before the vote, indicated that Sunak, despite his popularity with party deputies, is the least popular candidate among its members.
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