Postal ballot boxes for around 180,000 Tory (conservative) campaigners will close at 17:00 on Friday (September 2), with the announcement of the winner expected at 12:30 next Monday, September, the day Parliament returns to the summer recess.
Despite coming third in the initial rounds, the foreign minister reached the finals and recent polls among the party’s base indicate a comfortable 22 to 38 percentage points over the former finance minister.
Favorite status led to supporting most of the failed candidates, notably Benny Mordant, Tom Dugentat, Suella Braverman and Nadim Zahavi, and sometimes abandoning Rishi Sunak as Wales Minister.
The Dress has almost unanimous support from the Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Telegraph and Evening Standard, while The Times favors Sunak and The Sun has so far been neutral.
The debate between Truss and Sunak next Wednesday night in London will be the latest in a dozen events across the country where conservative activists have questioned them on topics as diverse as the economy and the rising cost of living crisis.
Both are aware of the need to help people hit by rising inflation and energy prices, with Boris Johnson expecting “extra money” to be allocated in early September.
Liz Truss is promising “immediate action”, cutting taxes to stimulate economic growth, reversing increases in social security contributions (introduced in April) and holding off on tax increases for companies, contrary to the “conventional approach” of many economists.
Sunak defends caution and proposes to cut value-added tax (VAT) and support the most vulnerable so as not to worsen the public debt.
The Truce’s policies, a former financial analyst warned, “risk making inflation much worse and longer lasting, especially as those policies borrow £50 billion and put it on the country’s credit card.”
Both candidates have put forward tough positions on curbing illegal immigration, fighting crime and renegotiating Northern Ireland’s status with the European Union (EU) after Brexit (the process of Britain’s exit from the European bloc).
Both pledged to maintain support for Ukraine against Russia as part of a military offensive launched by Moscow on February 24.
When analyzed nationally, the scenario is not very encouraging for both candidates and the conservative political force.
A mid-August poll by YouGov showed that most Britons do not trust either candidate to lead the country, with the Conservatives trailing Labor by 10 percentage points in voting intentions.
BM // SCA
“Total creator. Devoted tv fanatic. Communicator. Evil pop culture buff. Social media advocate.”
