Brochure | News Getty Images | Getty Images LONDON — Liz Truss will face Rishi Sunak in the final round of a tight race to succeed Boris Johnson as UK prime minister. Penny Mordant dropped out of the race on Wednesday after receiving the least support in a fifth round of voting among Conservative MPs. Former Finance Minister Sunak maintained his lead, winning 137 votes, while Foreign Minister Truss came in second with 113 votes. International Trade Minister Mordaunt fell in the second round with 105 votes. There were two spoiled ballots. Truss and Sunak will now go head-to-head to be named leader of the UK Conservative Party and therefore prime minister. The results of the final vote, which is held by Conservative Party members, are expected to be announced by September 5 at the latest, with Johnson expected to remain in his post as caretaker prime minister until then.
What happens next?
Wednesday is the final vote in a close contest to succeed Johnson, who resigned as leader of the Conservative Party on July 7 after a series of scandals and mass resignations from his cabinet. Eight candidates made it to the first round of voting on July 12, with the number whittled down by conservative lawmakers in five stages. In an earlier vote on Tuesday – the fourth of the contest – Kemi Badenoch, a former minister for local government and then for women and equalities, was disqualified after receiving 59 votes. Sunak received 118 votes, followed by Mordaunt with 92 and Truss with 86. UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is in the running to become Britain’s next prime minister. Future Publishing | Getty Images The final say will now fall to Conservative Party members — of whom there are an estimated 200,000, or 0.3, of the British population — who will vote for their favorite candidate. In the coming weeks, the two candidates will embark on a series of campaigns across the country where they will be asked by voters about their policies. Conservative Party members will then choose the winner in a postal vote, with the successful candidate automatically becoming Prime Minister.
Too close to call
Sunak, who has steered Britain’s economy through the coronavirus pandemic, has until now emerged as the favorite to win Britain’s top job. But little is certain in the fast-moving world of British politics. A Tuesday YouGov poll of Conservative Party members saw Sunak losing to both Mordaud and Truss in the latest round of two-way voting. At that point, Truss looked poised to beat Sunak 54-35, while Mordaud was poised to beat him 51-37. Sunak has been steadfast in his opposition to tax cuts, arguing instead that reducing spiraling inflation is Britain’s top priority. However, he has faced criticism for a series of failures under Johnson’s leadership, including flouting Covid-19 lockdown rules. Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak leaves 11 Downing Street, London, on March 23, 2022. Daniel Leal | AFP | Getty Images But Truss has not been without her share of backlash, including proposals to change the Bank of England’s mandate and introduce a raft of tax cuts. A separate YouGov poll on Wednesday showed that more than half (52%) of Conservative Party members consider personality the top attribute they look for when electing a new leader. Just under a third (32%) cite conventional Conservative policies, while less than 1 in 5 (19%) refer to the Brexit tradition. It comes as the UK Labor Party looks set to beat the Conservative Party in a general election, according to a recent survey. Britain is not due to hold its next general election until January 2025 at the latest, but the incoming prime minister could choose to call a vote before then.
