GRANTHAM (ENGLAND): Former British finance minister Rishi Sunakone of the two remaining candidates to become Britain’s next prime minister, on Saturday identified himself as the underdog in the election.
Sunak’s resignation helped trigger an uprising that saw the Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to resign after a series of scandals. Members of the ruling Conservative Party will vote for a successor over the summer, with the announcement set to take place on September 5.
Sunak led all rounds of voting among Conservative Party lawmakers to reduce the field to two candidates.
But it was Foreign Minister Liz Shoes who seems to have won the advantage so far among the 200,000 members of the ruling party, who will ultimately choose the winner.
Truss leads Sunak by 24 points in a YouGov poll of Conservative Party members released on Thursday.
“I am without a doubt the underdog,” Sunak said during a speech in Grantham, central England, the birthplace of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
Truss will be Britain’s third female prime minister after Thatcher and Theresa May while Sunak will be the country’s first Indian-born leader.
“The Force wanted this to be crowned for another candidate but I think the members wanted a choice and they were prepared to listen,” he said.
So far, the focus has been on committing, or not committing, to tax cuts, at a time when many are struggling, along with defense spending and energy policy.
During his speech, Sunak laid out his Thatcherite credentials, promising careful management of the economy before tax cuts. He criticized Truss’ authoritarian pledge to increase defense spending to 3% of GDP by 2030.
In an interview with the Times on Saturday, Sunak said he would put the government in crisis when he takes office.
Sunak’s resignation helped trigger an uprising that saw the Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to resign after a series of scandals. Members of the ruling Conservative Party will vote for a successor over the summer, with the announcement set to take place on September 5.
Sunak led all rounds of voting among Conservative Party lawmakers to reduce the field to two candidates.
But it was Foreign Minister Liz Shoes who seems to have won the advantage so far among the 200,000 members of the ruling party, who will ultimately choose the winner.
Truss leads Sunak by 24 points in a YouGov poll of Conservative Party members released on Thursday.
“I am without a doubt the underdog,” Sunak said during a speech in Grantham, central England, the birthplace of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
Truss will be Britain’s third female prime minister after Thatcher and Theresa May while Sunak will be the country’s first Indian-born leader.
“The Force wanted this to be crowned for another candidate but I think the members wanted a choice and they were prepared to listen,” he said.
So far, the focus has been on committing, or not committing, to tax cuts, at a time when many are struggling, along with defense spending and energy policy.
During his speech, Sunak laid out his Thatcherite credentials, promising careful management of the economy before tax cuts. He criticized Truss’ authoritarian pledge to increase defense spending to 3% of GDP by 2030.
In an interview with the Times on Saturday, Sunak said he would put the government in crisis when he takes office.
